Day 354

OYB - December 20

Devotional Old Testament New Testament Psalm Proverb

The leech has two suckers that cry out, "More, more!" There are three others things-no, four!-that are never satisfied: the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.

Some people are perpetual takers and not givers. Their attitude is that anyone and everyone owe them something, and their sour, stingy snarls are flashed at those who don't oblige them.

Often the selfishness of such people leads to God's rebuke. The prophet Haggai addressed those who pursued only the building of their own houses and not God's house. He said, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you! You have planted much but harvested little. You have food to eat, but not enough to fill you up. You have wine to drink, but not enough to satisfy your thirst. You have clothing to wear, but not enough to keep you warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!" (Haggai 1:5-6). God had to withhold His blessing from His people in order to teach them that His kingdom came first.

Giving to a "leech" who is opposed to God's kingdom and who is only a "taker" is a hopeless cause. Such a person will never prosper. Someone once said, "If it rubs you the wrong way, turn the cat around!" Become a giver and watch God seal up the holes in your pockets.

Haggai 1:1-2:23

Haggai Begins Temple Building

1In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ’ ” 3Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” 5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! 6You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

7Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! 8Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”

12Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the Lord. 13Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, “ ‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

The Builders Encouraged

1On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, 2“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, 3‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? 4But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 5‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 9‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

10On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests for a ruling: 12If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’ ” And the priests answered, “No.” 13Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14Then Haggai said, “ ‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, 16from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty. 17I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. 18‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider: 19Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’ ”

20Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21“Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’ 23‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ ” declares the Lord of hosts.

Revelation 11:1-19

The Two Witnesses

1Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. 3And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet—Christ’s Reign Foreseen

15Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” 16And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying,

“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. 18And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

19And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

Psalms 139:1-24

PSALM 139

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You understand my thought from afar.

3You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

5You have enclosed me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

9If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,”

12Even the darkness is not dark to You,

And the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are alike to You.

13For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

15My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

19O that You would slay the wicked, O God;

Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

20For they speak against You wickedly,

And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

21Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

22I hate them with the utmost hatred;

They have become my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

24And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

Proverbs 30:15-16

15The leech has two daughters,

“Give,” “Give.”

There are three things that will not be satisfied,

Four that will not say, “Enough”:

16Sheol, and the barren womb,

Earth that is never satisfied with water,

And fire that never says, “Enough.”