December 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Ecclesiastes 11-12. Background: Ecclesiastes 9-10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 The preacher’s wisdom: As the book comes to a close, the preacher gives some practice wisdom for this life. Different interpretations of these proverb-like sayings have been given and thus what is commented here should not be taken as fact…
Tag: judgment
Zephaniah 1-3: Judgment and restoration.
November 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Zephaniah 1-3. Background: Zephaniah’s ministry was during the reign of King Josiah in Jerusalem which lasted from 641-610 B.C. This date would make Zephaniah a contemporary of Jeremiah and probably a very influential prophet for King Josiah’s religious reform. Zephaniah’s message is a oracle of judgment against Judah and the…
Obadiah: The oracle against Edom.
October 23, 2015. Daily Reading: Obadiah. Background: Few clues are given in the text of this prophet to estimate the date and time periods that Obadiah prophesied. Different dates have been discussed based on contextual clues (such as Edom’s future raiding when Jerusalem is attacked), the two main suggestions being c. 850 BC, which would make…
Hosea 8-14: The love and the wrath of God.
September 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Hosea 8-14. Background: Hosea 1-7. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind: In this oracle, it becomes apparent that you will reap what you sow. The Lord, through Hosea, beings with a warning blast, to call Israel to attention that they might see their folly and turn…
Ezekiel 31-36: Prophecies against the nations, and Israel’s renewal.
August 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 31-36. Background: Ezekiel 25-30. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 31 Prophecy against Pharaoh: In this chapter, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel to give to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, on the things that will happen to him. Though the prophecy is directed towards Pharaoh, the oracle uses the…
Ezekiel 25-30: Oracles against the nations.
July 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 25-30. Background: Ezekiel 19-24. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 Oracles against the nations: In this chapter, the Lord tells Ezekiel to speak oracles concerning several of the nations that were around Israel, each of the coming destruction that the Lord was about to send on thjum. The first nation…
Psalm 81-83: God and His people.
July 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 81-83. Background: Psalm 78-80. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 81 “Oh that My people would listen to Me”: After the opening stanza as a call for the people of God to sing and praise the Lord, the rest of this psalm is written from the perspective of God admonishing His…
Ezekiel 19-24: Oracles against Jerusalem.
July 10, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 19-24. Background: Ezekiel 13-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 Lamentation for the princes of Israel: In this chapter, we are given a lament over the princes of Israel for the people to hear and lament the fall of the house of David into captivity. The house of David is…
Ezekiel 7-12: Oracles of destruction.
June 26, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 7-12. Background: Ezekiel 1-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 Prophecy of the Lord’s wrath: Chapter seven opens with a message from the Lord to the land of Israel: the wrath of the Lord has come upon you. The people of God had been judged for their abominations and the…
Jeremiah 47-52: Oracles to the nations.
June 5, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 47-52. Background: Jeremiah 42-46. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 47 Oracle against the Philistines: The previous chapter started the last section of the book of Jeremiah, which is a collection of oracles of judgment against various nations outside of Israel. It was not only Israel that was to be punished…
Jeremiah 42-46: Further disobedience and judgment.
May 29, 2015 Daily Reading: Jeremiah 42-46. Background: Jeremiah 37-41. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 42 God’s warning: At the beginning of this chapter, there is a sense that the children of Israel, or at least the remnant that was left in the land of Judah, were finally starting to come around and realize that the words…
Jeremiah 27-31: Judah goes into captivity.
May 8, 2014. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 27-31. Background: Jeremiah 22-26. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 27 Submit to Nebuchadnezzar: At the beginning of this chapter, we get an interesting command given to Jeremiah that doesn’t happen all that often in prophecy. He is told to send word to the nations around Judah and give them a warning….
Twenty Eight Eighteen 