October 31

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Ezekiel’s Call and Mission

Ezekiel 2:1–3:17

O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?

Psalm 4:2 (ESV)

The Babylonians exiled many Israelites, among them, Ezekiel, the twenty-five-year-old son of a priest and a member of Jerusalem’s aristocracy. It was the second deportation of Jews into Babylon. The first had occurred about seven or eight years before, and included Daniel and his friends, who ended up in Nebuchadnezzar’s court.

About five years into Ezekiel’s captivity he experienced “the hand of the Lord upon him.” The vision threw him on his face in astonishment at the glory of the Lord and served as the prelude to his call to ministry. Ezekiel was to speak on God’s behalf to a nation of rebels, a stubborn people with a history of transgression and rebellion. In the symbolic language of Scripture (see Ezek. 2:8) the people had failed to open their mouths and eat the words given them by God. This failure was the cause of their current condition. Even so, the exiles had not learned their lesson and turned again to the Lord.

By contrast, Ezekiel did eat the word of the Lord and found it sweet. He would be compelled thereafter to speak that word clearly and forcefully to the disobedient people of God. The people probably would not listen, but Ezekiel was to give his message anyhow. The Lord would make him as stubborn for the truth as the people were stubborn against it.

Ezekiel was overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord and the responsibility God had given him to be a sentinel or watchman for God’s chosen people. But he would be faithful to his calling, conveying in both symbolic actions and words the glory of the Lord, the magnitude of the peoples’ rebellion, and the future God had in mind for those who answered his call to repentance. 

November 1

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The Lord Leaves His Temple

Ezekiel 8:3b–6; 9:3a; 10:4,18–19; 11:22–23

I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul

shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you

and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Leviticus 26:11–12 (ESV)

From the beginning of his work with Abraham and his descen-dants, God’s intention was to recapture a sense of the paradise that existed in the beginning—when he was dwelling in all his holiness with the people he created. The above passage from Leviticus is just one of many Scriptures that attests to this.

The tabernacle, and later the temple of Israel, served as the primary symbol of God’s presence with his people. This was confirmed immediately following Moses’s completion of the tabernacle when the glory of the Lord came to fill it (Ex. 40:34–38). A similar thing happened upon the completion of the temple by Solomon (2 Chron. 7:1–3). The presence of the holy and glorious God with his sinful but sanctified people was the main thing that distinguished Israel from its idol-serving neighbors.

The most difficult parts of Ezekiel’s message concern the disdain God’s people had for the privileges and obligations that attended their life with God. Ignoring these resulted in their separation from God’s presence, as dramatically pictured in Ezekiel’s vision of the departure of the glory of God from his temple.

First, Ezekiel describes the impossibility of reconciling the idolatry of Israel with the glory of God. Then he recounts the departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple, the very place that signaled God’s presence in Israel. The people might well have recalled these words from Moses’s final sermon: “On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed” (Deut. 9:12). Ezekiel’s message is that, but for the grace of God, the exile means a total rejection of Abraham’s descendants. 

November 2

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How Can God’s People Live in Exile?

Daniel 1:1–8

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

Psalm 137:4 (ESV)

The fall of Jehoiakim marked the beginning of the end for Judah, an end that would come a few years later when Nebuchadnezzar returned to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Already now, his removal of the precious articles from the temple in Jerusalem to his own idol temple in Babylon was particularly offensive.

This, together with the loss of their homeland, put Daniel and the other Jewish exiles back into a situation similar to what their ancestors had experienced in Egypt—before God had given them his law, a homeland, and a temple that represented his presence with them. Even as a young man, Daniel understood that the struggle between himself and Babylon was much more than a story of personal and national disaster; it was a war between God and sinful humanity, between good and evil; it was cosmic spiritual warfare.

Daniel knew right from the start that he had to resist becoming fully at home with the religion and culture of Babylon. He and his friends could do nothing about their new names, which honored Babylonian deities; it seems that they tried to cooperate as much as possible with their captors. But they tactfully took a conscientious stand against the food they were given. At least some of this food would have been from animals that were ceremonially unclean or else not prepared according to Hebrew dietary restrictions. Besides that, the first portion of such food was typically offered to Babylon’s idols.

Daniel and his friends were not where they wanted to be. But they were determined to remain faithful to the Lord. Their attitude and conduct illustrates the faithfulness and integrity that most of God’s people lacked—a lack that had earned God’s judgment and brought them into exile. 

November 3

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The Beginnings of a Life that Mattered

Daniel 1:9–21

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and

one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Luke 16:10 (ESV)

A life of faithfulness to God does not necessarily require a refusal to concede anything to those who live by another standard. It rather requires the wisdom to know what compromises must be resisted and to know how to avoid unnecessary hostility in the process of resistance. Jesus put it like this to his disciples: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).

When Daniel’s request for a different diet was denied by the chief official, Daniel went to the chief’s subordinate to propose a test whose failure would pose little risk to him. The man agreed, and in time Daniel and his friends passed the test; they were noticeably healthier than the young men on the royal diet.

Besides this, Scripture says, God gave Daniel and his friends knowledge and understanding so that they were ten times better than everybody else. This was not just a supernatural endowment, although there is some of that in the ability Daniel had to interpret dreams and visions. Knowledge and understanding usually comes to those who combine hard work with a wisdom that comes from a life of obedience to the Lord.

The superiority of Daniel and his friends is a hint of great things to come. But the last verse of the chapter gives another hint too. Daniel, whom many would try to destroy in the years ahead, would outlast both the king and the kingdom that captured him and tried to bend him to their will. He would live to see the edict allowing Israel’s exiles to return to their own land—a foretaste of the release from spiritual captivity that is found in Jesus Christ and that will be consummated at the end of time. 

November 4

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The Source of All Wisdom

Daniel 2:1–24

The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and

understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

Proverbs 2:6–7 (ESV)

Dreams were very important in Nebuchadnezzar’s culture; they were thought to be messages from the gods. Understanding them was key to achieving or maintaining power. So Nebuchadnezzar wanted some true wisdom about what his dream meant.

This was a problem, for Nebuchadnezzar knew that his so-called wise men weren’t all that wise, and that a lot of the wisdom they gave him was merely what they knew he wanted to hear. He determined, therefore, to have his advisors first tell him what he had dreamed and then give him its interpretation. It was an impossible task and put his advisors under the sentence of death.

