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Zephaniah: God Is Angry, But There Is Still Hope

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The book of Zephaniah has proved to be one of those books I have struggled to understand. I would read it, finish it, and still feel like I had not quite grasped its flow or direction. The problem, I eventually discovered, was that I had not been reading it in its historical context. Wueh! Sometimes the problem is not the book itself; it is where we begin reading. The context that helped me understand Zephaniah is found in 2 Chronicles 33 and 34. These chapters tell us what was happening in Judah during the generations leading up to the ministry of Zephaniah. His own book tells us that he prophesied during the reign of King Josiah and traces his family line back four generations to Hezekiah (Zephaniah 1:1). If this is the King Hezekiah we know, then Zephaniah was connected to the royal family and was also a distant relative of Josiah. Once we understand what had been happening in Judah, the message of Zephaniah begins to make more sense. So, what is going on in these three chapters? I ...
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Jeremiah Q&A

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A friend read the book of Jeremiah, and found themselves asking God some difficult questions. The book is full of warnings, calls to repentance, promises of mercy and, eventually, judgment. The more she read, the more questions arose. Let’s think through them together. 1. Is God's mercy forever? Will God keep having pity on these people forever? He keeps telling them to return, promising that if they do, He will receive them. We see this in Jeremiah 3:12–14, 3:22 and 4:1. God is merciful, and He repeatedly invites His people to come back to Him. However, mercy should not be mistaken for the absence of justice. At some point, judgment comes. In Jeremiah 25:29, God asks whether Jerusalem, the city called by His name, should go unpunished while He brings judgment upon other nations. By Jeremiah 15:1–2, the situation has reached a point where even Moses and Samuel could not avert the announced judgment. God's patience is real, but it is not permission to continue rebelling indefin...
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He's Already Lifted! This Is Not a Gym.

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There is a song by our sister Chevelle Franklin that goes, “Be lifted high, be lifted high, O Lord, be lifted high, for you are holy, awesome, and worthy Lord. O Lord, be lifted high.” I am not sure whether she is the original artist or was singing a song composed by someone else, but the words got me thinking. There are several other songs with similar lyrics. We sing about lifting Jesus higher through our praise, worship and adoration. Think of one praise song such as; “inua Bwana inua, inua inua, inua Bwana inua, sababu yu mwema.” Another one could be when a soloist calls on us to "inua Bwana inua, inua!” The impression one gets is that our praise and worship is what lifts him, exalts and gives him the honor due to Him. We might be wrong. I suspect much of this thinking comes from Jesus' words in John 12:32: “... and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. ” The assumption seems to be that the more we lift Him through praise, the more He draws...
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Cattle on a Thousand Hills: Have We Been Reading This Wrong?

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I am shocked, and honestly, surprised! A few days ago, a friend called me and asked whether I would mind reading Psalm 15 so that we could discuss it later. Somewhere along the way, my ears heard Psalm 50 instead. So I went ahead and interacted with Psalm 50 until I later came across their text message and realized that we had been talking about two different Psalms. 😂 However, something caught my attention in Psalm 50, and when I sat down again this morning to review it, I was shocked to discover something I had misunderstood for years. One famous line in this Psalm is found in verse 10: “ For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills ” (KJV). Many of us know this verse, especially in Pentecostal circles. It has often been used to remind us that God is not broke. He owns cattle on a thousand hills! He can sell one or two and sort out our financial problems. Wueh! 😂 But when I read the Psalm in its context, I realized that God was not making a promise to...
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Nahum: So, You Thought God Had Forgotten?

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We are in the book of Nahum — or Nehem, as some pronounce it. This little book comes roughly a century after Jonah, and if you don't remember what happened in Jonah, wueh! You might miss why Nahum is saying what he is saying. Remember Nineveh? These are the people who repented when Jonah announced that God would destroy their city. God saw their change of heart and relented. Jonah wasn't particularly excited about God's decision, but that is a story for another day. Now, fast-forward a few generations. The same Assyrians are terrorising other nations and behaving as though the world belongs to them. They attacked Israel, conquered Samaria and carried many Israelites into captivity. Later, they even besieged Jerusalem, only for God to intervene and deliver the city (2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 36–37). You would think people who had once experienced God's mercy would know better. Apparently, history can repeat itself, even after a very powerful repentance meeting! This is where...
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Zechariah 3

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Reading the document Zechariah is like reading Revelation. If not careful, you can be caught up in the vision as the writers were but end up missing the whole communication. Just as in Revelation, the prophet is in the company of an angel. All this is in a vision, 8 to be exact, but our brother almost sleeps after the fourth vision and the angel has to wake him up. Similar to John whenever he was called upon to "write!" as he got lost in what he was seen. Two things are guides to understanding this prophecy. One, the name of the prophet and two a phrase that's repeated 4 times.  First, the name. Zechariah. This means "The Lord remembers." Reminds me of The Lord remembering Noah and his family. The only thing The Lord does not remember is our sins once we've repented. This book, a contemporary of Haggai is all out to remind Israelites who were in captivity that God does remembers. What does he remember? Two things. His promises and His people. Israelites had...
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Micah: Places, People, Person, Purpose

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One thing I have come to admire as I continually study the Scriptures is the remarkable order in which these writers communicated God's message. Either they were very smart, or the Spirit of God gave them such clarity and direction that even their writing followed a deliberate flow. The more you study these prophetic books, the more you begin to notice that what initially looks like a collection of disconnected prophecies is actually a message unfolding in a particular direction. We finished Micah chapter one looking at the places. God comes down from heaven to earth, and specific places begin to appear in the picture. Samaria, Jerusalem and the surrounding towns are brought into view as judgment moves through the land. Chapter one, therefore, gives us the places. Chapters two and three shift our attention from places to people. First, Micah addresses the general population, particularly those who plan evil and oppress others (Micah 2:1). He then turns to the prophets, some of whom...
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