By Renée Zitzloff When I was preparing the lesson on Ezekiel 32 I noticed again (I’m great with the obvious) the seeming redundancy of this ancient book. But reading the chapter anew, expecting to yawn profusely, I suddenly was jolted by the graphic nature of the violence being described. I was to study this with…
Category: Book of the Twelve
Inescapable light of Torah: Malachi 3-4
We have come to the final word of the Book of the XII, and the end of the Old Testament for Christians, where the Lord delivered his last plea to his people for them to remain loyal to him and follow Torah. He did not plea on his own behalf, but on behalf of the…
The people fail when the priests do not teach: Malachi 2
After the general rebuke over cultic matters in the last chapter (Malachi 1), the Lord aimed the present chapter at the priests. The priests did not teach Torah. The people rejected each other, and the priests abandoned their wives. They broke brotherhood and marriage through faithlessness. As they rejected each other as creations of the…
The Lord desires honor, not fear: Malachi 1
Zechariah described what would change about human institutions in the eschaton. All government and rule would be based on Torah. Individual human behavior would have to change, too. This is the topic of Malachi. The people’s incorrect and non-chalant attitude towards service of the Lord would need to look much different if they were going…
One people and one will manifested in Torah: The eschaton in Zechariah 13-14
The actions of Torah as the only word: Zechariah 13 The actions of Israel will declare the Lord’s teaching, the Torah, in the eschaton. First, though, he has to cut away humanity’s worst elements, and then he must purify what remains. When the Lord overturns every aspect of society, only then will people be willing…
Mercy frees the people from judgment: Zechariah 11-12
Zechariah 11 begins with unusual pessimism. In the eschaton, everything is supposed to change, but in this chapter, the Lord immediately related how he would destroy everything: the tall, proud trees and the verdant pastures (11:1-3). The powerful and prosperous would suffer. This opening sounds like a return to the harsh language of Micah 1:2-4,…
Bully on the Playground
Habakkuk draws its reader right in, questioning the Lord’s dominion over the enemies of war, famine, poverty, and injustice. What kind of Lord won’t listen and won’t save? Habakkuk doesn’t mess around with niceties, listing the Lord’s steadfast love, mercy, patience, justice, and strength. He goes straight for the jugular. And teaching Habakkuk to young…
The uncomfortable question of self-preservation: Nahum 3
The Lord immediately comes after Nineveh in this violent, chaotic final chapter of the book of Nahum. The author justifies the attack and then brings the reader into the midst of battle. The Lord lays Nineveh open to her enemies, just as her enemies were once open to Nineveh’s attacks. The great city thought that…
Matthew’s Question
I remember the first time I heard the gospel. I don’t remember the sermon that followed. I remember the reading. I can’t have been more than 9 or 10 years old. It was the Sunday before Nativity, probably the first Christmas after my mom’s parents had passed away. Taking my place in the gospel’s honor…
Nahum and the Minor Prophets
This week I spoke to our adults and presented the book of Nahum in light of the other books we have been reading. I presented how reading Nahum in the context of the other Minor Prophets enhances the message of the opposing faithfulness of the Lord and the fickleness of Israel. In our Bible the…