Zephaniah
Zephaniah was an unusual prophet. He was of royal blood, the great-grandson of Hezekiah, and prophesied during the reign of Josiah, who was, perhaps, his second cousin. Zephaniah’s words probably came early in Josiah’s reign—while he was still a boy-king, and may have helped encourage Josiah to make the sweeping reforms that so wonderfully marked his reign and postponed the judgments of Zephaniah’s prophecy.
Zephaniah 1 introduces the coming judgment of “the day of the Lord.” PROPHECY NOTE: As you read, remember that the same prophecies may referred to multiple fulfillments. There will be a “Day of the Lord” for Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem in 586 B.C., but there will also be an “ultimate” Day of the Lord. Several times, Zephaniah is clearly pointing to THAT day. See if you can spot them!
Zephaniah 2 begins with a plea for fresh repentance: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land!” (2:3) Then, as many of the prophets do, he pronounces God’s judgment on the surrounding nations.
In Zephaniah 3, the prophet paints a picture of the judgment of all nations, including the city of Jerusalem. But he concludes with some of the most hopeful and encouraging words in the Bible. These words are for the Remnant of God’s People, and speak of their restoration. My favorite verse, perhaps in the whole Old Testament, is Zephaniah 3:17. Open up your Bible and read it as though Zephaniah were speaking to you.
Monday, we leap ahead in time to the prophet Haggai!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
SEPTEMBER 19 - HABAKKUK
Habakkuk
So, how do you pronounce “Habakkuk?” Do you say, Ha-BACK-uck? Or do you say, HAB-a-cuck? I find myself going “back” and forth. Get it?
Little is known about the prophet, Habakkuk, other than he lived near the end of the Kingdom of Judah, when God’s people were on the moral downward spiral that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. and the exile of many of her inhabitants.
Habakkuk’s prophecy, however, is unlike the prophecies of others, who predicted the coming judgments for Israel and the nations around her. The book of Habakkuk is, instead, a conversation with God. Well, actually, it’s less a conversation and more a “gripe session.” Here’s how the book is organized: complaint → answer → complaint → answer → prayer.
Habakkuk wonders, “How long, O Lord, until you punish the wicked in Judah?” God responds, in essence, “Just watch and wait; the Babylonians are coming to execute judgment.” Habakkuk’s second complaint follows, “Why use a wicked nation to punish your people’s wickedness?” God responds, “Don’t worry; they will be punished, too.”
Habakkuk’s closing prayer is one of the greatest prayers of faith ever uttered. Read it, and you’ll see!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
So, how do you pronounce “Habakkuk?” Do you say, Ha-BACK-uck? Or do you say, HAB-a-cuck? I find myself going “back” and forth. Get it?
Little is known about the prophet, Habakkuk, other than he lived near the end of the Kingdom of Judah, when God’s people were on the moral downward spiral that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. and the exile of many of her inhabitants.
Habakkuk’s prophecy, however, is unlike the prophecies of others, who predicted the coming judgments for Israel and the nations around her. The book of Habakkuk is, instead, a conversation with God. Well, actually, it’s less a conversation and more a “gripe session.” Here’s how the book is organized: complaint → answer → complaint → answer → prayer.
Habakkuk wonders, “How long, O Lord, until you punish the wicked in Judah?” God responds, in essence, “Just watch and wait; the Babylonians are coming to execute judgment.” Habakkuk’s second complaint follows, “Why use a wicked nation to punish your people’s wickedness?” God responds, “Don’t worry; they will be punished, too.”
Habakkuk’s closing prayer is one of the greatest prayers of faith ever uttered. Read it, and you’ll see!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Thursday, September 18, 2014
SEPTEMBER 18 - NAHUM
Nahum
Nahum means “comfort.” His words would have been a comfort to people and nations who had experienced the oppression, cruelty and wickedness of the Assyrian Empire centered at Nineveh. Each of Nahum’s three chapters predicts Nineveh’s downfall.
“I thought Nineveh had repented!” you say.
And you remembered correctly. Nineveh had repented 80 to 100 years earlier, when the reluctant prophet, Jonah, preached to them. The city-wide top-to-bottom repentance and revival that followed held off the destruction Jonah had prophesied. But Jonah was 750-725 B.C., and Nahum prophesied in the decades before Nineveh fell in 612 B.C.
