Friday, October 31, 2014

DBRP_Nov01_2014 Eze36-37 Is14 Heb10a


In chapter 34, we heard the passage that many Jews would have thought of when they heard Jesus say, “I am the good shepherd. I give my life for the sheep.” The Lord promised to take away corrupt shepherds and shepherd the flock himself. 

 

Like we hear in Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelation, Babylon will be judged. They were God’s tool to execute judgment, but they themselves will feel God’s judgment.

 

In yesterday’s chapter in Hebrews, details of the first covenant worship are given. The writer was showing by contrast how Jesus entered a greater, permanent, holy, divinely made Most Holy Place with the one-time-only sacrifice of his own blood. In our time, I think the details also show us the impossibility of our ever rebuilding a system like the Mosaic covenant. Those who want to add old covenant observances to our Christian faith just add accretions of man-made ritual. It is better to study and understand how much better the new covenant is, rather than to try to add empty and powerless ritual and symbolism from the old to the new.


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Thursday, October 30, 2014

DBRP_Oct31_2014 Eze34-35 Is13 Heb9


In Ezekiel yesterday, we heard of how Pharaoh was to be mocked in the world of the dead. Then we heard of God’s justice, which he showed by the illustration of Ezekiel as a watchman for a city.

 

Yesterday’s reading in Isaiah was a psalm of praise including these poetic lines:

The LORD GOD is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.”

3 With joy you will drink deeply

from the fountain of salvation!

...

Tell the nations what he has done.

Let them know how mighty he is!

 

Conclusions from yesterday’s reading include:

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

 

 


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DBRP_Oct30_2014 Eze32-33 Is12 Heb8


Again, as seen in the messages to Tyre and to Egypt, God not just speaking to one king or about one kingdom, but is also speaking against the kingdom/city of Man or the world system under the rulership of Satan.

 

In yesterday’s reading we again heard of the righteous Branch, a shoot growing from David’s root. And we heard these famous words:

2 And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3 He will delight in obeying the LORD.

He will not judge by appearance

nor make a decision based on hearsay.

4 He will give justice to the poor

and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word,

and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.

5 He will wear righteousness like a belt

and truth like an undergarment.

 

In yesterday’s reading, the writer of Hebrews showed the similarity between Melchizedek and Christ, including that are kings of righteousness and peace, they live forever, and are higher in position and better than Abraham and Moses. Christ is also better than the Levitical priests because he received his priesthood by an oath from God and because he holds his office as priest forever. These things are amazingly confirmed by that prophetic verse in Psalm 110. And very significantly, Jesus thus being our High Priest signifies a change in the Law— something that the original Jewish audience would have found surprising and controversial. Note how carefully the writer weaves in that subject which he brings to a conclusion in today’s chapter.


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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

DBRP_Oct29_2014 Eze30-31 Is11 Heb7


Especially in the chapter yesterday pronouncing doom upon the Prince of Tyre, it is clear that the power behind the prince of Tyre is really in mind, the devil. Also the tirade against the King of Egypt could be similarly interpreted.

 

Isaiah recorded in yesterday’s portion that Assyria’s army would come to Judah, but that Judah would be different from the other nations that Assyria conquered. And it did indeed happen like that!

 

Yesterday the author of Hebrews reminded us of Abraham and Melchizedek. We ought to have great confidence in our hope, because the God— who cannot lie, has given us both a promise and an oath.


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Monday, October 27, 2014

DBRP_Oct28_2014 Eze28-29 Is10 Heb6


So why were there two whole chapters against the city-state of Tyre in yesterday’s reading, plus one more today?! I think we see the answer in Revelation. Tyre is very like the picture of Babylon (which in that book is a picture of Rome). In the Bible we see a contrast between the ‘city of man’ and the ‘city of God’. The world powers will be utterly defeated, along with all the wealth of commerce that supports them now.

