Day 363 Bible Readings – Proverbs 31: 4-5 (ESV)

Nehemiah 10, Nehemiah 11: 1-21, Revelation 20, Proverbs 31: 1-9

Proverbs 31: 4-5 (ESV)

“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.”

Verses 4 and 5 from Proverbs 31 is such good advice especially for those who are in positions of leadership. If you are in a position where you need to be called upon to make important decisions or give advice, you always need your full faculties. I cannot imagine having to make an important decision, especially and life and death decision, while under the influence of even a little alcohol. I heard a pastor recently say that he does not drink at all, because he might need to be called to minister to someone in the middle of the night and he did not want to have his mind clouded with alcohol. Some pastors have said that they don’t drink alcohol because they think it is hypocritical to counsel someone on alcohol addiction if they drink alcohol themselves. What if you are a parent and your child needed you urgently, would you be able to respond well to your child if your mind was clouded with drink? What if you made a wrong decision for your child in an emergency because you were a little tipsy? It makes sense to follow the advice of Lemuel if you are in any position of leadership.

Day 362 Bible Readings for December 29 – Revelation 19: 11-12 (ESV)

Nehemiah 9, Revelation 19: 11-21, Proverbs 30: 24-33

Revelation 19: 11-12 (ESV)

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.”

I love verses 11 and 12 from Revelation 19. Many Bible commentators have said that the person on the white horse is Jesus Christ. The rest of the verses never say that the rider is Jesus Christ, but who else in heaven can be called “Faithful and True” except Jesus. Most of Revelation is about the disasters that will befall planet Earth because of the judgement of God, and I am afraid about these events that are supposed to happen. But reading these verses made me realize that part of Revelation is about the second coming of Jesus Christ, and what an honor it would be to witness Christ coming to earth again. These verses make me look forward to Revelation happening despite the disasters that will come during this period.

Day 361 Bible Readings – Nehemiah 8: 17 (ESV)

Nehemiah 7 & 8, Revelation 18: 18-24, Revelation 19: 1-10, Proverbs 30: 11-23

Nehemiah 8: 17 (ESV)

“And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.”

In verse 17 from Nehemiah 8, the people who returned from captivity decided to reenact the celebration of booths or the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. God commanded the people to live in booths for seven days as a reminder of how God provided booths for them when they were wandering in the desert after they left Egypt. The booths are temporary shelters with four sides called a Sukkah with an open roof made of palm branches.

When I read verse 17, I was reminded of how I first saw my first Sukkot in college. A group of students had made these temporary shelters and left them up for seven days in a field that was between the two main college dorms. They called it Sukkot or the Feast of Booths. At the end of the seven days, they threw a big party afterwards and we all celebrated. I wonder now if a revival was going on in campus at that time, like what was going on during the time written about in Nehemiah. Whatever was going on, it’s nice to know that college students celebrated God taking caring of his people when they were wandering in the wilderness. Perhaps they thought of college as a booth or temporary shelter from real life, and was celebrating how God was still taking care of them even in the wilderness of college life.

Day 360 Bible Readings – Revelation 18: 4-5 (ESV)

Nehemiah 5 & 6, Revelation 18: 1-17, Proverbs 30: 1-10

Revelation 18: 4-5 (ESV)

“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”

Verses 4 and 5 from Revelation 18 is the call to people of faith to separate from Babylon. Some Biblical scholars have said that Babylon is ruled by the anti-Christ and is a dwelling place of demons. But according to Biblical scholars Babylon is seductive as a woman, and many will be tempted to align with Babylon and its principles. Some Biblical scholars equate Babylon with a great commercial city, and we have seen in our modern times how the big cities seem to drive trends in our country for good or bad.

I think people who don’t live in big cities tend to see city people as more sophisticated than themselves, and when they see a trend emerge in a big city they want to adopt it. It doesn’t seem to matter if the trend makes sense for someone living in a big city and not for personal not living there, people glamorize the trend and want to emulate it. As people of faith, we need to review any trend that is happening in culture and see if it aligns with Biblical principles. If the trend goes against Biblical laws and principles, we need to reject it. We must always look to the Bible for how to live our life and not from cultural trends.