When Daniel first heard about this decree, he did not have the answer the king wanted either. He and his three friends had been pronounced ten times wiser than all the king’s wise men, but they had no more knowledge than Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men about the dream. However, they did know the God who has all knowledge and power and they went to him in prayer. It was not clear to them what the Lord would do, but they knew that their only hope was in him. Therein lay the source of their wisdom.

Because of their prayers, God gave Daniel a vision of the dream and its interpretation. This is only the first of many times we are taught this lesson in the book of Daniel: God responds to those who truly pray. He even does the impossible at times. He does not always give the hoped-for answer as he did with Daniel, but he always has an answer that meets the needs of his people and his purposes. In this case God had much more work for Daniel and his friends—work that would testify of the glory of God both to Babylon and to the other exiles. 

November 5

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The Enduring Kingdom

Daniel 2:25–49

You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.

Lamentations 5:19 (ESV)

The great statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, as Daniel related and interpreted it for him, represented his powerful kingdom and three others to follow it. Although Daniel did not name any but the first, we now know that the Babylonians (gold) would be followed in succession by the empires of Medo-Persia (silver), Greece (bronze), and Rome (iron). The statue’s feet and toes seem to represent another form of the fourth kingdom (iron and clay), but there is less agreement about what this represents.

What is unmistakable, however, is what happens to all of these kingdoms of the world. Daniel speaks of a final kingdom—a rock cut out by divine hands—that crushes all the others, and ends up filling the earth. This kingdom, Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar, will never be destroyed.

Nebuchadnezzar realized immediately that Daniel’s ability to see and interpret what he had dreamed was because the dream had come from Daniel’s own God. The king therefore honored the Lord as superior to every other god and king. He showered gifts and important responsibilities upon Daniel and his friends in deference to the God they served.

This God, of course, is the one who establishes the final and enduring kingdom. Christ, the stone that the temple builders of this world rejected and refused to build upon, was not sent just to destroy everything in his path, but to prepare a place and a people for God’s eternal rule. Those who now serve him are no more powerful than were Daniel and his friends, who could do nothing but pray and live as God wanted them to. But all who are wise will align themselves with the one who has all the power, for God’s kingdom will overwhelm and outlast every one founded on earthly might and principles. 

November 6

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Delusions of Grandeur

Daniel 3:1–18

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

1 Corinthians 1:27 (ESV)

Evidently enough time had passed since Daniel had been honored and his God praised as “the God of gods and the Lord of kings” that Nebuchadnezzar could scarcely remember the anxiety that his dream had brought him. But he could hardly forget the giant statue with its head of gold. Perhaps that’s where he got the grandiose idea to build an enormous statue meant to represent and praise his greatness and command the worship of his people.

A great religious feast and festive music celebrated the occasion of the statue’s dedication. But there was a dark side to the celebration too: the burning, fiery furnace. The furnace showed the weakness of the very kingdom that the statue was built to celebrate. For the king’s power was the power of fear and intimidation, without which his kingdom would not stand.

Apparently Daniel was not present at the time, but his three friends, now with important positions in government service, refused to compromise their devotion to the Lord by worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold. They might have rationalized that they could do what the king wanted and still not lose their faith. But they declined to bow, even after Nebuchadnezzar gave them another chance, and after he reiterated the penalty of death for disobedience.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t refuse with the fatalism familiar to devotees of many religions, but in the faith that God would deliver them if it was necessary for the fulfillment of his purposes in Babylon. But, even if God did not deliver them, as they told the king, they could not compromise their allegiance to the Lord they served. Their message was clear: “Only God himself is worthy of the honor of receiving our worship.” 

November 7

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God’s Answer to the Prayer of Azariah

Daniel 3:19–30

And this is eternal life, that they may know you the

only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:3 (ESV)

We may be sure that Daniel’s friends persisted in prayer to God throughout their trouble. And we may be sure as well that their prayers were not primarily self-centered, but focused on the fulfillment of God’s purposes and the promotion of his honor (see v. 18). The apocryphal book, The Prayer of Azariah, testifies to this focus. Although it is not part of the canon of Scripture, the prayer of Azariah, who had been given the Babylonian name of Abednego, is consistent with the focus of biblical prayers.

Azariah praised God’s justice and lamented the sins of his people in departing from God’s ways. Although he and his friends were being punished for their failure to join in the idolatrous worship of Babylon, Azariah recognized that there was little difference between this worship and the previous idolatry of his own people, which had resulted in their exile. He knew that what the Lord wanted at that moment was the same trust he has always wanted, and the same result—that God’s people and people everywhere would come to see and praise God’s sovereignty over all nations.

Daniel’s friends undoubtedly wanted to live through their ordeal, but their primary focus was for the glory of God to be revealed. God answered both of these prayers. He delivered them from the fire without even the smell of smoke on them, and the king applauded God’s answer to his pretension, saying, “No other god can save in this way.” What’s more, the story of this deliverance has inspired many Christians since then to stand up for their faith. Although not all have escaped torment and death, they have taken comfort in the sure knowledge that, as followers of Jesus, they have received something much greater—eternal deliverance from the fires of hell. 

November 8

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Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimony

Daniel 4

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Submit yourselves, therefore, to God.

James 4:6b–7a (ESV)

Babylon was the most impressive city of its time, and much of its splendor was attributable to Nebuchadnezzar. So he probably would not have wondered about whom the majestic tree of his dream represented; it was himself. His wise men could have confirmed that too. But it was not the size and strength of this tree that made him afraid and his wise men silent about its meaning. It was the cutting down of the tree and the binding of its stump and roots, together with what happened to it afterward.

It was up to Daniel to tell the king that his royal authority, great as it was, would be taken from him. Along with this, Nebuchadnezzar would even lose his mind, becoming like an animal until he acknowledged the absolute sovereignty of Daniel’s God.

If Nebuchadnezzar believed Daniel’s words at first, he soon forgot them as his successes continued, and it was only after a year had passed that what Daniel said came true. Then the king experienced years of debasement and insanity before he came to recognize and renounce the pride that had kept him from understanding the true power behind his success. Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration began only when, as he put it, “I raised my eyes toward heaven.”

For Babylon’s king, and for everyone else, there’s a connection between looking to heaven and escaping the insanity of pride. It is not without reason that Christian tradition views pride as the original and most serious of all sins. Every other sin starts in the forgetting, ignoring, or rebelling against God’s sovereignty. Nebuchadnezzar learned this—his testimony at the end of his ordeal is a psalm-like hymn of praise to God, to whom no one and nothing can compare.  

