Saturday, September 25, 2010

Week 39: Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah

This week we cover the writings of three so-called minor prophets. Like Mike said last week, these books are "minor" only in the sense that they are shorter than the likes of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. They are, however, just as important...and power packed!

This week's reading unfolds like this:

* Weekend: Zephaniah 1-3
* Monday: Haggai 1-2
* Tuesday: Zechariah 1-2
* Wednesday: Zechariah 3-6
* Thursday: Zechariah 7-8
* Friday: Zechariah 9-11

The prophet Zephaniah lived and preached during the reign of King Josiah. His contemporaries included Jeremiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. Not surprisingly, Zephaniah's message was similar to that of his contemporaries. Jerusalem had lost its way spiritually and would soon fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. The main theme of Zephaniah's writings is "the day of the Lord," which was not a good thing for the ungodly inhabitants of Jerusalem!

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, on the other hand, served some 80 to 100 years later, when Jerusalem was being rebuilt by those who had returned from Babylonian exile. The two prophets were contemporaries. They engaged in a sort of tag-team ministry. Both prophets focused on the rebuilding of God's temple. While the people had built for themselves nice, paneled houses, the Lord's temple still lay in ruins (Hag. 1:2-3). God's message through Haggai and Zechariah was, "put me back in the center of your lives!"

Zechariah was both a prophet and a priest. His ministry paralleled that of Haggai, but he was much younger than Haggai, so he continued his work long after Haggai's death. The book of Zechariah is one of the longest of the Minor Prophets, roughly the same length as Hosea (both in terms of word count and number of chapters - 14).

What distinguishes Zechariah from Hosea is the number of messianic prophesies. Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would be humble and lowly (6:12; 13:7), making his triumphal entry on a donkey (9:9). He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (11:12-13), crucified ("struck down," 13:7), and seated on the throne of glory (6:12-13). Accordingly, he would rule the earth and be worshiped by people of all nations (14:9, 16).

As you read this wonderful material, pray that God would speak to you and impress upon your heart the ways he is calling you to make him the center of your life. "Lord, I want to be wholly yours. Open the eyes of my heart to see the ways I can put you first in my life for Jesus' sake. Amen!"

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck

Friday, September 17, 2010

Week 38: Jonah, Micah, Nahum & Habakkuk

Here is the reading schedule for this week:

* Weekend: Jonah
* Monday: Micah 1-2
* Tuesday: Micah 3-5
* Wednesday: Micah 6-7
* Thursday: Nahum
* Friday: Habakkuk

We will knock out 4 books this week! Like it has been described earlier, we are in the middle of reading the books of the Minor Prophets, but if you have been keeping up with the reading, these books are anything but minor. How are the books speaking to you personally?

This week we start with Jonah- one of my personal favorites! This is a story of a prophet who disobeys God when given a direct order. Jonah is afraid to prophesy to the people of Nineveh because he fears for his life as he thinks he will be killed or hurt very badly when they reject God's word. He takes the long route to achieving his objective and eventually succeeds. What lesson can you pull from his story?

Micah displays the power of prophecy, especially in chapter 5. Hmmm... who do you think he is describing???

Nahum is about another prophecy to Nineveh, this time about 150 years after Jonah fulfilled his mission. Nineveh has fallen away from God again and this time God is determined to demonstrate His judgment as opposed to the mercy He showed in Jonah's day...

Habakkuk is a cool read- it is partly a dialogue with God about why evil is allowed to "prosper" in the world... sound kinda familiar? Well, God answers that He is truly in control and that He will act and react according to His will. The main thing we all need to realize is that we must live in faith- faith that God is good and that He will care for those who choose to have a relationship with Him.

We really hope you are keeping up and are finding enjoyment and/or fulfillment in the Word. Keep on reading and please let us know what you are thinking if you like!

Have a great week!!!

-Mike

Friday, September 10, 2010

Week 37: Joel, Amos & Obadiah

This week we read Prophets 2, 3 & 4 out of the series of 12 minor prophets:

* Weekend: Joel
* Monday: Amos 1 - 2
* Tuesday: Amos 3 - 5
* Wednesday: Amos 6 - 7
* Thursday: Amos 8 - 9
* Friday: Obadiah

Joel is the 2nd prophet from the collection of minor prophets. There is very little known about the prophet himself. Because of his concern for Judah and Jerusalem, it is generally accepted that that's the area he lived and prophesied. Dating the book is difficult too because of lack of historical references, but most scholars date the book in the 6th century BC, either right before the Babylonian captivity or afterward (586BC).

Joel prophesies about the "great and dreadful day of the LORD" (2:31). The massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah are all signs of that day. Confronted with crisis, he calls on everyone to repent: old and young (1:2-3), drunkards (1:5), farmers (1:11) and priests (1:13). The locusts are described as the LORD's army and he sees in their coming a reminder that the day of the LORD is near.

