Click for a PDF version Monday Daniel 6:1-23 Daniel in the lions’ den is a famous biblical story. However, it is often overlooked that Daniel was an old man when this incident occurred. He had lived faithfully, experiencing Judah’s exile to Babylon as a teenager only to rise to prominence in Babylonian leadership due...
Click for a PDF version Monday Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-5 Where does Zechariah and his book fit in the history of God’s people? First, the context. The people of God had been stripped of everything (land, temple, homes)—everything except God and their history with God, including their deliverance by Him from Egypt, along with...
Click for a PDF version Monday Haggai 1-2 In 538 BC, about fifty thousand Jews left Babylon and returned to their homeland to rebuild the temple and restore the nation. In 536 BC, they laid the foundation of the temple; the work was stopped by their enemies and was not resumed until 520 BC...
Click for a PDF version Monday Zephaniah 1; Matthew 13:41-43, 24:29 “Zephaniah … [features] the most unpleasant subject in the Bible—the judgment of God. … Zephaniah means ‘hidden of the LORD’ and the prophet [speaks] as if he were a representative of the [faithful] remnant … who will remain true to God … through...
Click for a PDF version Monday Habakkuk 1:1-4 The book of Habakkuk was written by the prophet Habakkuk around 605 BC to the people of Judah who were struggling to comprehend the ways of God. It contains a dialogue between the prophet and God. The prophet argues with God over His ways, which appear...
Click for a PDF version Monday Nahum 1-3 Nahum is the seventh of the Minor Prophets, the last 12 books of the Old Testament. When God had a message for the people, He spoke through prophets. His word came to them through visions, dreams, oracles, parables, burdens, and the like. Most of these books...
Click for a PDF version Monday Micah 1 & 2 Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, spoke more to the rural people, whereas Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem. The years preceding Micah’s prophecy were prosperous, the result of foreign trade and international stability. Consequently, Micah, like Amos, speaks out against the abuses associated with increased wealth....
Click for a PDF version Monday Jonah 1-4; Isaiah 26:12 God chose Jonah to prophecy against Nineveh. Would you have picked Jonah to take a message to Nineveh? I would not have chosen Jonah. It’s true that he was a true prophet. It’s true that he believed absolutely in the true God. But his...
Click for a PDF version Monday Obadiah 1; Jeremiah 49:7-22 Obadiah and Edom are this week’s lenses as we survey God’s sovereign favor toward His own. Though loving, God is righteous and holy; His patience (“longsuffering”) with disobedience has limits. Edom’s issues included their ongoing contentiousness with Israel and rejecting Yahweh—as Abraham’s descendants, they...
Click for a PDF version Monday Amos 1:1 – 2:16 The Book of Amos (1:1) identifies Amos as an 8th century BC prophet, a contemporary of Isaiah. His message begins with comparing the LORD to a lion, roaring from Zion (v. 2). His roaring was directed toward Israel, the northern kingdom that had turned...