November 9

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The Writing of God

Daniel 5:1–9

[Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

The events of this story occur more than twenty years after Nebuchadnezzar’s death. Belshazzar was co-regent with his father Nabonidus, who was leading Babylon’s forces against Cyrus and the Persian army. Whether Belshazzar was overly impressed with the might of Babylon, or simply too enamored of its pleasures, he seized the occasion to have a great banquet. At some point in the drunken revelry, he decided that it would be amusing to drink from the sacred cups taken from the Lord’s temple. Although Belshazzar had heard of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation at the hand of God, he did not fear to disrespect God in this. He had no inkling that God would accept his implicit challenge.

Belshazzar and his guests sobered quickly, however, when the fingers of a disembodied human hand suddenly appeared to write an incomprehensible message on the wall. It was the writing of God. The effect was staggering; the king went white as a sheet and his legs became too rubbery for him to stand. This was the first time Belshazzar had encountered God’s writing. His terror at it was undoubtedly reflected in the faces and attitudes of all the other partygoers.

Thank God that his writing is not always so perplexing; what he writes is accessible to those who seek him. Proverbs 14:6 says: “The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.” Thank God as well that his writing does not always proclaim such judgment and result in such terror; those things are for those who disrespect or defy God. But for those who seek him, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). 

November 10

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God’s Message for Belshazzar and Us

Daniel 5:10–30

Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Matthew 24:42 (ESV)

Upon the queen’s advice, Belshazzar called for Daniel and offered him great rewards to interpret the supernatural writing on the wall. Daniel was not interested in the prizes, but he complied, criticizing Belshazzar for several things:

·   Even though Belshazzar knew about the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar, he had not learned from it (v. 22).

·   He deliberately defied God, using the temple articles for his own purposes (v. 23).

·   He persisted in worshiping idols instead of the Lord (v. 23).

Belshazzar received no direct communication from God. Yet, God held him accountable for the truth that had been revealed to him. God’s word to him was as follows:

·   Mene: “Your time is up. I give everyone a certain allotment of time; yours is up.”

·   Tekel: “I have weighed your attitude, words, deeds, heart, and life on the scales of my perfect justice and have found you to be standing in opposition to me.”

·   Peres (the singular of Parsin): “It’s time for your reward. You have lived your life as if you believed yourself to be God, so I’m taking your life and your kingdom away from you.”

Scripture’s conclusion is brief and pointed. It doesn’t say whether Belshazzar scoffed or worried or had regrets after hearing Daniel’s message. That was beside the point for him because judgment had been passed. It’s a lesson for each of us. God numbers days, weighs hearts and deeds, and prepares rewards for every person on earth. Only if our desire and our future is tied up with God, then numbered days, weighed hearts and deeds, and negative rewards are not a matter for worry, for God’s kingdom will endure, and the writing on our walls will say, “You’re part of it.” 

November 11

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Daniel Meets Opposition with Prayer

Daniel 6:1–10

Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having

put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a

helmet the hope of salvation…Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:8, 17 (ESV)

Daniel distinguished himself in the service of Darius by his capability and by his honesty. In fact, he was something of a thorn in the flesh to the other government officials because of his unusual integrity. Unlike Daniel, these officials were much more concerned about power than about worship. Their scheme to bring Daniel down was borne more from envy and greed than from religious convictions. They feared that Daniel’s upcoming promotion would hamper their own ability to keep gaming the system. As a result, they concocted a plan to frame Daniel, a plan that involved his habits of prayer and devotion to the worship of God.

When Darius was approached by the administrators and satraps, he probably believed that they really were interested in seeking out possible traitors to the kingdom. But it also appealed to his pride and sense of rightness to have his people pray to no one but him for the next month. So, fooled by the plotters, Darius gave the plan his unalterable stamp of approval.

How much there was invested in this plot against Daniel. It was even more than the plotters themselves realized. Daniel’s service to God in a land of foreign rulers and gods had been accomplished only through a life of prayer. Indeed, prevailing in his task of spiritual warfare was impossible except through continuing prayer. Daniel knew that the edict that the king had been enticed into giving struck at the heart of Daniel’s ability to keep serving the Lord. Therefore, he refused to compromise and went on praying as usual. Prayer is indispensable for those who are truly engaged in the service of God. 

November 12

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The Law Is Twisted to Promote Injustice

Daniel 6:11–17

We know that for those who love God all things work together

for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

The laws made to ensure the well-being of the state and its citizens sometimes end up detrimental to the common good. No matter how well-designed laws are, they’re not invulnerable to the schemes of evil people. What John Adams, second president of the United States, wrote in a letter to the officers of the Massachusetts militia in 1798 might be said to people in our day: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. The Works of John Adams (Boston, 1854), vol. 9, pp. 228-229

If Adams was correct, then even if godly people succeed in their fight to honor and display standards like the Ten Commandments and the Constitution, this will not automatically help citizens to become more peaceful and law-abiding. This is not to say that we should abandon the fight for faithfulness to the Law of God and the national documents that to some degree are based on it, but people really need a change of heart before good laws will do what they’re designed to do.

So it was that Daniel’s enemies found a way to use the law to hurt one whom the king regarded as a friend, and not even the king could do anything about it. It appeared that evil had won the day, and the participants in the drama celebrated or lamented according to their beliefs. But we mortals are too often premature in both celebration and lament. How often we rejoice in some achievement only to see it come to nothing. And how often we lament injustice only to see God turn it to good. We too easily forget that the sovereign Lord will always find a way to work for the good of those who love him. 

November 13

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Out of the Lion’s Den

Daniel 6:18–28

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all

ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ

will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Philippians 1:20 (ESV)

I don’t know whether Daniel slept or not, but I’m quite certain he spent a more restful night than the king. Daniel surely prayed for his own deliverance, and God answered with the miracle of an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. Yet, the greater miracle was that what most concerned Daniel was not his own safety, but that the Lord would be honored and glorified in this situation.

That’s just what happened. Darius decreed that everyone should fear and revere Daniel’s God. How that must have encouraged the faithful worshipers of God scattered throughout that world. How that must have renewed their hope and confidence that God had not forgotten them, but would complete the coming salvation that Ezekiel and other prophets had spoken about. 

