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The Bowls of Darius and Artaxerxes ‎Darius “the Great” ruled the Persian Empire from 522–486 BC. Artaxerxes I ruled from 464–424 BC. Ezra-Nehemiah often mentions both, as Darius authorized the rebuilding of the house of God ( Ezra 6:5 ).

Triple Gate and Temple Mount bulge

Oil Press ‎Oil is extracted from the olives by pressing. They had to be crushed under considerable weight. There were different kinds of olive press, but the basic idea was to roll a heavy stone over the olives. This kind of press is pictured at the bottom: Persons or animals moved a smaller stone in which a long pole was inserted over a large cylindrical stone. Another method to press olives is illustrated at the top: The olives were put into special baskets that were placed under a log anchored in a wall. The long log had heavy stones attached and acted as a kind of fulcrum on the olives. The fulcrum produced weight on the olives—or on the tiny bags with the pulp and seeds that resulted from crashing the olives -, squeezing the oil out. ‎1 Kings 5:11 ; Job 24:11

Be Ready for Action 1 Pete 1:13 Have your minds ready for action is literally “gird up the loins of your mind.” To “gird the loin” was an appropriate metaphor for people in the Middle East at that time. These people normally wore long gowns, and when someone prepared for any strenuous activity, he “girded” his robe, that is, he tied his robe securely (by using a belt, for example), to make sure that his robe would not be in the way. The metaphor therefore came to mean “be ready for action.” The area of readiness in this verse is the mind, and the full meaning of the metaphor is therefore to prepare oneself mentally (compare NIV “prepare your minds for action” ; SPCL “Think well what you are about to do” ; GECL “Keep that goal in mind with strong determination” ). A literal translation (for example, NAB, RSV) would produce a very unnatural expression without making the meaning clear. Have your minds ready for action may be somewhat better expressed in some languages a...

September 30   He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways         Ps. 91:11 Count no duty too little, no round of life too small, no work too low, if it come in thy way, since God thinks so much of it as to send His angels to guard thee in it. Mark Guy Pearse Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

September 30: Key Players and Main Narratives Malachi 2:10–4:6 ; Acts 28:1–31 ; Job 31:23–40 The book of Acts ends on a somewhat unsatisfying note. After all that Paul has been through—imprisonment, trial, shipwreck—we expect a showdown with Caesar or mass conversions of the Jews. Instead, the plot seems to sputter out. Paul arrives in Rome and appeals to the Jews living there. He quotes Isaiah to the Jewish leaders: “You will keep on hearing, and will never understand, and you will keep on seeing and will never perceive” ( Acts 28:26 ). When they fail to respond, Paul determines to reach out to the Gentiles. “They also will listen” ( Acts 28:28 ) and will respond differently. The poignant end of this book leaves Paul “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, without hindrance” ( Acts 28:30 ). Facing either rejection or reception, he continues proclaiming the good news to both Jew and Gentile. Paul is a ke...

September 30th The commission of the call Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake. Col. 1:24 . We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant, flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say— “Here am I, send me.” This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. ...

Morning, September 30       Go To Evening Reading           “Sing forth the honour of his name, make his praise glorious.”            — Psalm 66:2 It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God’s most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of his grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian’s duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless in this re...

Horse Mint (Mentha longifolia) ‎Of the two main mint species that people consumed in first-century Palestine, horse mint (Mentha longifolia) was the more hardy. It grew both wild and cultivated in many moist, well-lit niches, though rarely by the sea. God’s law never specifically mentions mint leaves, which were used in cooking and in medicines. When Jesus chided his opponents for tithing mint, he was not opposing their tithing per se, but rather their emphasis on less important matters as they neglected the core issues of justice and of loving God. ‎Matt 23:23, Luke 11:42 ‎Image by Franz Xaver, from Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Genesis from the First Bible of Charles the Bald The frontispiece to Genesis from the first Bible of Charles the Bald (ninth century) shows (top) the creation of man and woman, (middle) eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, and (bottom) the banishment of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. The ancestral story is constructed of three narrative cycles that are collections of material revolving around Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, respectively, with genealogical interludes devoted to Ishmael and Esau. In the Abraham cycle Abraham is guided by God to journey to Canaan and settle there, with the promise of divine blessing and offspring ( Gen. 12 ). Arriving at his destination, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, find the land to be rife with disappointment and danger, from famine to threats to personal safety, to infertility. Eventually Abraham and Sarah have a son, Isaac, but the bestowing deity demands him back, as told in the wrenching episode called the Akedah, or binding of I...

Chariots with cases for Bow and Arrows ‎ Egyptian war chariots were lighter than their Assyrian counterparts. Designed for speed, maneuverability, and convenience, they were usually made of wood with a standing platform made of interlaced bands of leather to mitigate the jolting. They incorporated forward-facing cases for arrows and a bow, as in this image, and rearward-facing cases for spears. Wheels featured a thinner rim than Assyrian chariot wheels, and six thinner spokes compared to the Assyrians’ eight thicker ones. God destroyed chariots similar to this one in the Red Sea ( Exod 14:23–28 ). ‎ Gen 46:29 , Exod 14:6–31 , 1 Kgs 7:29 , Josh 17:16–18 , Judg 1:19 , Ps 20:7, Acts 8:28–39, Rev 9:9

Tomb of David ‎ The tomb of David, a picture of which was taken by our artist on the 24th of April, 1894, is on the south brow of the hill outside of the Zion Gate. Here it is supposed that David and other kings of Judah were buried, and here is the Cœnaculum which tradition says was the “upper chamber” where the Lord’s supper was held, and where the disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost. This tradition is more respectable than many of the traditions in Jerusalem. It dates back to the fourth century. Jews, Christians and Moslems have for many centuries united in agreeing that this site is genuine, and it is said that the Jews are often seen near to the building reverently and with tears looking toward it—not, indeed, for its Pentecostal memories, but because they believe that here their royal David was entombed. Josephus tells us that Hyrcanus took from David’s tomb three thousand talents, and when Herod the Great attempted to plunder the royal tombs he found to his...

September 29   This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith         1 John 5:4 The world conquers me when it succeeds in hindering me from seeing, loving, holding communion with, and serving my Father, God. I conquer it when I lay my hand upon it and force it to help me to get nearer Him, to get more like Him, to think oftener of Him, to do His will more gladly and more constantly. The one victory over the world is to bend it to serve me in the highest things—the attainment of a clearer vision of the divine nature, the attainment of a deeper love to God Himself, and a more glad consecration and service to Him. That is the victory—when you can make the world a ladder to lift you to God. When the world comes between you and God as an obscuring screen, it has conquered you. When the world comes between you and God as a transparent medium you have conquered it. To win victory is to get it beneath your feet and stand upon it, and reach...

September 29: Rebuilding Is Not Always Wise Malachi 1:1–2:9 ; Acts 27:1–44 ; Job 31:9–22 Who can rebuild what Yahweh tears down? The prophets articulate this message again and again. Yahweh tears down evil things; evil people rebuild them; the prophets insist that He will just tear them down again. God tolerates evil for a time, waiting for people to repent, but when His patience is up, it’s up. “ ‘I have loved you,’ says Yahweh, but you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?’ declares Yahweh. ‘I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.’ If Edom says, ‘We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,’ Yahweh of hosts says this: ‘They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.’ Your eyes will see this, and you will say, ‘Yahweh is great beyond the borders ...

September 29th The consciousness of the call For necessity is laid upon me: yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 1 Cor. 9:16 . We are apt to forget the mystical, supernatural touch of God. If you can tell where you got the call of God and all about it, I question whether you have ever had a call. The call of God does not come like that, it is much more supernatural. The realization of it in a man’s life may come with a sudden thunder-clap or with a gradual dawning, but in whatever way it comes, it comes with the undercurrent of the supernatural, something that cannot be put into words, it is always accompanied with a glow. At any moment there may break the sudden consciousness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life— “I have chosen you.” The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. It is not because you are sanctified that you are therefore called to preach the gospel; the call to ...

Morning, September 29       Go To Evening Reading           “Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague.”           — Leviticus 13:13 Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound. This morning it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so singular a rule. We, too, are lepers, and may read the law of the leper as applicable to ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen and felt it has received its death blow, an...

Turban and Breastplate Turban and Breastplate Sardius (sard, or sardin) is a transpar ent reddish stone, a bit darker than carnelian. The Hebrew word suggests the meaning of “redness.” The “ruby” (28:18 TEV), though well known today, was probably not known in the ancient Near East, for no samples have been found in any of the excavated sites. Topaz is a translucent stone, usually yellow or brownish yellow. Some scholars equate it with chrysolite, which usually is olive greenish in color. The Hebrew word does not suggest any color, but the Septuagint translates it as topazion. Carbuncle is an archaic word for any one of several red precious stones. “Garnet” (28:18 TEV) is a translucent dark reddish brown stone. But the Septuagint identifies it as green beryl, possibly emerald. Emerald is a rich green stone, a superior quality of beryl. Some scholars have suggested the Hebrew word refers to malachite, which is green, or turquoise, and usually a bluish green. The ...

Public Shame Hebrews 6:6 The figurative meaning of they are again crucifying the Son of God must be marked in some languages as a simile; for example, “it is just as if they were again crucifying the Son of God” or “it is just as though they were again nailing the Son of God to a cross.” If one adopts meaning (b), it is possible to say “in themselves” or “as far as they themselves are concerned.” But this meaning seems presupposed in view of the figurative significance of “crucifying the Son of God.” This could only have a so-called spiritual meaning with reference to the individuals themselves. Exposing him to public shame means either (1) “holding him up as a warning to others,” (2) “causing others to look down on Christ,” or (3) “causing others to ridicule Christ.” Here (2) or (3) fits the context better than (1). Criminals were exposed in this way by being crucified or otherwise punished in public. Ellingworth, Paul, and Eugene Albert Nida. A Handbook on the ...

Aquinas: The Eucharist the Greatest of Sacraments Secondly, this is made clear by considering the relation of the sacraments to one another. For all the other sacraments seem to be ordained to this one as to their end. For it is manifest that the sacrament of Order is ordained to the consecration of the Eucharist: and the sacrament of Baptism to the reception of the Eucharist: while a man is perfected by Confirmation, so as not to fear to abstain from this sacrament. By Penance and Extreme Unction man is prepared to receive the Body of Christ worthily. And Matrimony, at least in its signification, touches this sacrament; in so far as it signifies the union of Christ with the Church, of which union the Eucharist is a figure: hence the Apostle says ( Eph. 5:32 ): This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ and in the Church. Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica. Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne. Print.

Myrrh Resin ‎Myrrh, costly since Bible times, has many uses. The Egyptians used it for embalming, and most cultures in Bible lands burned it as incense or used the essential oil, alone or in combinations, as a perfume, salve, or ointment. Medicinally, it may help regulate cholesterol and sugars in the blood. Myrrh shows analgesic activity in experiments on rats. ‎ Gen 37:25 , Esth 2:12 , Ps 45:8 , Prov 7:17 , Song 1:13 , Matt 2:11 , Mark 15:23 , John 19:39 , Rev 18:13 ‎Image by Birgit Lachner, from Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

September 28   Wait for the promise of the Father         Acts 1:4 Tarry at a promise till God meets you there. He always returns by way of His promises. Selected Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

September 28: Turning the Tables Zechariah 12:1–14:21 ; Acts 26:1–32 ; Job 31:1–8 When Paul presents the gospel before King Agrippa, we expect him to be defensive. But Paul is ready to shift the spotlight. He offers a surprisingly simple explanation of recent events and a testimony of his faith, and then he describes how the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. He deftly turns the tables and gives the king the opportunity to believe. Paul describes the gospel as something that was intended all along—it is nothing new: “Therefore I have experienced help from God until this day, and I stand here testifying to both small and great saying nothing except what both the prophets and Moses have said were going to happen, that the Christ was to suffer and that as the first of the resurrection from the dead, he was going to proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles” ( Acts 26:23 ). Paul respectfully tells Agrippa that his testimony should come as no great surprise. Ag...

September 28th The “go” of unconditional identification One thing thou lackest.… come, take up the cross, and follow Me. Mark 10:21 . The rich young ruler had the master passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never puts personal holiness to the fore when He calls a disciple; He puts absolute annihilation of my right to myself and identification with Himself—a relationship with Himself in which there is no other relationship. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us know the absolute “go” of abandonment to Jesus. “Then Jesus beholding him loved him.” The look of Jesus will mean a heart broken for ever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked at you? The look of Jesus transforms and transfixes. Where you are ‘soft’ with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insiste...

Morning, September 28       Go To Evening Reading          “The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.”            — Psalm 33:13 Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious light than when he is spoken of as stooping from his throne, and coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the woes of mankind. We love him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until he had made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines his ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but love him when we know that he numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive he...

Greeting to all people of the world, The Lord has blessed us once again by His grace and mercy to share in His word to the world over the Internet. Before you begin today's church ministry, did you STOP to pray and thank Jehovah for His grace and mercy for allowing you to be among the living once again? If not, STOP what you are doing immediately and give thanks and praises glorifying Him for this moment of life, because the next moment God may call for you in death. Will you be ready? If not, secular people come to Jesus in faith, then repentance and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then you will be saved; then find a Bible believing church that teaches and preaches God's infallible word. Christian's, are you prepared for death? If not, get your house-self-in order for you know not the day nor hour of death, nor His coming. May the God of us all bless those that are bedridden at home, in convalescent homes, hospitals, incarcerated or serving in the Arme...

Covenant Communities Unit 1: Leaders in the Covenant Community ( Lessons 1–4 ) Nehemiah: Motivator for the People September 27 Lesson 4   DEVOTIONAL READING: Isaiah 62:1–7  BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE : Nehemiah 2  PRINTED TEXT: Nehemiah 2:5 , 11–20 Nehemiah 2:5 , 11–20 5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. ............. 11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. ...

Lesson for September 27, 2015 Standing Firm Against Opposition Acts 7:1-53 Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches  preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado . This lesson treatment is published in the September 20 issue of  The Lookout  magazine, and is also available online at  www.lookoutmag.com . ______ By Mark Scott  Opposition always hurts. It especially hurts when it comes from kin. Stephen found that out. The second internal challenge that the church faced (certain widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food) caused the church to select seven men to handle this oversight ( Acts 6:1-6 ). One of those seven men was Stephen. Even though Stephen was not an apostle, he gave the longest speech in the book of Acts. It is hard not to overestimate the significance ...

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 | PENTECOST EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST YEAR B              Old Testament       Jeremiah 11:18–20              Old Testament       Numbers 12:1–15 (Supplemental)              Psalm       Psalm 31              New Testament       James 3:13–18              Gospel       Mark 9:30–37 Christian Worship Three Year Lectionary (with Supplemental Lectionary). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009. Print.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 | AFTER PENTECOST PROPER 21 YEAR B               Old Testament       Esther 7:1–6, 9–10, 9:20–22              Psalm       Psalm 124 (UMH 846)              New Testament       James 5:13–20              Gospel       Mark 9:38–50 Vanderbilt Divinity Library. United Methodist Revised Common Lectionary. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009. Print.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 | ORDINARY TIME TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B | ROMAN MISSAL               First Reading       Numbers 11:25–29               Response       Psalm 19:9ab               Psalm       Psalm 19:8, 10, 12–14               Second Reading       James 5:1–6               Gospel Acclamation       John 17:17ab               Gospel       Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48 Catholic Lectionary. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009. Print.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 | PENTECOST PROPER 21 YEAR B               Old Testament       Numbers 11:4–6, 10–16, 24–29              Psalm       Psalm 104:27–35              Epistle       (James 5:1–12) 13–20              Gospel       Mark 9:38–50 Lutheran Service Book Three Year Lectionary. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009. Print.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 | AFTER PENTECOST PROPER 21 YEAR B               Psalm       Psalm 19 or Psalm 19:7–14              First Reading       Numbers 11:4–6, 10–16, 24–29              Second Reading       James 4:7–12 (13–5:6)              Gospel       Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48 The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer (1979) Sunday Lectionary. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010. Print.

The Lord Is Good Pt. 2

September 26   So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom         Ps. 90:12 Every day is a little life; and our whole life is but a day repeated: whence it is that old Jacob numbers his life by days; and Moses desires to be taught this point of holy arithmetic—to number not his years, but his days. Those, therefore, that dare lose a day, are dangerously prodigal; those that dare misspend it, desperate. Bishop Hall Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

September 26: Unexpected Opportunities Zechariah 8:1–9:17 ; Acts 23:23–24:27 ; Job 30:1–15 When we are busy doing the work of the kingdom, how do we respond to obstacles that get in our way? Do we expect God to blast a path straight through so that we can proceed? We might read the drama of Paul’s life through this lens, waiting anxiously for God to open the way for Paul to continue his spectacularly successful work. Instead, God allows Paul to be imprisoned and put on trial. But as Paul defended himself before Roman officials, he recognized that God was using him in ways he hadn’t expected. The conflict and rejection Paul encountered from the Jews provided him with the opportunity to share the gospel with some of the most influential Gentiles he would ever encounter. God used Paul’s trials to expand his ministry from the Jews to the Gentiles. Through Paul’s life, God displayed His power to bring about the growth of the Church and the spread of the gospel message far beyond...

September 26th The unblameable attitude If … thou rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee … Matthew 5:23 . If when you come to the altar, there you remember that your brother has anything against you, not—If you rake up something by a morbid sensitiveness, but—“If thou rememberest,” that is, it is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God: “first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Never object to the intense sensitiveness of the Spirit of God in you when He is educating you down to the scruple. “First be reconciled to thy brother …” Our Lord’s direction is simple— “first be reconciled.” Go back the way you came, go the way indicated to you by the conviction given at the altar; have an attitude of mind and a temper of soul to the one who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing. Jesus does not mention the other person, He says—you go. There is no question of your rights. ...

Morning, September 26       Go To Evening Reading          “The myrtle trees that were in the bottom.”           — Zechariah 1:8 The vision in this chapter describes the condition of Israel in Zechariah’s day; but being interpreted in its aspect towards us, it describes the Church of God as we find it now in the world. The Church is compared to a myrtle grove flourishing in a valley. It is hidden, unobserved, secreted; courting no honour and attracting no observation from the careless gazer. The Church, like her head, has a glory, but it is concealed from carnal eyes, for the time of her breaking forth in all her splendour is not yet come. The idea of tranquil security is also suggested to us: for the myrtle grove in the valley is still and calm, while the storm sweeps over the mountain summits. Tempests spend their force upon the craggy peaks of the Alps, but down yonder where flows the stream which ...