Zechariah 6:1-7:14, Revelation 15:1-8, Psalms 143:1-12, Proverbs 30:24-28
Today is the 24th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian. And the 24th of December is also known as Christmas Eve, and it’s also known as the last day in the season of Advent. So, here we are, Christmas Eve. Many of us will participate in a Christmas Eve service or maybe even a midnight service to hear the Christmas bells ring in. Those of us who have kind of paid attention to the season of Advent and checked our hearts and tried to put ourselves in the position of longing and really immerse ourselves in the coming of Christmas…yeah…the longing is coming to an end and once again we will be able to celebrate the joy and the relief of the coming of the Savior. And what joy, joy to the depths of our soul, joy that can touch the brokenness in us and know that all things can be made new again, joy that lets us know that we are restored to God because of the coming of the Savior. And, so, happy Christmas Eve everybody. It is wonderful to be around the Global Campfire sipping virtual hot cocoa and munching on virtual Christmas cookies and warming ourselves and celebrating together. And of course, taking the next step forward in the Scriptures. And our next step will lead us back into the book of Zechariah in the Old Testament. Today we will read chapters 6 and 7.
Commentary:
Okay. So, this is the final day of the Advent season. This is the eve of Christmas day, and we have all the last-minute stuff we’ve gotta do. And as I was saying at the beginning, maybe we have…we’re gonna participate in a celebratory service tonight. And, so, we can get really wrapped up in the festivities and we should…we should…we should immerse ourselves to the degree that we are able. Enjoy. And as we look back over the Zechariah and what we read today we were given clear direction, a way to honor the coming of the Savior, a way to collaborate with God and His work in this world. We’re told, and I quote, “dispense true justice, have mercy on others, and show all people compassion. Do not take advantage of those who have lost a spouse or a parent or those who are outsiders or poor.” And as we read that I was like man, is there a better message that we could take into the holiday? Is there a better thing that we could carry with us into Christmas? And, so, let’s purpose in our hearts to follow the counsel of the Scriptures. And no doubt within the next day or two…like if…if we’re gonna participate in a Christmas Eve celebration this evening we will be singing carols, right? We will be singing songs of the holidays and we’ve probably been listening to those for the last month. I know I have. I love Christmas music. I love how it just attaches itself back to my childhood all the way to my present. I love the carols of the holidays. I love especially the ancient carols where the words are…are words that have been sung by millions of brothers and sisters over hundreds of years, but there was a song today in the book of Revelation, and it is certainly not a song that’s a part of our popular traditions around Christmas, but that doesn’t make it any less of an appropriate song for the season. The words to the song…and by the way this song is sung by those who endured to the end and were victorious. And as Revelation puts it they’re standing on a sea of glass holding the harps of God in their hands and they sing, “great and amazing are your works, Lord God, the all-powerful. Right and true are your ways, king of all nations who will not fear you, Lord? Who will not glorify your name? Because you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you for your righteous judgments have been revealed.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for the words to a song that we long to hear, And speaking of longing, so many years ago people were longing for a Rescuer, for a Redeemer for the Anointed One for the Messiah for the great rescue and that is what we are commemorating and we rejoice that You would not abandon Your creation otherwise we would…we wouldn’t be here. And, so, we love You and we do indeed rejoice in Your salvation. We worship You, Jesus and we pray these things in Your name. Amen.
Song
O Come O Come Emmanuel – Kim Walker Smith
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
O come desire of nations bind
In one the hearts of all mankind
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
And be thyself our King of Peace