Devotions
The God Who is Involved (Zechariah 1–2)
In 1985, Julie Gold, an aspiring American songwriter, was working as a secretary for HBO while writing songs in her spare time. A friend introduced one of her songs to Nanci Griffith, who recorded it for her 1987 album, Lone Star State of Mind. Three years later,...
The God of Second Chances (Zechariah Overview)
With many parents of young kids, I found myself on 16 December sitting in a movie theatre watching Spider-Man: No Way Home. Anticipation had been built about the film for months and I had serious doubts that it would live up to the hype. In the end, it did not...
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...
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)
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)
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...