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Joel is longer than it looks.

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Yesterday night, as I was presenting somewhere, something new dawned on me, even though ilikua usiku. So I slept, woke up today, then allowed the dawning to become a real one. As I was highlighting the place of “EL” in the names of people and places in the Bible, I realized that I had missed something in the story of Joel. The place of “EL” is its representation of God. Jo-el means Yahweh is God. Beth-el means house of God. Isra-el, Eli-jah, Eli-sha, Eloi Eloi... you get the drift. Whenever you see a name in Scripture carrying “El” as either a prefix or suffix, it is worth pausing to consider what that name is communicating about God. In English, we often encounter the translated name as a noun. In its original setting, however, the name can function descriptively, pointing us towards an aspect of God. Yesterday, while reviewing Joel, I was already aware that Joel means something along the lines of “Yahweh is God.” That is not a light statement to carry as a name. As early as the days ...
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Melchizedek.

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Genesis 14 introduced us to a mystery waiter by the name of Melchizedek. He shows up, serves(wine and bread), gets paid and exits the scene. 🤦😁😂 It's true, but I hope you also get the joke. However, this Melchizedek figure caused a lot of problems in the early Church and still does to date. The following write-up, might be of help in shedding light on Melchizedek as recorded by Moses, David and Paul. Thank you for reading. There are chapters in Scripture that feel like a gentle walk. Then there are chapters that make you wonder whether you've accidentally started reading another book. Genesis 14 belongs to the second category. It's one of those sections that has names that add nothing to the spiritual man. We scheme through it too fast until...you land on a name like Melchizedek and wish you read slowly to see how he comes into the story. Last night I found myself reading Genesis 14 alongside Hebrews 7, trying to understand this mysterious statement that Jesus is "a...
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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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