The Biblefaktor

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...

Like Esther and Ruth, Jonah is a delightful short narrative by a master writer; its spiritual implications are powerful and obvious. You can easily read it at one sitting. As you read Jonah, notice the changes that the city of Nineveh goes through. Try also to trace the changes that occur in Jonah, and observe how God pushes him to make these changes. Then ask yourself; What did this book say to its original Jewish readers? What does it say to me? You may also be interested in following Nineveh’s entire history. Though the Ninevites repented in Jonah’s time, they latter returned to old patterns. Later prophets (Nahum and Zaphaniah) predicted Nineveh’s downfall for “endless cruelty” (Nahum 3 :19) and in 612 B.C. that city was destroyed, never to be inhabited again. A Bible dictionary can summarize Nineveh’s long history as a world power; look under “Assyria.” Is Jonah a “fish story”? Interpreters differ over whether it should be read as a parable (not necessarily factual) ...

The shortest book in the Old Testament, Obadiah can easily be read and understood in one sitting. Many readers, however, have a hard time seeing the importance of this ongoing border feud between blood relatives. A bible dictionary can summarize the centuries of violence. Look under “Edom.” Perhaps, though, you can only fully appreciate Israel’s feelings by reflecting on your own when a close relative treats you cruelly. A family betrayal is uniquely offensive to God and humanity. Obadiah reminds us that justice will be done.

Perhaps because he was a farmer, Amos used a plan writing style, filled with strong country language. The organization of his book is clear too: chapters 1-2 line up the Middle Eastern nationsfor trial, chapters 3-6 give a series of messages from God (usually beginning with "Hear this word"), and the last three chapters convey God's judgement through five graphic visions. Throughout, Amos sticks close to his main concern: cruelty and inhumanity between people. The injustices Amos condemns often sound familiar today. As you read ask yourself, " What would Amos say about me and about my people?" It is a good idea to read Amos and Hosea together, for they give two views of the same situation. A visitor from the South, Amos was shocked by the injustices he saw in every market place. Hosea emphasized the inner dimension, an abused relationship to a loving God. Amos predicted that Israel would be punished, and his prediction proved right. After King Jeroboam,...

Joel breaks naturally into two parts. Up to 2:28, it talks about a locust invasion and the response of God's people to such a natural disaster. From that verse on, however, Joel's view rises above local situation and deals with the far-off future. Joel rarely refers to unfamiliar people, places, or events, so you can read it fairly easily without using any outside reference like a Bible dictionary. The challenge is to connect his understanding of a natural disaster-alocust plague-with his fission of the future. The Bible often offers to "the day of the Lord" as the time when God will completely take charge of our world. But Joel seems to see "the day of the LORD" partly revealed in the disasters of his days. As you read, try to see the similarities Joel draws between the locust invasion and the final consummation of history. Ask yourself: How do I respond to disaster? How would Joel want me to respond?

Hosea is one of the most emotional books in the Bible, an outpouring of suffering love from God's heart. This shows in the writing, which jumps impulsively from one thought to the next. Read a chapter dramatically aloud, and you will get this sense. It is almost like listening in on a husband-and-wife fight. The book divides into two parts. In the first three chapters, the prophet Hosea briefly describes his marriage to an adulterous woman and makes the connection to Isreal's unfaithfulness to God. From chapter 4 onward this dramatic, personal beginning is not mentioned again. But it has set the stage. God's deep love, his disappointment and anger, and his determination to persevere with his unfaithful wife pour out in a series of vivid speeches. For a historical perspective on Hosea's times, read from 2 Kings 14:23 to 17:41, noting that some sections describe Judah, the southern nation, while the rest relate to the deteriorating Isreal Hosea knew. The prophet Amo...

Daniel breaks into two parts, each quite different from the other. The first six chapters tell the “famous” Daniel stories-including the stories of three men thrown into a fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions’ den. Any of these chapters would make a script for a thriller. As you read them, reflect on the principles Daniel can teach you about faithfulness to God in similarly “alien” circumstances. Most people find chapters 7-12 far more difficult. They record Daniel’s visions about the future of world history. Such symbolism was a familiar mode of expression in the ancient world, but it reads very strangely now-almost like science fiction. Look for broad impressions of how God’s people can live, caught in the jaws of brutal world politics. Let the visual symbols engage your emotions and imagination. If you seek a more detailed understanding of these visions, a commentary on Daniel will be a great help. In some passages, background information on ancient world history is essential...