 

Yesterday’s reading included wonderful prophecies concerning Jesus that are quoted in the Gospels and in Handel’s Messiah:

2b The people who walk in darkness

will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,c

a light will shine.

and 

6 For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor,d Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

Jesus is our High Priest, not in the order of Aaron, but Melchizedek. This chapter picks up where the last left off. Yesterday’s chapter ended with the call for spiritual maturity:

You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 


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Sunday, October 26, 2014

DBRP_Oct27_2014 Eze26-27 Is9 Heb5


Yesterday we heard a second word picture of Jerusalem as a cooking pot. This was not good news. Then Ezekiel received word that his treasure— his wife, would die. And he was commanded not to mourn as a sign of what would happen in Jerusalem. Then there were messages of punishment for the nations of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia.

 

In yesterday’s reading, God gave Isaiah the name of his son, which pictures the conquest of Judah by the Assyrian army. Then there was a wonderful and often quoted part that includes about Jesus as the stumbling stone:

12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,

and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.

13 Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.

He is the one you should fear.

He is the one who should make you tremble.

14 He will keep you safe.

But to Israel and Judah

he will be a stone that makes people stumble,

a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem

he will be a trap and a snare.

15 Many will stumble and fall,

never to rise again.

They will be snared and captured.”

 

In yesterday’s chapter, I added a bit to show the meaning of the Greek in verse 9. This was how we translated it in Indonesian, and it helps to understand the concept of a ‘place of rest’. 

9 So there is a special rest [— a spiritual rest that can be compared to ceasing work on the Sabbath day,] still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

Then the same chapter contains the wonderful verse about God’s word being living and active, and the encouragement to come boldly with our prayers before the throne of God.


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Saturday, October 25, 2014

DBRP_Oct26_2014 Eze24-25 Is8 Heb4


Yesterday in Ezekiel we heard the story of the two adulterous sisters, which were really the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem.

 

In yesterday’s reading, Isaiah was sent to Ahaz, and the message contains words that probably have had two fulfillments: “The virginf will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” This is one of those places where I would not see a New Testament conncetion unless the New Testament spoke of that connection.

 

For the second time yesterday we heard about God promising another day for the fulfillment of giving Israel a place of rest.


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Friday, October 24, 2014

DBRP_Oct25_2014 Eze23 Is7 Heb3b


In yesterday’s reading, we heard the Lord promise that he would refine Israel as purifying silver in a crucible. And then we heard the famous and poignant words:

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

 

Yesterday we heard the story of Isaiah’s vision of the glory of the Lord in the temple. Isaiah’s lips were purified with a coal from the altar. Then after hearing the Lord’s call, he said the famous words, “Here I am. Send me!” And the Lord revealed that his messages would not be received.

 

Yesterday we heard the quote from Ps. 95 that forms the basis for this section. The failure of the Israelites was their refusal to believe in the Lord and what He told them. Since this is an important chapter for background, we are reading it for the second time.


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Thursday, October 23, 2014

DBRP_Oct24_2014 Eze22 Is6 Heb3


Yesterday we heard of the sword of the Lord, which was to come to Jerusalem, actually in the form of the army of the king of Babylon. And there would be punishment also for the Ammonites.

 

In yesterday’s reading, we heard one of the famous chapters that relate to Israel as the Lord’s vine. This would have been in the minds of those who listened to Jesus when he gave his teaching about the vine bearing fruit in John 15. God said yesterday, “They will go into exile because they do not know me.”

 

In Hebrews 2 we hear the first of the writer’s warnings. These are a persistent theme in this book. And we first heard that Jesus is our perfect High Priest. Jesus is perfect for that position because he fully shared our human existence, and he suffered and defeated the devil’s power over death.


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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

DBRP_Oct23_2014 Eze21 Is5 Heb2


Yesterday we saw that the Lord was quite offended when unrighteous leaders of Israel came to ask for a message from the Lord!

 

Yesterday there was a temporary break in the clouds in Isaiah, and we heard the first hint about the Righteous Branch who was to come.

