Thoughts and Reflection
Today we read in Ezra that the temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem. The people remember and long for the previous temple that was once there under Solomon. The new temple is smaller than before. This is both positive and negative. The positive is that the people remember was there before. The negative is that people are stuck in the past and not looking forward to the future. The samaritans offer resistance to rebuilding the Temple. They have been busy worshiping their own gods. They also lie to the king of Israel and he halts the building of the temple.
Zechariah’s vision shows him that an angel will remove Joshua’s filthy garments, take away his iniquity and clothe him in rich apparel. Many of us may be unfit to enter the presence of the Lord. Jesus has forgiven our sins and we have the ability to receive reconciliation from priests. This will give us God’s mercy.
About This Project
For the year 2022, I decided that my New Year’s Resolution was to read the whole Bible following the Bible in the Year plan presented by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It is a big and bold undertaking. You can follow along by subscribing. Feel free to look at previous day’s post and comment. It’s something we can all learn from together!
Daily Readings
Ezra 3
1 When the seventh month came after the Israelites had been resettled in their towns, the people gathered as one person in Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, with his brother priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, set about rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it as prescribed in the Law of Moses man of God.
3 They erected the altar on its old site, despite their fear of the people of the country, and on it they presented burnt offerings to Yahweh, burnt offerings morning and evening;
4 they celebrated the feast of Shelters as prescribed, offering daily the number of burnt offerings required from day to day,
5 and in addition presented the continual burnt offerings prescribed for the Sabbaths, for the New Moons and for all the festivals sacred to Yahweh, as well as those voluntary offerings made by individuals to Yahweh.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began presenting burnt offerings to Yahweh, though the foundations of the Temple of Yahweh had not yet been laid.
7 They also contributed money for the masons and carpenters, and food, drink and oil for the Sidonians and Tyrians for bringing cedarwood from Lebanon by sea to Jaffa, for which Cyrus king of Persia had given permission.
8 It was in the second month of the second year after their arrival at the Temple of God in Jerusalem that Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak, with the rest of their brothers, the priests, the Levites and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity, began the work by appointing some of the Levites who were twenty years old or more to superintend the work on the Temple of Yahweh.
9 The Levites, Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, with Kadmiel, Binnui and his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, agreed to superintend the men working on the Temple of God.
10 When the builders had laid the foundations of the Temple of Yahweh, the priests in their robes stood forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Yahweh according to the ordinances of David king of Israel.
11 They chanted praise and thanksgiving to Yahweh because for Israel, they said, ‘he is good, and everlasting in his faithful love.’ Then all the people raised a mighty shout of praise to Yahweh, since the foundations of the Temple of Yahweh had now been laid.
12 Many of the older priests, Levites and heads of families, who had seen the first temple, wept very loudly when the foundations of this one were laid before their eyes, but many others shouted aloud for joy,
13 so that nobody could distinguish the noise of the joyful shout from the noise of the people’s weeping; for the people shouted so loudly that the noise could be heard far away.
Ezra 4
1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building the Temple of Yahweh, God of Israel,
2 they came to Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said, ‘Let us help you build, for we resort to your God as you do and we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.’
3 Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israelite families replied, ‘It is out of the question that you should join us in building a Temple for our God. We shall build for Yahweh, God of Israel, on our own, as King Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.’
4 The people of the country then set about demoralising the people of Judah and deterring them from building;
5 they also bribed counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia right on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 In the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they drew up an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Mithredath, Tabeel and their other associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia against Jerusalem; the text of the letter was written in Aramaic writing and dialect.
8 Then Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, denouncing Jerusalem as follows:
9 ‘From Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary and their other associates, the judges, the legates, the Persian officials, the people of Uruk, Babylon and Susa — that is, the Elamites-
10 and the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the towns of Samaria and in the rest of Transeuphrates.’
11 This is the text of the letter which they sent him: ‘To King Artaxerxes, from your servants the people of Transeuphrates:
12 ‘May the king now please be informed that the Jews, who have come up from you to us, have arrived in Jerusalem and are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city; they have begun rebuilding the walls and are laying the foundations;
13 and now the king should be informed that once this city is rebuilt and the walls are restored, they will refuse to pay tribute, tax or toll, thus the king will incur a loss;
14 and now, because we eat the palace salt, it is not proper for us to see this affront offered to the king; we therefore send this information to the king
15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your ancestors: in which archives you will find and learn that this city is a rebellious city, the bane of kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred up there from ancient times; that is why this city was destroyed.
16 We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will soon have no territories left in Transeuphrates.’
17 The king sent this reply: ‘To Rehum the governor, to Shimshai the secretary, and to their other associates resident in Samaria and elsewhere in Transeuphrates: Greetings!
18 ‘And now, the document which you sent us has been accurately translated for me,
19 and by my orders search has been made, and it has been found that this city has rebelled against the kings in the past and that revolt and sedition have been contrived in it;
20 and that powerful kings have reigned in Jerusalem, governing the whole of Transeuphrates and exacting tribute, tax and toll;
21 now give orders for these men to cease work; this city is not to be rebuilt until I give the order.
