Biblefaktor

Other prophets carried messages from God to humankind; Habakkuk addressed God alone. He pondered deep riddles of life while wrestling with two terrible realities: the degeneration of his own nation and the certainty that it was about to be overrun by another, worse nation. How can a just God allow, even use, such evil? To fully delve into Habakkuk’s questions, you may want to read the book of Job and Psalm 73, which explore related issues. The first two chapters of Habakkuk tell of two “complaints” and two answers. As you read, try to imagine the emotional changes Habakkuk experienced as he talked with God. Then read the joyful psalm of chapter 3 (set to music, either by Habakkuk or someone else) and ask yourself: where did this joyful confidence come from?

Nahum stands out from the other short prophetic books in two ways. He addressed a foreign city-Nineveh-instead of his own home nation, and he used unusual vivid language. You can read more background on Judah and its relationship to Nineveh in the following historical accounts: 2 Kings 17-19 and 2 Chronicles 32-33:13. The background will help you understand why God was so angry at Nineveh. As you read Nahum, pay special attention to the vivid imagery. Some of the best examples are the following: Descriptions of warfare: 2:3-7; 3:1-3 Nineveh like a pool with its water draining out: 2:8 Nineveh like a lions’ den, full of bones: 2:11-12 Nineveh like a prostitute shamed in the streets: 3:5-6 Nineveh’s fortresses like fig trees, with fruit shaken into the mouth of their attacker: 3:12 Nineveh’s numerous citizens like grasshoppers: prolific, voracious, and quickly disappearing: 3:15-17.

Micah had the big view of history, and thus he covered a lot of grounds. His book, only seven chapters, is loaded with pronouncements on the events of several thousand years. Because so much is jammed into so short a space, reading Micah can be confusing. A fragment may deal with the Messiah, for instance, and without warning the next few verses shift to the battle against Assyria. To grasp Micah’s message, think of his book as a collection of short speeches. One speech doesn’t necessarily lead to the next. Instead of reading quickly from start to finish, pause after each short section to see whether you fully understand what it says. Try to understand who is speaking. Sometimes God speaks, sometimes Micah, sometimes the rebellious people. In general, Micah follows this outline: chapters 1-3 indict both Northern and Southern Kingdoms, with their leaders, chapters 4 and 5 turn to the wonderful future God is planning; the last two chapters give the trial, punishment, and hop...

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.  About a month later, just before Christmas, There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..  He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.' The father opened ...

"An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left. They were moving to a smaller house because they could not afford to stay in the present house after paying the doctor's bills. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and there was no one to loan them the money. When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother with whispered desperation, 'Only a miracle can save him now', the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her piggy bank from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Clutching the precious piggy bank tightly, she slipped out the back door and made her way six blocks to the local drugstore. She took a quarter from her bank and placed it on the glass counter. "And what do you want?" asked the pharmacist. "It's for my little brother," the girl answered back. "He...

A Psychologist walked around a room while teaching Stress Management to an audience.     As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "Half empty or Half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, But The longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. She continued, "The Stresses and Worries in Life , are like that Glass of Water... Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And If you think about them all day long, you wil...

"Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell thee: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee, " 1Kings 17:9 Yesterday we studied what Elijah’s predisposition would have been with regards to the person God designed to be his sustenance. But today we will study the other party in question–‘the widow of Zarephath’. After God gave the Prophet Elijah the directive in 1 Kings 17:9, he obeyed and then in verse 10 he met the widow woman and said to her “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink”, while she was going to get the water, in verse 11, Elijah added;“Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” Put simply, Elijah was saying to this woman, ‘please give me water and while you are at it, add bread in your hand and bring for me’. This kind of instruction could make a person who is operating in his or her right mind to get angry and tell the prophet off. If you read the scripture, you’ll find that...

“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” 1 Kings 17:9 There is an ironical statement in 1 Kings 17:9 which is ‘behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.’ It is ironical because the woman did not have much in her possession, as a matter of fact,she said to Elijah in I Kings 17:12 “And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” The person God said will sustain Elijah was one who physically did not have much. I am certain that you are expecting something from God, but it will shock you that He may not use anything or anyone close to who you are looking at or expecting. Many people are busy at work with the thought that it must be through their job that ...

"And Elisha said unto her, what shall i do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil, "2 Kings 4:2. Yesterday, we established that the anointing has the power to break yokes. What then are these yokes and burdens that the anointing is meant to destroy as seen in Isaiah 10:27? Yoke in the above scripture Hebrew is ‘Ole’meaning to impose ones will on another. This technique is usually used on animals so they can plough the land for a farmer. The farmer by virtue of the yoke takes control over the animals and imposes his will on them. By so doing, the animals do not have a choice of their own, but must go anywhere they are directed to. This same principle is used in the operation of spiritual yokes. The will of another is imposed on a person to the extent that life becomes difficult and unbearable for such a person. There are three (3) forms of evil yokes. Firstly, the inherited yokes, th...

“And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil" .2 Kings 4:2 In the scripture above, after this woman who lost are husband and her sons were to be taken as bondmen cried to Elisha, the Prophet said to her “what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house?” The Prophet Elisha sought to know what she had in her house. You must understand that God has already placed something inside you that will give you the capacity to change your world. This is what I want to reveal to you today. The woman’s reply to Elisha was nothing but shocking, because she first said “I have nothing, she considered her little as one of no effect. This is one common mistake many people, even Christians make today. We do not see the little we have as a profitable material; we are waiting for the big one. This however, is not today’s focus. She then said...