Check out all the previous Christmas readings here.
Christmas Reading Plan | Week 3 | Day 4
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to speak to you today through His word.
Bible Reading: Zechariah 8:1-8
Read these verses three times slowly.
The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”
This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
Reflection & Questions
Jealousy is not something that is seen as very positive in today’s world. When people are jealous, it’s because we are afraid to lose something. It’s the husband who notices his wife’s boss is a little too attractive. It’s how we feel when we get shown the neighbors’ new addition to their home with that killer sound system. It’s the family member who’s life just seems to keep getting better then yours and you wish you had a little bit of their life. These are all human views of jealousy. So what’s different with God?
When it says in verse 2 that God is burning with jealousy, it means that God doesn’t want to share us with any other idols. Idols are anything that we give our full attention to in place of God. He wants us to put him as our highest priority, and He is jealous when we don’t do that. Ultimately God’s jealousy shows that he cares.
If you pay attention to the rest of the passage in Zechariah 8:2-8 you’ll see that God’s idea of jealousy leads to a potent love and blessing that gets poured out onto the people of Israel. It means He actually comes down and says He will “dwell in Jerusalem”! That’s because God’s jealousy shows that He cares.
- With this Christmas season, how can you better put God as the highest priority?
- What is one idol that is getting in the way of you growing closer to God this Christmas season?
Prayer
God thank you for jealously pursuing me, help me to keep you as my highest priority.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