 

Yesterday we heard the amazing prologue in the first chapter of Hebrews. Angels are nowhere approaching the majesty of Jesus. And Jesus was given many glorious promises.


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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

DBRP_Oct22_2014 Eze20 Is4 Heb1


In yesterday’s reading in Ezekiel, the Lord refuted the saying that the Israelite’s were using, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.” And then Ezekiel conveyed two poems about the kings of Judah, spoken of symbolically as two lion cubs and like a vine.

 

Isaiah, like Ezekiel, also spoke of Israel like a vine, and in yesterday’s reading the Lord and Isaiah characterized Israel as a pampered, vain, and spoiled woman.

 

In heaven, I hope to find out who it was who wrote the book of Hebrews. The book doesn’t show signs of Pauline authorship. Important in this, there is no salutation like in all of Paul’s letters. Also, the writer does not claim to have been an eyewitness of Christ (2:3), as Paul claimed. The letter was probably written somewhat before AD 70, because even though the author talks much of the temple, he never mentions its destruction. 

 

Mears points out that the word ‘better’ occurs 10 times, signalling a theme that Christians have been given a better way. In the first chapter the theme is that Christ is supreme and far superior to angels.

 

For many years I wondered why the writer did not return to his theme of our ‘place of rest’, which he gives in chapters 3-4. Now I think that he does in fact return to that theme! See if you can find it as we read through! Note that Israel’s ancestors failed to enter the place of rest because of their refusal to believe God. And as Hebrews 11 show, we enter that place of rest through fully believing God. (That is what faith is!)


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Monday, October 20, 2014

DBRP_Oct21_2014 Eze18-19 Is3 Jude


Yesterday in Ezekiel we read the riddle of the two eagles, portraying Israel’s king breaking his sworn covenant with Babylon. There is a lesson here for us. Normally Babylon would be considered the enemy, and getting free from the enemy would be considered a good thing. But NOT SO if the country has made a promise of loyaltysealed by a vow taken in God’s name! Faithfulness to oaths and promises in God’s name take precedence over ‘business as usual’.

 

These famous words from yesterday’s chapter in Isaiah bear repeating today:

2 In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house

will be the highest of all—

the most important place on earth.

It will be raised above the other hills,

and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

3 People from many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of Jacob’s God.

There he will teach us his ways,

and we will walk in his paths.”

For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion;

his word will go out from Jerusalem.

4 The LORD will mediate between nations

and will settle international disputes.

They will hammer their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will no longer fight against nation,

nor train for war anymore.

 

We come today to the little epistle from Jude, the brother of Jesus. But, significantly, he doesn’t call himself Jesus’ half-brother. He calls himself the Slave of Christ Jesus. Jude wrote his letter around the same time as 2 Peter, sometime around AD 60-80. I think that Peter borrowed material from Jude, rather than the other way around. One thing that makes me think this is that Jude uses more material from extra-biblical sources than Peter does in 2 Peter 2. Jude and Peter were writing in a very difficult time for Christians, and Jude calls us to contend for the ‘faith’— the teachings that God has given to us to fully believe.

 


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DBRP_Oct20_2014 Eze17 Is2 Mat28


Yesterday’s chapter graphically portrayed how God considers idolatry like the adultery of a faithless wife. Jerusalem (as Judah’s capital) was compared to her two sisters, Samaria and Sodom.

 

In the first chapter of Isaiah, we heard the Lord compare Israel to Sodom and Gomorrah. And we heard how the Lord hates false religious rituals, including the sacrifices that were specified in the Law. If these are done without a corresponding attempt to live in God’s will, they are a stench to Him.

 

Yesterday’s reading ended with Jesus wrapped in Joseph of Arimethea’s shoud in a tomb, with Roman soldiers standing guard.


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Saturday, October 18, 2014

DBRP_Oct19_2014 Eze16 Is1 Mat27b


This book should make modern day ‘prophets’ reconsider what they do in the Lord’s name. In this book we have heard again and again that the Lord will punish those who prophesy falsely. And in the part about the wood of a vine being useless in yesterday’s reading, there is only one useful thing a grape vine does, and this is bear grapes. And since bearing the proper fruit has not happened in Israel, God will judge them. The complaints become even more graphic in today’s reading.

