Nehemiah 12:27-43 – Joy of Jerusalem

Read Nehemiah 12:27-43

Who doesn’t like a good party? The opening scenes to this reading are filled with the anticipation of what is to come. The day has arrived when the completed wall will be recognized and celebrated. When parties have a purpose, they are even more enjoyable. When that purpose is to celebrate God’s faithfulness and love, imagine the great expectation!

The celebration appears to circle the city wall with songs of thanksgiving being sung and instruments being played. That sounds a lot like worship to me. How fitting the people would use the worship element to further honor God in this moment. What God had done among them already, and promised to do forever, was so generous. If only they could stay true to God alone. People continue to struggle with keeping God first in their lives today.

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Revelation 19:1-10 – An Invite to the Wedding Banquet

Read Revelation 19:1-10

Our text today stands in stark contrast to the doom and gloom of our last reading about the fall of Babylon. It’s not the first time we’ve had an abrupt scene change, so to speak, as we’ve been reading through Revelation. Part of this book’s beauty is it’s unpredictability. What we do see as a constant theme is God’s unfailing love and patience with his fallen world. He wants the banquet table to be full.

We see a passage that ties together several main points from the New Testament. Included are praise, celebration, equality, blessedness, rejoicing, righteousness, and purity of the bride. It doesn’t matter how unworthy we may sometimes feel. “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”

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