Lynne's Old Testament Study Notes

12/16/2022 - Malachi 4 Malachi ends his messages by prophesying that before the Second Coming, the Lord will send Elijah to the earth once more to do a great work. And that great work will include turning “the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”.  This is so important to the Lord, for He tells us if we do not follow Elijah’s teachings, then He will “come and smite the earth with a curse.” (v 6) The JST of this verse uses the word ‘bind’ instead of ‘turn’= “bind the hearts of the fathers to the children”. When Christ came to the Kirtland Temple, He conferred the sealing keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, and the Melchizedek Priesthood includes the sealing keys. We can be sealed in the temples. But for those who were born before the time of temples, they can be sealed by proxy—thus the deep importance of genealogy in our lives. Since my retirement, I’ve been able to give so much more time to genealogy. ...

12/14/2022 – Malachi 3 This chapter begins with prophesies concerning Christ’s Second Coming. He tells them that He will first send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple.” This very thing suddenly occurred when the early saints had built the first temple of our dispensation, when Joseph Smith was ‘my messenger’.  The Lord still continues to talk to the Israelites, for He is still worried about the way they are living, and those ways are far from the commandments He has given them--which means they are far from the help and the direction that He would otherwise be able to give them. The plan has always been: if we simply follow His commandments and do the things that will keep us close to Him, then we will always be close to His help.  So after explaining how wonderful it would be to live at a time like the Second Coming, the Lord has Malachi explain to the people just what would allow them to be able ...

12/13/2022 - Malachi 2 This chapter continues to show us that the Israelites are still not living the way the Lord has asked them to live. Even their priests are being reproved by the Lord for not keeping their covenants and for setting a poor example for the people they are supposed to be teaching and helping. The people are the same in that they are not helping one another at all, and instead they are dealing treacherously with one another. The Lord first speaks to the priests, telling them exactly what will happen if they continue in their current activities. He tells them plainly: “If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name…I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” V 2 The Lord then reminds them of the ways they should be thinking and living following His laws as Lehi had done: “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for ...

12/12/2022 – Malachi 1 First of all, I’ve just learned that the name Malachi means “my messenger”. Malachi lived a century after the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem, and once again, the people, as a whole, had become complacent and less devoted to the Lord. They had finally rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, but as a people they still needed to rebuild their relationship with the Lord. The scholars believe Malachi lived around 430 BC. The student manual addresses their current situation at this time as having a declining commitment to God. Chapter 1’s synopsis certainly goes along with that description: “The Jews despise the Lord by offering polluted bread upon the altar and by sacrificing animals with blemishes” and that “The Lord’s name shall be great among the Gentiles.” The first verse: “The burden of the word of the Lord is to Israel by Malachi.” That small statement helps me to realize that knowing the Lord’s words can be a heavy responsibility in our life. The Lords asks seve...

 12/9/2022 – Zechariah 12-14 Chapter 12 : It is in this chapter that Zechariah prophecies of a great battle—the battle of Armageddon [the final great war in which all nations shall be engaged and it will be at Jerusalem]—that will precede the Second Coming of Christ. It will be a terrible battle. In v’s 8-9 the Lord tells us that He shall “defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day the I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”  Then He tells us “And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son…” (v 10) Chapter 13 ’s synopsis: “The Jews shall gain forgiveness at the Second Coming—They shall ask Jes...

 12/8/2022 – Zechariah 9-11 Major things are learned in these three chapters: Zechariah prophesies of Christ’s ministry, telling all that He will enter Jerusalem riding upon an ass. He also tells us that the spirits in prison will be redeemed by the blood of the covenant, and that scattered Israel will be gathered, redeemed, and strengthened. And finally, that Christ will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Chapter 9 I find v 1 very interesting and informative: “The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus…” That short sentence reminds me that working for the Lord really is working, and sometimes even seems like a burden, but it is the most important burden we carry, and one we should be checking in on every single day. V 9 tells us of Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He calls Christ “our King” who “is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass…”.  The student manual tells us that in times, “many Jews were looking only f...

12/7/2022 – Zachariah 7-8 The student manual gives us a briefing as to what these two chapters tell us” “Because of the Israelites’ [continued] hypocrisy and oppression of the poor, the Lord scattered them among the nations. In the latter days, He will restore Jerusalem and gather Judah; and many gentiles with gather with them to worship the Lord.” If we go to chapter 7 ’s synopsis, we find this: “The Lord reproves hypocrisy in fasts—He calls upon the people to show mercy and compassion and live godly lives.” In v 5 the Lord begins to explain where the people have fallen short: “…When ye fasted and mourned in the firth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?”  They had missed the entire purpose of the fast. They only went through the motions. We can certainly learn from them. All we have to do is to ask ourselves some questions…and then answer them truthfully to ourselves: I go to the church in order to: I pray in order to: I fast...

 12/6/2022 – Zechariah 1-3 Zechariah is the Lord’s prophet at this time. Many of the messages Zechariah received from the Lord were in the form of visions. The student manual suggests that “because of the difficulty of conveying heavenly visions in earthly terms, most of the messages in the book of Zechariah are given in symbolic imagery and descriptions.” Chapter 1 ’s synopsis: “Zechariah calls upon Judah to repent—He is shown by visions that the cities of Judah and the temple will be rebuilt.” In v 3, the Lord helps Zechariah in his calling as the Lord’s prophet: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye unto me… and I will turn unto you…” I believe the Lord will offer this gift to any of us who truly ‘turn unto Him’.  Zechariah warns the Israelites to “Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying…Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings, but they did not hear, nor harken unto me, saith the Lord.” (v 4) In Zechariah’s time, the Is...

 12/5/2022 – Haggai 1-2 Chapter 1: The Israelites had in captivity in Babylon for decades when they were finally able to return to Jerusalem. Their beautiful city had long been destroyed by the Babylonians. Their homes were in ruin, and their beautiful temple was rubble. It should be very telling to us that when they returned to Jerusalem, the most important thing they began to work on was the rebuilding of the temple, for they felt a deeper understanding of the urgency and importance of building temples and then worshipping in those temples. They started on the temple, but they realized that it would take years to rebuild. They went back to building their houses for their protection from the elements. When they reached that point they decided they should work on improvements for their houses. I believe these efforts lasted for some 15-18 years. The interesting, and important thing to recognize is that it took a prophet’s guidance for them to change their ways. Haggai spoke out in ...