Day 271 ~ 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Originally posted in a forum in 2010 - this post may contain links which are no longer valid, if you find a non-working link, please let me know and I will attempt to find a replacement or make a correction as necessary.

Day 271 - 400 Years of Silence?

A short journey today...3 pages...none of which is 'scriptural'.

I have been browsing through websites about the 400 silent years...why were they considered silent? It sure was not a peaceful time! Silent, in that there were no prophets on the scene speaking forth the Word of Truth. Nothing. All those previous hundreds and hundreds of years of prophets foretelling, admonishing, cajoling, rebuking, exhorting to people, who for the most part, did not want to listen.

Some listened, just as some will listen to the expository on the Word today, but the majority of people are on the wide road.

As I was pondering on the prophets and who they were speaking to...for the most part the people of the nation that Father chose - Israel - or some semblance thereof. Many of the prophecies have been fulfilled...but many have not...and it is interesting to watch as Father's prophetic timeline continues to unfold.

One of the websites I visited used the analogy of the old testament coming to a close as being similar to a play - the curtain closes - then opens to a new stage. The OT closes with Persia as the dominant world power. When the 'curtain' opens in the NT, it is Rome that is on the world stage.

*~*~*~*~*

XV - The History between the testaments - C 400 - 5 B.C.

- Persian reign weakens - 400-333 B.C.

- Greece is the world power 333 - 63 B.C. - (Daniel's third world empire)

- Rome is the world power - 63 B.C - A.D. 476 (Daniel's fourth world empire)

*~*~*~*~

There is quite a bit out there on the world wide web about the 400 silent years...here is a sampling of some of what I found:

I can not remember which site - or if it is even one of those listed below - too much data intake - but there was a comment on how when Alexander the Great was going to invade Jerusalem and the priests went out and showed him the prophecy of Daniel and how he fulfilled it...thus, for a time, leaving Jerusalem intact. Now the Jewish nation suffered greatly after Alexander died...his 4 generals squabbled with one another and guess who sat smack dab in the middle of their marching trail? Israel...got spanked time and again by the marauding armies.

I have not read all of this article - but have enjoyed it thus far: www.templemount.org/0240.html

Thought the brief overview offered by this site interesting: www.bibleteacher.org/Dm_os072.htm

During this time there were several institutions which came along:

-The Scribes - laymen who started out to help minister to the spiritual needs of Israel. Became cold in their work and bound up in tradition.

-The Synagogue - with the Temple destroyed the Jews created a place of meeting - 10 men required to start one.

-The Pharisees - conservative orthodox , straight laced, ultra conservative, Biblical literalists - Jewish tradition became their stumbling block.

-The Sadducees - liberal, Hellenistic Jews, go with the flow, wanted riches and fame.

-The Sanhedrin - made up mostly of Sadducees, with sprinkling of Pharisees - members were usually from the higher level of society.

-The Apocrypha - false scriptural writings - good historical data - but rejected for inclusion in the canon of Scripture.

As I was reading and absorbing...the Pharisee and Sadducee dynamics played through my mind...I can almost see some hyper-calvanists as our current day Pharisee or I've encountered a few Reformed folk who seem to think that since they have the doctrine of election down, they are the cat's meow. The attitude of "we've got our doctrine lined up and you don't" appears similar to those of the Pharisee "we've got Abraham as our Father."

While the Sadducee's could be considered the name it, claim it, blab it grab it group - or even the easy believism crowd...or perhaps the seeker friendly churches - those all want to get along, go with the flow, just invite them in - water down the gospel, make it palatable. Don't offend those in authority.

This blog was using the 400 years as a springboard for observing that during the 'silent' times in our lives, God is still at work, even when we do not see and/or perceive that HE is. jthelmsdeep.blogspot.com/2009/03/400-silent-years.html

NOTE - I do not vet websites for their doctrinal content - I am simply seeking information or reference items - it is each of our individual responsibilities to VET the information we take in - I did not perceive anything negative in the articles offered. Remember BE A BEREAN - Acts 17:11.

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

Day 266-267 ~ 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 266-267

People are reformed
- Hanani and Hananiah to protect Jerusalem - Nehemiah 7:1-4
- Dwellers at Jerusalem - 1 Chronicles 9:2-34; Nehemiah 11:1-36

Reading of the law brings repentance - *
- Ezra reads the law - Nehemiah 7:73; 8:1-8
- People encouraged to rejoice - Nehemiah 8:9-12
- Feast law discovered - Nehemiah 8:13-15
- Feast of Tabernacles - Nehemiah 8:16-17**
- Day of solemn assembly - Nehemiah 8:18
- Fasting and repenting - Nehemiah 9:1-3***
- God's past goodness reviewed - Nehemiah 9:4-37****
- Covenant made, names sealed - Nehemiah 9:38; 10:1-39
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*Reading of the law - what does hearing the law do? Brings guilt. If you have no thought of guilt, you can not fully understand grace. Recently Father has blessed me with the exhortation by several of HIS saints to be cognizant of how a guiltless grace is the predominant teaching of our day. This type of 'gospel' is detrimental to understanding the true nature of grace. To fully (or to the best or our ability) understand grace, the manifold, magnificence of it, one needs to understand WHY it is needed. If there is no guilt, no understanding of having trespassed against a Holy God and His standard, how can one embrace the beauty of grace...unmerited favor.

Grace - used 159x in the OT and NT -
H2580 - From H2603; graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty). (First OT instance used Gen 6:8)

G5485 - From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude). (First NT instance Luke 2:40).

Webster's Dictionary - 3rd definition - (law) The prerogative of mercy exercised by the executive, as pardon. ~ The executive...GOD, mercy, stooping down, active.

This quote is from a sermon by Spurgeon - "The law never came to save men. It never was its intention at all. It came on purpose to make the evidence complete that salvation by works is impossible, and thus to drive the elect of God to rely wholly on the finished salvation of the gospel."

You can read it in its entirety here: www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0037.htm

G-R-A-C-E - God's Riches At Christ's Expense

In Nehemiah 8:1 - "...and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses..." - the people appear to be seeking.

8:3 - They read from the morning until midday - I am not sure what time 'morning' constitutes, but this would appear to be more than a 45 minute or hour long reading. What diligence! What delight!

"...and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law." Father opens the understanding...all the people were attentive. Lord, help those who are blessed to hear Your word being expounded, taught, preached, to hear, to desire to hear, to fervently seek You to understand Your Word.

8:7 - "...caused the people to understand the law:" - Faithful to explain to the people, to cause them to 'understand' what the Word of God was saying to them.

Understand - H995 - A primitive root; to separate mentally (or distinguish), that is, (generally) understand.

**Feast of Tabernacles - the last feast of the Autumn feasts - (TAT: Trumpets - Atonement - Tabernacles) - the Spring (3) and Summer (1) Feasts were fulfilled by Christ at HIS first coming. I am still intrigued by the Feasts - the richness and depth of how Christ is revealed and fulfilled and to fulfill them is a study that I continually come back to time and time again. Has Jesus, for the church (Jew and Gentile in one body) fulfilled the last 3? Or is the fulfillment to be when HE returns the 2nd time? Lots to learn and explore on that subject!

***Fasting - another interesting study...there is encouragement within the body to re-discover the benefits of fasting. I have not yet availed myself to study the issue...though it is known that Jesus did...and not as the Pharisees, in an attempt to garner the attention and admiration of the people. Can fasting be more than abstaining from food? Is it as pleasing in Father's sight? Benefits?

Fast - H6685 - From H6684; a fast. H6684 - A primitive root; to cover over (the mouth), that is, to fast.

****Nehemiah 9:21 - Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old and their feet swelled not.

- How oft do we 'remember' the goodness and blessings of our Father? Replaying them, telling them to our children, family, friends, etc? Giving HIM all the glory and honor for allowing us to have the trials, tribulations and testings and keeping us in and through them. I like Corrie Ten Boom's quote - "There is no pit so deep, that HE is not deeper still." 40 years of wandering...they were never without a light or cloudy pillar to guide them, food to eat, clothes to wear, and the physical stamina to endure. If HE kept them, HE will keep us. (Matthew 6:25-34).