 

This one sneaked up on me. I thought we had at least one more chapter of Song of Solomon. 

 

Isaiah always marks the end of the year. We will be reading Isaiah in our poetry portions until December 31. I always enjoy the preparation this book gives for Christmas and also the correspondences with Revelation in the New Testament, which we also will read at the end of the year.

 

Isaiah was written between 739 and 681BC. I am of the opinion that the break in material at chapter 40 does not signal a different author. Isaiah simply was older and the Lord gave him different messages at the end of his life. Isaiah was a man of royal blood and of high standing. 

 

In the NT, Isaiah is the most frequently quoted OT book. Isaiah has 66 chapters and the Bible has 66 books. Further, Isaiah devides just where the testaments break, with 40 corresponding to Matthew in the NT. The first part of Isaiah deals with God’s judgment on Judah and on other nations. The senselessness of idolatry is preached against all the way through Isaiah. In Isaiah we can also see two comings for Christ, with Isaiah giving the wonderful 53rd chapter about the suffering Servant (Christ), and his coming in power is spoken about in chapter 34. 

 

Today we hear the second half of the crucifixion events.


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DBRP_Oct18_2014 Eze14-15 SS8 Mat27a


The title that the Lord calls Ezekial is Son of Man, which the Lord is using in the normal sense, meaning ‘ordinary human’. The title for Jesus is a special usage, and for that, check out Daniel 7. 

Note in yesterday’s reading when Ezekiel acted out how King Zedekiah would go into exile, Ezekiel covered his eyes. It was revealed to Ezekiel that Zedekiah would go to Babylon but not see it. This was fulfilled since Zedekiah had his eyes blinded after watching his sons’ deaths. This also fulfilled the prophecy against his sons.

 

Our last reading in Song of Solomon.

 

I imagine that as the high priest tore his clothes and shouted ‘blasphemy’ that his expression was not one of grief, but of triumph. And Peter recognized that Jesus was to be sentenced to death when he denied Christ.


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Thursday, October 16, 2014

DBRP_Oct17_2014 Eze12-13 SS7 Mat26b


In yesterday’s reading, the vision of the glory of the Lord left the temple. Then God disagreed with what the leaders of the Israelites were saying, that they were safe in the ‘pot’ of Jerusalem.

 

Yesterday’s chapter focused mainly on the young man speaking, and the chapter break is in an awkward place. Here is the last verse of chapter 6, leading to chapter 7:

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,

as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?

 

In yesterday’s reading we heard of the Last Supper, and Peter vowed that he would never deny Jesus.


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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

DBRP_Oct16_2014 Eze10-11 SS6 Mat26a


Yesterday we heard Ezekiel’s awesome vision of the glory of the Lord at the temple, revealing the idolatry of Israel. And God judged them by killing all those who did not get a mark on their forehead.

 

Yesterday we heard the young woman relating her dream.

 

Yesterday we heard Jesus’ direct and clear teaching about the final judgment. This was no parable. And note the words, “eternal punishment.”


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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

DBRP_Oct15_2014 Eze8-9 SS5 Mat25b


Terrible destruction is prophesied against Judah and Jerusalem. The trumpet will sound the battle call, but no one will get ready, because they are under God’s fury.

 

Yesterday the young man extoled the perfection of his bride.

 

Yesterday we heard the two parables, the one about the 5 wise and 5 foolish bridesmaids, and the one about the three servants left with bags of silver.


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Monday, October 13, 2014

DBRP_Oct14_2014 Eze6-7 SS4 Mat25a


In yesterday’s reading Ezekiel took a rasor and cut his hair and divided it into three parts with a little left over. This was used as a demonstration that a third of the people would die in the city from disease and famine. A third will be killed by the enemy outside the city, and the last third will be scattered by the sword. A small remnant will be saved.

