Estimated Reading Time of this Section: 3min
We are back with part 2 of the Old Testament – it’s such a big portion of reading, that I have the second section of it here, and a final part for the New Testament coming soon (don’t think I didn’t forget!). The interest in the letters 6/7 is unusual for some of us, so I thought I could interject some Biblical 6/7 into the conversation!
Enjoy the Chapter 6 verse 7 of the second part of the Old Testament, along with below where each 6:7 verse is placed into a paragraph where the verses flow into the other, and the ultimate story of scripture. As before, the individual verses will be below with a little bit of context of what was happening in each section.
Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. “and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.” So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honour, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.
I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler. Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD. The royal administrators and satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who praise to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lion’s den. As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.
Estimated Reading Time of this Section: 9min
The Temple and the Kings
Ezra 6:7
Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
Even though God’s people had been taken captive, God still made a way for His temple – the place where His presence would dwell in the Old Testament – to be built. A way for His people to atone for their sins, and worship Him the way He called them to do. The King of their enemies was the one to make this decree.
Nehemiah 6:7
“and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”
This is an interesting one. Nehemiah was determined to rebuild the city of Jerusalem for God’s people to return to it after being help in captivity. There were people around the area who did NOT want this to happen, and this sentence was part of a message they were sending Nehemiah to get him to abandon his cause and make trouble for him so he could not continue. Fortunately, he saw right through their tricks and kept on building.
Esther 6:7
So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honour, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.
The king in the story of Esther was a bit fickle. He banished his queen when she didn’t do what he wanted at a party, ‘auditioned’ all the virgins in the land to be his new queen, and clearly had a temper because if you came to him unannounced, you might be killed just for that alone. Yet, in this moment, we see him planning on how to honor a man who saved his life (much to that mans dismay). What we see here, is what God does for His children. He shares the royal family with us, as we are co-heirs in His kingdom with Jesus. We get His royal robe and crest (family identification) when we follow Him.
Wisdom for Life
Job 6:7
I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.
Ah, Job. This poor guy had his life thrown upside down. This verse talks to all of us who lose our hunger in the face of difficult times (not me, but I know you exist out there). Through many troubles, Job remains faithful, but a small verse like this shows us just how difficult it was for him in all the things that he faced.
Psalms 6:7
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
Keeping with the theme of struggles, we see in this song/poem of David how much his sorrow grips him, and how much he is struggling with. He is not struggling alone though, for his cries of anguish and pain are sent to God, whom he knows it is safe to lament to.
Proverbs 6:7
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler
Alright, what the heck is happening here? If you back up just a few verses, we can see this verse in proverbs (a book of wise sayings and things to keep in mind for your life) is talking about if you’ve been led astray. It talks about leaving that place and that person, making sure to store up things that matter (like an ant stores up food for the winter). We are called to store up treasures in heaven, not on this earth, and if we’re being led in the wrong directions by people (well meaning or not), we need to run from them, and back to the One who knows the good ways from the bad.
Ecclesiastes 6:7
Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.
We’ve gotten quite a few disheartening sounding verses in this portion of Scripture, but let’s have a closer look at this one. Solomon is again giving us some wisdom, even if it’s in the form of difficult things, and this one is focussing on how the things of this world, that we can eat or say with our mouths, will never satisfy us in the long run. We may want to ingest foods, or illicit substances to try and gain pleasure or wisdom, or even relief from stress, but it will never truly satisfy. We are looking to things that will not give us rest, fulfilment, or security. You can do all the work you want to to make sure you are fed and provided for, but that will never last – and you will keep searching if that’s where you’re putting your hope in your security.
Song of Songs 6:7
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil
Okay, I hear what you’re thinking – the Song of Songs part was destined to be juicy verse, right? Sadly, it wasn’t, but hear me out. This is part of just one section where the groom (represented by Jesus) is talking to his bride (represented by the church) about how beautiful He finds us. He notices small things about you, things that others may not see because they are on the inside. He sees the outside as beautiful too – every part, not just the ‘obvious’ ones that humans look at and notice. God sees you – fully, with no veil/covering to hide – and He finds you beautiful.. how amazing is that!
The Voice of the Prophets
Isaiah 6:7
With it he touched my mouth and said, “See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
This verse is an AMAZING one in the light of salvation. In the Old Testament, all we saw was how many (many many many) things could make you ‘unclean’ and unable to be in the presence not only of God, but the people around you because being unclean was catchy. In this prophetic vision, Isaiah gets to see the messiah (Jesus) before He walked the earth, and instead of becoming unclean when he touched the sinful Isaiah, his cleanness rubbed off on Isaiah instead, making him clean! It was scandalous and unheard of – and only possible through Jesus.
Jeremiah 6:7
As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
Let’s start out with saying, this verse is not talking about a literal woman. Okay, now that’s out of the way, Jeremiah was a prophet who the people did NOT want to listen to. He was the ‘doom and gloom’ guy, when all they wanted was a pick me up happy message. Here, Jeremiah was relaying a message warning God’s people that they were become like the people around them – turning to false gods and allowing wickedness to enter into their lives and hearts. This defeated the purpose of being set apart by God as His people.. how can the world around you see that you loved by a special God that is above all other (fake) ones, if you act like they do?
Ezekiel 6:7
Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
Oof, this one is a hard one. Here, we see God warning the Israelites that because of their idolatry in following other gods and allowing evil to infiltrate their lives and hearts, He is going to destroy a lot of them. Only the ones who remember God will be left. There are consequences to the actions we take, and these ones were swift and hard to swallow.
Daniel 6:7
The royal administrators and satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who praise to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lion’s den.
What a trap to lay for Daniel. These guys (the politicians of the day) were so threatened by Daniel, and they couldn’t get any real ‘dirt’ on the guy, because he was a good man following the rules and God’s laws. Instead of living with it, or moving on, they trapped him because they knew that Daniel was a praying man. Every day for several hours. There was no way that Daniel was going to stop praying just because of this, and ultimately it did lead to him being thrown into a den of lions… but it didn’t work out the way the politicians had hoped because God is good!
Hosea 6:7
As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.
Sadly, we see many times that God’s people – the ones he chose to be a representation of Him to the other people around them, turned to other idols and little g fake “gods”. They relied on themselves, listened to the influence of people who believed in the false gods, and turned their backs on God so many times. This entire book of prophecy is a sad warning of when they blew the many chances that God gave them.
Amos 6:7
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
The people were almost mocking God at this point, thinking that there would be no consequences for their actions (or inactions). Feasting and lounging? In the face of utter disobedience? Those were the people who were told to expect the swiftest punishment. God gives us chances, but He also will not be mocked.
Micah 6:7
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
The time for offering animals for atonement was coming to an end. It was not ever supposed to be a long term solution, but a temporary one until the time was right for Jesus to come and be the once and for all sacrifice. There is nothing we can offer that even comes close, so praise God that he made a way for us to still be in relationship with Him.
Zechariah 6:7
When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.
The chariots of God’s army are ‘straining’ or waiting eagerly to go out when He calls them to make the ends of the earth face who God is, and what they’ve done with His earth, His calling, and His people. Almost as if they are holding their breath in anticipation of His glorious return.
To all the books that don’t have a chapter 6 verse 7, here is your shout out:
Ruth, Lamentations, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi,
I am so excited to see what the New Testament has in store in the final part of this series!
See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace
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