Zechariah, along with Haggai, his contemporary, shared in the task of encouraging the people to rebuild their ruined temple and city after the captivity in Babylon. Haggai was a “brick and mortar” kind of guy; …
Read More
The 70 years of captivity to Babylon had come to an end. As a result of a decree by Cyrus the Persian, Israel was allowed to return to her homeland. Only a fraction of the…
Read More
GODISNOWHERE: two perspectives. Both are the message of Zephaniah: those deceived and distracted by their idols, who have no thoughts of God [“GOD IS NOWHERE”]; those who feign belief in God, but do not reflect…
Read More
Failure to teach and preach the whole counsel of God has its consequences. One of these consequences has been the deception of believers into thinking that they can expect favorable treatment from God because He…
Read More
Nahum could be a sequel to the book of Jonah. A century after Nineveh repented in response to the preaching of Jonah, she hastily returned to idolatry, violence, and arrogance. Assyria was at the height…
Read More
It is possible that God may weave a warning into the fabric of a people to deter their propensity for evil and to direct their attention to Him as their only real hope. (Micah 2:3) …
Read More
The prophets spoke for God when no one else would. They stood alone in the face of opposition and persecution. They wept and prayed over sin. They embraced the unpopular reception of their preaching. Yet…
Read More
Obadiah, “servant of the Lord,” is the smallest Old Testament book, but it has a monumental message on how to treat others, especially those with whom we are at odds. [Philemon has a similar message…
Read More
When we lack vigilance and gratefulness in prosperity, eroding delusion can begin to creep in and give us a false sense of security. Some poisonous tendencies we’ve seen as a result include an indulgent lifestyle,…
Read More
A cataclysmic event gets our attention. It may involve personal loss, social disruption, natural disaster, plague or pandemic. In Joel’s day an agriculturally based economy was destroyed by locusts. It prompted the question, “Has anything…
Read More
