The readings this week begin with Daniel’s concern over the return of God’s people to Jerusalem. Daniel is calling out to God to admit Israel’s sin and ask God to vindicate His name while referencing God’s promise to return His people after 70 years of exile. The last chapters of Daniel are visions concerning future events and the end times, which reassure Daniel that God is sovereign over the end of the story. Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book that involved the return of God’s people in 3 phases. In the first phase, the people focus on the rebuilding of the Temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel. The reconstruction of the Temple is covered in our readings in Ezra this week. Haggai was a prophet, and his book records God’s rebuke of the people who return to rebuild the Temple but get sidetracked by their own plans. Zechariah was also a prophet during this period. We begin the book of Zechariah, which this week starts a series of visions that reinforce God’s sovereign plan for Jerusalem’s future. This week’s reading will show God’s faithfulness to orchestrate the return of the exiles and guarantee the future salvation of His people, and that’s the Big Picture.
Each week, as you take in the Bible, find some friends to talk it out. You can follow this simple guide to help. First, R.E.A.D. and P.R.A.Y. on your own. Then, meet with friends to share what you've learned.
R - Repeated words
E - Examine and mark
A - Ask what you learn about God
D - Do if there is anything to do
P - Praise
R - Repent
A - Ask
Bible Plan Reading Links - Week 50
START IT.
We're reading the Bible together in 2024. Specifically, we're taking a journey into how the story of the Bible unfolded in the Old Testament, starting with the beginning. How do we understand so many stories and lessons while trying to stick to the "sacred timeline"? The answer is the big picture. If we get the big picture, we get the story the Bible is trying to tell. From Sunday's message or The Big Picture Bible Reading Plan this week in the book of Ezekiel, what is impacting you the most? Was there a word, phrase, Bible verse, or theme that impacted you?
STUDY IT.
Read Jeremiah 25:11-12 and Jeremiah 29:10-11. What does God promise to do after the allotted time to the Babylonians and to Israel? Read Daniel 9:1. How has God kept His promise to the Babylonians?
Read Daniel 9:2-3. What was Daniel’s response to reading Jeremiah? Read Jeremiah 29:11-12. What promise in Jeremiah is Daniel believing and acting upon?
Read Daniel 12:2. Read Matthew 25:46. Read John 5:28-29. Regarding the topic of resurrection, what links do you see in the words of Jesus with Daniel 12:2?
Read Ezra 1:1. What did the Lord do “that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled?” Read Micah 5:2. Where was the messiah to be born?
Read Luke 2:1. How did the Lord move Mary and Joseph to fulfill Micah 5:2? How is this similar to Ezra 1:1?
SHARE IT.
Read Haggai 1:9. How is this a warning against distraction at the expense of God’s purposes? Read Haggai 1:12. What might you do like Zerubbabel and the people to help remain fearful/reverent and on track?
Read Daniel 9:23 and 10:11, 19. Daniel is told 3 times that he is “greatly loved.” What would it be like for you to know that you are “greatly loved?” How would this change how you live?
Read Daniel 12:3. What personal significance do you find in the promises stated in this verse? Can you see yourself in this imagery?
Which verses in Daniel would be most helpful for you to memorize so you have them always available in your mind and heart for the Holy Spirit to use?
Read Luke 2:1. Consider that God would move in Caesar Augustus and a whole empire to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem at the right time. How does this encourage you when you feel small? How does this magnify God’s power and plan that he chose to do it this way?
FINAL THOUGHT
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Zechariah 3 for His people for all time. Let’s walk through that chapter and connect it with the rest of the scripture. How does a filthy sinner being accused by an adversary stand before a holy God (3:1)? THE Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, commands the filthy garments be removed and says “I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” In the same way, Jesus spoke of the prodigal son receiving the best robe from the father in Luke 15:22, and in Revelation 19:8, at the marriage supper of the Lamb, the bride of Christ is clothed in “fine linen, bright and pure.” How does God remove his people’s iniquity “in a single day (3:9)? God will bring “my servant the Branch” (3:8) and a stone with seven eyes (3:9). Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5 reference the messiah as the Branch of Jesse. Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 reference the cornerstone of God’s temple, which we know to be Christ (Ephesians 2:18-19). Christ will have “7 eyes” in that He has perfect wisdom and omniscience to rule His people. Christ is the true and better King Solomon who ushers in peace through His wisdom so that all can rest in abundance under “vine and fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25, Zechariah 3:10). Lastly, Christ was stripped naked so that we might be clothed. He was perfectly obedient even to death so that the disobedient might have the reward of His righteousness. This salvation was so sufficient and powerful that in one day at one time, it succeeded in atoning for His people for all time (Hebrews 10:12). All this results in a people who praise God and will enjoy Him forever. We are greatly loved.
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