Read To Me Daily Semester 4Sample

MALACHI 1-2:
Yesterday we heard the very difficult conclusion to Zechariah. Chapter 14 started out with horrendous news for Jerusalem. But the Lord himself steps in:

Zec. 14:3 NLT Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart … 

We will see the following from Zechariah 14 very soon in Revelation:

Zec. 14:5c NLT “Then the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.
6 On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,
7 yet there will be continuous day! …
8 On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean,
flowing continuously in both summer and winter.”

We turn now to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. The name means, “my messenger.” There is debate as to the date of the writing of this post exilic prophet, but generally speaking it is true that there was a 400 year gap between this last Old Testament prophet and New Testament. It could be that Malachi prophesied in Nehemiah’s day. Both Malachi and Nehemiah dealt with priestly laxity (Mal. 1:6; Neh. 13:4-9), neglect of tithes (Mal. 3:7-12; Neh. 13:10-13), and intermarriage between Israelites and foreigners (Mal. 2:10-16; Neh. 13:23-28).”

Re-reading ISAIAH 65:
Note that Isaiah 65 starts with a verse that Paul quotes in Romans 10.

REVELATION 20:
After the judgment wreaked against Babylon (in Revelation chapter 18), we heard songs praising God’s justice in chapter 19. Then we saw the appearing of Christ riding on a white horse. Typical of John’s reticence to name deity, Christ is not named, but is beautifully described. Note that even Jesus has a name written on his person which only He understands. And like in John 1:1, Christ’s title is the ‘Word of God’. It is possible that this account of His appearing may not be in chronological order in its position following the destruction of Babylon. Although Christ’s army is mentioned, note how the victory is won by Christ alone.

Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, You are named Faithful and True, and the Word of God. You are King of kings and Lord of lords. You have the power to rule the nations and crush them like an iron rod crushes ceramic pots. The sword that comes from your mouth is able to kill all your enemies in one stroke. We rejoice with those in heaven at your victory, but our rejoicing is mixed with pity at the fate of those who do not follow You. Lord, please have mercy on us! We cry out for mercy because we are not ready for your victory. We personally mourn because of our own moral failures and mistakes. Please forgive us. And we mourn because of friends and relatives with whom we haven’t been loving enough to share how they may be saved. And like Isaiah said: All the while we have been wasting time, You have been ready to answer our prayers. Yet we have not prayed! You have been saying, “Here I am; I will help you,” and we have not asked You to help us. So we will ask You right now for those we care about who do not know You. Lord, help them to find You. And give us courage to speak to them about You.