Category: 1 Year Bible Reading Plan

Zechariah 9 starts with a proclamation of judgment against the nations surrounding Israel.  Then the LORD foretells the coming of the Messiah, who will be humble and riding on a donkey.  This is the prophecy we turn to when we read Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Finally, we’re told the LORD Himself will appear and lead His people.  What an amazing future we have to look forward to as God’s people!  We also see how a prophecy can speak of the immediate future, the distant future, and the time of the consummation of history, when Jesus returns.

Zechariah 10 promises the restoration of Israel and Judah.  The LORD starts with a rebuke of the false shepherds that have served in Judah but moves on to proclaim although the people of Israel and Judah have been scattered, they will be brought back, and they will be so numerous the land will not hold them.  The LORD offers a powerful rebuke against Egypt and tells us the Nile will be dried up as part of the process of restoration.

In Zechariah 11, we return to the LORD renouncing the wicked shepherds, and in the midst of that, the LORD tells us the shepherd will receive wages of thirty pieces of silver, precisely the amount Judas received for betraying Jesus.  The thirty pieces of silver were poured out in the potter’s field, which again refers to the events in Judas’ life.  While it isn’t always possible to make the connections between the prophecies we find in the Jewish Scriptures and the life of Jesus, in this case the connection is much more obvious.

As we return to John 10, Jesus offers us the image of Himself as the Good Shepherd.  For anyone familiar with the Jewish Scriptures or Old Testament, Psalm 23 comes to mind immediately.  In it, King David proclaimed, “The LORD is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  Analogously, Jesus tells us as the Good Shepherd, He lays down His life for His sheep.  As we might expect, this once again brought disagreement among those who heard Jesus.  The religious leaders condemned Jesus again.  They said He had a demon, but others among the Jews said He didn’t speak as one with a demon.  As the conversation continued, Jesus told them He and His Father were one, which brought about more condemnation.  While we’re only halfway through John’s gospel, it’s easy to see the direction of Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders is leading to His crucifixion.

In Zechariah 5, the visions continue to flow.  First, we read of a vision of a flying scroll. The scroll is a scroll of judgment.  One side pronounces judgment against stealing, and the other side against swearing falsely.  Next, comes a vision of a woman in a basket.  The basket represented sin, and the woman wickedness.  It was being carried to the land of Shinar.  The point of both visions: judgment is coming on the sins of people.

In Zechariah 6, we read about a vision of four horses with chariots.  They remind us of the four horsemen in the Book of Revelation.  Their purpose was to go out and patrol the earth.  They represent both God’s watchful eye and His Spirit.  Next, we return to Joshua, being crowned as king.  We aren’t sure whether he is the Branch, or whether this will be another king name Joshua–Yeshua–or Jesus!

In Zechariah 7, the LORD calls for justice and mercy.  He reminds the priests and the people their fasts were not for the right purposes, and when they ate and drank, they did it for themselves, not in honor of the LORD.  He called the people to stop oppressing the poor, the orphan and the widow, and to bring justice and mercy to the land.

In Zechariah 8, the LORD promises Jerusalem’s return to prominence and the people’s return to blessing.  Old men and women will again sit in the gates, and children will play in the streets.  The remnant will no longer be small, but the people will regain their former greatness–as they remember the LORD and follow in His ways.

As we return to John 9, we remember Jesus being questioned by His disciples about a man born blind.  They assumed, as people often still assume today, that someone must have sinned for such a tragedy to occur.  Jesus’ responded the man was born blind so God’s glory could be demonstrated.  Then He healed the man.  Of course, the healing took place on the Sabbath, which provoked the religious leaders.  Once again, a heated debate ensued, and the religious leaders asked the man what he thought about Jesus.  He told them Jesus is a prophet. They refuted his position, saying Jesus was a sinner, because he broke the Sabbath.  The man responded with one of the most powerful testimonies ever: I don’t know about that.  What I know is I was blind, and now I see!  How many of us could say the same thing: I was blind, but now I see?  Our blindness might have been purely spiritual, or it might have been emotional or intellectual.  Whatever our blindness, Jesus enters in and gives us sight!

