Malachi 3-4

Once again we have a passage directly from God concerning the sins that particularly offend him. Against the sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit the vulnerable, and those who reject the sojourners he will bear witness at judgment. Do you want to know what I see in this list? A collection of people who mislead, …

Zechariah 5-8

Interesting. Okay. So these chapters are further encouragement to Israel regarding their restoration, promising judgment on their enemies, and compelling them to be better than their fathers. I didn’t find much to really hang on to here, to be honest, but there’s one thing about chapter 6 that got my attention. There are four chariots: …

Zechariah 1-4

“And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord.” It was never just about Israel. I’m not sure there is a passage in the Bible to suggest that Israel ever understood that, ever acted like a nation of priests out to welcome and convert the nations of the world. Was there a single period in …

Haggai

It’s such a short book about a prophet calling the people to rebuild the temple and reconsecrate the people of Israel. People say it isn’t time to rebuild, but you seem to be quite comfortable in your house, why can’t you rebuild mine? You know nothing is going to grow well until you do, right? …

Daniel 7-9

Can I just say I’m really glad Daniel was bothered by his visions on account of not understanding them? Because I really don’t understand them at all. There are a lot of smart people out there with all sorts of explanations of what the visions might mean. Everything from recorded history that was still in …

Daniel 4-6

Oh, Nebuchadnezzar. Really think you could have done without those 7 spans of time acting like a cow in the field, you know? He recognized God’s power when Daniel interpreted the first dream. He outlawed speaking against God after the incident with the furnace. The man had no problems acknowledging God’s superiority. He was just …

Daniel 1-3

There isn’t a whole lot to say about these chapters that hasn’t been said. I do feel that I have to comment on the diet Daniel and the others insist on following. I don’t think it’s a statement in favor of vegetarianism or anything like that. I believe it’s a matter of faith. They refused …