Friday, December 28, 2007

December 28th - Day 362

Zechariah 12-13:9



Zechariah 12
Jerusalem's Enemies to Be Destroyed

An Oracle

1 This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 2 "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'

6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Mourning for the One They Pierced

10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit [a] of grace and supplication. They will look on [b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

Zechariah 13


Cleansing From Sin

1 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

2 "On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, 'You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD's name.' When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.

4 "On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 He will say, 'I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. [c] ' 6 If someone asks him, 'What are these wounds on your body [d] ?' he will answer, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.'

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is close to me!"

declares the LORD Almighty.

"Strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered,

and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8 In the whole land," declares the LORD,

"two-thirds will be struck down and perish;

yet one-third will be left in it.

9 This third I will bring into the fire;

I will refine them like silver

and test them like gold.

They will call on my name

and I will answer them;

I will say, 'They are my people,'

and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' "


Footnotes:


  1. Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
  2. Zechariah 12:10 Or to
  3. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  4. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands


Revelation 19:1-21



Revelation 19


Hallelujah!

1After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

"Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2for true and just are his judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

He has avenged on her the blood of his servants." 3And again they shouted:

"Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever."

4The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

"Amen, Hallelujah!"

5Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

"Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

both small and great!"

6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

"Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

7Let us rejoice and be glad

and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

8Fine linen, bright and clean,

was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

9Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."

10At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The Rider on the White Horse

11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter."[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

17And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."

19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.


Footnotes:


  1. Revelation 19:15 Psalm 2:9


Psalm 147:1-20



Psalm 147


1 Praise the LORD. [a]

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;

make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle

and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;

praise your God, O Zion,

13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates

and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders

and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool

and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;

he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,

his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;

they do not know his laws.

Praise the LORD.


Footnotes:


  1. Psalm 147:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah ; also in verse 20


Proverbs 31:1-7



Proverbs 31


Sayings of King Lemuel

1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle [a] his mother taught him:

2 "O my son, O son of my womb,

O son of my vows, [
b]

3 do not spend your strength on women,

your vigor on those who ruin kings.

4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel—

not for kings to drink wine,

not for rulers to crave beer,

5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

6 Give beer to those who are perishing,

wine to those who are in anguish;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.


Footnotes:


  1. Proverbs 31:1 Or of Lemuel king of Massa, which
  2. Proverbs 31:2 Or / the answer to my prayers

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