John 12:20-50

Everything that happens, every thing no matter how small it may seem, is allowed to happen for a reason. The earth is God’s and nothing happens that He is not aware of. Bad things can be used for teaching us the godly things of life. Good things give us hope in the midst of the  ungodly things of life. 

We can do the right thing for the wrong reason.

The wrong thing for the right reasons.

Or the right thing for the right reasons….those come from God!

Jesus was glorified in His death and because of His sacrifice…we share in His glory in our death to this life and the precept by precept change that He brings to us by faith in Him. Jesus is God!

Now the time had come for Christ to die and be raised from the dead. When a seed dies, it produces fruit. Life comes by death. This principle is true not only in nature, but it is also true spiritually. Jesus was speaking first and foremost of Himself. He is the grain of wheat. His death would produce much fruit and would result in many living for God. The people understood that lifted up meant removal from the earth by death. They argued that Scripture teaches that the Messiah would abide forever. To them, the Messiah would not have to die. They did not understand that He would be raised. Their unbelief is startling. However Jesus’ predicted suffering and death did not fit the people’s idea of the Messiah. 

The consequence of repeated rejection is loss of the capacity to believe. Isaiah taught that some could not believe because God hardened their hearts after they repeatedly rejected the truth. 

John uses the words His glory to speak of the manifestation of God Himself. John quotes Isaiah 6:9 as a prophecy of the people’s unbelief and their rejection of Christ. In that verse, Isaiah was talking about God Himself. Therefore in this passage John is teaching that Jesus is God. Because the rulers did not confess Him, some claim that their faith was not genuine. The text, however, says that they believed in Him, a construction in Greek that typically indicates saving faith. Moreover, the word nevertheless marks a stark contrast between these believers and the unbelief spoken of in verses 37–41. These men were genuine believers. Their problem was that they feared the opinions of their fellow leaders. Such believers will be ashamed at Christ’s return.

Although the Greeks were not Jewish by heritage, these people believed in Yahweh. They did not always abide by all Jewish practices, but they followed enough to be allowed into one of the courts of the temple. A grain of wheat is not valuable unless it becomes something else. Jesus is willing to suffer for the cause God has set before Him. He suggests that His value is substantially less if He is unwilling to follow through on God’s will. If people decide that their lives are more important than God’s will, then they will forfeit the type of life God wants to give them—a life of relationship with Him now and in eternity. Those who choose to believe in Jesus will receive life forever, in communion with God the Father, because of their relationship with Jesus. If God’s people serve Christ, then His greatness will show through them. Jesus insisted that anyone who believed in Him was at the same time exercising belief in God the Father. Jesus explained that He was the personal manifestation of God. Christ will judge, but at His first coming He did not come to judge but to save. NKJ Bible.

Jesus wishes that He could forego suffering, but He knows that His death is necessary in order for Him to fulfill the will of the Father and save people from their sins.

The opposition between light and darkness is a prominent motif in John. People who follow evil desires and powers are usually not aware they are being led away from God and toward death. Belief in Jesus is belief in God the Father.  Jesus equates Himself with God the Father; they are one. A believer in Jesus chooses to follow Jesus’ will. The intellectual decision begins a relationship with Jesus, but entering into a relationship with Him through that initial belief is only the beginning of the faith journey. The commandment Jesus requires His disciples to keep is to believe in His ability to grant eternal life. Faithlife Bible.

John 12

20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

“Lord, who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,

Lest they should see with their eyes,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.”

41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Deuteronomy 18:18 | I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.

Isaiah 6:1 | In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Jeremiah 13:16 | Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light,He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.

Luke 22:53 | When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

John 8:12 | Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 2:12-19

In the spring hope! 

Jesus, all man-all God, born to the common people who would accept Him. The religious right for the most part did not. Satan seeks to kill believers simply because they believe in Jesus.

Christ within, the hope of glory.

