Day 268-270 ~ 2010

Originally posted in a forum in 2010 - this post may contain links which are no longer valid, if you find a non-working link, please let me know and I will attempt to find a replacement or make a correction as necessary.
Days 268-270

Reformation comes

- Dedication of the wall - Nehemiah 12:27-43; Psalm 147, 148, 149, 150

- Temple defiled - Nehemiah 13:4-5

- Temple order restored - Nehemiah 12:44-47, 13:1-3; Psalm 119, 1

- Nehemiah revisits Babylon - Nehemiah 13:6

- Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem

*Cleanses the temple - Nehemiah 13:7-9

*Tithing re-established - Nehemiah 13:10-14

*Worship re-established - Nehemiah 13:11

*Sabbath keeping violated - Nehemiah 13:15-22

*Marriages to heathen - Nehemiah 13:23-29

* Priesthood cleanses - Nehemiah 13:30-31


Closing days of old testament era

- Birth of Plato - 429 B.C.

- Birth of Malachi - 424 B.C.

- Reign of Darius II of Persia - 423-404 B.C.

- Nehemiah wrote his book - 415 B.C.

- Death of Nehemiah - 405 B.C.


Malachi's prophecy

- The Lord's case against the priests - Malachi 1:1-14; 2:1-17; 3:1-18

- Coming day of the Lord - Malachi 4:1-6

- Death of Malachi - ends Old Testament era - 331 B.C.

*~*~*~*~*

Nehemiah 12:29 - '...for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.' ~ An artistic community? That was an intriguing thought.

Psalm 147:11 - The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

In Psalm 148 and 149 - the word saint caught my eye...hmmm, HE referenced saints in the OT. What is a saint? E-sword to the rescue.

saints - H2623 - From H2616; properly kind, that is, (religiously) pious (a saint). The word saint is used in the Psalms 20 times...and while doing a search, I came across this verse:

Psa 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.

Aaron is considered a saint of the Lord - this particular Hebrew word is H6918 - From H6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary.

Again the beauty of the Psalms scattered throughout the OT...showing the praise and adoration of those saints to the Lord. Interestingly I noted that the first and last Psalm are contained in these readings.

Another word which caught my attention, praise. In 132 verses it is used 160 times - praise appears to have numerous definitions. In Psalm 150 the word is used 13 times...this particular word:

H1984 - A primitive root; to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence to make a show; to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively to celebrate; also to stultify.

In Psalm 119:171 - praise H8416 - From H1984; laudation; specifically (concretely) a hymn.

How oft do we praise our Lord and Creator? Daily? In our prayer time with Him, do we begin with a list of wants and needs, or praise and thanksgiving? O Lord, I fall woefully short of giving You all the praise, glory and honor that You deserve, forgive me for my inadequacies and selfishness. Help me Lord to praise You and give a proper estimate of You in our time together.

As I pondered the word praise...I reflected back upon David and the many instances of him crying out to the Lord. I looked up cry - used in the Psalms 30 times...weeping is used 3 times. Jesus was 30 when he began his ministry and did so for 3 years...just a reflection and remembrance.

Nehemiah 13:20 and 28 - I chuckled at Nehemiah's "I will lay hands on you." and "I chased him from me." In today's PC world someone would be suing him for threatening behavior, conduct or conversation. But what a man! Stands up and will not back down. He was going to hold to the standard, regardless. How about us? Do we swear to our own hurt and change not? Hide our light under a bushel. Not speak truth for fear of reprisals? Lord, please give boldness to Your saints to speak forth Your word with truth, compassion and clarity. Lord help each of us to not be frightened of what man can or might do to us...but fear and reverence You more.

Marriages to heathen? How long since Ezra dealt with this issue? Using Reese's dating system it had only been 25 years. One generation (according to general numbers research). One generation - let that sink in...Ezra whooped them for marrying strange wives and in one generation they are back to the same situation. What sins are we committing that God corrected in a previous generation? Are we learning from the mistakes of generation(s) before us?

And Nehemiah is plucking out their hair! That would be considered assault in today's world...they would be hauling him off! What vehemence for the Lord he displays.

Outlandish women - outlandish, what meaneth that? H5237 - From H5235 (second form); strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful). H5235 - From H5234; something strange, that is, unexpected calamity.

Coming day of the Lord - Malachi 4:5 - Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

I briefly discussed this passage with another saint and my understanding that SOME people think John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy. I have googled (whatever did we do before google?) and looked at commentaries. Some of the commentaries state that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophecy and the 'great day of the Lord' was his 1st advent. I am leaning towards the prophecy NOT being fulfilled by John the Baptist, because the day of the Lord is (as my understanding goes) the 2nd advent of Jesus Christ. Else why would it be a 'great' and 'dreadful' day.

At Jesus' second return it will be a chilling day of judgment - for those who are not elect - they will be cast into the lake of fire, for eternity.

dreadful - H3372 - A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten.

Here is a site which refutes John the Baptist as being Elijah - www.equip.org/articles/was-john-the-baptist-elijah-

Which is an interesting segue from the Old Testament (are we really done with the OT?) into the time frame preparing us for the coming of the Messiah, and his forerunner, John the Baptist.

May Father richly bless each of you as you take the time, effort and inclination to pray, read and study HIS word. Please be encouraged to stay the course and read, read, read. Also, prayerfully seek to encourage someone else to be in the Word. The time is short, the fields are ripe, we are to give an account for all the resources placed into our hands, including our time.

Blessings ~ Melissa