Today's Reading: Isaiah 52:1-15In verses 1-12, the Lord calls on Jerusalem to prepare to receive the returning exiles. But the redemption that was promised here was only partially fulfilled in that day. The final and full fulfilment awaits the second coming of Jesus.Of particular note here is that the people are exhorted to purify themselves in preparation for the coming if the Lord. Obviously no ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Isaiah 11:1-18Since I didn't take time to do it yesterday, let me provide a brief introduction to the ministry of Isaiah. His ministry spanned the reigns of four kings of Judah from 739-681 BC. He brought God's word to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. The book of Isaiah provides us with the most comprehensive prophetic picture of Jesus Christ in the entire Old Test...  Read More

Today's Reading: Isaiah 9:1-21Today we begin a new section in our reading plan that we are calling "Anticipating an Eschatological Deliverer". Throughout the period of the prophets, we get glimpses of an eschatological savior-figure (a “Messiah,” though not always using that term) who will bring deliverance to God’s people.Like many of the prophecies of Jesus, this chapter has both a near term and...  Read More

Today's Reading: John 4:1-54The Samaritans were descended from the ten northern tribes of Israel who were not deported after the Assyrian conquest in 722BC. After the Babylonian exile they built a Temple on Mt. Gerazin. The Jews considered them to be "half-breeds" and by the time of Jesus they were held in low esteem. So when traveling, the Jews would travel all the way around Samaria rather than ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Haggai 1:1-15We saw reference to the prophet Haggai back in Ezra chapter 5. Under the direction of Zerubbabel and Joshua the Jews who had returned from exile began to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem around 537 BC. But after some opposition they became discouraged and stopped that work and turned instead to rebuilding their own homes. Haggai's ministry began roughly 17 years later ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 9:1-38This is certainly quite different than a typical worship service today, isn't it? The people spent a quarter of a day just reading God's Word. Then they spent another quarter of a day making confession and worshiping God. And it seems they did all that without coffee or refreshments!This is a great example of the importance of knowing God. This entire chapter is foc...  Read More

Today's Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-18As we noted earlier, Nehemiah led the fourth group of exiles back to Jerusalem in 444 BC and led the rebuilding of the city walls. With the project to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem complete, the community turns to the task of renewing their commitment to Yahweh. The events of chapters 8–9 begin about a week after the rebuilding was completed and take place over the...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ezra 6:1-22I love this chapter! God uses the letter sent by those opposed to the rebuilding of the Temple and turns it around on those who wrote it. Instead of stopping the construction, those who opposed it were actually required to help instead.Once again we see God's sovereignty at work. He can use even those who oppose Him and rebel against Him to help accomplish His will here...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ezra 5:1-17This passage narrates the restarting of the Temple building project in the second year of the reign of Darius I. There is a reference here to two prophets - Haggai and Zechariah. In the first chapter of Haggai we find God's command to rebuild the Temple, which was given to the people through Haggai. Shortly thereafter, some of the local leaders who opposed the rebuildin...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ezra 4:1-24Verses 1-5 record the response of the inhabitants of Judah to the efforts to rebuild the Temple. Many of those people had been born in the land during the Babylonian captivity and were afraid of losing their land and their influence.Verses 6-24 are a "parenthesis" in this account. By knowing the times of the reigns of the various kings mentioned in this passage, we can ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ezra 3:1-13Under the leadership of Jeshua (the equivalent of the name Jesus, which means YHWH is salvation), the altar is rebuilt, so that sacrifices can be made to God again. That was the first step in restoring proper worship. It was also a way of thanking God for restoring the people to the land. This is consistent with how both Abraham (Genesis 12:7) and Joshua (Joshua 8:30-31...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ezra 2:1-70To us, this chapter might seem long an boring. But for the book's original audience, it was important because they could trace their lineage back to these "heroes" who had take the first steps toward rebuilding the nation of Judah. I'm sure most of you took a calculator and added up all the number of the various groups and came up with a total of 29,818. which is 12,542...  Read More