Personal Devotions
Notes from Mark's personal Bible reading and meditation
With a goal to apply one truth from each day's reading to my life that day
Mar 16, 2025, 2:18 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:11-12
Thought
Ezra summarizes the command of God with regard to unbelievers well here. They were not to intermarry with them, and they were not to make peace with them. Ezra describes that latter part as making a treaty of friendship. The Law didn't use those words, but that's what God meant. In fact, they were to destroy all the Canaanites. But Israel is not in charge of their own land at this time, though the emperor had given Ezra instruction to teach all the peoples of the region the Laws of God, not just the Jews!
Mar 15, 2025, 6:00 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 2-5
Meditation Verses: 4:1-5
Thought
Ezra characterizes these people as enemies before anything is recorded about their deeds. Were they known as enemies from the beginning? It had been recorded elsewhere that those who were leaders were unhappy when men came to look after the welfare of the Jews. Were they unhappy that the Jews had returned? Perhaps some among those exiled to Samaria remembered the nation of Judah and didn't think kindly of them.
Mar 14, 2024, 2:41 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 10 - Nehemiah 3
Meditation Verses: Ezra 10:2-4
Thought
The law commanded the people not to intermarry with foreigners, whether giving their daughters in marriage to foreigners or bringing in their daughters in marriage to their sons. Yet the Jews who returned from exile either already had foreign wives or had married them after arriving back in Judah. So some recognized that God's anger had not completely subsided, though they had completed the temple. So almost all agreed that the right thing was to put away their foreign wives and children, which sadly would come up again under Nehemiah.
Mar 13, 2024, 2:42 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:13-14
Thought
This is a right understanding of grace: After all we have suffered for our evil deeds and great guilt, because Jesus has taken the punishment we deserve on Himself for our sins, so God has repaid us less than our iniquities deserve. Should we then again break the Lord's commands? Should we treat God's word with contempt? Of course not! "If we continue to live in sin, there is no sacrifice for sin left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God" (Hebrews 10:26-27).
Mar 12, 2024, 2:44 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 2-5
Meditation Verses: 4:23-24
Thought
They rejoiced at the laying of the foundation, but when the governors of the land came by force to shut them down, they stopped. They didn't appeal the decision, they didn't remind the governors of Cyrus's decree, they just stopped. According to Zechariah and Haggai, they turned their attention to their farms and their own houses. Yet God didn't prosper them. In time, He sent Zechariah and Haggai to speak to them and they repented and restarted the work.
Feb 24, 2023, 8:12 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 10 - Nehemiah 3
Meditation Verse: Ezra 10:1
Thought
Both Ezra and Nehemiah found people who were willing to support and cooperate with the burden God impressed on both of them. Ezra was mourning over the sins of his people, and as he wept and humbled himself others gathered around him to join him. They were willing to change their ways, to repent and make the required changes. They were willing to support Ezra in leading this reform, though they had no ideas how best to go about it.
Feb 23, 2023, 8:14 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:13-14
Thought
Ezra says they are in difficult circumstances, though now they have been returned to their own land. They have been released from exile and permitted to return to their ancestral homes, which is very good. But other books indicate that they cannot make ends meet, they are selling their children and themselves into slavery and borrowing heavily to make ends meet. What they are able to earn, a significant portion disappears before they make it home.
Feb 22, 2023, 8:15 AM
Passage Read: Ezra 2-5
Meditation Verses: 4:1-4
Thought
It is great that these Samaritans wanted to help rebuild the temple, because they had been worshiping what they understood to be God from early on after their deportation to Israel. However, they also worshiped all their original gods and the priests that were sent to instruct them about Israel's God very likely were those who thought God was worshiped by a golden calf. They didn't know God, though they wanted to worship Him.