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This ethical stew of truth mixed with error is enough to make one sick. Ironically, to walk away from the book of Judges feeling sick means that the book’s purpose has been rightly understood! This harrowing portion of Scripture is precisely intended to whet the hearer’s redemptive appetite. Is there anyone who can lead righteously?
Read MorePicking up after the death of Moses, Joshua narrates the Israelites’ takeover of Canaan after their forty-year wandering in the wilderness. Through their military campaigns, the Israelites would serve as the instrument of God’s judgment upon the Canaanites for their sins, as well as the demonstration of God’s purposes to give the land to Abraham’s descendants (cf. Deut. 9:4-5).
Read MoreIn order to rebuke the sins of the skeptical, encourage the hearts of the hopeless, and correct the errors in their eschatology, God sent yet another prophet—Malachi (meaning “my messenger”)—who would serve as God’s final spokesman to the nation before what would become four hundred years of silence.
Read MoreAs one of the most quoted Old Testament books in the New Testament, the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ ought to instill both great confidence and great joy in those of us looking forward to Christ’s second coming.
Read MoreIn His kindness, God raised up Haggai for a short four-month, four-message ministry to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself.
Read MoreThrough a series of dreams and visions, God revealed to Daniel not only much about His predestined plans for the future, but much about the coming one world ruler who would try (unsuccessfully) to stop them.
Read MoreSo it was that Ezekiel comforted them with a promise that God would seek out His sheep, destroy their enemies, regenerate the heart of the entire nation, and—in one of the most memorable illustrations of salvation—raise an entire valley of dead bones back to life. In other words, there would be a day in which God would single-handedly grant spiritual revival to all Israel (cf. Rom. 11), just as He does in the life of each individual who comes to saving faith today.
Read MoreWhy had the southern kingdom of Judah fallen to the Babylonians? What was the purpose of exile? Did Yahweh forget about His covenant people? Was there any hope of restoration? Writing to (and for) the exiles in captivity, Jeremiah the prophet put together a series of funeral dirges—lament songs—that answered these questions.
Read MoreJust as a potter can reshape a spoiled jar, so too could God reshape the nation (cf. Jer. 18:6). And in fact, God promised He would do just that. There would indeed come a day in which God would provide a New Covenant, one that—unlike the Mosaic Covenant—would be permanent, personal, and perfect (cf. Jer. 31:31-37).
Read MoreThe evidence that Habakkuk understood all of this is found in the final chapter, in which Habakkuk uttered a lyrical, liturgical prayer expressing that he indeed would trust God no matter the circumstances.
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