This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Daily Devotional Bible Reading Episode #359. Where I read three chapters of the Holy Bible in the King James Version each day with my family as a part of our family devotions, to encourage you to read the Holy Bible in a year’s time. Today we are reading Nehemiah 7, Jeremiah 9, and Ezekiel 1.
John Stott said, “We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.”
Thomas Watson said, “Read the Scripture, not only as a history, but us a love-letter sent to you from God.”
Nehemiah 7
1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Le’-vites were appointed,
2 That I gave my brother Ha-na’-ni, and Han-a-ni’-ah the ruler of the palace, charge over Je-ru’-sa-lem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Je-ru’-sa-lem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Je-ru’-sa-lem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.
4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,
6 These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Neb-u-chad-nez’-zar the king of Bab’-y-lon had carried away, and came again to Je-ru’-sa-lem and to Ju’-dah, every one unto his city;
7 Who came with Ze-rub’-ba-bel, Jesh’-u-a, Ne-hem-i’-ah, Az-a-ri’-ah, Ra-a-mi’-ah, Na-ha-ma’-ni, Mor-de-ca’-i, Bil’-shan, Mis’-pe-reth, Big-va’-i, Ne’-hum, Ba’-a-nah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Is’-ra-el was this;
8 The children of Par’-osh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two.
9 The children of Sheph-a-ti’-ah, three hundred seventy and two.
10 The children of Ar’-ah, six hundred fifty and two.
11 The children of Pa’-hath-mo’-ab, of the children of Jesh’-u-a and Jo’-ab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen.
12 The children of E’-lam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.
13 The children of Zat’-tu, eight hundred forty and five.
14 The children of Zac-ca’-i, seven hundred and threescore.
15 The children of Bin’-nu-i, six hundred forty and eight.
16 The children of Be-ba’-i, six hundred twenty and eight.
17 The children of Az’-gad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two.
18 The children of Ad-o-ni’-kam, six hundred threescore and seven.
19 The children of Big-va’-i, two thousand threescore and seven.
20 The children of A’-din, six hundred fifty and five.
21 The children of A’-ter of Hez-e-ki’-ah, ninety and eight.
22 The children of Ha’-shum, three hundred twenty and eight.
23 The children of Be-za’-i, three hundred twenty and four.
24 The children of Har’-iph, an hundred and twelve.
25 The children of Glb’-e-on, ninety and five.
26 The men of Beth’-le-hem and Ne-to’-phah, an hundred fourscore and eight.
27 The men of An’-a-thoth, an hundred twenty and eight.
28 The men of Beth-az-ma’-veth, forty and two.
29 The men of Kir’-jath-je’-arim, Che-phi’-rah, and Beer’-oth, seven hundred forty and three.
30 The men of Ra’-mah and Ga’-ba, six hundred twenty and one.
31 The men of Mich’-mas, an hundred and twenty and two.
32 The men of Beth’-el and A’-i, an hundred twenty and three.
33 The men of the other Ne’-bo, fifty and two.
34 The children of the other E’-lam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.
35 The children of Har’-im, three hundred and twenty.
36 The children of Jer’-i-cho, three hundred forty and five.
37 The children of Lod, Ha’-did, and O’-no, seven hundred twenty and one.
38 The children of Sen’-a-ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the children of Je-dai’-ah, of the house of Jesh’-u-a, nine hundred seventy and three.
40 The children of Im’-mer, a thousand fifty and two.
41 The children of Pash’-ur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.
42 The children of Har’-im, a thousand and seventeen.
43 The Le’-vites: the children of Jesh’-u-a, of Kad’-mi-el, and of the children of Ho’-de-vah, seventy and four.
44 The singers: the children of A’-saph, an hundred forty and eight.
45 The porters: the children of Shal’-lum, the children of A’-ter, the children of Tal’-mon, the children of Ak’-kub, the children of Ha-ti’-ta, the children of Sho-ba’-i, an hundred thirty and eight.
46 The Neth’-i-nims: the children of Zi’-ha, the children of Ha-shu’-pha, the children of Tab-ba’-oth,
47 The children of Ke’-ros, the children of Si’-a, the children of Pa’-don,
48 The children of Le-ba’-na, the children of Hag’-a-ba, the children of Shal’-mai,
49 The children of Ha’-nan, the children of Gid’-del, the children of Ga’-har,
50 The children of Re-ai’-ah, the children of Re’-zin, the children of Ne-ko’-da,
51 The children of Gaz’-zam, the children of Uz’-za, the children of Pha-se’-ah,
52 The children of Be’-sai, the children of Me-u’-nim, the children of Ne-phish’-e-sim,
53 The children of Bak’-buk, the children of Ha-ku’-pha, the children of Har’-hur,
54 The children of Baz’-lith, the children of Me-hi’-da, the children of Har’-sha,
55 The children of Bar’-kos, the children of Sis’-e-ra, the children of Ta’-mah,
56 The children of Ne-zi’-ah, the children of Ha-ti’-pha.
57 The children of Sol’-o-mon’s servants: the children of So-ta’-i, the children of So’-phe-reth, the children of Pe-ri’-da,
58 The children of Ja’-a-la, the children of Dar’-kon, the children of Gid’-del,
59 The children of Sheph-a-ti’-ah, the children of Hat’-til, the children of Po’-che-reth of Ze-ba’-im, the children of A’-mon.
60 All the Neth’-i-nims, and the children of Sol-o-mon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two.
61 And these were they which went up also from Tel-me’-lah, Tel-ha-re’-sha, Cher’-ub, Ad’-don, and Im’-mer: but they could not shew their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Is’-ra-el.
62 The children of Dle-ai’-ah, the children of To-bi’-ah, the children of Ne-ko’-da, six hundred forty and two.
63 And of the priests: the children of Ha-bai’-ah, the children of Koz, the children of Bar-zil-la’-i, which took one of the daughters of Bar-zil-la’-i the Gil’-e-ad-ite to wife, and was called after their name.
64 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
65 And the Tir’-sha-tha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with U’-rim and Thum’-mim.
66 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,
67 Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.
68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty and five:
69 Their camels, four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.
70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tir’-sha-tha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments.
71 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests’ garments.
73 So the priests, and the Le’-vites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Neth’-i-nims, and all Is’-ra-el, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Is’-ra-el were in their cities.
Jeremiah 9
1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.
4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
11 And I will make Je-ru’-sa-lem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Ju’-dah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Ba-a’-lim, which their fathers taught them:
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Is’-ra-el; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zi’-on, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
22 Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
25 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26 E’-gypt, and Ju’-dah, and E’-dom, and the children of Am’-mon, and Mo’-ab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Is’-ra-el are uncircumcised in the heart.
Ezekiel 1
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Che’-bar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Je-hoi’-a-chin’s captivity,
3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto E-zek’-iel the priest, the son of Bu’-zi, in the land of the Chal’-de-ans by the river Che’-bar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
________
PRAY
________
When I was a teenager I wanted to get wisdom and knowledge, so I set out to read the big family Bible that many families had in those days. But I couldn’t get past Genesis 2 before I got bored with reading the Bible. I found out later in life that you have to believe on Christ and get saved before you can understand the Bible. So here is how I became a Christian and how you can too:
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless.
BCNN1 WP 