Today we turn to the book of the prophet Zechariah.  He also ministered during the time of the return of the exiles from Babylon, (or Persia, because they had overtaken the Babylonians by this time.) While Zechariah condemns the Israelites for their lack of faithfulness, he also prophesies the people’s return, and ultimately the coming of the Messiah!

Zechariah 1 begins with a call to return to the LORD.  Darius has become king, replacing the Babylonians, and the seventy-year period of exile is coming to an end.  As the chapter continues, we read a vision of angelic horsemen who have been traveling over the earth and seeing the other nations at rest.  The LORD tells them, those nations will be punished for their part in Israel’s continued exile.  Next, comes a vision of four horns and four craftsmen.  The horns “scattered” Israel, Judah and Jerusalem.  The craftsmen came to eliminate the horns’ power.

Zechariah 2 consists of a man with a “measuring line,” who is told to measure Jerusalem.  The good news for the people of Israel is Jerusalem is going to become a city without borders, and the LORD Himself will put a wall of flame around it to protect it. Remember: This is a vision.  It doesn’t mean a literal wall of flame necessarily.  It simply means Israel will have no enemies able to come against it. 

Zechariah 3 offers an amazing vision of Joshua the high priest who is accompanied by an angel and Satan.  Satan, of course, is there to accuse, while the angel is told to put pure vestments on Joshua.  Joshua is promised he will rule over the people, and that the LORD will send “The Branch,” which is an image for Jesus, to rule the people.  This is more good news for Israel.

Zechariah 4’s vision is even greater for Israel, as it shows a golden lampstand, and two olive trees, which it turns out to be a promise that Zerubbabel, who laid the foundations for Jerusalem and the Temple will also finish it.  He is promised it will not be by his power or might, but by the Spirit of the LORD that this will be accomplished.  The hopes of the people who heard this prophecy must have soared.

As we turn to John 8, we read one of the most poignant accounts in Jesus’ ministry.  The religious leaders once again wanting to trap Jesus, bring a woman caught in adultery to ask Jesus what judgment ought to be carried out against her.  They assumed they had Jesus, because if He said to carry out the judgment the Law of Moses required: death, they could accuse Him of being unmerciful, but if He said to let her go, they could accuse Him of disobedience to the Law.  Jesus had a different response: go ahead and stone her…but the one who is without sin cast the first stone.  That led to the religious leaders departing one by one, until only the woman was left.  Jesus turned to her and asked where her accusers were?  She responded that none were left.  Jesus said He didn’t condemn her either, but to go and sin no more.  What a powerful message: no condemnation, but a call to go and lead a new life!  The remainder of the chapter is another all-out battle between Jesus and the religious leaders.  Jesus proclaims Himself the light of the world.  The religious leaders deny that and challenge Him.  Jesus responds if they knew the truth it would set them free.  Those were fighting words, because the religious leaders assumed they knew the truth.  Jesus ultimately told them they were children of their father, the devil.  The last and most telling statement Jesus makes in the chapter is “Before Abraham was, I am.”  The “I am” reference here, is to claim the name of God: Yahweh – I am.  Without any doubt, Jesus marked Himself for death with that statement.  No human being could claim to be God, which is what He had done.  The religious leaders would do whatever it took to see Jesus eliminated.  Please, understand: Jesus is God, but because the Jewish leaders wouldn’t accept this truth, the path to the cross was becoming more certain all the time.

Haggai served as a prophet during the time when the exiles were returning from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple.  The people quickly got distracted from the task, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah called them to return to it.

