NL-Day329 Nehemiah 8-9; Isaiah 38; Colossians 2

Daily Bible Reading Podcast

NEHEMIAH 8-9:

Nehemiah 7 dealt with listing the various families and temple workers who came back after exile. The last phrase of verse 73 in that chapter is the transition to the next events in chapter 8.

7:73 NLT So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel.

Ezra Reads the Law

In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns,

8:1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.

ISAIAH 38: In chapter 37 yesterday, we heard of Hezekiah’s triumph through his prayer. As we have seen before in Isaiah (and not just in Isaiah’s message to the king), this defeat was prophesied, and we heard the fulfillment yesterday.

COLOSSIANS 2: After that wonderful poem in Colossians chapter 1— which I can barely resist reading to you a second time— Paul says these things:

Col. 1:21-22 NLT This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Then in talking about the revelation of the Good News, he says,

1:26 NLT This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

NLT Translation notes: Col. 2:7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then [you will grow strong in your beief of//your faith will grow strong in] the truth [just as/0] you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you [fully believed in/trusted] the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.