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One Year Bible: Day 351 - Ezra 1:1-2:67; Revelation 8:1-9:12; Psalm 144:9-15

We read of "gold" in both Ezra and Revelation (Ezra 1:4,6,9-11; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 9:7). In Ezra 1:6, "gold" is set alongside "valuable gifts" and "all the freewill offerings." "Gold" is a valuable thing. The "gold" of our lives is truly valuable when it is given freely, as a "freewill offering." In Revelation 8:3, "gold" is associated with "the prayers of all the saints." The "gold" of our lives is truly valuable when it is given prayerfully to the Lord. In Revelation 9:7, the reference to "gold" is of a different kind. It refers to "the locusts." It does not refer directly to "gold." It uses the intriguing phrase - "something like crowns of gold." This phrase speaks to us of the counterfeit, something which is like the real thing but is not the real thing. Like "the locusts", we must be "prepared for battle" (Revelation 9:7). We must be watchful. We must guard against the counterfeit. We must keep ourselves for God so that we may be presented to Him as that which is truly "gold." "Prepared for battle", we must wage war as those who trust in the Lord, "the One who gives victory" (Psalm 144:2). This is the way of blessing: "Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 144:15).
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