Chapter 3 is famous because the apostle Peter quotes it in one of the most famous sermons of the Bible in Acts chapter 2:14-47 (apart from Jesus' sermons). This chapter in Acts shows an interesting aspect about prophesies, namely that many prophesies are partly fulfilled at some point in time, but still wait for their complete fulfillment at a later point in time. In this particular case, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as prophesied by Joel 600 years earlier (!), had its fulfillment in Acts chapter 2, however, the 'blood and fire and billows of smoke, the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful (or glorious) day of the LORD' has not been completely fulfilled yet. The great day of the LORD that brings judgment over all who rejected God, is still coming, and vividly described in the book of Revelation. The prophet Joel saw it all in one vision, and laid it out for us in one paragraph, but the actual fulfillment is happening at different moments in time.

Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa, a small town about 6 miles south of Bethlehem. He was not from the elite of Israel (like Isaiah who was a man of the court, or Jeremiah who was a priest). He earned his living from the flock and the sycamore-fig grove (1:1, 7:14-15). He probably ministered for the most part at Bethel (7:10-13), Israel's main religious sanctuary. His prophesies are well organized, however, it is hard to find a chronological order in his prophesies. He prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah over Judah (792-740BC) and Jerobeam II over Israel (793-753).

The main theme of the book of Amos is probably captured in chapter 5:24:

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"

Whereas Hosea emphasized God's love, grace, mercy and forgiveness, Amos was a vigorous spokesman for God's justice and righteousness. Amos declared that God was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenant-breaking people. And we need to hear both messages too! We need to fully grasp God's love, grace and mercy, but then we also need to understand God's justice and righteousness, not just for ourselves, but also to stir in us a compassion for all those who are still lost and need to hear God's message of love, grace and mercy, lest they will not come under His judgment.

The book of Obadiah is just one chapter! His name means "servant (or worshipper) of the LORD". The prophesy is about Edom (Edom are the offspring from Esau, Jacob's (=Israel's) brother. God is upset with Edom because they gloated over Israel's devastation. Because of their family relationship, God is even more upset with Edom than other nations who show hostility toward Israel. The recurring theme of "the day of the LORD" is also in this book (verse 15-21).

I apologize for the long post this week, but wanted to give a bit of background on 3 different bible books. I hope you still enjoy reading through the Bible. This week is a good week to catch up, as the reading is very light. Joel and Obadiah are 1 day each, but you can almost read Amos in day as well, which gives you a couple days extra to catch up or get ahead.

Have a great week!

Dick

Friday, September 3, 2010

Week 36: Daniel 10-12; Hosea 1-14

This week's reading completes the book of Daniel and moves into a new section of Scripture, which some have called "The Book of the Twelve" and others have called the Minor Prophets. The books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are called "minor" only because of their length. Compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, the works of the Minor Prophets are comparatively brief. However, the messages they share are as power packed as the larger prophetic works. In the next few weeks, we will sometimes be covering two or three books per week...in stark contrast to the long stretches in Isaiah and Jeremiah.

This week's reading comes together like this:

* Weekend: Daniel 10-12
* Monday: Hosea 1-3
* Tuesday: Hosea 4-6
* Wednesday: Hosea 7-8
* Thursday: Hosea 9-11
* Friday: Hosea 12-14

The book of Hosea, the first Minor Prophet in The Book of the Twelve, is unique in a couple of ways. It is the only book written by a prophet from the northern territory of Israel (referred to simply as Israel after Solomon's day, when the kingdom was divided between "Judah," which lay to the south and was ruled by descendants of King David, and "Israel," the northern territory, which was ruled by an assortment of wicked kings).

The book of Hosea is also unique because all the dating references are linked to the kings of Judah (rather than Israel - even though he prophesied to Israel). Some scholars take this to mean that scribes in Judah compiled the prophet's writings after the northern territory was taken over by Assyria, which deported the Israelites and replaced them with people it had taken from other lands.

The prophet Hosea had the grim task of prophesying Israel's doom and deportation. Even though God loved Israel and wanted nothing but its redemption and salvation, Israel for its part was bent on rebellion and disobedience. Israel wanted nothing more than to do its own thing...without God.

Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful woman - and his love and forgiveness of her - powerfully illustrates God's unending love for Israel. That notwithstanding, however, Israel, like Hosea's wife, would have none of it.

The message of Hosea is sobering. It shows us that it is possible for us to reach a point of no return, so to speak, in our resolve to do our own thing and have nothing to do with God.

Scripture is clear about the fact that when we are saved by Christ, we are safe from the enemy's attempts to snatch us from God's hands (see John 10:28-30). But God loves us too much to compel us to be his disciples. Jesus invites us to come to him and take his yoke upon ourselves (see Matthew 11:28-30). But if we're unwilling to follow Jesus because we are either too attached to earthly things (see Matthew 19:16-26) or because we desire to please others more than we desire to please God (see Luke 9:59-62), God will sadly leave us to our own devices.

Hosea teaches us that we can will ourselves out of God's will by insisting on living life according to our desires instead of God's desires.

Let's make this prayer of relinquishment, which Richard Foster so eloquently expressed, our prayer at the beginning of each day this week:

Today, O Lord, I yield myself to You.
May Your will be my delight today.
May You have perfect sway in me.
May your love be the pattern of my living.
I surrender to You my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions.
Do with them what You will, when You will, as You will.
I place into Your loving care my family, my friends, my future.
Care for them with a care that I can never give.
I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity.
Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish Your Kingdom on earth.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Have a blessed week!
Chuck