Daniel 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A MAN NAMED LAZARUS

“A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha…So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, ‘Lord, your dear friend is very sick’” (John 11:1, 3 NLT). Lazarus was a real person with a real problem—he was sick. But he had Someone going for him. Others were fans of Christ; Lazarus was friends with him.

So the sisters of Lazarus simply wrapped their concern in a sentence, and and they left it with Jesus. They did not tell him how to respond. No presumption. A lesson for us perhaps? Christ responded to the crisis of health with a promise of help. “‘Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death.’” (John 11:4 NLT). Lazarus, we learn, will find himself in the valley of death, but he will not stay there. Because Christ was with him. Remember, friends, you are never alone.

Daniel 9

God’s Covenant Commitment

“Darius, son of Ahasuerus, born a Mede, became king over the land of Babylon. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was meditating on the Scriptures that gave, according to the Word of God to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years that Jerusalem had to lie in ruins, namely, seventy. I turned to the Master God, asking for an answer—praying earnestly, fasting from meals, wearing rough penitential burlap, and kneeling in the ashes. I poured out my heart, baring my soul to God, my God:

4-8 “‘O Master, great and august God. You never waver in your covenant commitment, never give up on those who love you and do what you say. Yet we have sinned in every way imaginable. We’ve done evil things, rebelled, dodged and taken detours around your clearly marked paths. We’ve turned a deaf ear to your servants the prophets, who preached your Word to our kings and leaders, our parents, and all the people in the land. You have done everything right, Master, but all we have to show for our lives is guilt and shame, the whole lot of us—people of Judah, citizens of Jerusalem, Israel at home and Israel in exile in all the places we’ve been banished to because of our betrayal of you. Oh yes, God, we’ve been exposed in our shame, all of us—our kings, leaders, parents—before the whole world. And deservedly so, because of our sin.

9-12 “‘Compassion is our only hope, the compassion of you, the Master, our God, since in our rebellion we’ve forfeited our rights. We paid no attention to you when you told us how to live, the clear teaching that came through your servants the prophets. All of us in Israel ignored what you said. We defied your instructions and did what we pleased. And now we’re paying for it: The solemn curse written out plainly in the revelation to God’s servant Moses is now doing its work among us, the wages of our sin against you. You did to us and our rulers what you said you would do: You brought this catastrophic disaster on us, the worst disaster on record—and in Jerusalem!

13-14 “‘Just as written in God’s revelation to Moses, the catastrophe was total. Nothing was held back. We kept at our sinning, never giving you a second thought, oblivious to your clear warning, and so you had no choice but to let the disaster loose on us in full force. You, our God, had a perfect right to do this since we persistently and defiantly ignored you.

15-17 “‘Master, you are our God, for you delivered your people from the land of Egypt in a show of power—people are still talking about it! We confess that we have sinned, that we have lived bad lives. Following the lines of what you have always done in setting things right, setting people right, please stop being so angry with Jerusalem, your very own city, your holy mountain. We know it’s our fault that this has happened, all because of our sins and our parents’ sins, and now we’re an embarrassment to everyone around us. We’re a blot on the neighborhood. So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are.

18 “‘Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don’t deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope:

19 “‘Master, listen to us!
    Master, forgive us!
    Master, look at us and do something!
    Master, don’t put us off!
    Your city and your people are named after you:
    You have a stake in us!’

Seventy Sevens
20-21 “While I was pouring out my heart, baring my sins and the sins of my people Israel, praying my life out before my God, interceding for the holy mountain of my God—while I was absorbed in this praying, the humanlike Gabriel, the one I had seen in an earlier vision, approached me, flying in like a bird about the time of evening worship.

22-23 “He stood before me and said, ‘Daniel, I have come to make things plain to you. You had no sooner started your prayer when the answer was given. And now I’m here to deliver the answer to you. You are much loved! So listen carefully to the answer, the plain meaning of what is revealed:

24 “‘Seventy sevens are set for your people and for your holy city to throttle rebellion, stop sin, wipe out crime, set things right forever, confirm what the prophet saw, and anoint The Holy of Holies.

25-26 “‘Here is what you must understand: From the time the word goes out to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed Leader, there will be seven sevens. The rebuilding will take sixty-two sevens, including building streets and digging a moat. Those will be rough times. After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed Leader will be killed—the end of him. The city and Sanctuary will be laid in ruins by the army of the newly arriving leader. The end will come in a rush, like a flood. War will rage right up to the end, desolation the order of the day.

27 “‘Then for one seven, he will forge many and strong alliances, but halfway through the seven he will banish worship and prayers. At the place of worship, a desecrating obscenity will be set up and remain until finally the desecrator himself is decisively destroyed.’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, November 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Proverbs 30:24–31

“Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 hyraxes are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.[a]

Footnotes
Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Insight
Proverbs 30 is a collection of the sayings of “Agur son of Jakeh” (Proverbs 30:1). We don’t know who Agur or his father were, but they may have been from the tribe of Massa, who were descendants of Ishmael and settled in northern Arabia (Genesis 25:13–14; 1 Chronicles 1:29–31). If Agur and Jakeh were Massaites, the collection of Agur’s sayings in Proverbs 30 is an example of the multicultural character of Hebrew Wisdom Literature, adopted and shaped for Israelite theology.

