Zechariah 3

God will be our guide.

WEEK  18                                             Zechariah 3

TUESDAY  Reflections

Here in Zechariah 3, Joshua the priest is set free from Satan, given new robes, and a crown is placed on his head. These show what God is going to do for this man in the role of the high priest. There is a catch. Joshua has something to do. He has to follow the ways of the Lord.

 

Though this is before the work of Jesus on the Cross we see that God's work in transforming man includes giving him something to do. God expects those He saves and cleanses to now walk differently. He expects them and us to live as He would want. The wonderful thing about life in Jesus is he gives us the power of God's Holy Spirit to help lead, guide, and empower us. This being said God doesn't save us to leave us where we are. He wants a better life for us.

Zec 3:1-10
(1)  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
(2)  And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
(3)  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
(4)  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
(5)  And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.
(6)  And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,
(7)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
(8)  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
(9)  For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
(10)  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

Rock Staar on Unsplash

Ezra 6

WEEK  18                                               Ezra 6  

MONDAY  Reflections

The tables have turned and now those who were fighting against the rebuilding of the temple see a threat laid against them by the King. Not only was the original decree enforced but now even more was going to be given to the restoration of the temple and its upkeep. The Jews were seeing the fulfillment of all that God had promised because they were faithful to obey God's prophets. So too when we obey God's commands will we see God's faithfulness. God even turned the king of Assyria (a staunch enemy) toward them. 

Ezr 6:1-22
(1)  Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.
(2)  And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:
(3)  In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;
(4)  With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:
(5)  And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.
(6)  Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:
(7)  Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.
(8)  Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.
(9)  And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:
(10)  That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
(11)  Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.
(12)  And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.
(13)  Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.
(14)  And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
(15)  And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
(16)  And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
(17)  And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
(18)  And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.
(19)  And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
(20)  For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
(21)  And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
(22)  And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Ezekiel 23

WEEK  17                                            Ezekiel 23

SATURDAY  Reflections

The issue for Israel according to God was, though they left Egypt the spirit they had in Egypt came with them (verse 8,21). For us today, this is what gets Christians in trouble, the spirit of Egypt(sin). Though God has saved them they try to hold on to the sins of their past. Christianity is supposed to be a change of heart and life. We are supposed to be a new creature not just saved sinners. God wants us to die to sin and live unto Him. If we don't we as Israel will face the consequences of our actions (verse 35).   



Eze 23:1-49
(1)  The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
(2)  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
(3)  And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
(4)  And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
(5)  And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
(6)  Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
(7)  Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
(8)  Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
(9)  Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
(10)  These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
(11)  And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
(12)  She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
(13)  Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
(14)  And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,
(15)  Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
(16)  And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
(17)  And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
(18)  So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
(19)  Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
(20)  For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
(21)  Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
(22)  Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
(23)  The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
(24)  And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
(25)  And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
(26)  They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
(27)  Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
(28)  For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:
(29)  And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
(30)  I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
(31)  Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.
(32)  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.
(33)  Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
(34)  Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
(35)  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
(36)  The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
(37)  That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
(38)  Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
(39)  For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
(40)  And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
(41)  And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
(42)  And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
(43)  Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
(44)  Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
(45)  And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
(46)  For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
(47)  And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
(48)  Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
(49)  And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Zechariah 2

WEEK  17                                           Zachariah 2

FRIDAY  Reflections

In the exodus from Egypt, God opened the door and caused Israel to be delivered. The plagues God brought actually made Egypt want to see Israel go. Yes, they left victoriously but there really wasn't an option to stay either. The exodus from Babylon would be different.

 

God has told Israel to deliver themselves from Babylon. This time the people of Israel had a choice. They could choose to stay or go. God's command was to return to Jerusalem, but it was up to Israel this time to get back home. He wasn't going to send a Moses or a cloud with a pillar of fire to lead them. This time it was up to them.

 

We too have a choice. We can come to Jesus or stay where we are. Now the door is open to the promised covenant to all who will choose to come to Him. No we don't deliver ourselves from sin but we do make the choice to come to Jesus. He does the rest. We have the freedom to choose. 

Choose wisely. 

Zec 2:1-13
(1)  I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
(2)  Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
(3)  And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
(4)  And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
(5)  For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
(6)  Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
(7)  Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
(8)  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
(9)  For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
(10)  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
(11)  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
(12)  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
(13)  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

2 Corinthians 13

WEEK  17                                      2 Corinthians 13

THURSDAY  Reflections

Paul's last words: Be joyful, grow, encourage, live in harmony and peace. We can understand most of these commands. Growing means learning and taking in the truth which causes us to be mature. Encouraging is trying to help one another to do what is right and to stay faithful. Living in peace and harmony can be summed up in trying to get along. To be Joyful isn't something you work for. This isn't really something we can do. We can’t build up joy, you either are or you aren't. Yet Paul names it first.

 

Paul didn't say be happy. There is a fun Bobby McFerrin song which tells us to be happy, but this isn't what Paul is talking about. There is some correlation to the song and how we can be joyful. The first is we don't worry. The second is we chose to be joyful, but this is found by choosing Jesus (this isn't in the song). Joy is found by walking in the Spirit of God for joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When we have joy, I believe, all the rest come easier, which could be the very reason God had Paul put it there 

2Co 13:1-14
(1)  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
(2)  I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:
(3)  Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
(4)  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
(5)  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
(6)  But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
(7)  Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
(8)  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
(9)  For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
(10)  Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.
(11)  Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
(12)  Greet one another with an holy kiss.
(13)  All the saints salute you.
(14)  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.

Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash