Joel 1-3

What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.

Joel 1:4

Locusts. An enormous swarm of voracious grasshoppers darkens the sky above and devours every plant below. Before this vast army, the land is green and beautiful. Behind, the land is stripped bare and lifeless. (Joel 2:3) It is truly a “disaster of biblical proportions”. In all likelihood this is a very real catastrophe playing out in the land of Judah right in front of Joel, and the LORD inspires Joel to use this event as a metaphor for the coming Day of the LORD and thus as a wake-up call for the people to return to the LORD:

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and He relents over disaster.

Joel 2:12-13

In response to repentance, the LORD promises mercy and restoration, but He goes beyond what we might imagine and declares that He will pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh (Joel 3:28) and that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. (Joel 3:32) Saint Peter quotes this passage to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:16-21) So what seems at first to be a message of doom and gloom becomes a radical message of hope and deliverance.

Although I cannot recall any recent news bulletins concerning a plague of locusts, we get a steady stream of reports of other natural disasters: wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods… Each such report should serve as a warning of the coming judgment, the coming Day of the LORD, with a corresponding recognition of the mercy available. Yet we never hear that in the news. Instead, each disaster comes with a cacophony of voices leveling blame and demanding change of one form or another, from charges of poor construction quality or inferior building codes, to holding power companies liable for wildfires, to calls for the radical reduction of carbon emissions to hold off climate change. But few, if any, voices call for repentance and a return to the LORD.

Why, do you suppose, is that?

Nehemiah 13:1-22; Psalm 92; Nehemiah 13:23-31

Today we come to the end of the Book of Nehemiah, which marks the end of the historical narratives in the Old Testament. Nehemiah acts as governor of Judah for several years, but he is called back to Persia in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (i.e. 433 BC – Neh. 13:6), and so is away from Jerusalem for some time. In Nehemiah’s absence, the people again become lax in their devotion to the LORD, so upon Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem, he discovers serious problems and must confront them head-on.

Nehemiah is absolutely correct in zealously guarding against both corruption and apathy. He has learned the lesson of the Exile and knows that a right relationship with the LORD is essential and requires vigilance. Other leaders, like Eliashib the priest, seduced by greed, seem not to have learned that lesson, and compromise with the world around them…

Although I believe Nehemiah is rightly motivated here and although he appears to win the day, at least for the time being, with a push toward purity and holiness, he cannot change hearts. He can force only outward conformity with the Law, and in so doing (it seems to me) Nehemiah unwittingly sows the seeds of what would become the pharisaism that Jesus so strongly opposes a few centuries later.

We may not be in Nehemiah’s shoes, but we still face similar challenges. We too are called to holiness. We too must vigilantly guard our faith and practice. But all too often our pursuit of holiness morphs into deadly legalism. Not wishing to become legalistic, do we then simply abandon the pursuit of holiness? Is that our choice, legalism or license?

Take, for example, one issue facing Nehemiah: Observance of the Sabbath. That is an issue that still faces us today. As the Fourth of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8-11), we should (presumably) take the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy just as seriously as we take the commandments against murder, theft, and adultery. But do we? Really? (A quick look around would suggest that we think that the LORD abolished the Fourth Commandment long ago…) If we take this commandment seriously, then how do we observe the Sabbath without becoming hypocritical Pharisees? And how many of us right now are thinking that observing the Sabbath sounds horribly restrictive and dour, rather than joyful and liberating?

So I challenge us all: Apart from just going to church Sunday morning, what about the Sabbath looks particularly different from any other day? Does anything need to change for you? Most importantly, are you now just thinking about some new rules, or do you need (spiritual) heart surgery?

See also: August 17 (2022) / Psalm 92

Psalms 145-150

See:

• December 24 (2022) / Psalm 145:1-7
• December 25 (2022) / Psalm 145:8-21
• December 26 (2022) / Psalm 146
• December 27 (2022) / Psalm 147:1-11
• December 28 (2022) / Psalm 147:12-20
• December 29 (2022) / Psalm 148
• December 30 (2022) / Psalm 149
• December 31 (2022) / Psalm 150

Psalms 118, 135-136

See:

• October 14 (2022) / Psalm 118:1-14
• October 15 (2022) / Psalm 118:15-29
• December 11 (2022) / Psalm 135:1-12
• December 12 (2022) / Psalm 135:13-21
• December 13 (2022) / Psalm 136:1-12
• December 14 (2022) / Psalm 136:13-26

Psalms 111-117

See:

• October 8 (2022) / Psalm 111
• October 9 (2022) / Psalm 112
• October 10 (2022) / Psalm 113
• October 11 (2022) / Psalm 114
• October 12 (2022) / Psalm 115
• October 13 (2022) / Psalm 116-117

Psalms 104, 107

See:

• September 22 (2022) / Psalm 104:1-23
• September 23 (2022) / Psalm 104:24-35
• October 1 (2022) / Psalm 107:1-16
• October 2 (2022) / Psalm 107:17-32
• October 3 (2022) / Psalm 107:33-43

Psalms 125-134; Nehemiah 12:31-47

Today we get a more complete description of the arrangements for the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. We also get more than a few psalms, so I suggest breaking these up into multiple short readings over the course of the day so as to have a chance to let each psalm soak in a bit.

See:

• December 1 (2022) / Psalm 125
• December 2 (2022) / Psalm 126
• December 3 (2022) / Psalm 127
• December 4 (2022) / Psalm 128
• December 5 (2022) / Psalm 129
• December 6 (2022) / Psalm 130
• December 7 (2022) / Psalm 131
• December 8 (2022) / Psalm 132:1-10
• December 9 (2022) / Psalm 132:11-18
• December 10 (2022) / Psalm 133-134

Nehemiah 11:1-12:30; Psalms 120-124

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Nehemiah 12:27

God’s people rightly celebrate the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. In our own culture, with our supposed “wall of separation between church and state”, we might view this event as a purely secular activity, but that is not the case. In fact, there is no such thing as a “purely secular activity”! (Think about it. Is there any part of your life that is outside God’s purview? Is there anything in your life that does not affect everything else in one way or another? I think not…) So it is entirely fitting that Nehemiah and Ezra bring in the worship leaders, the Levites, to assist in the dedication of the wall with singing and musical instruments, offering thanksgivings to the LORD for His faithfulness and blessing. We cannot know the songs sung at this dedication, but the psalms designated as “Songs of Ascents” probably give us a good idea.

See also:

• October 27 (2022) / Psalm 120
• October 28 (2022) / Psalm 121
• October 29 (2022) / Psalm 122
• October 30 (2022) / Psalm 123
• October 31 (2022) / Psalm 124

Psalm 119:81-176

See:

• October 21 (2022) / Psalm 119:81-96
• October 22 (2022) / Psalm 119:97-112
• October 23 (2022) / Psalm 119:113-128
• October 24 (2022) / Psalm 119:129-144
• October 25 (2022) / Psalm 119:145-160
• October 26 (2022) / Psalm 119:161-176