The book begins and ends with the same phrase, repeated 6 times: “I will…” In the beginning, the Lord is promising “I will…” in regards to destruction. In the end, the Lord is promising “I will…” in regards to restoration. In 1:12, the Lord punishes complacency. That’s one reason I’m so fearful of growing complacent.Continue reading “Zephaniah”
Tag Archives: the bible scribe
Joel
Joel means “the Lord is God.” Pethuel means “open heartedness toward God.” Interesting because much of the book revolves around these two ideas. The Lord shows He is God over all things. These demonstrations of His power create open heartedness toward God in some people and resentment in others. Chapter 1 starts with a listen-up;Continue reading “Joel”
Habakkuk
I’ve always loved this book. It’s probably my favorite prophetic book. Habakkuk starts off with a complaint, directed right at the Lord Himself. Some people think you have to watch your words around the Lord, that if you say something wrong you’ll offend Him. And maybe in some small way, these people are right. But,Continue reading “Habakkuk”
Haggai – v1
This little book boils down to one thing: the rebuilding of the temple after Babylonian captivity. The Lord really comes down on the people thru Haggai, His prophet, because they have been rebuilding their own homes, while neglecting His. He asks them to consider why all these bad things are happening to them, why theirContinue reading “Haggai – v1”
Titus
Sidenote: I have a brother-in-law named Titus. Every time I read this book I pray for him. It’s good practice. The Apostle Paul mentions Titus 9x in the book of 2 Corinthians. That gives you an idea of how much Paul liked this guy and how much work they did together. In this letter toContinue reading “Titus”
Obadiah
There are only a handful of one chapter books in the Bible. Obadiah is one of them. When the book is so short, it’s tough to find much to write about. So, I’ll provide a summary and thoughts on one specific idea. In a nutshell, Obadiah’s prophecy is about curses and blessings. Curses on EdomContinue reading “Obadiah”
3 John
This is one of those rare personal letters that made it into the canon of Scripture. If I’m not mistaken, I think there are only 4 others, all written by Paul (1&2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon). As for this letter, the short hand moral lesson would read: Be like Gaius and Demetrius, not Diotrephes. The lastContinue reading “3 John”
2 John
Perhaps John saw his first epistle and said, “This is too long. I will condense it.” So he wrote 2 John …with the Holy Spirit’s help of course. *See 1 John for more notes
1 John
Back to the basics. That’s what 1 John is all about. Simple sentences, always building on the previous thought. Here’s my summary of John’s letter: The diagram above, keep it simple, abide in Him, love others, He is true, don’t be deceived, the world is passing away, if you know God don’t practice sin, GodContinue reading “1 John”
Jude
I have a Warren Wiersbe type of outline here. All begin with “P”: Purpose: He appeals to us believers to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Problem: A group of unnoticed, ungodly people had crept in the Christian circles and perverted grace into sensuality. That is, they beganContinue reading “Jude”
Philemon
Last night I was feeling ambitious, so I read a whole book of the Bible–Philemon. It’s a whopping twenty-five verses. Here’s what I think you should know about it: Verses 1-7 are a typical opening to Paul’s letters. It is worth noting that this is a personal letter. Only 3 other personal letters can beContinue reading “Philemon”
Genesis 49-50
After finishing chapter 49, it seems evident that Jacob knows his sons pretty well. You’d think, after having 12 boys (and however many girls), that he might lose touch with some of the kids. Not so, based on this chapter. In fact, Jacob knows his sons well, perhaps better than they know themselves. He announcesContinue reading “Genesis 49-50”