Category: Bible Insights

Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.

Categories
Bible Insights

God’s Wall of Fire Will Protect

wall of fire

Zechariah’s Vision

One night the prophet Zechariah has a vision. It’s about a wall of fire. In this supernatural dream, he talks to an angel who is about to measure the city of Jerusalem to see just how big it has become.

But before he leaves to do this, another angel arrives. He tells the first angel that it doesn’t matter. There are now so many people in Jerusalem that erecting walls around them to keep them safe isn’t an option.

The city is too big, and building a wall isn’t feasible.

Protection

Living in an unwalled city would normally leave the residents vulnerable to attack and abuse from their enemies. But now there’s no need for concern.

In this case, the Lord God will himself become the city’s wall. He will protect his people. He’ll do this by becoming a wall of fire around the city. And then his glory will shine from within.

What a powerful image.

There is now no need for a physical wall. In its place will be a spiritual barrier, an incredible wall of blazing fire. But God will not merely provide this fiery fume. Instead, he himself will be this supernatural wall of flames.

No enemy—physical or spiritual—can pass through God’s holy wall of fire. He will protect us. He will keep us secure. We’ll have nothing to fear—provided we stay inside.

If we’re within the Lord’s city, his hedge of fire will surround us. God, through his blazing defensive shield, will envelop us with his protection.

Illumination

But there’s more to God’s fiery fortification.

Remember, God will become this wall of fire. Fire gives off light. God’s glory from his ring of fire will illuminate the city and fill it. His glory will surround all who live there.

Though Zechariah’s vision looks toward our future, we can be sure God will protect us today. Let us bask in the glory of his presence.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Zechariah 1-4 and today’s post is on Zechariah 2:5.]

Learn more about all twelve of the Bible’s Minor Prophets in Peter’s book, Return to Me: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope from the Minor Prophets

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Bible Insights

The Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God?

kingdom of heaven

Kingdom of Heaven versus Kingdom of God

The phrase “the Kingdom of God” is synonymous with “the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Some writers in the Bible simply prefer one over the other; it is not meant to designate two different concepts or kingdoms.  (Mark and Luke used “Kingdom of God,” whereas Matthew used “Kingdom of heaven.”)

These phrases can perhaps be best understood by considering that Jesus desires to brings heaven’s rule to earth. Under his rule, there are benefits and responsibilities to his subjects—the church.

Jesus explains about the Kingdom of God/Heaven through parables:

Consider how do these parables can change our view of God and our relationship to him.

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Bible Insights

How to Respond to Pain

pain

The Birth of Jabez

The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible. A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain.

The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a name to let everyone know that.

What a terrible legacy to give a boy, a name that serves as a constant reminder—to him and everyone else —that he caused extreme discomfort to his mom and is likely destined to continue to cause pain.

Jabez could have opted to live up to those expectations, allowing his name to be a self-fulfilling prophecy or he could attempt to overcome it. He chose the latter, asking God to keep him from causing pain.

And God answered his prayer!

Regardless of our past or the hand that life has dealt us, we don’t need to let that define us. We can overcome it and become something else, something better.

God helped Jabez do just that and he can help us to; we only need to ask.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Chronicles 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
​
​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Bible Insights

May I Have Your Attention Please?

may i have your attention please

A Large Catch

There’s a story in the Bible of Jesus instructing some fishermen to try fishing from the other side of the boat. Imagine that, a carpenter giving fishing lessons to commercial fishermen.

The amazing thing is once they moved to the other side, they caught a boatload of fish. It was as if Jesus was trying to get their attention, and it worked.

In fact, it worked so well, he did it twice!

The first time was early in his ministry, when he was looking for disciples. He definitely got their attention, because they immediately left everything to follow him.

The second time was at the end of Jesus’ ministry, after he rose from the dead, but before he returned to heaven.

The fishermen-turned-disciples didn’t know what to do after they saw Jesus die, so they resorted to fishing, but caught nothing.

Jesus hollers for them to try fishing from the other side of the boat. They did and another miraculous catch occurred. Again, he got their attention—and they believed he was alive.

Twice Jesus got their attention. The first time they followed him and the second time they believed in him.

[Luke 5:4-11 and John 21:4:14]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Bible Insights

Why Being a Watchman Is Serious Business

Watchman

People in Positions of Authority are Liable if They Don’t Warn Their Charges of Potential Danger

The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel opens with some vague references to upcoming danger, a watchman, and heeding the warnings of the lookout.

