Blessed Obedience (Haggai 2)

Blessed Obedience (Haggai 2)

We saw in Haggai 1 that the prophet was sent by God to confront his people about their “godlessly selfish priorities” (Dever). The people had been discouraged by opposition from investing in the construction of the temple and had instead poured their investments into...
Blessed Obedience (Haggai 2)

Misplaced Priorities (Haggai 1)

As we have made our way through the Minor Prophets, we have seen that, for the most part, they have taken the form of warnings of impending exile. The prophets ministering to the northern nation of Israel warned of Assyrian exile while those ministering to the...
Hope Screams (Zephaniah 3)

Hope Screams (Zephaniah 3)

Zephaniah’s prophecy has been a difficult one to swallow. Bruckner writes of this prophecy as a “radical message of destruction” and “a word of severe warning against God’s chosen.” He describes it as a prophecy of “clouds and blackness” and concludes that Zephaniah’s...
Hope Whispers (Zephaniah 2)

Hope Whispers (Zephaniah 2)

Yesterday, we considered the words of Zephaniah 1, which one commentator has suggested are the most vivid description of divine wrath in the Bible. His anger in the first chapter, we saw, was directed at his people for their sin. As we move into chapter 2, Yahweh’s...