In Haggai 1, the LORD declared through Haggai the people must rebuild the Temple.  Illustrations of cause and effect were offered, because the people lived in “paneled houses” while the LORD’s house remained in ruins.  The illustrations were in every area of life the people’s return on their work or investment was little.  That was because the LORD was not blessing their work.  He would bless them, when they remembered Him and His house.  With this reminder, the people returned to the work of rebuilding the Temple.

In Haggai 2, the LORD promises His glory will return to the Temple.  Although the rebuilt structure was smaller than the original, and any who could remember the original would weep, the LORD promised in the latter days the Temple would be greater than the first.  The people had continued not to see the return on their efforts they expected, but the LORD promised when the Temple was completed, they would, that He would bless them even though they were an “unclean” people.  The book ends with the LORD promising Zerubbabel, the governor, that his prominence would surpass that of kings.

As we return to John 7, the fighting over Jesus continues.  This time it takes place in Jerusalem.  Jesus went to the city for the Festival of Booths, and while He was there the people were divided over whether He was the Messiah or not.  Jesus continued to confront the religious leaders, even as they said they were committed to eliminating Him.  These confrontations, which have already seemed heated will continue to the point Jesus ends up condemned and crucified. While such a reality devastates us all: That we would crucify the God of the universe, that was His plan of redemption for us.  It is the truest example that in allthings God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Zephaniah prophesied during the reforms of King Josiah of Judah. Zephaniah spoke of the coming “Day of the LORD!”  This day has two meaning throughout the writings of the prophets: 1) judgment against His own people for their sins, and various other nations for their sins that took place in their times; and 2) the LORD’s ultimate return and establishing of His Kingdom forever.

In Zephaniah 1, the LORD pronounces judgment against Judah for their sin, and also speaks of the day of the LORD.  In that time, no one will escape the LORD’s hand, many nations will be brought to task for their sin against the LORD.

In Zephaniah 2, the LORD pronounces judgment against all of Judah’s near enemies for their sin against Judah as well as for their own sin.  While we have seen the LORD’s hand go against His own people throughout our readings, because He always judges sin, it is no small matter to attack His people, or to fail to help them in their times of need.  The nations surrounding Judah and Israel had done both.

Zephaniah 3 starts with judgment for Judah and the nations, for their evil at every level.  Then as we draw to the end, the LORD tells us He will bring people from every nation to Himself.  Finally, we’re told Israel will be restored and those who are humble and lowly will experience His favor.  As is typically the case, in the words of the prophets, words of hope are the final word.

As we return to John 6, we read again of the only miracle performed by Jesus recorded in all four gospels: the feeding of the five thousand.  Only in John’s gospel, though, does this amazing incident turn into an extended battle not only between Jesus and the religious leaders, but also between Jesus and most of His followers.  The point of contention is Jesus’ statement He is the Bread of life and people needed to “eat His flesh and drink His blood,” which was obviously intended figuratively, but which they all took literally.  By the time the discussion ended, everyone had left Jesus but the twelve disciples.  Jesus asked them, “Are you going to leave, too?”  They responded with a question and a powerful statement: :To whom shall we go? You hold the words of life.” It must have been a challenging day for everyone, but at the end of it, Jesus had made clear the preeminent place He must hold in our lives, if He is truly our Savior and Lord.

Habakkuk was written immediately before the fall of Assyria to the Babylonians.  The theme question of Habakkuk is how could God use wicked nations for His purposes?  He had used the Assyrians to destroy Israel, and now would use Babylon to destroy Assyria and Judah.  As we live in the midst of wickedness, the key is to live by our faith, as Habakkuk tells us in Habakkuk 2:4.  This statement was so powerful, we find it quoted three times in the New Testament.

Habakkuk 1 starts with Habakkuk complaining to the LORD for not answering his cry for mercy and protection.  The LORD answers by saying He’s going to use the Chaldeans or Babylonians as a tool of judgment.  This raises another complaint from Habakkuk who cannot understand how God can forget His people.

