Daily Devotions · October 7
Reading for October 7
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Ezra 7–8 · Luke 20
Ezra 7–8 · Luke 20, Berean Standard Bible
Ezra 7
Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. 7 So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. 8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel. 11 This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the LORD to Israel: 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings. 13 I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God. 19 You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. 20 And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury. 21 I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, 22 up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons? 24 And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them. 26 If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. 27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, 28 and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.
Ezra 8
These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; from the descendants of David, Hattush 3 of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men; 4 from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men; 5 from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men; 6 from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men; 7 from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men; 8 from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men; 9 from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men; 10 from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men; 11 from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men; 12 from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men; 13 from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; 14 and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. 15 Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there. 16 Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. 17 And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men; 19 also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. 20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites. 21 And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request. 24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God. 26 I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 27 20 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold. 28 Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.” 30 So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem. 31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. 33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time. 35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.
Luke 20
One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him. 2 “Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 3 “I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?” 5 They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from. 8 And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” 9 Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed. 12 Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out. 13 ‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!” 17 But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” 19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people. 20 So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. 21 “Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. 25 So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 26 And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent. 27 Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 And last of all, the woman died. 33 So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.” 34 Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God. 37 Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.” 39 Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!” 40 And they did not dare to question Him any further. 41 Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand 43 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’ 44 Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” 45 In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.