One reason that the book of Proverbs sometimes “borrows” material from other cultures is because Wisdom Literature often drew lessons from the surrounding world and experiences of life. Such observations are universal and reflect the design of God’s good creation. Proverbs 30 contains observations from nature and social relationships that offer implicit lessons for wise living.

Relaxing with Purpose
Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise. Proverbs 30:24

Ramesh loves to tell others about Jesus. He boldly speaks with coworkers, and one weekend each month returns to his village to evangelize from house to house. His enthusiasm is contagious—especially since he’s learned the value of taking time to rest and relax.

Ramesh used to spend every weekend and most evenings proclaiming the gospel. His wife and children missed him when he was out, and they found him exhausting when he was around. He needed to make every minute and conversation count. He couldn’t enjoy games or small talk. Ramesh was wound too tight.

He was awakened to his imbalance by the honest words of his wife, the counsel of friends, and somewhat obscure passages of Scripture. Proverbs 30 mentions trivial things, such as ants, roosters, and locusts. It marvels how “a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces” (v. 28).

Ramesh wondered how something so mundane made it into the Bible. Observing lizards required significant downtime. Someone saw a lizard darting around the palace and thought that’s interesting, and paused to watch some more. Perhaps God included it in His Word to remind us to balance work with rest. We need hours to daydream about lizards, catch one with our kids, and simply relax with family and friends. May God give us wisdom to know when to work, serve, and relax! By:  Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray
How are you balancing work and rest? Would those closest to you say that you love them? Why or why not?

Jesus, Your love frees me for productive work and meaningful rest.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 04, 2020
The Authority of Truth
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. —James 4:8

It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.

When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me…” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 32-33; Hebrews 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 04, 2020
Garbage Picker Vision - #8823

You never knew when my wife was going to have one of her attacks. No, it wasn't a medical condition; it used to happen as we were driving through our neighborhood on garbage night. Suddenly she'd go, "Stop! Wait!" And I'd say, "What's the matter?" And she'd say, "Look at that chair." Actually it was the remains of a chair, broken, pretty gross I thought. And then she'd say, "Hey, let's take it." I think there's a name for that. Garbage picking, right? Yeah.

Well, of course, my sons were in the back seat. They'd just roll their eyes and go, "Oh, no, Mom. Please, please don't do this to us." Well, the only compromise we ever worked out is that she would allow us to come back after it was dark when no one could see us. That was merciful. Do this by cover of night.

Now, a couple of weeks later, and this happened many times, I'd come in the house and say, "Hey, that's a beautiful chair! Where'd you get that? Where'd you get the money for it?" And she'd say, "There wasn't any money. Remember that chair we got out of the garbage?" Well, yeah, my wife was a garbage picker, but she could look at some old piece of furniture and she could see something the rest of us just don't see.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Garbage Picker Vision."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 1, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 40 early in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two men who had heard what John the Baptist had said and who had followed Jesus. Now, the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).' And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter).'"

Now, maybe you know that that's the word for rock. Honestly, I don't think that's what other people saw when they saw Peter. They saw Simon, they saw kind of a flaky, erratic kind of guy. You know, they'd go through the neighborhood and say, "Well, Peter's a... you know, he's kind of unpredictable, you never know what he's going to say. He puts his foot in his mouth." But when Jesus looked at him, He saw a rock.

I was privileged to be married to someone who could see past what was broken and ugly. That's why we stopped for things other people had thrown away. She would see what it could be and she made it into something beautiful and useful. See, that was the wonderful vision Jesus saw through His eyes when He looked at people. Some people saw John, the son of thunder, but Jesus said, "I'm going to make him the apostle of love." Some people saw Mary Magdalene, a demon possessed perhaps prostitute, but Jesus said, "I see a loyal, devoted follower of Christ here."

See, a lot of people saw in Zacchaeus garbage, greed, and dishonesty, but Jesus saw the potential of a man who could be a "somebody" by giving instead of taking. And He looks at you like that. Maybe others can only see what's broken in you, ugly in you, but He sees what you can be. He sees what you're created to be. He wants us to develop that "garbage picker" vision like He has too.

To be a parent who can look past the garbage that your child might be giving out and see what he could be. Tell them about their potential, not just their problems. To see in a friend or a leader or a helper someone who could be more than they are. Don't just say, "You're a mess." Say, "Do you know what? You're better than this, man. I see in you a treasure that God created. I see under that mask a sensitive person, an insightful person, I see a leader, I see a listener, I see a potential fighter for what's right. Whatever potential God gives you to see in them, tell them.

Somewhere near you is an assignment with a name; someone waiting for another person to see the Peter, the rock, in them. Stop for someone that others might be walking past or even throwing away or trashing. Pick them up and patiently build them into all they were meant to be.