May God help all of his people to be so faithful, so steadfast in putting him first, and so given to lives of prayer. For God is the source of all our strength and hope for now and for the future. As we keep looking to Christ we may be sure that no matter what opposition is arrayed against the Lord and his people, it will end up like those who opposed God’s man, Daniel.

We may hope and pray for the conversion of the opposition rather than their destruction. That is just the reason that Christ came to earth—to reconcile such enemies to God, as happened with the apostle Paul himself (see Rom. 5:10) and the Christians in Colossae (see Col. 1:21). But there is also the warning of Hebrews 12:25—“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?” 

November 14

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The Four Beasts of Daniel’s Dream

Daniel 7:1–8, 15–25

Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

This is the spirit of the antichrist.

1 John 4:3 (ESV)

The second part of Daniel’s book records four visions he had over a period of about fifteen years. In them are many symbols, phrases, and numbers that are difficult to understand. However, although we may not be able to understand many of the details, the visions have a message for us.

Daniel’s vision of four beasts seems to be similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue. But the way Daniel tells the story, the last kingdom in this vision was considerably more terrifying than the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Most interpreters think this beast represents ancient Rome or Syria. The last of the ten kings of Syria was Antiochus Ephiphanes, who rose to his position by subduing three of the other kings. He especially seems to fit the description in that he was a great boaster, even bragging that he was God’s equal.

Even so, this beast may also represent a coming world ruler who will similarly speak against the Most High God, oppress God’s people, and in his madness, even dare to change the laws that God has ordained and that God alone has the power to change.

To a certain degree we already see this in today’s world; in many respects, traditional morality has been turned on its head. Our world has many antichrists who use their power to oppose the Lord and his people. But perhaps you can imagine this trend getting much worse with an ultimate Antichrist, totally sold out to Satan and devoted to overcoming the Most High God and his people (see 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3). It was enough to deeply trouble Daniel, and it is enough to trouble us as well—we who try to live our lives as much as possible according to God’s revealed will. Thank God there’s more to Daniel’s vision. 

November 15

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The Victory of the Ancient of Days

Daniel 7:9–14, 26–28

And [God] put all things under [Christ’s] feet and gave

him as head over all things to the church, which is his body.

Ephesians 1:22-23 (ESV)

Even while the little horn of the last beast (the Antichrist) was still boasting of his ability to withstand God, Daniel saw in his vision the place of authority over the universe and the Ancient of Days sitting on the throne ready to render judgment. He was attended by an unnumbered throng of angels. The apostle John later provided a similar description (see Rev. 20:12) and said that all of the dead were judged by how they had lived, as recorded in the books. But Daniel saw merely the judgment of the beasts.

God’s judgment shows that civilization is not on some inexorable upward trend in which things get better until humanity achieves utopia. Rather, God’s people, whom we know from the witness of the New Testament are expanding to include previous enemies of God, are finding increasing opposition from those who stand against God. The rift between gospel and anti-gospel is growing. But God’s judgment marks the beginning of the end for all who oppose him.

The first three beasts are deposed by God but allowed to live for a time while the fourth is killed and destroyed. In their place “one like a son of man” (a reference to Christ himself) was given all authority and the right to receive all worship. This may be a vision of the end of time but, in a real sense, Christ already rules and what happens today is part of what results in his final victory.

The unmistakable message of the vision, despite the fear that it produced in Daniel, is that the Most High God is in control, even when his opposition seems most successful. God’s people, therefore, may be sure of ultimate victory; the power of God himself stands behind his promises and those who live by them. 

November 16

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Getting Ready for the Antichrist

Daniel 11:21–12:3

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 

1 John 2:22 (ESV)

Daniel’s vision predicts the rise to power of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, ruler of Syria from 175 to 163 BC. Most of the ancient rulers before him were not overly concerned to change the religion of those they conquered, but Antiochus demanded conformity of belief. The Jews had more trouble than anyone with this demand, and therefore endured the most persecution.

Verses 30 and 31 speak of the vendetta of Antiochus against the religion of the Jews—capped by his installation of a statue of the Greek god Zeus in place of the altar. In the so-called Maccabean rebellion that followed, thousands of Jews were slaughtered. But eventually Antiochus was overcome and the temple was cleansed.

This might be just another interesting story, except for verses 36 and following, which describe a coming person who carries the pride, violence, and blasphemy of Antiochus to the extreme. He, it is believed, is the Antichrist, who will bring an unprecedented time of suffering for the righteous (see 12:1). Yet, his end will come (11:45) and God’s true people will be delivered (12:1b) together with the righteous dead who will be raised to everlasting life (12:2–3). But others—those whose names are not written in the book of life—will rise to be condemned, sharing the fate of their leader.

This vision given to Daniel is important for God’s people to remember, not so we can uncover all of the details of God’s plans for the end days of the kingdom of this world, but so we can understand and remember the purpose and end of history. In this way we can prepare to live in such difficult times without losing our way or succumbing to the lures or threats of deceivers small or big. The wise will learn and adjust their lives accordingly. 

November 17

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The Stimulus for Effective Prayer

Daniel 9:1–3

This is the confidence that we have toward [God],

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1 John 5:14 (ESV)

This part of Daniel’s vision is especially valuable to help us see one way that God calls all of his people to be involved in the agenda of his heavenly kingdom. I speak of prayer. Not all prayer is effective in spiritual warfare like that Daniel faced and which we will face until the end of time and God’s final victory. So we must know what stimulates and characterizes effective prayer. 

What stimulated Daniel was examining the events of his day in the light of the Scriptures. The particular Scripture that caught his attention was Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile of Israel would last seventy years. The seventy years, Daniel discovered, was just about up. It was that very truth that motivated him to plead with God for the fulfillment of God’s promise.

The beautiful thing about Daniel’s prayer is that the issue at stake was the Lord’s cause. Daniel didn’t have much to gain personally from a return to Jerusalem; he was too old. But he had his mind on greater things. He knew that the exile of God’s people had brought the Lord’s stated purposes into question. God had set apart his people as his special possession and to be a testimony to the nations of the way life was supposed to be lived. So Daniel knew that asking God to show his saving grace and complete what Jeremiah had prophesied was a prayer sure to be answered.

For us too, prayer is not just to tell God what we want. God does allow and even encourage us to ask him for things, with the understanding that it is our goal to conform our will to his. But, more than this, prayer that is inspired by and consistent with Scripture is the way we cooperate with God to bring his plans and purposes into reality. 