 

Yesterday the woman had an extended speech. Today it is the man’s turn.

 

Yesterday was Jesus’ extended teaching about the end times and Jesus’ return.


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Saturday, October 11, 2014

DBRP_Oct12_2014 Eze2-3 SS2 Mat24a


 

Yesterday Ezekial described his vision of the four cherrubim, and the chapter ended just as Ezekiel started hearing a Voice.

 

Song of Solomon has many speaking parts for the woman, the man, and the chorus parts for people of Jerusalem or the other young women. I am finding it hard to read the voices in this book!

 

After a full chapter (chapter 23) of Jesus’ stern and harsh criticism and warning to his enemies, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, Jesus teaches his disciples about what will happen in the future. Some of these warnings are about what will happen to Jerusalem 70 years after Jesus was crucified. But will that prophecy be one of those things that will be re-fulfilled at the end times?


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DBRP_Oct13_2014 Eze4-5 SS3 Mat24b


In Ezekiel 2-3 God commissioned Ezekiel to speak for God to the rebelious people of Israel. God fed Ezekiel a scroll. This tasted sweet, but afterwards it produced bitterness. God said to him these important words:

10 …“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. 

 

The young woman tells her story in today’s reading.

 

Jesus said, “Immediately after those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light.” Just three days ago, in the evening, I was with the Orya people at a youth retreat. The pastor pointed out that the Bible says the moon will turn into blood (or be the color of blood). He had come from town and is not an Orya speaker. He told the people that he had seen that morning on the Internet that on that very night there would be a “blood moon”— or a solar eclipse where the mood would turn red like blood. And while he was speaking about that and other end-times signs, sure enough, it happened! Nothing like God managing a visual presentation for you! I have never seen a more moving sight.


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Friday, October 10, 2014

DBRP_Oct11_2014 Eze1 SS1 Mat23b


Yesterday we heard of the quick succession of the kings of Judah at the very end before the exile to Babylon: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And after the fall of Jerusalem, chapter 36 also told of the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Cyrus, who gave the decree to rebuild the Temple of God.

 

Ezekiel was not only a prophet, but also a priest. When he was 25 years old, he was carried into exile in Babylon allong with the upper class of people in 597BC. Ezekiel was no doubt a pupil of Jeremiah before Ezekiel was taken into exile. The 48 chapters of this book are divided right in the middle.

1-24 Pre-seige, prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem.

25-32 After the fall of Jerusalem, prophecies dealing with the punishment of Judah’s enemies.

33-48 Prophecies about the restoration of Judah.

Ezekiel is a book that is highly important for understanding the book of Revelation in the New Testament, because things that Ezekiel saw, John also saw. 

 

In this book called Song of Solomon, King Solomon extols how wonderful love is. This may be a series of wedding songs. (And Solomon needed such songs frequently!) The main question is: Is this book merely a series of songs calling for sexual faithfulness to one’s spouse? The allegorical interpretation goes back at least to the Puritan period, but probably much farther to the church fathers. However, it usually seems to me that making this about Christ and the church is a bit forced. I don’t think Solomon had Christ and the church in mind. However I think Jesus may have been inspiring things that Solomon did not know.

 

Yesterday we heard the first part of Jesus’ invective against the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. Jesus told the truth. In a way, it was a loving act, to warn them. He already knew that these were the very men who would crucify him.


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Thursday, October 9, 2014

DBRP_Oct10_2014 2Chron36 Ecc12 Mat23a


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DBRP_Oct09_2014 2Chron35 Ecc11 Mat22b

It is simply amazing that we have books like Deuteronomy, since we see that it (or perhaps Leviticus) was almost lost. And it shows how far Judah had slipped that they didn’t know of any copies. Josiah sincerely repented after hearing God’s Word.

 

Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes was mainly separate proverbs. Here is an example:

3 You can identify fools

just by the way they walk down the street!

