Biblefaktor

Zephaniah will seem more interesting if you grasp the historical situation in which he wrote. For the decadence that led to King Josiah’s reforms, read 2 Kings 21. Josiah’s history is told in chapters 22 and 23. Second Chronicles 33-35 tells the same story with slightly different details. Zephaniah is easily understood. It has a clear and symmetrical structure, opening (after a brief introduction) with a warning of judgment for Judah and its capital of Jerusalem, then extending the judgment to Judah’s neighbors, and closing in chapter 3 with good news about Jerusalem. Beyond Darkness (A worldwide catastrophe and a shining light) Z EPHANIAH WROTE NOT LONG AFTER Manasseh had ended his 50-year reign in Judah. One of the worst Kings on record, Manasseh had idol worship and child sacrifice as common practice. He had built altars for star worshippers of God’s temple and had encouraged male prostitution as part of the religious rituals. He had also “shed so mu...

One of the shortest books in the Bible, Haggai can easily be read at one sitting. Haggai’s words came at a critical time in the life of the nation of Israel. They mark one of the few times in all history when God spoke and his people quickly and unquestioningly obeyed. For the historical background, read Ezra 1-6. Haggai’s crucial message is mentioned in Ezra 5:1-2. There is a progression to God’s warnings and his promises through Haggai. Study each of Haggai’s messages, and note what encouragement, what warning, and what hope God offered Israel. How did god motivate them to obey.  SOMETIMES AT CRUCIAL MOMENTS, A single voice can stir a directionless mass of people to action. Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s inspiring oratory may have saved Britain in World War II. American clergy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s sermons and speeches captured America’s conscience in the 1950s and 60s. Haggai’s words, similarly, rang clear in a time of confusion. The Jews...