The Attributes of God:

Nahum 1-3 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”                   The book of Jonah (written around 798 b.c.) ended with Nineveh repenting of their sins and Jonah frustrated that God would forgive even the worst of sinners. However, as is often the case, when the threat of judgment is abated, people quickly forget God and return to their sin. Such was the case with Nineveh. When Nahum came upon the scene in 662-627 b.c., Nineveh was again facing God's judgment for their wickedness, including their cruel treatment of the people they captured in war. As a result, God again pronounced the coming judgment upon the nation. However, this time there would be no repentance, and they would face complete destruction.                   Nahum opens with a pictur...

The Song of Victory Micah 7 “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my Salvation.  My God will hear me.  Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fill I will rise, Though I ddwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.” (7:7-8).                   Having proclaimed a series of judgments in the first part of the book, Micah now ends with a song of praise and thanksgiving for God’s victory. Like Micah, we live in a world that seems broken and divided. Every day we read the news and are confronted by a number of ominous headlines. But even more troubling is that, in our own lives, we often face struggles that seem overwhelming. We seem to have no victory in our struggle with sin. Every day we are confronted with the reality that our world is broken. Cancer strikes and destroys indiscriminately. We struggle with relationships with other...

The Coming of God: A Time of Judgment or a Time of Peace? Micah 1-4 “For Behold, the Lord is coming forth from His high place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.  The mountains will melt under Him and the Valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place.”                   Throughout the Bible, we find the theme of God’s return to the earth woven throughout its message. A central message of the Bible is that the times and events of the world are not cyclical but linear. It is often stated that history repeats itself. But it is also true that history is not just a series of arbitrary events that happen to particular people. History is directed by God and moving toward the conclusion that he has established. History began with the creation of humanity and their placement in the Garden. It concludes in the book of Revelation with...

Judgement and Grace Obadiah and Jonah “I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and one who relents concerning calamity.” Jonah 4:2                   One reason people do not like to read the Old Testament, especially the prophetic books, is that they seem so dark and foreboding. The continual pronouncement of coming judgment becomes unrelenting. From the prophetic passages, people conclude that the wrath and severity of judgment conflict with Christ's message that God is gracious and abounding in mercy. However, we often miss one very important truth. All the judgments pronounced in the prophets came  before  the events rather than after them. Such is the case with the pronouncement of Obadiah of God’s impending judgment upon the nation of Edom for their violence and spiritual arrogance. Rather than follow ...

Seeing our nation through the lens of God. Amos 1-5 “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (5:15).                   In a politically divided world, it is easy to see the faults of the other political party but remain ignorant of the sins of our own party.  We tend to look at our nation through the lens of the party with which we affiliate. However, political lenses are always distorted.  We condemn the other party while overlooking the sins that are perpetrated by the party we affirm. This was the fault of Israel.  They were quick to judge and condemn the governments and people around them while justifying their own actions.                     The book of Amos begins with the condemn...

When Famine Strikes Amos 6-9 “Behold, days are coming declares,” the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord.”                   In an age of the internet, podcasts, and social influencers, it is easy to find people who say what we want to hear and affirm what we want to believe. The vast amount of information available online has ushered in a new phase, “confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias is when we seek out information that affirms what we want to believe and reject or ignore information that challenges what we believe. But confirmation bias is not new; it has plagued people since the beginning of time and afflicted the people of Israel during the time of Amos. When Amos warned the people of God’s judgment because of sin, instead of listening to him, they accused him of promoting insurrection a...