November 18

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The Content of Effective Prayer

Daniel 9:4–19

Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive…the lowly and…the contrite.”

Isaiah 57:15 (ESV)

Daniel began his prayer with confession. He knew that his people were in exile because they had ignored and resisted God. Even though Daniel did not personally commit these sins, he took responsibility for confessing them on behalf of his people.

What had started out as sins of neglect had led to active rebellion against God. Soon, not even God’s special messengers, the prophets, were taken seriously. Daniel made no attempt to transfer blame. He knew that although the Babylons of the world will not escape their own responsibility, shifting blame misses the lesson that God wants to teach his people. God wants us to see that evil rewards always follow sin. Confession of sin, therefore, is always the first step in helping people regain wholeness and make God’s agenda their own.

After Daniel asked for forgiveness for himself and his people, he asked for deliverance and restoration. He was convinced now—after confession—that God would regard the restoration of Jerusalem as a matter of his own honor. The Almighty God is the only one who can protect his honor and he always does it, for he cannot be unfaithful to his promises, especially where unconfessed sin no longer stands in the way. God has placed his name on the heads of those whom he has redeemed and he will not treat his name lightly.

In our day too, we need to take care of our own relationship with God through regular confession of sin and repentance. Then we may pray confidently for the restoration and revival that God has promised his people, and that will make us a blessing to our world. 

November 19

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God’s Answer to Effective Prayer

Daniel 9:20–23a; 10:12–13

They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say,

“They are my people;” and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”

Zechariah 13:9b (ESV)

It may be that God sometimes acts apart from prayer, but we don’t see much evidence of that in Scripture. Quite the opposite, we see in Daniel’s case what is often implied: God acts in response to godly prayer, and he does so immediately. Gabriel tells Daniel, “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given.” The messenger of chapter 10 confirms that: “Since the first day…your words were heard.” To be sure, Daniel had to wait for God’s answer and to receive what he prayed for. God sent Gabriel immediately, but we aren’t told how long it took him to get there. In the case of the messenger of chapter 10 it took three weeks of spiritual warfare.

There’s a connection between prayer and what happens in heaven. Communications between God and his faithful servants are so important that the demon princes of Satan will do all they can to break the connection, even waging war against the angel messengers of God. Our part in all this begins as we become broken and repentant before God on account of our sin. Everything flows from that—all restoration, all victory, all life. God always responds to repentant prayer, and from what we see in Daniel, it seems he responds quickly, even immediately.

As long as Satan and his partners remain active on earth, there will be hindrances and delays in the delivery of God’s answers. Continuing prayer, then, is our way of cooperating with God to make sure his answers get through. It is certain that God will accomplish what he wants to accomplish and that all his promises will be fulfilled. All the same, knowing this should lead us to pray. It did for Daniel, and it must do so for all God’s people however long this spiritual war continues. 

November 20

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Some Exiles Return Home

Ezra 1—3

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was

filled with laughter, and our tongue with songs of joy.

Psalm 126:1–2 (ESV)

A beginning of the answer to what Daniel had prayed for in the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede was seen within two years, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia. (Darius was either co-regent with Cyrus or reigned for only a year or two.) 

The land that the exiles went back to was much poorer than the one they had left even though they returned with the blessing of Cyrus and articles from the temple. Many of Judah’s cities had been torn down and most of the residents lived in villages and rural areas. Various non-Jewish tribes had also taken up residence in the land and would not easily give up their claims.

The spiritual challenges were even larger. Would these few returning exiles be able to reestablish the true worship of God in this land, which retained only a fragment of its former glory? Or would they compromise with their new neighbors and assimilate into the culture?

The priestly leadership of Israel seemed to have a good grasp of the dangers and possibilities the returnees faced. One of the first things they wanted to do was begin rebuilding the temple and reestablishing the sacred feasts and sacrifices of the Lord. They understood that only as their lives centered on the law of God and his presence with them would all God’s promises be fulfilled and their rightful status and inheritance be achieved. They were intent on avoiding the sins that had sent their forebears into exile. It was the very thing for which the prophets had longed—that God’s people might have learned their lesson from God’s judgment through the Babylonians, and never again dishonor the Lord by idolatrous compromise. 

November 21

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The Returning Exiles Endure Opposition

Ezra 4

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of contempt.

Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of

those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 123:3–4 (ESV)

The returning exiles (mainly from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) had their hands full with the dual work of making a living for themselves and rebuilding God’s temple. Their neighbors offered to help rebuild the temple saying that they also desired to serve the Lord. This offer came from the Samaritans, who were the result of intermarriages between Jews who had been left behind at the time of exile, and their idol-worshiping neighbors.

However, the leaders of Israel recognized the self-interest in the offer of the Samaritans and the threat they posed to the viability of the community. The Samaritans used golden calves in worship, the very same idolatry that had contributed to the exile of God’s people from the Promised Land (see 2 Kings 17:24–41). They also denied the importance of Jerusalem as the holy city of God, and had selected a more convenient site as substitute—Mt. Gerizim. This would still be a significant bone of contention in Jesus’s day (see John 4:20). Israel’s leaders, therefore, refused the offer of help; they didn’t want anything to hinder their effort to worship God as he desired. The returning exiles were determined to realize the full benefits of their inheritance from him.

Israel’s neighbors did not take the rejection well. They harassed the settlers and hired lobbyists to plead their case to Cyrus, alleging that the Israelites were rebuilding the rebellious city of Jerusalem. It was a half-truth that resulted in a stop-work order from Cyrus. To the returning exiles, who wondered before whether they could ever again be the people God intended, this was a major setback. 

November 22

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The Need to Put God First

Haggai 1—2

Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and

without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)

For more than a decade, work on the temple remained at a standstill, although the people made some progress in other areas of reconstruction. Even so, they were repeatedly frustrated in their rebuilding efforts. Poor harvests kept them from experiencing the God-blessed plenty that they hoped to have in this new chapter of God’s work with them.

The word of the Lord came to Judah’s leaders through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai gave them God’s message explaining their poor harvests—they had failed to complete the rebuilding of the temple. He said, “What you brought home, I blew away…because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house” (Hag. 1:9).

The temple represented God’s presence with his people. It was the only authorized place to offer the sacrifices that atoned for the sin of the people and made them clean enough to live in the presence of God. This was no arbitrary condition, but an essential one, although that requirement would one day be satisfied by the one-time sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The apostle Peter puts it like this: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, made no excuses for their negligence, but rather put the people back to work rebuilding the Lord’s temple. In turn they received the Lord’s assurance that they would be able to measure the increase in material and other blessings from that day forward. Today, too, all those who put the Lord first will surely see blessings multiplied in their lives. 

November 23

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Proper Worship Is Restored in Judah

Ezra 5—6

I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans

for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

In the second year of Darius the Great, Haggai received the Lord’s instructions that his people should get back to work on his temple. By God’s grace they got permission for this and also financial help from Darius. Far from being worried about the earlier warnings of rebellion, Darius believed that he would be blessed by the prayers of the Jews for his well-being.

With this help, the Israelites completed the temple in four years, and once again offered sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem according to the provisions of the law of God. They also observed the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, confessing that it was God’s power that had convicted the king to assist them in this work of the Lord.

To be sure, this temple was only a transitional version of a more glorious one to come. Zechariah foretold a future descendant of David who would build the Lord’s temple (Zech. 6:12–13). Surprisingly, he would be both king and priest, unlike any of the kings of ancient Israel who preceded him.

That’s just what happened too. God maintained his covenant with David through fifteen successors to the throne until the exile and through the years after the exile until the coming of Jesus, who was of David’s line. As a priest of Almighty God, Jesus offered the priestly sacrifice for sin—himself (see Heb. 10:12). And then, having overcome death by his resurrection, he ascended into heaven from where he rules as king over the whole world, working to create a suitable dwelling place for Almighty God. This, by God’s will, is not a building but a people. In Christ you, too, are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (see Eph. 2:22). 

November 24

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Esther Becomes Queen

Esther 1—2

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you

into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf,

for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV)

Although some of the Jews had been allowed to return to Judah and reestablish a foothold in the Promised Land, many more remained in exile in Persian-controlled lands. Among these were Mordecai and his cousin and ward Hadasseh, whose Persian name was Esther. They lived during the time of Xerxes, son of Darius the Great.

Although there was no official policy against the Jews at this time, it was safest not to stand out as a Jew. Even so, Mordecai and Esther feared the Lord, and Esther had been taught from childhood about God’s will for his people.

Esther came to the king’s attention after he had deposed his own queen for insubordination. Because Esther won his favor more than any other candidate, he made her his new queen. It was a prestigious position for such an outsider, although no one knew of her Jewish ancestry. Xerxes may not have cared about this anyway, but it mattered to some other people in the kingdom, and Esther’s secret turns out to be important for the story.

Esther was in a position of some power, although, as she knew from what had happened to the previous queen, that power was totally dependent on the continuing favor of the king. So it was that she was well-positioned to pass on the news of a conspiracy against the king that Mordecai overheard one day.

Even though the name of the Lord is never mentioned in thisbook, it is clear that Mordecai and Esther had the integrity expected of those devoted to observing the law of God. As part of their duty to God, they sought the welfare of the authorities that God had placed over them. 

November 25

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Haman’s Vendetta

Esther 3:1–4:3

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take

counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.

Psalm 2:2 (ESV)

One day, Mordecai got into trouble with Haman, one of the king’s officials. Haman had taken full advantage of his status, expecting everyone to bow down to him when he passed by. Everyone obeyed except Mordecai who, just like Daniel and his friends, saw God alone as worthy of such honor.  Besides this, Mordecai knew that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, who had tried to destroy God’s people in the days of Moses and who remained a threat in Saul’s day.

That wasn’t merely a struggle between two nations; the Amalekites had acted as Satan’s agents in an attempt to destroy both Israel and God’s plan for the world. After this, God himself gave the command that his people should “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Deut. 25:19). As a faithful follower of God, Mordecai could not honor a sworn enemy of God.

The result was predictable; Haman became enraged. Learning that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman determined to seek revenge against him and all his people. To that end he misrepresented the threat they posed to the king. Haman was correct that the Jews had different customs than Xerxes’s other subjects, but he lied about them being disobedient and disloyal to the king. But, the king trusted Haman that it was not in his best interest to tolerate the Jews. Xerxes told Haman to do as he pleased with them.

What Haman wanted to do was the very same thing that his ancestor Agag had wanted to do in the time of Moses and Joshua: kill all the Jews. The news of Haman’s order was a terrible blow to Mordecai and the Jews throughout the kingdom. They mourned not only for what this meant personally, but for what it meant for all God’s promises. 

November 26

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Esther Risks Her Life for Her People

Esther 4:4–5:14

Do not fear what you are about to suffer…

Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revelation 2:10 (ESV)

Esther was deeply distressed by the news of the king’s order. Still, she was reluctant to put her life on the line by informing the king what Haman’s order meant to her and her people. But Mordecai would not accept her excuses. He undoubtedly had God’s sovereignty in mind when he admitted that relief and deliverance could come from another place. Yet, he was sure that this truth did not relieve Esther of her responsibility. He believed that if anyone was in a position to do some good—such as Esther was—then she ought to seize that opportunity, even at the risk of danger to herself.

Mordecai did not know for sure if Esther would be able to help the Jews. Nor did he know if she might get into trouble by attempting it. But he did tell Esther that perhaps God had arranged things so that she was in a position to save her people. With that, Esther agreed, asking only for fasting and prayer support for the ordeal ahead.

In the meantime, Haman raged all the more against Mordecai and his people. He made plans that were opposite to those Esther was making.

When God’s people take a stand for him and his kingdom, it is never safe; it will even incite opposition. But we do well to remember Mordecai’s point of view and Esther’s faithful response, as well as her prayerful preparation. It is not for us to say how God might act through us, even if we feel unqualified for such service or threatened by the potential results. We need only to be obedient in using our positions and responding to the opportunities God puts before us. When we do this, we can be certain that, whether we live or die, the Lord’s cause will be advanced. 

November 27

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God’s Judgment and Salvation

Esther 6—10

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows,

that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh

will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows

to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Galatians 6:7–8 (ESV)

Esther’s efforts were successful, and wicked Haman and his supporters got what they deserved. Not only were the lives of God’s people spared, the Jews also received the king’s permission to form a militia to protect themselves against attack. It was a great victory for the Jews of Persia and became the occasion for a celebratory feast that continues to this day (Purim).

