The Peace of God Zechariah 8:16 – These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgements that are true and make for peace. Seventy years the exiles had been in Babylon which means that some of those returning to Judah had never seen Jerusalem before… Continue reading Zechariah – Part 3 of 5
Month: June 2021
Zechariah – Part 2 of 5
The Power of God Zechariah 4:8 – This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. In chapters 3 and 4, Zechariah is given two more visions, this time concerning Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel the governor. Joshua was standing… Continue reading Zechariah – Part 2 of 5
Zechariah – Part 1 of 5
The Protection of God Zechariah 1:3 – Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you. This has been the Lords refrain for over 4000 years; not just a few decades or even a few centuries but thousands of years of mankind doing his own thing and going his own… Continue reading Zechariah – Part 1 of 5
Haggai – Part 2 of 2
Trust Continually Haggai 1:6 - “Consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” The Israelites… Continue reading Haggai – Part 2 of 2
Haggai – Part 1 of 2
Think Carefully Haggai 1:8 – “Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.” After the torture and cruelty of the Assyrians, the Babylonians piled on even more – ‘They burned the house of God and… Continue reading Haggai – Part 1 of 2
Zephaniah – Part 3 of 3
Joy Everlasting In terms of the expectant judgement, it is those who reject God’s ways and say to themselves, “I am, and there is no one else” (2:13), that will face the coming punishment. “Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled. She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust… Continue reading Zephaniah – Part 3 of 3
Zephaniah – Part 2 of 3
Judgement Expected The prophets were sent to remind the people of God’s justice and his mercy, with judgement often referred to as ‘the day of the Lord’. “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there”… Continue reading Zephaniah – Part 2 of 3
Zephaniah – Part 1 of 3
Jehovah Enraged The opening oracle of Zephaniah is both shocking and devastating: “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked.… Continue reading Zephaniah – Part 1 of 3
Habakkuk – Part 2 of 2
Faith with Contentment Habakkuk 3:18 – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Through the vision that the Lord revealed to Habakkuk, it was clear that although the Babylonians were the conduit of God’s judgement on Judah, they would also face God’s judgement at a… Continue reading Habakkuk – Part 2 of 2
Nahum – Part 3 of 3
Final Battle Nahum 3:18 – Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. The book of Nahum depicts a battle between the stronghold of Assyria’s capital and the Lord of hosts; between the one who thought they held the power… Continue reading Nahum – Part 3 of 3