2 Chronicles 32:1-8 – All Hands on Deck

Read 2 Chronicles 32:1-8

If you were wondering whether King Hezekiah could do no wrong, what’s the answer now? Even under the pressure of attack or threat of one, the King was encouraging the rest of his followers to have faith in God. That’s a rather bold move from a faith standpoint. For Hezekiah, he seemed fearless because of his unfailing confidence in God’s provision. I’m not necessarily feeling fearless these days. Hezekiah gets it right!

In Hezekiah’s own words to encourage his people, he said this about the opposition. “He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Can you imagine what it was like to have such words of faith coming from your ruling king? Imagine! And the uplifting message giving hope. We all face battles in our lives every day. How much different they look when we let Jesus lead us. Continue reading “2 Chronicles 32:1-8 – All Hands on Deck”

Nehemiah 4:1-6 – Handling Big Bullies

Read Nehemiah 4:1-6

Construction of the Jerusalem wall continues. We hear more about the bully, Sanballat, in this passage. Sanballat is spouting off his taunts to discredit the work of the Jews. I couldn’t help but think of when Jesus was taunted during the final hours before his crucifixion. People can be so mean.

We can only suppose what Sanballat’s problem is with the rebuilding process. Could it be he feels threatened and wants to show his superiority? Sanballat tries to get others to agree and join in on his mockery.

Zechariah 1:18-21 – God’s Revenge

Read Zechariah 1:18-21

Horns, blacksmiths, and colorful horses! “Are we in the book of Revelation?” is the question that came to me as I read this passage. I understand Zechariah does have some apocalyptic sections. Clearly the visions God gave Zechariah are a bit different from how other prophets received their messages. I appreciate Zechariah for giving us a detailed account of what he saw and what the angel explained to him. We don’t have to guess!

If you’ve ever been bullied, then you know the feeling of relief when your perpetrator has been exposed and punished. The Israelite nation had been abused by “bullying” nations for years. This part of the vision was meant to give them the peace of mind that their “bullies” would be taken care of. Whatever residual fears they had could be cleansed away.

Habakkuk 1:5-11 – The Lord Answered

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The Lord responds by giving quite a speech! Do you think Habakkuk had a hard time getting past the part about God raising up the Babylonians to destroy. But there is no direct mention of the terror they will bring on Judah.

Do you think Habakkuk “connected the dots” and realized God had heard his lament? God had also seen all the disrespect and evil that was troubling Habakkuk. The cruelty of the Babylonians would soon descend to discipline his own people.

Obadiah 1-9 – Edom’s Judgment

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Welcome to Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament. Its message is about oppression and betrayal, from both vantage points. We’ll also see examples of being the “innocent bystander” in perilous times. It’s thought that Obadiah would have written this prophecy sometime after the Babylonian conquest, but it is not clearly stated.

Obadiah’s message reveals God’s dramatic response to anyone who would harm his precious children. Edom was one of those nations, located southwest of the Dead Sea. The Edomite people were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Remember the story about the birth right in Genesis 27? We see time and again in the Old Testament references to the hostilities and struggles Edom had with God’s people, Israel.