After a brief time of repentance, wicked rulers arose in Nineveh (Assyria) who led them into worse wickedness than they had ever known. They were a nation full of lies and violence, lust and idolatry (3:1-4). And history bears out the cruelty and oppression they dealt out the conquered nations around them. Judgment is coming, from which they cannot escape. They will be plundered, pillaged and left in ruins!
As bad as this news is for Nineveh, it is good news for those nations she had oppressed, including and especially Judah, for God cares about those who trust him (1:7) and intends this to be good news (1:15). Through Nahum, God promises to restore the splendor of Jacob (2:2). This is such good news that people will applaud the fall Nineveh, like they rejoiced at the fall of Hitler and the Third Reich.
So, Nineveh’s prophecy of judgment is Judah’s prophecy of hope!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Nahum means “comfort.” His words would have been a comfort to people and nations who had experienced the oppression, cruelty and wickedness of the Assyrian Empire centered at Nineveh. Each of Nahum’s three chapters predicts Nineveh’s downfall.
“I thought Nineveh had repented!” you say.
And you remembered correctly. Nineveh had repented 80 to 100 years earlier, when the reluctant prophet, Jonah, preached to them. The city-wide top-to-bottom repentance and revival that followed held off the destruction Jonah had prophesied. But Jonah was 750-725 B.C., and Nahum prophesied in the decades before Nineveh fell in 612 B.C.
After a brief time of repentance, wicked rulers arose in Nineveh (Assyria) who led them into worse wickedness than they had ever known. They were a nation full of lies and violence, lust and idolatry (3:1-4). And history bears out the cruelty and oppression they dealt out the conquered nations around them. Judgment is coming, from which they cannot escape. They will be plundered, pillaged and left in ruins!
As bad as this news is for Nineveh, it is good news for those nations she had oppressed, including and especially Judah, for God cares about those who trust him (1:7) and intends this to be good news (1:15). Through Nahum, God promises to restore the splendor of Jacob (2:2). This is such good news that people will applaud the fall Nineveh, like they rejoiced at the fall of Hitler and the Third Reich.
So, Nineveh’s prophecy of judgment is Judah’s prophecy of hope!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
SEPTEMBER 17 - MICAH 6-7
Micah 6-7
Micah 6 takes us into a divine courtroom, for the Lord has a case against his people.
“What have I done to burden you,” God asks. “When did I forsake you? Was it in Egypt? Was it in the wilderness? Was it when Balak and Balaam were conniving against you? Do you think I only want offerings and sacrifices? No, I’ll tell you what I want; I want you to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with me” (6:3-8)!
Because they haven’t, the Lord pronounces judgment! Micah 7 describes the sad results of this judgment: misery, distrust, dishonor, and disunity. Nevertheless, God promises to bring his people into the light and back from captivity!
Micah ends with a song of praise, my favorite words of which are these, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance!” (7:18)
Tomorrow, we begin a stretch of 4 days, when we will read a prophet a day! Your fellow pilgrim through Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Haggai,
Pastor Gary
Micah 6 takes us into a divine courtroom, for the Lord has a case against his people.
“What have I done to burden you,” God asks. “When did I forsake you? Was it in Egypt? Was it in the wilderness? Was it when Balak and Balaam were conniving against you? Do you think I only want offerings and sacrifices? No, I’ll tell you what I want; I want you to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with me” (6:3-8)!
Because they haven’t, the Lord pronounces judgment! Micah 7 describes the sad results of this judgment: misery, distrust, dishonor, and disunity. Nevertheless, God promises to bring his people into the light and back from captivity!
Micah ends with a song of praise, my favorite words of which are these, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance!” (7:18)
Tomorrow, we begin a stretch of 4 days, when we will read a prophet a day! Your fellow pilgrim through Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Haggai,
Pastor Gary
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
SEPTEMBER 16 MICAH 3-5
Micah 3-5
Micah 3 continues God’s indictment against Israel and Judah: they have turned morality inside out, loving evil and hating good (3:2), they’ve abandoned justice (3:1-3), and they follow false prophets (3:5f). Soon they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer (3:4, 7). God’s silence will shame them and prepare them for judgment!