Habakkuk 2 ends Habakkuk’s second complaint.  The LORD answers by telling Habakkuk to write the vision on a tablet so large a rider could see it as he rode by.  The LORD tells him no matter how long it takes for the vision to come to wait for it.  Then He tells Habakkuk the righteous shall live by faith. This is the oft-quoted verse, we noted in the introduction.  The LORD goes on to pronounce judgment on the Chaldeans/Babylonians, who were His current “tool” for bringing judgment to other nations.  He condemns them for their ruthlessness toward other nations, and for their insistence on worshiping dead idols rather than the living God.  He reminds them the LORD is in His holy Temple, and to let all the earth be silent before Him.

In Habakkuk 3, Habakkuk offers a prayer to the LORD, and it concludes with one of the strongest statements of faith in the face of adversity ever recorded: ¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom,nor fruit be on the vines,the produce of the olive failand the fields yield no food,the flock be cut off from the foldand there be no herd in the stalls,¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. ¹⁹GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s;he makes me tread on my high places.Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV) As we return to John 5, Jesus encounters a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been waiting for decades to be healed by entering the pool when it was stirred.  Because he was lame, he could never get there before someone else.  Jesus asked the man what on the surface seems like an uncaring question: “Do you want to be healed?” Because Jesus asked the question, we know it wasn’t uncaring.  He sincerely wanted the man to address the matter of whether he wanted to be healed.  Jesus healed the man, and this raised a great debate between Him and the religious leaders, because He healed the man on the Sabbath.  The debate covered many areas, but at the bottom of it, Jesus contended He was God, and the religious leaders were having none of that.  While we’re only in John 5, we see in John’s gospel as in the others, Jesus engaged the religious leaders early in His ministry in ways that caused them to be determined to eliminate Him.

The prophet Nahum’s message, which we turn to today came about a century after Jonah preached to Nineveh and saw the people repent.  This time the Ninevites would not repent and they and their nation, the Assyrians, would fall.  God had used the Assyrians to judge Israel, the northern Kingdom in 722 BC.  Now, in the early 600’s BC, the Assyrians would fall to the Babylonians.  As we have seen throughout the prophetic writings, the LORD used pagan nations to judge Israel and Judah and one another.  After all, He is the LORD of history.

Nahum 1 tells Nineveh she will fall.  We are reminded the LORD is slow to bring forth judgment, and righteous in His acts, but He will not avoid judging those who do evil, who worship idols.  The idols will be broken, and the people will be brought to account.  The end of chapter one tells Jacob they will rejoice at the good news.  The good news for them is the judgment of the Assyrians, personified by Nineveh.

Nahum 2 continues with more words of judgment for Nineveh, and more words of comfort for Judah.  It might be hard for us to see how the destruction of a city and a nation are “good news” for another, but we can all think of societies throughout history that needed to be stopped, and the world was better off when they were.  Thus, the LORD calls Nineveh to account, and the people of Judah would rejoice.

Nahum 3 concludes with a final pronouncement of judgment against Nineveh and Assyria.  The LORD compares the nation to a prostitute, and “she” will be humiliated in her destruction.  She will be like Egypt who suffered the same fate.  She will be destroyed and scattered.  The LORD’s concern goes far beyond the people of Israel and Judah.  He concerns Himself with all people.  We see that in its fullness when Jesus comes to the earth.  While He carried out His entire ministry in Israel, His death on the cross was for the entire world, and His redemption is available to every person who will receive it.

As we return to John 4, we revisit Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well.  She had been married five times and was living with a man who wasn’t her husband, a life far beyond scandalous in those days.  She belonged to the hated (by the Jews) nation of Samaria, yet Jesus received her, asked for her help, and ultimately offered her and the people of her village redemption.  This shows us the truth of the final statement in the concluding summary of Nahum.  Jesus’ love is for the people of every nation.  His death paid the penalty for every human sin.  His redemption is available to every person who will trust Him personally as the Messiah and receive the new life He came to give!