The people make a path for Jesus to enter the city as royalty.  This Hebrew expression, Hosanna, meaning “help us” or “save us,” developed into a liturgical expression of praise. Jesus comes as a representation of the divine name—as “I am” or Yahweh. Faithlife Bible.

The chief priests were mostly Sadducees. They had an additional reason to kill Lazarus. He was a living refutation of their doctrine that there was no resurrection. Yet this was not a meeting of the Jewish council, nor was it a formal sentence of death. on account of him. The ultimate motivation for wanting to kill Lazarus was that because of him many were believing in Jesus.  Individuals were withdrawing from the Jewish leaders. This was the Sunday before Christ arose, today called Palm Sunday. Until this point, Jesus had discouraged expressions of support from the people. Here He allowed public enthusiasm. He entered Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey. This act fulfilled prophecy and as such was a symbolic proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah. The disciples did not catch the prophetic significance of Jesus’ act. After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, the disciples finally understood that the OT prophecies concerning the Messiah had been fulfilled in Jesus. NKJ BIble.

John 12:12-19 (Spring A.D.30)

12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

The King of Israel!”

14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 

19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”

Psalm 118:25 | Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.

Psalm 118:26 | Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

Isaiah 40:9 | O Zion,You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Zechariah 9:9 | “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey,A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:7 | They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.

On the next day, the Lord’s day, or Sunday, the tenth day of the Jewish month Nisan, on which the paschal lamb was set apart to be “kept up until the fourteenth day of the same month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel were to kill it in the evening”. Even so, from the day of this solemn entry into Jerusalem, “Christ our Passover” was virtually set apart to be “sacrificed for us”. 

The Spirit, descending on them from the glorified Saviour at Pentecost, opened their eyes suddenly to the true sense of the Old Testament, brought vividly to their recollection this and other Messianic predictions, and to their unspeakable astonishment showed them that they, and all the actors in these scenes, had been unconsciously fulfilling those predictions.

Nisan (or Nissan), the first month on Jewish calendar (according to the Torah), coincides with mid March-mid April on the civil calendar. The Torah calls it chodesh ha-aviv—the month of spring, as it marks the beginning of the spring months. 

The Apostle John and the winter of A.D. 29-30

What attributes does God honor?

Faith. Hope. Love. And the greatest of these is Love!

And what does He detest? Arrogance and pride.

Just believe in his goodness, not mans.

The Apostle John and the winter of A.D. 29-30

The words “Read This First” have taken an important role in the packaging of modern consumer products. Most consumers think life is too short for instruction manuals, so the packagers state it plainly: If you cannot read the manual, at least read this very important part. “Read This First”—it is for your own good. The Gospel of John makes a similar claim. It is the only book in the Bible that states its purpose clearly and succinctly: It was written to tell individuals how to find eternal life. This clearly identified purpose sets the Gospel of John apart from the other Gospels. It is not so much a life of Jesus as it is a powerful presentation of His deity. Every chapter presents evidence—both signs and statements—for His divine authority. According to John, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, is the beginning of eternal life (3:14–17). What could be more important? John’s statement about his Gospel is as good as a “Read This First” sticker for one’s entire life.

The author of the Gospel of John does not identify himself by name, but his identity can be learned from the dialogue recorded. The author calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (21:20). Thus it is reasonable to conclude that this book was written by the apostle John. This conclusion is supported by early Christians such as Polycarp (a.d. 60–155), who was a follower of John.

John 10

22.Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’  because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” 39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.

John 11

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

John 11

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

John 12

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

1 Kings 8:27-50

They had Israel, a physical dwelling place, and the Spirit gave utterance to an elect group  of those who the people would listen to. 

We have Jesus, who dwells spiritually within us, and the Holy Spirit gives utterance to all who choose to believe in Him and who will listen. Our enemy roams the earth seeking to kill, steal and destroy those who believe in Christ.

His enemies were those of His own house…the religious right.He chose to give His life for us anyway. Praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew word used here for pleading, rinnah, indicates a strong raising of the voice that can be either a cry of fright or a cry of joy. In the ot, God threatens to turn Israel over to its enemies as punishment for abandoning His ways. This reflects a common ancient Near Eastern belief that the god of a nation protected his people so long as he was satisfied with them. There is not rain because they have sinned Indicates that Israel’s behavior determines the weather and fertility of the land. In the ancient Near East, deities had to commission or approve battles. Conquering armies in the ancient Near East commonly displaced the conquered by systematically sending them to other lands. Faithlife Bible.

The God of Scripture is infinite; all that He has made, vast as creation may be, finally has its limits. No mere building, no matter how wonderful, can be thought of as the dwelling place of God. Yet in His grace the Lord condescends to be viewed as having His dwelling among men. God’s dwelling in a temple prefigured the Incarnation when the Creator became man, born in a stable in Bethlehem.

Solomon’s first request asks for righteous judgment. In such situations where there was insufficient evidence to establish a charge, the accused was obliged to take an oath declaring his innocence.  Solomon’s second request asks for forgiveness of sin, where sin against God has caused Israel to be defeated. Solomon’s third and fourth requests deal with healing the land after distress or drought due to the people’s sin. The remedy in such cases of judgment is repentance and prayer for forgiveness, followed by renewed faithfulness to the standards of God’s covenant. Solomon’s fifth request deals with prayer by a foreigner. Unlike God’s people or resident aliens within the commonwealth of Israel, foreigners have no particular claim on the ear of God. But God’s people expected foreigners to be drawn to Him through the worship of His people. Solomon’s sixth and seventh requests concern matters relative to wartime situations. Battle was to be waged in accordance with divine directions and could be lost by disobedience. Believers must face all of life’s crucial encounters with trust in God and faithful adherence to the standards of His word. NKJ Bible.

1 Kings 8

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

37 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

46 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them.

Leviticus 26:40 | ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

Deuteronomy 25:1 | “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked,

1 Samuel 12:23 | Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.

Psalm 27:11 | Teach me Your way, O LORD,And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

Psalm 102:15 | So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD,And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

Solomon stood before the altar—This position was in the court of the people, on a brazen scaffold erected for the occasion, fronting the altar of burnt offering, and surrounded by a mighty concourse of people. Assuming the attitude of a suppliant, kneeling and with uplifted hands, he performed the solemn act of consecration—an act remarkable, among other circumstances, for this, that it was done, not by the high priest or any member of the Aaronic family, but by the king in person, who might minister about, though not in, holy things.

This sublime prayer, which breathes sentiments of the loftiest piety blended with the deepest humility, naturally bore a reference to the national blessing and curse contained in the law—and the burden of it—after an ascription of praise to the Lord for the bestowment of the former, was an earnest supplication for deliverance from the latter. He specifies seven cases in which the merciful interposition of God would be required; and he earnestly bespeaks it on the condition of people praying towards that holy place. The blessing addressed to the people at the close is substantially a brief recapitulation of the preceding prayer. Commentary JFB.

Nahum 1:7-8

Divine Protection is only found in Jesus.

These are troubling times. I pray for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But I also know that His return is delayed by God’s love for His creation. He doesn’t want any one to perish without the chance to accept His salvation. Pray for His will, not ours, to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Hebrew term, for He know those who trust in Him, denotes the sense of protection or providence He provides.

Archaeological excavations have shown that Nineveh was partially destroyed by floodwaters from the Tigris River. Faithlife Bible.

For the righteous, this is the best news of all. Because we know that the Lord is good, we can endure the tribulations of life. The judgment of the Lord will be inescapable. 

The word flood is both a poetic term for overwhelming devastation and a specific reference to the actual manner of Nineveh’s fall. It is believed that the invaders of Nineveh entered the city through its flooded waterways. NKJ Bible.

Nahum 1:7-8

7 The Lord is good,

A stronghold in the day of trouble;

And He knows those who trust in Him.

