Zechariah 11:1-17 – Tale of Two Shepherds
The idyllic description of a restored (enlarged borders) and united (Judah and Ephraim reunited) Israel in Zechariah 10:4-12 under a peacemaking king (9:9-10) is shattered by an opening lament in...
View ArticleZechariah 14:1-15 – That Day is a New Day
The “behold” of Zechariah 14:1 (untranslated by the NIV) begins the second section of Zechariah’s second “oracle” (Zechariah 12-14). The first Section (Zechariah 12-13) was structured around the “day...
View ArticleReading Zechariah 9-14 – What? Where? When?
My Wednesday evening class–about 25 of us on average–have walked through Zechariah together. We began in January and finished Zechariah 14 last week (May 16). They are a patient bunch! It has been an...
View ArticlePsalm 2 – God Reigns Over the Nations
Psalm 1 counseled wisdom. Worshippers, as they pray, mediate and sing the Psalms, align themselves with the way of righteousness. Psalm 2 assures these worshippers that Yahweh reigns and even the...
View ArticleThe First Advent (Exodus 40:34-38)
Mount Sinai must have been an impressive, even startling, sight. Enveloped in darkness with flashes of lightning, Israel heard the thunder and even, on one occasion, the voice of God. They felt the...
View ArticleOn Reading Philemon
Philemon is a brief letter with only 335 words in the Greek text, and it appears in the New Testament without any specific context. Philemon and Onesimus, the main characters in the letter’s story, are...
View ArticleGod’s Gifts to Israel
Texts: Romans 9:4-5; Psalm 19:7-10; Romans 3:1-2 Days 20-22 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. God chose Israel from among the nations as God’s own firstborn. As firstborn, Israel was tasked with...
View ArticleIsrael Redux: The Messiah Begins His Ministry
Texts: Luke 3:21-22; Luke 4:1-2a, Luke 4:16-21; Matthew 4:13-17 Days 33-36 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. Israel needed a do-over. Humanity needed a do-over. The Messiah comes to recapitulate the...
View ArticleJesus Pivots Toward the Cross: Revelation, Transfiguration, and Mission
Texts: Luke 9:18-22, 28-36; 10:17-20; Mark 10:41-45 Days 40-43 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. At some point near the end of his ministry in Galilee and other northern regions, Jesus “set his face...
View ArticleResurrected and Enthroned Lord: Filling the Earth with New Creatures
Texts: Luke 24:30-35; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 1:20-23; Galatians 6:14-16 Days 52-55 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. We can only imagine the despair of the disciples in the crushing darkness of...
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