Simple Gifts

The book of Habakkuk is one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, likely written around 610–605 B.C., just before the Babylonian invasion of Judah. It is unique among prophetic books because it does not primarily address the people with God's message, but instead records a dialogue, or argument, between the prophet Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk expresses his profound struggle to reconcile God's goodness and justice with the rampant evil and injustice he sees in his own nation, Judah.

Quick Summary:

The book is structured around a back-and-forth between the prophet and God:

Habakkuk's First Complaint (1:2-4): Habakkuk cries out to God, asking why He allows the violence and injustice in Judah to continue unchecked.

God's First Answer (1:5-11): God responds that He is raising up the Babylonians (Chaldeans), a fierce and swift nation, to bring judgment upon Judah.

Habakkuk's Second Complaint (1:12-2:1): Habakkuk protests, asking how a holy God can use a nation even more wicked than Judah to punish them. He questions God's justice in using the Babylonians, who are violent, ruthless, and worship their own power.

God's Second Answer (2:2-20): God instructs Habakkuk to write down the vision: the Babylonians will also face inevitable judgment for their arrogance and violence through a series of five "woes." Crucially, God gives the famous promise, "the righteous shall live by his faith" (2:4), assuring Habakkuk that even if justice seems delayed, it will surely come, and the faithful must trust God in the meantime.

Habakkuk's Prayer of Faith (Chapter 3): The book concludes with a poetic psalm where Habakkuk recalls God's powerful acts of deliverance in the past, leading him from a place of fear and doubt to a profound expression of joy and unwavering trust in God, even if disaster strikes all around him.

The central theme is a transition from perplexity and doubt to absolute faith in God's sovereignty and ultimate justice, regardless of present circumstances.

Jonah is a one-of-a-kind prophet, displaying God's amazing ability to use sinful men in His service. Were it not for some historical parallels and the Lord Jesus himself mentioning "the sign of Jonah" three times in the gospels (in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses it will be established), it would be easy to believe this was "a whale of a tale," merely a literary fiction. But it cannot be that. The sum of God's word is truth (Psalm 119:160). There is a very important reason that this book is in the canon, and we must not run from the truth of God's word.

The principle established in Exodus 23 was for Jonah, as it is for all of God's people in all times and places:

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 23:20–22

The Angel of YHWH, Malachi, is God's presence with us - Immanuel, the Word Incarnate - and we are to listen and obey. In fact, as Jenny and I have just learned from studying Hebrew, "listening to the voice" and obeying are one and the same in that language! 

Christians, when we are honest we are all a bit too much like Jonah. "All we like sheep have gone astray." Let us rejoice in God's mercy to all, and be the feet that bring the joyful gospel of peace to all mankind.

Here is a fantastic summary (I learned a great deal from it!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c

Jonah is a one-of-a-kind prophet, displaying God's amazing ability to use sinful men in His service. Were it not for some historical parallels and the Lord Jesus himself mentioning "the sign of Jonah" three times in the gospels (in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses it will be established), it would be easy to believe this was "a whale of a tale," merely a literary fiction. But it cannot be that. The sum of God's word is truth (Psalm 119:160). There is a very important reason that this book is in the canon, and we must not run from the truth of God's word.

The principle established in Exodus 23 was for Jonah, as it is for all of God's people in all times and places:

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 23:20–22

The Angel of YHWH, Malachi, is God's presence with us - Immanuel, the Word Incarnate - and we are to listen and obey. In fact, as Jenny and I have just learned from studying Hebrew, "listening to the voice" and obeying are one and the same in that language! 

Christians, when we are honest we are all a bit too much like Jonah. "All we like sheep have gone astray." Let us rejoice in God's mercy to all, and be the feet that bring the joyful gospel of peace to all mankind.

Here is a fantastic summary (I learned a great deal from it!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c

Jonah is a one-of-a-kind prophet, displaying God's amazing ability to use sinful men in His service. Were it not for some historical parallels and the Lord Jesus himself mentioning "the sign of Jonah" three times in the gospels (in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses it will be established), it would be easy to believe this was "a whale of a tale," merely a literary fiction. But it cannot be that. The sum of God's word is truth (Psalm 119:160). There is a very important reason that this book is in the canon, and we must not run from the truth of God's word.

The principle established in Exodus 23 was for Jonah, as it is for all of God's people in all times and places:

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 23:20–22

The Angel of YHWH, Malachi, is God's presence with us - Immanuel, the Word Incarnate - and we are to listen and obey. In fact, as Jenny and I have just learned from studying Hebrew, "listening to the voice" and obeying are one and the same in that language! 

Christians, when we are honest we are all a bit too much like Jonah. "All we like sheep have gone astray." Let us rejoice in God's mercy to all, and be the feet that bring the joyful gospel of peace to all mankind.

Here is a fantastic summary (I learned a great deal from it!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c

Jonah is a one-of-a-kind prophet, displaying God's amazing ability to use sinful men in His service. Were it not for some historical parallels and the Lord Jesus himself mentioning "the sign of Jonah" three times in the gospels (in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses it will be established), it would be easy to believe this was "a whale of a tale," merely a literary fiction. But it cannot be that. The sum of God's word is truth (Psalm 119:160). There is a very important reason that this book is in the canon, and we must not run from the truth of God's word.