8 But with an overflowing flood

He will make an utter end of its place,

And darkness will pursue His enemies.

Psalm 1:6 | For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 25:8 | Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

Psalm 37:39 | But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.

Psalm 37:40 | And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

Psalm 100:5 | For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Daniel 9:20-27

There will be an end to life as we know it. It will usher in a new and beautiful, everlasting life to those who choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior! 

Gabriel elaborates on the word and vision. He tells Daniel what God has decreed: a set time frame for judgment that will not be altered. Daniel learned about the rise and fall of four kingdoms and the little horn. The conflict between Persia and Greece was elaborated upon, as was the profaning activities of the little horn. Daniel gets a glimpse into the desolating actions of the one previously identified as the little horn.

This prophecy about the 70 sevens (or weeks) is notoriously difficult to understand. The main interpretive issue is identifying the time when the prophecy is to be fulfilled. The most common suggestions relate the fulfillment to the time of Antiochus, the time of Christ, the destruction of the second temple in ad 70, or some unspecified future eschatological event. Any attempt at interpretation must grapple with the text’s message for Daniel’s original audience—the Jews in exile. The book of Daniel—and the prophecies contained in it—is “hope literature,” meant to inspire a suffering people and instruct them about how to live righteously under oppressive foreign rule.

The six consecutive infinitives describe what will take place by the end of the 70 weeks. While some believe the events refer to Jesus and His first and second comings, others argue that these events took place before the time of Christ. Faithlife Bible.

Because the temple was in ruins, regular daily sacrifices were impossible. Nevertheless, Daniel observed the ritual of worship by praying at the hour of the evening sacrifice. Daniel’s prayer was his evening offering.

Second Chronicles 36:21 suggests that the captivity was to last long enough to make up for 70 omissions of the sabbatical year, which occurred every seven years. This would amount to 490 years before God’s people would experience perfect reconciliation with their God. There are many different interpretations of how these years account for the eras of world history before the Second Coming of the Messiah. Some interpreters have suggested that the use of the number seven in this verse is symbolic representing completeness—that is, the completion of all of human history.

The command to restore and build Jerusalem may be a reference to (1) the decree of Cyrus in Ezra 1, (2) the decree of Darius in Ezra 6, (3) the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7, or (4) the decree of Artaxerxes in Neh. 2.

One commonly held interpretation maintains that the sixty-two weeks can be added to the seven weeks of v. 25, resulting in a total of 69 weeks, or 483 years. If these years are added to the date of the decree of Artaxerxes in Neh. 2, 445 b.c., with an adjustment to allow for the use of a 360-day year, the end of the 69 weeks coincides with the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Various other interpretations of the time periods indicated by the 62 weeks have been presented, including one that asserts that the Messiah in this verse refers to Cyrus, who was also called the Lord’s anointed. Messiah shall be cut off may be a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The phrase cut off means “to destroy, to kill.” The fact that Jesus Christ died not for Himself but for the sins of the world may support the view that the Messiah in this verse refers to Jesus Himself. The prince who is to come may be a reference to the Antichrist.

Daniel 9:20-27

20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy weeks are determined

For your people and for your holy city,

To finish the transgression,

To make an end of sins,

To make reconciliation for iniquity,

To bring in everlasting righteousness,

To seal up vision and prophecy,

And to anoint the Most Holy.

25 “Know therefore and understand,

That from the going forth of the command

To restore and build Jerusalem

Until Messiah the Prince,

There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;

The street shall be built again, and the wall,

Even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks

Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;

And the people of the prince who is to come

Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

The end of it shall be with a flood,

And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;

But in the middle of the week

He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,

Even until the consummation, which is determined,

Is poured out on the desolate.”

2 Chronicles 29:24 | And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

Nehemiah 4:8 | and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

Matthew 24:2 | And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Luke 19:44 | and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

1 Peter 2:21 | For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: