Matthew 1-28

I wept when I got to the part when the woman prepares Jesus for burial with the alabaster box of perfume; and continued to read. May you experience the reality of the crucifixion and His sacrifice for us with me as I read to the end tearfully and choked up. My glasses were fogging up!

These readings are all unedited and each in one sitting. I post one a week; however I have been reading one a day, making for intense revelation as I immerse myself in the Word of God.

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." Matthew 26:6-13

The alabaster box of perfume poured on Jesus, often identified as containing spikenard (John 12:3), is described in the Bible as very costly. The value of the perfume is estimated at 300 denarii, which was roughly equivalent to a year's wages for a laborer at that time. Due to its rarity and the labor-intensive process required to extract the oil, spikenard was very expensive. It was often kept in alabaster jars, which helped preserve its fragrance and quality. The price of spikenard was so high that it was typically reserved for royalty or religious purposes, indicating its significant worth and luxury status. It was known for its therapeutic properties and was used in traditional medicine for various ailments.

To estimate its value in today's dollars, we can use a rough equivalent of a year's wages for a laborer. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for a laborer in 2023 was approximately $40,000.

Therefore, the value of the alabaster box of perfume in today's dollars would be roughly equivalent to $40,000.

Isaiah 34-66

Isaiah 1-33

Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!

The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.

The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down. Throughout the earth the story is the same—only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty. In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord. In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. Weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails, and treachery is everywhere.

Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth. Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens; the foundations of the earth shake. The earth has broken up. It has utterly collapsed; it is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunk. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.

In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. They will be rounded up and put in prison. They will be shut up in prison and will finally be punished. Then the glory of the moon will wane, and the brightness of the sun will fade, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion. He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of his people.

Isaiah 24