In Micah 4 we see the image of “The Mountain of the LORD.”  This mountain in Israel will be a place where people from all nations gather to live in a time of peace and prosperity.  The peace will be so profound that nations will pound their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. What a promise!  Then the LORD turns to a promise for the restoration of Zion.  While He reiterates the people will be carried off to Babylon, the future will be a time when they will return and prosper.  As always, the LORD’s mercy supersedes His judgment.

In Micah 5, we read the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.  It is this prophesy the religious leaders and priests quoted when the Wise Men came to Jerusalem seeking the new-born king of the Jews.  This king will be a shepherd for His people.  This king will bring deliverance for them.  The Assyrians are called out by name for judgment, but all the nations of the earth will be judged for their idolatry and turning away from the LORD.

In Micah 6, the LORD returns to His judgment of Israel.  He reminds them of their corruption.  Then He asks the rhetorical question: What shall we bring before the LORD? He tells us He doesn’t want sacrifices, and then offers this: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 ESV)   Then He goes on to condemn the people for using corrupt scales and many other actions carried out against the poor.

Micah 7 closes the book with a call to look for the LORD’s salvation.  The images go from hope to judgment, hope to judgment, but as always, the book closes with an affirmation of the LORD’s compassion and mercy.  He will not forget His children forever. In the end He will redeem them, and they will follow Him!

As we return to John 3, we return to the most famous verse in the Bible:  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.  The verse is the culmination of Jesus’ interaction with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who came at night to speak with Jesus.  While Nicodemus exchanged pleasantries and affirmations of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus cut to the chase by telling him the only way to eternal life is to be born again.  Nicodemus was confused, thinking Jesus meant a physical rebirth, but Jesus made it clear it is spiritual rebirth we must all experience.  Only then will we experience the eternal life Jesus came to give us.  Jesus offers the analogy of light and darkness to show us only as we live in Him, and in the reborn life of the Holy Spirit, will we live in the light.  The chapter closes with John the Baptist pointing out the necessary ascent of Jesus to the limelight, while he fades into the background.  As Jesus increases, and John decreases the world will focus on the Messiah.  John’s work was simply preparation.

Today we turn to Micah. Micah prophesied during the time when the northern Kingdom (Israel) fell, and when the southern Kingdom (Judah) was living in great prosperity.  Micah spoke against the abuses of the wealthy against the poor.  His writing is divided in three sections and alternates between pronouncements of judgment and the LORD’s restoration (as do most of the prophets).  Micah also tells of a future deliverer who will be born in Bethlehem!

Micah 1 starts with pronouncements of judgment against Samaria (capital of the Northern Kingdom) and Jerusalem.  The pronouncement is more severe for Samaria, as it will be crushed and brought low.  Micah’s words also mention the surrounding nations as being involved in the judgment.  In this chapter the judgment only comes to the gates of Jerusalem, but as we will see, Micah’s pronouncements include more against Judah as well.

Micah 2 offers a general judgment against the wealthy who oppress the poor, while Micah 3 condemns the leaders and prophets, primarily of Judah for their oppression of the poor, and their continual sin against the LORD.  While the judgment includes Israel, in this chapter we’re told that Judah and Jerusalem will be crushed.  Just as the pronouncement had been primarily directed against the northern Kingdom in Micah 1, we find it primarily against the southern Kingdom in chapter 3.

As we return to John 2, we recall Jesus’ first miracle: turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana.  Jesus was reluctant to perform this miracle, because His “time” had not yet come, but He responded in obedience to His mother’s request for help in what was a most awkward social situation.  While the miracle didn’t heal anyone, or remove a demon from anyone, it still demonstrated the Kingdom power of Jesus.  We can say in God’s eternal Kingdom we will experience no lack, so Jesus’ miracle of provision foreshadows that.  John records Jesus cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem as His next act of authority. While the cleansing of the Temple is found in the last week of Jesus’ life in the other three gospels, it is not at all unlikely Jesus did this on more than one occasion, because of the great offense against His Father He found it to be.  In any case, Jesus demonstrated His authority to act on His Father’s behalf in this situation and in so many more throughout His ministry.  As we consider Jesus’ role in our lives, we must always remember He is our first and final authority. What He tells us to do, we must do in the power of His Spirit and what He calls us to avoid, we must avoid.

