The reading for day 67 was Habakkuk 1:1 - Zechariah 10:12.
Its amazing to see how many warnings God gave to His people before He brought judgement to their doorstep. How patient He is. The book of Habakkuk is a prophecy about the Babylonian conquest of Israel. As in all the other books of prophecy it highlights God's sovereign choice: 1:12 [Art] thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. The NASB says, "...have appointed them to judge...have established them to correct." Which is the best way to translate this verse? Either way it gives God glory for His soveriegnty.
In chapter 3 Habakkuk writes a prayer in the form of Shigionoth (a highly emotional poetic form). 3:2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, [and] was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
I picture the prophet cowering before God and pleading in great fear and His whole body quivering, but at the same time His hope is in God alone. Verses 3-7 are very interesting. They speak of God being glorious and the earth being full of His praise and then you get to verse 5 and its like "Whoa! God is scary." 3:5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 3:6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways [are] everlasting. He is scary in the salvation of His people. 3:13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, [even] for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
The end of the chapter is really cool too. Read it!
The book of Zephaniah si another intersting book of the Bible. It also begins with judgement and ends with hope. The first two chapters and half of the third are warnings and judgements. There is one that kinda stands out because it just seems to be thrown in there like "Oh, by the way, you're being judged too." 2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my sword. In between judgemetns against other nations, he kinda just stic
ks that in there. That had to suck for them. He doesn't say why or give any other information. Just that little verse.
The last half of chapter three is an awesome picture of what it is like to have God in our midst. It is awesome!
The book of Haggai is very short (only two chapters) and it concerns the rebuilding of the temple after the captivity in Babylon is over. The work on the temple seemed to have stalled out a little bit and God wasn't to happy about that. 1:2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built. 1:3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 1:4 [Is it] time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house [lie] waste?
Wow!! Is this not a message that the church needs to hear today? We have so much and we make sure that we can live like we want to but we don't care for the needs of the body of Christ. We have neglected the temple...
I think it must have been awesome to have been chosen by God to be a history changer. 2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. Zerubbabel was an ancestor of Christ...Wow!! Talk about being chosen by God for something important!
I think that ,out of all of the books of the Old Testament, Zechariah is probably the most like Revelation. I must say that I hardly know what to think about any of it except that in several places it closely parallels Revelation. I have no idea how to interpret chapter 4,5, and 6. I do know that in chapter 9 there is a prophecy of Christ riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. There are things here that I'm sure have been fulfilled but I don't know about all of it. Especially in the last few chapters of Zechariah (which I will be getting to in day 68). 2:10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.
Its wonderful to know that He did, He does, and He will!
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