All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
We cover Timothy and Titus and walk with Jesus in John up to His arrest. We will finish Judges and read and finish Ruth. Psalms of Ascents continue, and we will read the description of Ezekiel’s Temple. There are many beautiful discoveries ahead this week in God’s word, and all of it is profitable.
John 12 – 18
Jesus is anointed in Bethany, enters Jerusalem as a humble King, and prays for Father to glorify His name. Heaven answers and people wonder, and the summation of Jesus’ ministry is given at the end of John twelve. Chapters thirteen through eighteen all happen in one night from the Passover supper to His arrest in the garden. Walk with Jesus as He shares His innermost thoughts, charges, and promises with His disciples.
1 Timothy 4 -6
Paul addresses the last days, the great apostasy, and our call to take heed to our ministry. Widows, elders, and employees are all given instructions. Charge to keep ourselves from covetousness and false assurance of riches. The good confession that Jesus held (to be read next week in John) is a powerful call to hold His word and not deny His name.
2 Timothy 1 – 4
What a gift to have 2 Timothy. Having established for Timothy the foundation of church life, Paul now addresses the conflicts. Fears within, sovereignty in God’s purposes, trust in His faithfulness and heartbreak of people turning away. That’s just the first chapter. The call to commit to faithful men, the faithful saying; 2:11-13, and our call to cleanse ourselves from iniquity. Chapter three shares the perilous times we are in today and Scripture being our anchor in all things. Chapter four is the charge to preach the word, Paul’s closing of his race, and the Lord keeping grace.
Titus 1
Titus is a shorter version of 1 Timothy, with the first chapter addressing choosing qualified elders.
Judges 18 – 21
We close the four hundred years of judges on a very low note, with Dan, taking a backslidden Levite priest who has a personal priest for a house filled with idols. Dan discovers this priest and claims him for their nation and, through force, takes the priest as their own and worships as a tribe the idol of Micah. Then the Levite, whose concubine is sexually abused all night unto death in the land of Benjamin and is then cut up and sent to the eleven tribes, which brings the nation into civil war almost extinguishing the tribe of Benjamin. The last verse of Judges states everything all too well. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25
Psalms 127 – 132
More Psalms of Ascents. These Psalms were for the coming up to Jerusalem during the Feasts, hence ascents. Jerusalem is a city that you ascend to from all directions and why the Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah. Imagine yourself a pilgrim coming up to Jerusalem singing these Psalms in the company of many pilgrims as you read them to our Father this week.
Ezekiel 41 – 46
These dimensions, given to Ezekiel, are God’s plans for a yet-to-be-built Temple. In Ezekiel 43, the Lord speaks to Israel’s past idolatries in setting up their thresholds and doorposts next to His, with a wall between them and God. Think of compartmentalizing God out of our lives and worshiping with our own forms of worship. In Chapter 44, the Lord speaks to the priesthood. He delegates to the priests, who had served the people in their idolatry, that they would only serve the people as gatekeepers and the work of the Temple but not be able to minister to Him. Only the sons of Zadok would be allowed to stand before the Lord to offer the fat and the blood. As the Lord said to Moses, “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14
