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Holy War.

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As we've been reading through Kings and Chronicles while intercepting with the latter prophetic books, one of us confessed that it sometimes feels as though she's reading the history of some modern extremist communities. She mentioned Jehu in particular and observed that, if we judged his actions by today's standards, many of them would be considered criminal. There is war, bloodshed, executions, slavery, and conquest throughout much of the Old Testament narrative. Then she asked a series of questions that I believe deserve to be asked. How do we reconcile the God we meet in the Old Testament with the God we meet in the New Testament? In the Old Testament He appears tough; in the New Testament He appears tender. In the Old Testament He seems focused on one nation; in the New Testament He welcomes all nations. In the Old Testament He appears territorial; in the New Testament He is Lord over all the earth. She became so concerned by these thoughts that she wondered whether sh...
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"Three Days" - Joel

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One phrase keeps appearing as I journey through the prophets - The Day of the LORD. Joel repeats it over and over again and is responsible for bringing it to my attention. He is the first prophet chronologically speaking to utter those words. " Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand... " (Joel 1:15) " Blow the trumpet in Zion... for the day of the LORD is coming. " (Joel 2:1) " The great and awesome day of the LORD. " (Joel 2:31) " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near. " (Joel 3:14) Later on, Isaiah, Amos, Zephaniah and Malachi will also speak of it. The prophets seem unable to let it go. Naturally, questions keep forming in my mind. When is this Day? Why a day? What's so important about this day? What will happen on that day? At first, I imagined it as a single twenty-four-hour period somewhere in the future, then Peter quietly adjusts my thinking. " With the Lord one day is as ...
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"With All Your Heart" - Joel

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One of the things I have been enjoying lately is observing the timelines in Scripture. Sometimes we read a prophet in thirty minutes and assume everyone who first heard that message either obeyed or rejected it immediately. Yet the Bible often tells a very different story. As I have been reviewing the prophecy of Joel, I have been struck by the realization that it took roughly 150 years before the central call of that prophecy was fully embraced. Joel's message was simple: " Return to Me with all your heart... " (Joel 2:12). Simple to read but incredibly difficult to live. The first significant response came only a few years later when Athaliah was overthrown and covenant worship was restored. That was an important step, but it was only the beginning. The kings who followed each accomplished something good. Joash repaired the temple. Amaziah sought the Lord for a season. Uzziah brought stability and prosperity. Jotham strengthened the kingdom. Yet one phrase continues to ...
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Obadiah - We're been watched.

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages and ancestry—black, yellow, white, blue, purple, and green—from wherever you're joining us and from wherever you're reading this, hallelujah and praise the Lord! For those who may not know, "Hallelujah" is not an English word. I'm excited to continue our journey through the Bible. This year our focus has been reading through the Old Testament, and I thank God that a number of friends came on board. Their participation has encouraged me to keep reading, studying, researching, and digging deeper—not only into what the Scriptures say, but also into what the biblical writers intended to communicate and, above all, what God Himself wants us to hear. This years focus is a shift from seeking revelation towards a realization posture. We intend to know the planner(God), the plan and find our place in that grand plan. Our journey has now brought us to the book of Obadiah. Obadiah is one amazing little book. It is so s...
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Tables

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Let's talk about tables for a while. I had a dream this night, and in it I saw tables. Tables being flipped over because they were standing where they should not stand, serving the wrong meal, and stabilizing the wrong ministry. These are the tables in the temple that Jesus overturned when He entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17). Matthew captures the transition of the story beautifully. Immediately after Jesus entered Jerusalem to the cries of "Hosanna!"—which means, "Save us!" or "Liberate us!"—He went straight to the temple. Many of the Jews had misunderstood the prophecies concerning the Messiah. They had placed the military conqueror before the suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) and expected Him to overthrow the Roman government before the sun went down. To their astonishment, Jesus turned toward the temple instead of the tax office. Perhaps they imagined He was going there to give the "tunaenda Kanaani" speech, rally His troops...
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Isaiah - is a yah.

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One of the joys of reading Scripture chronologically is discovering that books written centuries apart are actually participating in the same conversation. Yesterday, while reading Isaiah, my mind wandered back to the opening chapters of Genesis. It struck me that the creation account unfolds in a beautiful sequence of creation, proclamation, then formation . God first creates the heavens and the earth. He then proclaims the rest of creation into existence. Finally, He forms man from the dust of the earth and breathes into him the breath of life. That thought came to me as I read chapter 1 verse 2. The Lord said, " Earth and sky, listen to what I am saying! The children I brought up have rebelled against me ..." (GNB) I found myself pausing over that line. God isn't addressing Israel first. He summons the heavens(sky) and the earth as though they are capable of hearing, seeing, and bearing witness. Naturally, I expect people and animals to respond to a voice—but the sky?...
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Does God change... His mind?

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A few days back, a sophesticated friend reached out with this concern: "If Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man that He should change His mind, then how do we explain the story of King Hezekiah? Wasn't Hezekiah told he would die, only for God to add fifteen more years to his life after he prayed? Doesn't that mean God changed His mind?" It's a thoughtful question and one that has been asked by many over the years. My response to them was as follows. Inasmuch as your question sounds valid, it isn't. Here are my reasons for saying that. 1. The question is almost always asked out of the context of the passages in question. A text taken out of context becomes a pretext. 2. The question often seeks to justify men while accusing God of inconsistency. Men will always lose in such an undertaking. I'm not here to defend Him though. He can do a better job at that. So let's leave the texts for a moment and first look at the contexts in play. To note: A. Two i...
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