22 Beware of acting negligently in this matter. Why should the harm grow, to endanger the king?’
23 As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’ document had been read to Rehum the governor, Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms.
24 Work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem then ceased, and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius King of Persia.
Zechariah 1
1 In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows,
2 ‘Yahweh was deeply angry with your ancestors.
3 So say this to them, “Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Return to me — Yahweh Sabaoth declares — and I will return to you, says YahwehSabaoth.
4 Do not be like your ancestors when the prophets in the past cried to them: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Turn back from your evil ways and evil deeds — they would not listen or pay attention to me — Yahweh declares.
5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live for ever?
6 But did not my words and statutes, with which I had charged my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors just the same?” ‘ So they repented and said, ‘Yahweh Sabaoth has treated us as he resolved to do, and as our ways and deeds deserved.’
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows,
8 ‘I had a vision during the night. There was a man riding a red horse standing among the deep-rooted myrtles; behind him were other horses-red, chestnut and white.
9 I said, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel who was talking to me said, “I will show you what they are.”
10 The man standing among the myrtles then replied, “Those are they whom Yahweh has sent to patrol the world.”
11 They reported to the angel of Yahweh as he stood among the myrtles, “We have been patrolling the world, and indeed the whole world is still and at peace.”
12 The angel of Yahweh then spoke and said, “Yahweh Sabaoth, how long will you wait before taking pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, on which you have inflicted your anger for the past seventy years?”
13 Yahweh then replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.
14 The angel who was talking to me then said to me, “Make this proclamation: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I am burning with jealousy for Jerusalem and Zion
15 but am deeply angry with the nations now at ease; before, I was only mildly angry, but they contributed to the disaster.
16 So now Yahweh says this: In compassion I have returned to Jerusalem; my Temple will be rebuilt there — Yahweh Sabaoth declares — and the measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.
17 Make this proclamation too: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: My cities are once more to be very prosperous. Yahweh will comfort Zion once again, and again make Jerusalem his choice.” ‘
Zechariah 2
1 Then, raising my eyes, I had a vision. It was this: There were four horns.
2 I said to the angel who was talking to me, ‘What are these?’ He said to me, ‘These are the horns which scattered Judah (Israel) and Jerusalem.’
3 Yahweh then showed me four smiths.
4 And I said, ‘What are these coming to do?’ He said to me, ‘(Those horns scattered Judah so completely that no one dared to raise his head; but) these have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who raised their horns over the land of Judah to scatter it.’
5 Then, raising my eyes, I had a vision. There was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
6 I asked him, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to calculate her width and length.’
7 And then, while the angel who was talking to me walked away, another angel came out to meet him.
8 He said to him, ‘Run, and tell that young man this, “Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle inside.
9 For I — Yahweh declares — shall be a wall of fire all round her and I shall be the Glory within her.” ‘
10 Look out! Look out! Flee from the land of the north — Yahweh declares- for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven — Yahwehdeclares.
11 Look out! Make your escape, Zion, now living with the daughter of Babylon!
12 For Yahweh Sabaoth says this, since the Glory commissioned me, about the nations who plundered you, ‘Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye.
13 Now look, I shall wave my hand over them and they will be plundered by those whom they have enslaved.’ Then you will know that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me!
14 Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion, for now I am coming to live among you -Yahweh declares!
15 And on that day many nations will be converted to Yahweh. Yes, they will become his people, and they will live among you. Then you will know that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me to you!
16 Yahweh will take possession of Judah, his portion in the Holy Land, and again make Jerusalem his choice.
17 Let all people be silent before Yahweh, now that he is stirring from his holy Dwelling!
Zechariah 3
1 He then showed me the high priest Joshua, standing before the angel of Yahweh, with Satan standing on his right to accuse him.
2 The angel of Yahweh said to Satan, ‘May Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! May Yahweh rebuke you, since he has made Jerusalem his choice. Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?’
3 Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes as he stood before the angel.
4 The latter then spoke as follows to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his dirty clothesand dress him in splendid robes
5 and put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and dressed him in clean clothes, while the angel of Yahweh stood byand said, ‘You see, I have taken your guilt away.’
6 The angel of Yahweh then made this declaration to Joshua,
7 ‘Yahweh Sabaoth says this, “If you walk in my ways and keep my ordinances, you shall govern my house, you shall watch over my courts, and I will give you free access among those in attendance here.
8 ‘So listen, High Priest Joshua, you and the colleagues over whom you preside — for they are an omen of things to come — for now I shall bring in my servant the Branch, and I shall remove this country’s guilt in a single day.
9 For this is the stone which I have put before Joshua, a stone on which are seven eyes; and I myself shall cut the inscription on it — Yahweh Sabaoth declares.”
10 On that day — Yahweh Sabaoth declares — invite each other to come under your vine and your fig tree.” ‘
Proverbs 20:4-7
4 In autumn the idler does not plough, at harvest time he looks — nothing there!
5 The resources of the human heart are like deep waters: an understanding person has only to draw on them.
6 Many describe themselves as people of faithful love, but who can find someone really to be trusted?
7 The upright whose ways are blameless — blessed the children who come after!
