Day 263, September 20: Bible reading & prayer
Haggai 1-2 (chronological); Ecclesiastes 10-12, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 (OT/NT)
We have been reading Ezra, a book testifying of the fulfillment of prophecy, as it recounts the fulfillment of the word of the LORD to His prophets about the return of His people from exile in Babylon to Israel and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Yesterday we read of the rebuilding of the temple being stopped under force of arms, but then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah spoke, and the people began to rebuild. Today, we read the story from the book of Haggai.
We read two days ago that in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, fulfilling the word of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom saying he had been appointed to build the LORD, God of heaven, a house in Jerusalem and allowing survivors to return to Israel to rebuild the temple, with the vessels Nebuchadnazzar had taken, which he gave to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, another name for Zerubbabel, descendant of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who had been exiled to Babylon under Nebuchadnazzar. 42,360 of the sons of Israel returned to Jerusalem and Judah under this proclamation.
On the first day of their seventh month in Jerusalem, Jeshua [high priest] the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel [governor, grandson of Jehoiakim, descendant in the line of King David] the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it. In the second month of the second year after coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, the builders laid the foundation of the temple.
But yesterday we read that when the enemies of of Judah and Benjamin heard the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel, asking to build with them. When they refused them, the people of the land discouraged them, frightened them from building, and hired counselors to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, until the reign of Darius king of Persia. In the days of Artaxerxes, they wrote letters of accusations against them to the king. King Artaxerxes wrote back telling the governor to issue a decree for them to stop building. They stopped the Jews from building by force of arms, and work on the house of God ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
During the reign of Darius, when Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem. They were confronted by their enemies, the local authorities under the king of Persia, but God gave them favor and they did not stop them from building until they wrote a letter to King Darius and he replied.
King Darius issued a decree and search was made in the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon. They found the decree issued by King Cyrus, so King Darius replied to let the Jews rebuild the house of God, with the full cost, for materials and sacrifices, by the royal treasury “that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!’
When the temple was completed, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius, the sons of Israel celebrated its dedication with joy. They also celebrated the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, “for the LORD had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.”
Today we read the prophecy of Haggai which motivated them to build in defiance of the opposition of the people of the land.
An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here.
September 20 chronological reading: Haggai 1-2
Haggai 1
v1-11 “In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “This people says, ‘The time has not come, even the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt.’”’ Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.’ Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,’ says the LORD. ‘You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.’
v12-15 “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the LORD. Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people saying, ‘“I am with you,” declares the LORD.’ So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.”
Haggai 2
v1-9 “On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet saying, ‘Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? But now take courage, Zerubbabel,” declares the LORD, “take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,” declares the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” declares the LORD of hosts. “As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” For thus says the LORD of hosts, “Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the LORD of hosts. “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,” declares the LORD of hosts. “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,” says the LORD of hosts, “and in this place I will give peace,” declares the LORD of hosts.’
v10-19 “On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Ask now the priests for a ruling: If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?”’ And the priests answered, ‘No.’ Then Haggai said, ‘If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?’ And the priests answered, ‘It will become unclean.’ Then Haggai said, ‘“So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,” declares the LORD, “and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty. I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,” declares the LORD. “Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was founded, consider: Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.”’
v20-23 “Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, ‘Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, “I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another. On that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,” declares the LORD, “and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the LORD of hosts.’”
September 20 OT/NT readings: Ecclesiastes 10-12, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Today, we finish Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament reading plan. We first read Ecclesiastes 10-12 in the chronological reading plan on Day 171.
We are reading the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in the New Testament reading plan. Paul went to Corinth during his second missionary journey (see timeline of the book of Acts). It was the first place he remained for any length of time (18 months) until a disturbance was formed against him and he moved on. He had met Romans Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth, and he took them with him to Ephesus and left them there while he returned to Antioch. He returned to Ephesus at the beginning of his third missionary journey, staying over 2 years. He wrote what we know as the first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus. 1 Corinthians 5:9 refers to a previous letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians and 1 Corinthians 7:1 refers to their writing a letter in return, containing questions he addresses in this letter.
During his time in Ephesus, when he wrote what we know as his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul resolved to travel through Macedonia and Greece to take a contribution to the saints in Jerusalem. He spoke about this collection in the last chapter of 1 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians was written during these travels at the end of his third missionary journey. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:1, “This is the third time I am coming to you,” so there was another visit by Paul to Corinth about which we don’t have details.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians reprimanding them for divisions in the church, immorality, and incorrect handling of communion. He knows the reprimand of his letter caused sorrow. As I mentioned above, we get clues from his letter that he visited Corinth after he wrote it, with more reprimand causing further sorrow. He refers to the persecution he and those with him in Asia (Ephesus) endured, such that they despaired “even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:18), sealing his plan to leave Ephesus to travel through Macedonia and Greece. He had planned to go to Corinth (Greece) first, but decided not to return again and cause the Corinthians further sorrow. He is able to see a purpose in both his sorrow and theirs, declaring that the comfort we receive from God in our afflictions helps us comfort others in their afflictions. He explains the Corinthians should forgive the now repentant person who inspired his rebuke. He testifies of victory even in trying circumstances during his travels, making sure credit does not go to himself, but to the triune God. He explains that the ministry of the New Covenant, enabled by the Holy Spirit, is more glorious than the Old, and gives hope and boldness. He reminds that we can have confidence in a clear explanation of the gospel and should not veil it in any way. Those who do not understand it have had their minds blinded by the god of this world. He reminds that any power and effectiveness in ministry is due the work of the triune God in us. He reminds us to focus not on temporal affliction but eternal glory. We know by faith and not by sight, with God giving us His Spirit as a pledge, that once we are absent from the body, we will be home with the Lord, clothed in immortality. We aspire to be pleasing to Him, knowing we will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that we can be recompensed for our deeds, whether good or bad. We know the fear of the Lord and we are controlled by the love of Christ, so we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ, who has committed to us the word of reconciliation. As his ambassadors, we appeal to others to be reconciled to God. Paul addresses those who, “take pride in appearance and not in heart.” Following Christ is not easy. May we not receive the grace of God in vain. May we not be bound with unbelievers. May we “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Titus has visited the church in Corinth and brought a good report to Paul regarding their repentance and love for him. Paul gives them an update on the generous contribution to the saints in Jerusalem that he is receiving from the churches in Macedonia and encourages them to fulfill their commitment to this contribution. He is writing them, and sending Titus and another brother, ahead of his visit to help them prepare their contribution so that no one will be embarrassed when he arrives, especially if he has Macedonians with him to whom he has boasted about the Corinthians.
Paul then addresses the criticisms and boasting he’s obviously heard about from those outsiders who are affecting the Corinthian church and his relationship with them.
In the beginning of chapter 11 yesterday, Paul felt forced to compare himself to the boastful outsiders negatively affecting the Corinthian church. He explained his concern regarding these men: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” He implied they are preaching another Jesus, spirit, and gospel. They criticized Paul, who said, “I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge” and asked, “did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?…But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting…such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
v16-21a “Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.
v21b-29 “But in whatever respect anyone else is bold—I speak in foolishness—I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
v30-33 “If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.”
Dear Lord,
“take courage,” declares the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” declares the LORD of hosts. “As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!”
Give us courage when You call us to act, knowing that Your Holy Spirit is within us.
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
Help us be true to You, even when men accuse us, knowing that You see and know all things.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
"Help us be true to You, even when men accuse us, knowing that You see and know all things." Amen. Thank you Dr. Milhoan. Peace.