The special difficulty in reading Ezekiel is the dizzying variety of forms he used to get his message across. The book is like a multimedia package-a mix of visions, messages, dramas, poems. But three remarkable visions of God bracket the package, beginning, middle, and end (1:1-3:15; 8:1-6 and 11:16-25; 40:1-4 and 43:1-9). And throughout, one line is repeated: "Then they will know that I am the LORD." All God's messages are meant to shock his people into restoring a living relationship with him. As you read Ezekiel, note down when each prophecy was made and its dominant image-Jerusalem as a prostitute, as a spreading grapevine, as a shaved head, etc. Remember that the book of Ezekiel compresses messages God gave over 22 years. Try to imagine the impact of each message on the people who first heard or saw it. Most of what Ezekiel said in Babylon concerned a dramatic military situation hundreds of miles away from Jerusalem. His message changed from doom to hope in chap...

Lamentations is poetry, one poem per chapter. Its main purpose is not to describe events, nor to teach lessons, though it does both. Its intent is to express grief, to pour out before God the horror and bitterness of what has happened to Jerusalem. These five poems can help you to understand what it meant for Jews to see Jerusalem destroyed. They can also help you learn to deal appropriately with grief, your own or others'. Read them expressively, preferably out loud, so that you catch the deep emotion. Note that the author does not rush to express his hope in God, but fully grieves for the tragedy he was involved in. Lamentations is not difficult to understand, though some of the poetical allusions may become clearer if you use a Bible dictionary or a commentary. For a summary of the destruction that inspired Lamentations, read 2 Kings 25.

Suppose you find, in an old trunk, a thick packet of letters written by your great uncle. You soon realize they are all out of order. One he wrote from the trenches of Franceduring World War I. The next also refers tons war, but from the references to British prime minister Winston Churchill you soon recognize it as World War II, over 20 years later. Those letters might contain the whole of your uncle's life, but to get his story straight, you'd have to read the whole packet. A reader of Jeremiah finds a very similar situation. The book is an anthology of prophecies given at different times. They jump forward and backward in history, and if you imagine that the book is in chronological order, you will become very confused. Fortunately, it is not hard to reconstruct the order of the main events of Jeremiah's life. Jeremiah spoke to a nation about to be destroyed by war. Three hundred years before him, the Israelites had split into two countries, Is real in the North an...

In the eighth century B.C., about the time Homer was writing The lliad and The Odyssey, Isaiah wrote the book that bears his name. It is arguably the most eloquent book in the Old Testament, and you will likely recognize many verses and phrases. Isaiah is full of profound insights into the nature of God and his plan for the earth. Due to its length and its peculiar organization, however, the book may seem hard to grasp. Remember that Isaiah consists of a collection of many messages on various topics, pulled together into groupings. To understand Isaiah, it helps to think of “road markers” that set off the major groupings. Here is a summary of them: Isaiah 1-12: Isaiah’s call and messages of warning to Judah during the prosperous days of the kingdom. (These came mostly in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz. Isaiah 13-23: Isaiah's messages to all the nations around Judah-including enemies and close allies. Isaiah 24-35: A view of the earth’s future (24-27) and specific...

Since love songs are always popular, many people approach Song of Songs with great expectations. However, readers often find the book different from what they had expected. Two main problems may hinder today's reader. One is the poetic imagery. No modern lover would say, "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (4:1), "Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon" (7:4). While some images in Song of Songs appeal-"His banner over me is love" (2:4) or "Love is as strong as death" (8:6)-the majority of the book's metaphors sound strange to our ears. Most of the comparisons aren't visual, but emotional. For instance, when the lover tells his beloved that "your two breasts are like two fawns" (4:5), he isn't saying that her breast looks like deer. Hhe is saying that they bring out the same tender feelings baby deer do. When you read strange-sounding metaphors in Song of Songs, don't ask, "What did these things (pomegrana...

Ecclesiastes attracts extreme reactions. For several hundred years, Jewish scholars fiercely debated whether the book should even be included in the Old Testament. Yet American novelist Thomas Wolfe said of it, "Ecclesiastes is the greatest single place of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound." Because of the book's unique nature, it is important to keep certain principles in mind while reading it. Consider Ecclesiastes as a whole. The teacher was exploring various philosophies of life. During his search, he tried different approaches, including hedonism, the unrestrained pursuit of pleasure. The book honestly records the authors search without endorsing it. At times then author concludes with despairing statements that directly contradicts other parts of the Bible (for example, the recurring phase, "Everything is meaningless"). Read such individual statements in their context. Just as the book of Job cont...