Today we may be a little conflicted by this story. On the one hand, we rejoice whenever the good and innocent prevail over the evil and guilty. We like to see the power of evil people taken away and enjoy hearing about the rewards that came to Esther and Mordecai. We applaud the protection from racist abuse that the Jews came to enjoy. On the other hand, we cringe at the violence and wholesale killing that accompanied the victory of God’s people. It may seem too much like unhealthy revenge.

However, we should understand just what was at stake. This was yet another episode in the spiritual warfare that began with Satan’s aspiration to make himself like the Most High God and Satan’s subsequent fall from heaven (see Isaiah 14:12–14 and Ezekiel 28:12–18).

For God’s righteousness to prevail, evil must be judged, and for God’s beloved people to be saved, all those who persist in following the ways of Satan must be condemned. We may be grateful, therefore, that by God’s grace his final judgment is postponed (see 2 Peter 3:9) so that more of those who are now witting or unwitting tools of Satan may have the opportunity to repent and come to God through Christ for salvation. 

November 28

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God’s Sovereign Power

Psalm 2

O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven?

You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand

are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

2 Chronicles 20:6 (ESV)

The book of Esther does not refer to God, but he is clearly the one who saved the Jews from their enemies through Mordecai and Esther. What happens here is a good illustration of Psalm 2: Although the high and mighty of the earth conspire to establish their own standards and power at the expense of the Lord and his people, God’s sovereignty over them is undeniable.

God laughs at the presumption of those who oppose him.  No matter how solid they appear, none of these people, ideals, or governments will last. They threaten and boast but, even while they expand their territory, their foundations are being undermined.  For God has installed his son as king already and is even now making the nations an inheritance for Christ. The claim to power of God’s opposers is as fragile as pottery struck by iron. 

Psalm 2 does not, however, just announce the defeat of all who oppose the Lord; it also calls everyone to repentance and faith. It invites the rulers of the earth and all others who oppose the Sovereign God to be wise and turn to serve him instead of opposing him. In this way they will find blessing in place of the judgment that overtakes all who persist in rebellion.

The conversion the Psalmist had in mind is not to a faith that functions only in private or in company with others of like mind. Nor is it a faith ignorant of direct and personal communication with the Lord. It is rather a living faith, applicable to all of life’s situations and problems. It is a faith that takes seriously God’s call to wholehearted love and service. It is also a faith, although this psalm does not mention it, which is evangelistic, broadcasting God’s call for everyone to serve him and rejoice in his rule. 

November 29

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Ezra’s Return from Exile

Ezra 9:1–10:17

You shall not intermarry with [idolaters]…for they would turn away

your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

Deuteronomy 7:3–4 (ESV)

More than a decade following the events described in Esther, Ezra, a priest and expert in God’s Law, led another contingent of Jews back to their homeland. In this they had the approval and financial support of the king of Persia (Ezra 7:13–16).

With their new attention to the law of God, the returnees soon came to realize that they had violated God’s law against marrying idol worshipers. This very thing had been a major factor in Israel’s downfall. (Consider King Solomon, who had appeased his foreign wives by building temples for their gods, and whose own heart was led astray in the process, and King Ahab, who wasn’t too pure in the first place, but whose marriage to Jezebel had ensured disaster for himself and his people.)

God’s prohibition had less to do with ethnicity than with the religious practices of the foreigners. In fact, those who put away their idolatry and worshiped only Yahweh were regarded as part of the covenant people of God. Rahab, the former Canaanite prostitute from Jericho, and Ruth, the former idolater from Moab, are two examples. 

The decision of Ezra’s community was that foreign wives had to be sent back to their families of origin. Perhaps some avoided this through conversion; for those who did not, we can only imagine the resulting family disruption and hardship. This is not what we would do today. Although the Apostle Paul counseled against being unequally yoked with an unbeliever (1 Cor. 6:14–15), he also advised against divorce in such cases (1 Cor. 7:12–14). But the returning exiles’ decision in this matter is a sign of how intent they were on following God’s law. 

November 30

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Nehemiah’s Prayers for God’s People

Nehemiah 1

 Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples

and assemble you out of the countries where you have

been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 11:17 (ESV)

Nehemiah was a Jew, still serving the Lord as a member of the exilic community in Susa. He knew of the return of Ezra’s contingent to Jerusalem thirteen years earlier and was always eager to hear how they were doing. He was in a position to hear such news, for he lived at court as a cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah heard, to his distress, that the people in and around Jerusalem were having a lot of trouble; they hadn’t been able to rebuild their lives. The great gaps in Jerusalem’s walls and its burned gates left the people vulnerable to attack. This distressed Nehemiah, for it was his great hope that his people would once again enjoy the blessings of God in the Promised Land. In his grieving he devoted himself to a season of fasting and prayer.

 Notice these features of Nehemiah’s prayers:

·   They showed humility and his recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness for himself and his people.

·   They were unselfish; he thought of God’s honor and the threat to God’s promises.  He knew that Jerusalem’s broken walls were a sign of the broken Kingdom of God. But he also prayed long and hard that God would restore his people to their rightful place for his glory.

·   They did not put limits on God’s timing or methods. Nehemiah kept praying, waiting, and believing, knowing that God would answer when the time was right. He was also open to God using him, and he made himself available to God.

Nehemiah’s prayers would not only be effective for his day; they still serve as an excellent model for our own prayers. Such God-centered prayers honor God and can expect his reply. 

December 1

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Wholehearted Dependence and Trust

Psalm 123

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

Proverbs 15:8 (ESV)

This psalm expresses the kind of attitude Nehemiah had when he came to God with his concerns for the troubles of his brothers and sisters back in the Promised Land and for the sad state of Jerusalem’s walls. We don’t know for sure that Nehemiah knew this psalm, but the dismay he felt over the harassment and ridicule doled out by Israel’s enemies is certainly reflected here. Nor was Nehemiah’s concern merely for himself and his people; it was for the honor of the Lord of heaven whom they represented.

This psalm makes clear that all authority resides with the one whose throne is in heaven; there is no higher authority than God. On the other hand there is probably no one more dependent or lacking authority than slaves, who have no life of their own. In ancient times slaves were typically not allowed to carry weapons, even for self-defense. They did not dare to respond to insults or violence without permission; they had no defense unless their master would protect and defend them.

