Encounter the Bible

This week we finish up Ezra and read through most of Nehemiah.  Both books are concerned with rebuilding.  Both books detail how God's people repented after returning from exile.  Both books show a gracious response from the king who was holding the people captive. Whether rebuilding the temple (Ezra) or the wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah), rebuilding was a key theme during this season of the life of Israel.  The bigger purpose was restore the people of Israel/Judah. Being taken away into exile was a significant and life-changing event. It was punishment, to be sure, but it was also designed to lead God's people back to himself. Twice in these two books we read about times when the people of Israel repented.  We can be thankful for God's grace to us when we repent of sin.  But what will be next for Israel?  Will the temple and the wall endure forever?  Will the people remain faithful to God? Enjoy your reading!  Please share your reflections...

This week we make a transition from the minor prophets to the last three historical books: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.  It's impossible to separate the prophets from their historical periods, so this transition shouldn't be too hard to make. Joel is focused on the Day of the Lord, the day when God will judge and punish sin and show mercy to those who have been faithful to him.  Jonah tells the amazing story of what happened to Jonah when he tried to run away from God, but also tells the even bigger story of how God's compassion reaches even beyond Israel. As we get into Ezra, we are in the post-exile period where the people are returning to Jerusalem.  While we might be optimistic that the lesson has been learned in captivity, the account of Ezra tells us that eventually God's people went back to their old ways.  However, as they return from exile, their first order of business is to rebuild the temple, the place where God lives. Again, as we've seen multiple times,...

After working through four-plus prophets last week, we focus this week on just two: Zechariah and Malachi.  As you read, you might wonder about the following: How does a message about rebuilding the temple apply to us today?  What does God's purifying work look like in my life?  Do I trust God enough to "bring the full tithe into the storehouse"?  Will God really keep his promises (especially as Malachi brings us to the end of the Old Testament)? As you think about those questions, don't miss God's word of grace and mercy to his people.  As the prophets bring the word of the Lord, it has the dual theme of justice and mercy.  Sin cannot go unpunished. Thanks be to God that he has provided a solution through Jesus Christ that grants us forgiveness of sin, new life in Christ, and the promise of eternal life with him. Enjoy your reading!  Please share your reflections and questions.  Be sure to use the guiding questions as you read. Our guiding questi...

This week we'll cover a lot of ground, reading through 5 of the 12 minor prophets.  While these are all short books (the longest is 3 chapters), their message is no less significant.  Two of the prophets will speak of God's judgment against two of Israel's enemies: Ninevah and Edom.  Two will speak to the people about rebuilding the temple.  And one will focus on a message of comfort to God's people when they go through difficult times. Those messages raise interesting questions for us today: Do we allow God to take vengeance against his enemies or do we feel like we need to take care of it for him?  What kind of priority do we give God in our lives?  What keeps us from doing what he asks us to do?  Can we hear God's word of comfort above all the noise of our culture? Enjoy your reading!  Please share your reflections and questions.  Be sure to use the guiding questions as you read. Our guiding questions are these:  What stood out to you...

One of the themes we will encounter again and again in the minor prophets is that of God's justice and his mercy.  God's justice requires that sin be punished.  If God didn't punish ALL sin (i.e. overlooking the sin of "good" people), he would no longer be a just God.  But God is also merciful and he longs for his people to be forgiven and to experience his grace and love.   In our human existence we see people as EITHER just OR merciful.  A judge might show mercy by letting someone go free after committing a crime but would prove to be unjust when the next person gets put in jail for the same crime.  Parents wrestle with this.  They think that punishment isn't showing love/mercy because you can either be just or merciful.  But God is those two things together.  Only in his divinity can he told those seemingly opposite characteristics in a perfect tension.  That tension is resolved, of course, through Jesus Christ. As you read Hosea...