Daily Readings:
1 Chronicles 22
1 ¶ Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;
4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
6 ¶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel.
7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:
8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto My name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
10 He shall build an house for My name; and he shall be My son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as He hath said of thee.
12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.
13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.
100,000 talents of gold equals 7,500,000 lbs. which equals 120,000,000 oz. At today price of $1751.55/oz, David’s stockpile of gold was valued at $210,186,000,000. ($210 billion)
1,000,000 talents of silver equals 75,000,000 lbs. which equals 1,200,000,000 oz. At today price of $34.00/oz, David’s stockpile of silver was valued at $40,800,000,000. ($40 billion)
15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.
16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.
17 ¶ David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
18 Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath He not given you rest on every side? for He hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before His people.
19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
Micah 1
Micah is the 4th largest of the minor prophets in the OT. Micah is quoted 5 times in the NT, once by our Lord. The most famous quotation (Matt 2:6) is from Micah 5:2, the verse that predicts that Christ would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah (there was another Bethlehem up north).
Micah has fondness for “paronomasia,” or more popularly, “punning”, a play on words. In Hebrew such writings of the OT have many plays on words. Micah presents in Micah 1:10-15 a famous example which some have compared with the Latin poet Cicero’s oratory. Unfortunately, this is one of the hardest types of literature to translate, since no two languages have the same sets of double meanings.
Micah means, who is like Jehovah, and advertises the fact that the prophet was a servant of the one true God. Like many prophets, he had the name for God (-el) or Jehovah (-yah) as part of his name. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, but from a lower social class. He came from Moresheth, near Gath, about twenty-five miles SW of Jerusalem.
Micah prophesied from about 740 to about 687 B.C., during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah. Though his main message was to Judah, Micah did predict the captivity of the 10 northern tribes which occurred in 722/21 B.C.
By the 8th century B.C. the old agricultural system in Israel and Judah, with its fairly even distribution of wealth, was gradually replaced by a greedy, materialistic, and harsh society that split the people sharply into the rich & poor. The rich land-owners got richer and the poor farmers got poorer causing the poor to migrate to the cities, which were characterized by poverty and vice alongside the rich. Business with pagan nations brought false religious cults and lower morals to the Jews. Against this dark background Micah wrote his prophecy centered around 3 cities: Samaria, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.
1 ¶ The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Samaria is the capital of the 10 northern tribes and Jerusalem is the capital of the 2 southern tribes.
2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
5 For the transgression of Jacob (all 12 tribes) is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Israel was acting like a harlot and all her supposed gains would be given to another harlot, Nineveh.
8 ¶ Therefore I (Micah) will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons (jackals) , and mourning as the owls (ostriches) .
Both animals were known to howl at night like the howling of humans.
9 For her (Samaria’s) wound is incurable; for it (the invasion by the Assyrian army) is come unto Judah; He (Assyrians) is come unto the gate of my (Micah) people, even to Jerusalem.
2 Kings 18:13, the Assyrians had taken Samaria and headed for Jerusalem, they came right to the gates and God turned back the Assyrians. However, 124 years later, Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians.
10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Gath at one time was the stronghold of the Philistines, means, do not let the enemies of the Jews know what has happened here because of her sin. The expression, ‘weep ye not…’, means, don’t even show any sign that judgement has fallen. Aphrah was a town outside of Jerusalem, it was hidden and out of sight. Micah is telling them to go there and roll yourself in the dust as a sign of your grief.
All of the cities to follow are located within Judah. Whatever sorrow you have expressed in Aphrah, do likewise is all of these cities.
11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir (beautiful) , having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan (abounding in flocks) came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel (firmly rooted) ; he shall receive of you his standing.
The expression, ‘pass ye away’, means, carried away into captivity. The last expression, means, Bethezel that once stood firm and helped others will not be able to help you, because, he can not help himself.
12 For the inhabitant of Maroth (bitterness) waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.
Maroth was living in sin, therefore full of bitternesses, but all the while looking for good from God. Picture of this wicked world!
13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish (strong) , bind the chariot to the swift beast (known for its fast horses, now, get on them and flee) : she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. (God charges her with being the first to import idolatries into Judah)
Lachish was one of the royal cities of the Amorites and one of its kings when out to battle with Joshua, Joshua 10:3. Lachish and Azekah in the future were alone remaining when Nebuchadnezzar had taken the rest just before he took Jerusalem. At this point it was the last stronghold that Sennacherib took when he had taken all the defensed cities of Judah and from here he sent his message to Hezekiah, see Isaiah 36:1-2.
14 Therefore shalt thou (Judah) give presents (bridal presents as in a dowry) to Moreshethgath (inheritance) : the houses of Achzib (means a brook that only has water in winter) shall be a lie to the kings of Israel (kings of Judah) .
Judah because of her sins, the land that God had given her from the pagan nations, now, she will have to give it back to the pagans. The idea is that God is pictured as a Father giving a dowry to the pagan nations to carry away his daughter.
The houses of Achzib was one of the oldest towns of Palestine having existed for 1000 years, now, in time of need she will fail like a winter brook in summer The expression, ‘shall be a lie’, means, what was always there will not be any more.
15 Yet will I bring an heir (the Assyrians-Sennacherib) unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah (inheritance) : he (the heir, the enemy) shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
As for Mareshah, what should have been an inheritance, because of her sin, all that will be left will be the foundation stones. Adullam was another town of Judah, very ancient, a royal city, but, it too will be taken. Adullam was known for its caves that offered protection, now, even here the enemy will find you.
16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
The few Jews left will shave their heads bald in mourning because of their precious children taken into captivity.
Luke 10
1 ¶ After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.
2 Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
16 He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me.
17 ¶ And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.
18 And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.
22 All things are delivered to Me of My Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.
23 And He turned Him unto His disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
25 ¶ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
38 ¶ Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
1 Peter 3
1 ¶ Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
8 ¶ Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16 ¶ Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
18 ¶ For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 ¶ The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.
Mediation of the Day: from Charles J Rolls’ book, ‘His Glorious Name’