 

Jesus told a pointed parable yesterday in the one about the King’s wedding feast for his son. And the people sent by the Pharisees with friends of King Herod failed miserably to trap Jesus.


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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

DBRP_Oct07_2014 2Chron33 Ecc9 Mat21b


The account in this book of Hezekiah’s victory through prayer over the vast Assyrian army is summarized in 2 Chronicles. It is much more dramatically related in 2nd Kings. Hezekiah’s experience with the envoys from Babylon can also be used as a spiritual parable for us. We need to be careful what we just accept as fate, without asking God for something better.

 

A nugget of exceptional wisdom from Solomon was in yesterday’s reading:12But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

 

In yesterday’s reading in chapter 21, we heard of the triumphant entry, Jesus cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree, and the question about what right he had to do such a thing like cleansing the Temple.


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DBRP_Oct08_2014 2Chron34 Ecc10 Mat22a


We are definitely in the back-and-forth pendulum period of Judah. After one fantastic king, the next two were terrible. And now Josiah is again like David.

 

Here is a highlight from yesterday’s reading:

11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

 

With the parable of the two sons and the parable of the evil farmers, we are in the portion of Jesus’ teaching where he both warns and confronts his enemies, showing divine wisdom that none can refute.


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Sunday, October 5, 2014

DBRP_Oct06_2014 2Chron32 Ecc8 Mat21a


Following that special Passover led by Hezekiah, the people went home and destroyed all the pagan shrines. And a good summary of chapter 31 is the last verse:In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful.

 

Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes included quite a variety of Solomon’s proverbs, including:

5 Better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

20 Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

 

The first will be last, the last first. I think we will be amazed at the justice of God’s rewards. And in some sense, we all will receive “a fair day’s pay.” The meaning of the parable is matched and furthered by the story of the mother of James and John and what Jesus said to them.


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Saturday, October 4, 2014

DBRP_Oct05_2014 2Chron31 Ecc7 Mat20


A sign of how far Judah and Israel had wandered from the Lord was that even the Passover was not celebrated. When Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover celebration, it was the start of a real revival.

 

I find it interesting that Solomon would say that everything has been decided beforehand:

10 Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

 

In yesterday’s reading, Jesus taught how evil divorce is, He blessed children (because they are so close to the kingdom of God), and He taught about the difficulty for rich people in this world to enter the Kingdom of God.


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Friday, October 3, 2014

DBRP_Oct04_2014 2Chron30 Ecc6 Mat19


Hezekiah led a wonderful spiritual revival which included the reopening and cleansing of the temple and the resumption of sacrifices. And he wasted no time in doing those things.

 

Solomon gave wonderful conclusions about happiness in yesterday’s reading. And he also observed that we leave the world as naked and empty-handed as when we came into the world.

 

Yesterday’s portion of Matthew 18 included the important parable about the king and the forgiven servant who did not forgive the debt of his fellow servant.


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Thursday, October 2, 2014

DBRP_Oct03_2014 2Chron29 Ecc5 Mat18b


Ahaz’s rule was one of the darkest chapters in Judah’s history. The people didn’t even bury him in the royal cemetary. He closed the temple and put up places to worship Baal all over the country. Even when under severe punishment from the Lord, he never turned to the Lord for help.

In yesterday’s chapter, I really like the passages that talk of having the companionship of 2-3 people.

Yesterday we heard the passage that deals with following Jesus with child-like faith. And we heard instructions for restoring broken relationships, and what to do if reconciliation is not achieved.


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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

DBRP_Oct02_2014 2Chron28 Ecc4 Mat18a


Yesterday we heard of the reign of Uzziah (who suffered a terrible punishment for his pride) and the reign of his son, Jotham. Both were basically good kings.

 

Yesterday we heard the famous chapter of Ecclesiastes which starts with

1For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

 

Yesterday in Matthew we heard the story of the mount of transfiguration, the shorter story of the healing of the demon possessed boy right afterward, and we ended with Peter catching a fish to pay the temple tax for him and Jesus.


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