When this psalm was written, it was the custom for household slaves to stand with their hands crossed on their chests and their eyes fixed on their master, alert for the smallest sign of his desires. But the slaves of this psalm look for something more than orders; they look and hope for mercy, for relief from the contempt and ridicule they have suffered because of their enemies. 

Psalm 123 combines an expression of faith in God with an attitude of complete dependence on him. In doing so, it vividly contrasts this attitude with the arrogance, pride and supposed independence of those who are not the Lord’s servants. This psalm, therefore, remains an appropriate prayer for any of God’s people today who find their ways blocked by spiritual opposition. 

December 2

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Nehemiah’s Prayers Are Answered

Nehemiah 2:1–10

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence

before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because

we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

1 John 3:21–22 (ESV)

One day, after Nehemiah had persevered in prayer for some time, God opened the king’s eyes to notice that something was troubling Nehemiah. When the king asked him about it, Nehemiah became very afraid; the king had never spoken personally to him before. But he did not second guess his conviction that this was God’s answer to his prayers, and Nehemiah told the king what he’d been praying for. Afterwards, the king authorized him to travel to Jerusalem and supervise the rebuilding of its walls.

Some people don’t believe that prayer actually does any good. They say, “Go ahead and pray if it makes you feel better. But don’t tell me it really changes things. Do you actually think that you can get God to change his mind or pay special attention to your requests? Don’t be silly. Prayer is like talking to yourself; if it has any effect, it’s because of the power of positive thinking at work.”

But that’s not the message of Scripture. Nor is it the truth that long experience has taught God’s people. The Bible says, and God’s people have learned, that prayer does change things. In fact, every work of God’s power through me and you has to begin with prayer. Nehemiah’s story is a case in point.

Like Nehemiah, we may dare to approach God in unselfish and obedient prayer, asking in confidence for things that we know are on God’s heart, because our God, using those who approach him and many other resources at his disposal, does change things for the advantage of his kingdom and the praise of his glory. He alone deserves the credit, but we may be agents of his saving grace through our prayers and the obedience that follows them.

December 3

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The Walls Rebuilt Despite Opposition

Nehemiah 4:1–23; 6:15–16

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 (ESV)

Nehemiah wept when he first received word about the sad state of the political and spiritual center of his people. His concern was not only for Jerusalem’s broken-down walls, but also for the other difficulties of the retuning exiles. His first priority, however, was to rebuild the walls. In the ancient world, city walls provided protection from one’s enemies. Also, the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls would be a powerful symbol to both God’s people and their enemies of the protection and approval of the Lord.

Given the opportunity to return and supervise this project, Nehemiah rounded up materials and laborers and started to work. He knew that this would not be accomplished without opposition. Two of the opposition leaders were Sanballat, governor of Samaria to the north, and Tobiah, governor of the area across the Jordan to the east of Jerusalem. They likely saw a stronger Jerusalem as a threat to themselves and so used both political connections and physical intimidation to stop the rebuilding.

 But Nehemiah persisted, convinced that he was doing the work of God. He managed to get almost everyone involved in the rebuilding project, some in the actual work and others standing on guard to protect them. Both men and women contributed, and the wall was completed in only fifty-two days.

This was only one step in the reestablishment of God’s people in the Promised Land. But there could now be renewed attention to other areas of neglect in the service of the Lord. One problem Nehemiah had already addressed during the rebuilding (ch. 5); he convinced the richer citizens to stop charging the poor interest on their debts and to stop seizing their property. It was an important step in Israel’s commitment to obey God’s laws. 

December 4

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New Attention and Response to the Law

Nehemiah 8:1–9:3

If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers…

then I will remember my covenant with Jacob and…

Isaac and…Abraham, and I will remember the land.

Leviticus 26:40, 42 (ESV)

A few days later, the people assembled for the reading of God’s law. They had seen God’s hand in the re-building of Jerusalem’s walls; now they gathered to hear what more the Lord required. This hadn’t been done for a long time; it was a significant symbol of their intention to not mess up this new opportunity with God.

What followed can only be attributed to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit, for the people listened attentively for six hours as God’s Word was read. They heard how God had called them to be a nation devoted to serving him. They heard about all the miracles and mighty acts God had performed for them. And they heard again about God’s commands given through Moses, commands to which they knew they had not paid adequate attention.

What Israel chose to do in response to the reading of God’s Word was crucial, because the very problem with their ancestors, the problem that had caused their exile, was what Scripture repeatedly refers to as hardheartedness. The people had often ignored God’s law, and when this was pointed out to them by prophets, still, usually refused to repent and change their ways.

But these Israelites wept for their sins; in their conviction, they didn’t care how they looked to their neighbors. They were sad for so long that Nehemiah had to tell them to stop grieving and go have lunch: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So they rejoiced, and in the following days listened again and again to the word of the Lord and again joined their hearts in confession and praise. Afterward they bound themselves in writing to live according to the law of God and not neglect their offerings for God’s temple and his priests (Neh. 9:38). 

December 5

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Sabbath Keeping

Nehemiah 13:15–22

In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,

always being prepared to make a defense to anyone

who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

The Sabbath day had lost its special significance in Nehemiah’s time and culture. But Nehemiah saw that the solemn promises made by himself and his people required attention to the proper observance of the Sabbath. Nehemiah promoted that by policing commercial activities on that day. But, of course, he had no way to ensure that his people would also honor God’s intention for the Sabbath in their hearts. Only doing that would really keep Nehemiah’s people from repeating the sins that had led their nation into exile.

Israel would not do so well in future years; by Jesus’s day, instead of using the Sabbath to remember God’s deliverance of them, the Jews were misusing it as a day in which they tried to deliver themselves through a legalistic adherence to Sabbath laws. The Pharisees were more conscientious about protecting the Sabbath against violations than about promoting it as a God-given means to revive the minds and souls of God’s people.  

Jesus used words and deeds to show his people another way to keep the Sabbath. The types of deeds that were consistent with God’s Sabbath work of delivering Israel from Egypt were works of mercy such as healing the sick and raising the dead.

Today, Christians typically use Sunday instead of Saturday as their main day for worship. Even so, honoring God’s intentions for the Sabbath involves using this day, not mainly to escape work and devote oneself to leisure but, to re-center ourselves on God, in whom we may both work and rest. In fact, this is what helps us to anticipate the eternal Sabbath, when both work and play will be just the way God wants it to be. 


Last modified: Thursday, August 9, 2018, 5:29 PM