Jonah is one of the most notable books of the “minor” prophets.  The minor prophets weren’t less important than the “major” prophets, but their writings were much shorter.  Jonah’s story is known the world over, because he is the poster child for being given a task by God, rejecting it for selfish reasons, and then undertaking the task only after God intervenes in his life in a supernatural way.  Jonah’s story adds one final twist in that after he carries out God’s purpose, he is upset God showed mercy to an entire nation of people.  Jonah is the only prophetic book that focuses entirely on the prophet, himself, rather than on a prophetic message to a group of people.

Jonah 1 offers us the background for the book.  The LORD called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach a message of repentance to the people.  Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved, so he ran away.  Taking a boat in the opposite direction of Nineveh, Jonah thinks all is well.  But the LORD sent a storm and the boat on which Jonah was a passenger was in danger of being destroyed.  Jonah told the crew it was his fault and they had to throw him overboard.  The crew attempted to save Jonah, but ultimately gave in to his request, and the moment he hit the water, the storm dissipated.  We would think that would be the end of Jonah, but the LORD sent a great fish to swallow him.  Many discount Jonah’s “story” as just that, a story, because of this detail, and what follows in chapter two, but we must remember if there is a God who exists beyond the natural, a supernatural God, then He is capable of intervening in the natural world, as Jesus did constantly during His earthly ministry.

In Jonah 2, Jonah cried out to the LORD from the belly of the fish, and the LORD heard.  He had the fish vomit Jonah out on dry land!

In Jonah 3, the LORD tells Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh.  This time, Jonah goes.  He preaches to the people to repent.  They do, and the LORD shows mercy and spares them from punishment.  The King of Nineveh took Jonah’s message so seriously he even had the people put their cattle in sackcloth, showing their repentance

In Jonah 4, Jonah explodes with anger toward the LORD for His compassion on Nineveh.  He tells the LORD he knew this is what would happen, that the LORD’s mercy and compassion would be shown.  He asked the LORD to let him die and said that’s why he left for Tarshish in the first place: he didn’t want the Ninevites to be spared.  The LORD then made a plant grow up to shade Jonah from the heat.  But after a while, He sent a worm to kill the plant.  Once again, Jonah’s anger flared, and he wanted to die.  The LORD asked Jonah whether he ought to be angry about a plant that died, which he did nothing to plant or cause to grow.  Jonah said he ought to be angry.  But the LORD was using it as an analogy, and asked Jonah whether He ought to have shown mercy for a city that had 120,000 children living in it?  We don’t get Jonah’s answer, but we can guess Jonah might still have been angry.  We don’t always find it easy to demonstrate the kind of compassion the LORD shows.  Indeed, without the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all too easily have Jonah’s attitude.  His life serves as a dramatic example of what great lengths the LORD will go to save thousands of people, and also how He works in the lives of individuals, because He cares about all of us, but He also cares about each of us.

As we return to John 1, we’re reminded how different John’s gospel is from the other three.  John wrote his gospel much later than the others, and his purpose was more “theological” than “chronological.”  That is while Matthew, Mark, and Luke wanted to present an overview of Jesus’ life (and return to heaven) from beginning to end, John wanted to show us clearly Jesus is God.  In John 1, John tells us Jesus is “the Word.”  He tells us Jesus was with God in the beginning, and Jesus created everything.  He tells us Jesus was full of grace and truth. We leave chapter 1 with a clear understanding: Jesus is not just an amazing man; He is God!