The principle established in Exodus 23 was for Jonah, as it is for all of God's people in all times and places:

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 23:20–22

The Angel of YHWH, Malachi, is God's presence with us - Immanuel, the Word Incarnate - and we are to listen and obey. In fact, as Jenny and I have just learned from studying Hebrew, "listening to the voice" and obeying are one and the same in that language! 

Christians, when we are honest we are all a bit too much like Jonah. "All we like sheep have gone astray." Let us rejoice in God's mercy to all, and be the feet that bring the joyful gospel of peace to all mankind.

Here is a fantastic summary (I learned a great deal from it!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c

The book of Nahum is one of the minor prophets, but its message is anything but small. Written in vivid Hebrew poetry, Nahum pronounces the downfall of Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, which had terrorized the nations—including Israel and Judah—with cruelty and oppression. Where Jonah emphasized Nineveh’s opportunity for repentance a century earlier, Nahum focuses on its certain judgment.

Nahum opens with a majestic hymn to God’s power:

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;

Yet even amid this fearful vision of divine judgment, there is hope for those who trust in the Lord:

“The LORD is good,

The book is largely written in poetic oracles, filled with imagery of storms, floods, lions, and destruction. Nahum’s artistry heightens the drama: the oppressor who once devoured nations like a lion will itself be hunted and destroyed.

The conclusion of the first chapter shifts from judgment to the announcement of deliverance:

“Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news,

This verse echoes Isaiah 52:7 (“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…”) and later is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:15 (“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”). In both Isaiah and Paul, the imagery of Nahum’s poetry is transformed into a vision of the ultimate gospel peace—the good news fulfilled in Christ.

Thus, the book of Nahum, though a prophecy of destruction, carries within its poetry a seed of hope: God will judge the oppressor, vindicate His people, and bring true peace through His sovereign rule.

Here is a great place to start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y30DanA5EhU

The prophetic books of Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel mark a radical change in the life of God's people, Israel. Starting with Jeremiah, the Babylonian exile is predicted, and then experienced. Daniel is taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar during Jeremiah's ministry, and after the 586 BC fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel is called by God to minister to Israel in exile. Indeed, these prophets were aware of each others' ministries, and God's voice in them. Twice Ezekiel refers to Daniel (14:14 and 28:3), and Daniel mentions Jeremiah's prophecies (Daniel 9) as a source of his own prophetic ministry.

Reading Jeremiah should be a learning experience par excellence, as getting clear on all its details and references - seeking to understand the discoveries of biblical archaeology that relate to it, and all the history of Israel, including the two kingdoms, their kings and their successes and failures, their faithfulness and their apostasy - sets one up to understand both the whole progression of scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and God's plan of salvation set in place "before the foundation of the world."

Listen and read with a mind open to God's voice. Search the scriptures to answer the questions you encounter, search the archaeology to display the truth of God's word verified, search the language to understand better the nuances of God's meaning. Read/listen carefully, reverently and inquisitively, and God will show you amazing things!

You have HIS promise on that!

We suggest, as usual, starting here:

https://youtu.be/RSK36cHbrk0?si=KaJSPPn7n6z7x_Pl

If you want to know that "the LORD He is God! the LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39) your search for confirmation finds its best resolution in the book of Isaiah. I would argue that Isaiah, more even than Elisha, "wore the prophetic mantle" of Elijah. Only John the Baptist was a greater merely human incarnation of the role of prophet (Matthew 11:11).

Isaiah 42:9 tells us: "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Below find two articles that discuss fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. By any objective measure, only God could do this.

https://youtu.be/d0A6Uchb1F8?si=Nhsvg2DCZgWRZq_7

Check out these two articles on calculations of the probability of one first-century man, Jesus, fulfilling so many OT prophecies!

https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/

https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20Jesus%2

In keeping with our intensive study of Israel's history this year, Jenny and I have concentrated our attention on the Exilic and Post-exilic prophets. We've included Jeremiah in this list, even though he spans the immediate pre-exilic period, leading up to the Babylonian exile.

The most enigmatic exilic prophet, most certainly, is Ezekiel. His name means "God's strength." We encourage our listeners to struggle with Ezekiel's difficulty, as we believe God has a great deal of undiscovered meaning in this text. Some of the most exciting references, for me, are those to his contemporary prophet-in-exile, Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and 28:3).

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The book of Nahum is one of the minor prophets, but its message is anything but small. Written in vivid Hebrew poetry, Nahum pronounces the downfall of Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, which had terrorized the nations—including Israel and Judah—with cruelty and oppression. Where Jonah emphasized Nineveh’s opportunity for repentance a century earlier, Nahum focuses on its certain judgment.

Nahum opens with a majestic hymn to God’s power:

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;

Yet even amid this fearful vision of divine judgment, there is hope for those who trust in the Lord:

“The LORD is good,

The book is largely written in poetic oracles, filled with imagery of storms, floods, lions, and destruction. Nahum’s artistry heightens the drama: the oppressor who once devoured nations like a lion will itself be hunted and destroyed.

The conclusion of the first chapter shifts from judgment to the announcement of deliverance:

“Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news,

This verse echoes Isaiah 52:7 (“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…”) and later is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:15 (“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”). In both Isaiah and Paul, the imagery of Nahum’s poetry is transformed into a vision of the ultimate gospel peace—the good news fulfilled in Christ.

Thus, the book of Nahum, though a prophecy of destruction, carries within its poetry a seed of hope: God will judge the oppressor, vindicate His people, and bring true peace through His sovereign rule.

Here is a great place to start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y30DanA5EhU