I’ll be honest. Joel is one of those books that I’m not entirely sure what to do with. It’s a prophecy a lot like every other prophecy we have on record. There’s just one thing that stands out: the promise of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, Joel promises, the Spirit will be poured out on everyone. …
There is a pretty intense metaphor for what the people have done here. I mean intense. And a very nice accusation that Sodom had nothing on them (Sodom’s sin was: “pride… did not aid the poor…” so… injustice and oppression. Not that other thing). But it’s chapter 18 I want to focus on. Personal responsibility. …
There was one line that caught my attention in the middle of these prophecies of judgment. “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished?” God never said that only bad people will suffer, that suffering is earned, deserved, somehow, that pain is judgment. Sometimes it is, …
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. This is a very popular verse, and for good reason. It is an encouragement sent to a people in exile. Once your exile has been completed, …
I think it’s maybe safe to assume, or at least reasonable to expect, that not everyone in the nation of Judah was horrible. I mean, Jeremiah was a faithful man. He can’t have been the only one, right? But the king was corrupt. And the culture was corrupt. And the nation had, as a community, …