Micah 4 gives us a glimpse of God’s design and desire. God want to build a worship center for all people everywhere, not just the Jews. Micah foresees a time when the nations will stream to the mountain of God, be taught God’s ways and live in peace! Those considered the least, the lost and the last will become God’s remnant and will lead in His name!
Micah 5:1-5a describes the leader who will make the incredible picture of Micah 4 a reality. His name is Messiah, he will be born in Bethlehem. He will shepherd God’s flock. And He will be their peace!
Midway through verse 5, Micah reverts to—what’s for him—the present, and God’s immediate goals find a remnant and rid the land of idols! Ultimately, however, this will only be possible through Jesus, the Messiah, the Good Shepherd, the Judge of all!
Tomorrow, we complete Micah’s prophecy!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Micah 3 continues God’s indictment against Israel and Judah: they have turned morality inside out, loving evil and hating good (3:2), they’ve abandoned justice (3:1-3), and they follow false prophets (3:5f). Soon they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer (3:4, 7). God’s silence will shame them and prepare them for judgment!
Micah 4 gives us a glimpse of God’s design and desire. God want to build a worship center for all people everywhere, not just the Jews. Micah foresees a time when the nations will stream to the mountain of God, be taught God’s ways and live in peace! Those considered the least, the lost and the last will become God’s remnant and will lead in His name!
Micah 5:1-5a describes the leader who will make the incredible picture of Micah 4 a reality. His name is Messiah, he will be born in Bethlehem. He will shepherd God’s flock. And He will be their peace!
Midway through verse 5, Micah reverts to—what’s for him—the present, and God’s immediate goals find a remnant and rid the land of idols! Ultimately, however, this will only be possible through Jesus, the Messiah, the Good Shepherd, the Judge of all!
Tomorrow, we complete Micah’s prophecy!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Monday, September 15, 2014
SEPTEMBER 15 MICAH 1-2
Micah 1-2
Micah prophesied around the time of Isaiah, that is, when Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings in Judah. He was from a little town in the south of Judah called Moresheth, and by his words, we can tell that the good King Hezekiah’s reforms had not yet been implemented when he wrote.
Micah compares Israel’s sins to those of Judah. Israel (Samaria) would be destroyed—as Micah prophesies—during Micah’s lifetime, but Judah, under Hezekiah’s godly leadership, would respond well to Micah’s and Isaiah’s prophecies.
Whenever Micah mentions “high places,” he is referring to mountaintops where various false gods were worshipped. Because of their idolatries, such judgment is coming that Micah says, “Tell it not in Gath!” (1:10) He didn’t want the pagans to hear of God’s judgments on God’s people.
Chapter 2 begins with a woe: “Woe to you who plan sin, God is planning disaster against you!” Later, Micah ridicules the false prophets who never say anything negative. Micah says: if they had a prophet who prophesied wine and beer, he would be just the prophet for these people! (2:11)
Throughout this short prophecy, Micah alternates condemnation with hope. Here at the end of Micah 2, God promises to gather the remnant of Israel and shepherd them himself! Praise His name!
Tomorrow, we meet the Messiah...through Micah’s eyes!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
Micah prophesied around the time of Isaiah, that is, when Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings in Judah. He was from a little town in the south of Judah called Moresheth, and by his words, we can tell that the good King Hezekiah’s reforms had not yet been implemented when he wrote.
Micah compares Israel’s sins to those of Judah. Israel (Samaria) would be destroyed—as Micah prophesies—during Micah’s lifetime, but Judah, under Hezekiah’s godly leadership, would respond well to Micah’s and Isaiah’s prophecies.
Whenever Micah mentions “high places,” he is referring to mountaintops where various false gods were worshipped. Because of their idolatries, such judgment is coming that Micah says, “Tell it not in Gath!” (1:10) He didn’t want the pagans to hear of God’s judgments on God’s people.
Chapter 2 begins with a woe: “Woe to you who plan sin, God is planning disaster against you!” Later, Micah ridicules the false prophets who never say anything negative. Micah says: if they had a prophet who prophesied wine and beer, he would be just the prophet for these people! (2:11)
Throughout this short prophecy, Micah alternates condemnation with hope. Here at the end of Micah 2, God promises to gather the remnant of Israel and shepherd them himself! Praise His name!
Tomorrow, we meet the Messiah...through Micah’s eyes!
Your fellow pilgrim through the prophets,
Pastor Gary
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