DAY 150
Old Testament reading: 1 Chronicles 5-6
Ezra (assuming he is the author) brings to Israel’s remembrance the sin of Reuben (cf Gen 35:22), because of which thing he lost his birthright as the firstborn. The text thus notes the genealogy is not listed according to the birth order. Following this is the mention of Judah’s ascendance over his brothers. Of note is the ruler who would come through his lineage, which ruler we know to be Jesus the Christ. Israel (Jacob) prophesied that the scepter (a sign of kingly authority) would not depart from Judah (Genesis 49:10). Micah the prophet foretold that this ruler from Judah would be born in Bethlehem, and that this Ruler’s goings forth would be from everlasting (Micah 5:2). This text was quoted and applied to Jesus in Matthew 2:6. One more point from this text… In 1 Chronicles 5:23-26 we read of the half tribe of Manasseh who remained to the east of Jordan. In Joshua 22, a civil war was nearly started when these brethren erected an altar on Jordan’s banks. They explained that the altar was built to remind those brethren on the west of their brethren on the east, lest they accuse them of having no part or lot with their brethren. However, in 1 Chronicles 5:23-26 we find these same brethren, the ones who so greatly desired to be remembered among God’s people, forsaking the God of their fathers and playing the harlot with the gods of the nations round about.
New Testament reading: 1 Corinthians 3-7
“You need to take care of yourself. Remember, your body is the temple.” Many of us have heard this statement or one similar to it. The origin of the idea comes from 1 Corinthians 3:16-7, but I don’t think 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teaches this. The body under consideration here is the local church, not the individual. The King James Version is a help to us in arriving at this conclusion. Unlike any of the modern translations, the King James differentiates between the singular and plural pronouns in the Greek text. The singular pronouns are represented by “thee,” “thou,” “thy” and “thine,” while the plural appear as “ye,” “you,” “your” and the like. Thus we see the plural “ye” in the phrase, “ye are the temple of God.” Yes, I must work to maintain my personal holiness, for failure in so doing defiles not only me, but also my local congregation and church family.
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