Who is this watchman, we wonder? Could it be an anticipation of Jesus? Or perhaps John the Baptist who will herald the way for Jesus?

Maybe it’s you and me. It could be all of the above, yet there is nothing to imply that Ezekiel might be God’s lookout.

However, in verse seven, God declares that he has indeed made Ezekiel the watchman. I didn’t see that coming.

But since most prophecy—perhaps all biblical prophecy—carries multiple perspectives, one for them then and one for us now—the watchman could be any of these other possible options, in addition to Ezekiel.

The Two Duties of the Watchman

There are two key things to note about the watchman. First, his duty is to be on the lookout and sound the alarm. It doesn’t matter if the people pay attention or not.

Their outcome is on them. The key is that the person keeping watch alerts everyone when he sees danger.

The second key is if the watchman is negligent and fails to warn of the danger he sees. Then he must bear the burden of the deaths of all the people who he failed to warn.

The people depended on the lookout to do his job and he failed them.

While we may never find ourselves perched in a tower scanning the horizon for an attacking army, our assignment may be looking for other things.

Perhaps our job is one to protect, to watch for dangers be it physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual.

Maybe we are in a position of leadership, and those under our care expect us to stand guard to warn them of trouble. This may be for our family, our work, our community, or our church.

Be On the Lookout

We need to be on the lookout and warn people of impending danger. If we fail to sound the alarm, any harm that befalls them rests on us.

Being a watchman is serious business.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ezekiel 31-33, and today’s post is on Ezekiel 33:1-7.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
​
​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Bible Insights

When God Says Enough

consequences

Despite God’s Longstanding Patience Giving Us Time to Shape Up, Judgement Will Eventually Come

The book of Ezekiel is an interesting one, packed with evocative prophetic imagery that portrays God’s power, patience, and eventual judgement. As follows through much of the Old Testament the people disobey God.

He warns them to turn things around and is patient, hoping they will avoid the consequences of their wayward actions. He wishes for the best, and the people let him down.

But Ezekiel is confronted with a peculiar response to his messages of impending punishment. Like the boy who cried “wolf,” the people dismiss Ezekiel’s warnings (actually God’s warnings).

They say, “Time passes on but these threats never happen.”

They stop taking Ezekiel (and God) seriously, which they never fully did to begin with. They feel quite justified in ignoring the word of God because they think there is no downside for disobedience.

There are Consequences

To this God says “enough.” He will withhold their punishment no longer and will fulfill all that he said. There will be no more delays.

I wonder how much we today are like these people of old, viewing God’s warnings as meaningless threats that will never happen.

Since our wrong behavior receives no immediate punishment, perhaps we’re not so bad after all. Maybe God doesn’t really mean it when he says our wrong actions are sin.

To this I hear God again saying “Enough.”

There are consequences for disobeying God, and I fear our time is up.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ezekiel 9-12, and today’s post is on Ezekiel 12:21-28.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
​
​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Bible Insights

Don’t Fight Against God

Fight Against God

Too Many People Fail to See God at Work and Instead Oppose Those Who Follow Him into His New Ways

Jesus warns his followers what awaits them. First, they’ll get kicked out of their church and then people will kill them.

Their opponents will do so in the name of religion, thinking they’re acting in service to God, but their actions fight against God.

This means the killers aren’t coming from the world but from within the family of God.

Historically this happens whenever a new move of God occurs. The biggest movement of God was Jesus coming to fulfill the Old Testament Law. Most people miss this, and so they oppose him.

Moses

There is also Moses who leads the people from slavery to freedom. He gives them instructions on how to live as a free people. They oppose him—for forty years.

Though they don’t kill him, they provoke him so much that sometimes he wishes he was dead (Exodus 32:32 and Numbers 11:15).

The Prophets

The Old Testament prophets likewise suffer opposition and death. It seldom goes well for them.

Today’s Church Can Fight Against God

The pattern of religious conflict continues since the time of Jesus. Most notably the Reformation. Christians oppose other Christians. Christians hate other Christians. And Christians kill other Christians.

Another momentous time of Christian versus Christian hostility happens at the birth of the Charismatic movement in the early 1900s and again at its rebirth in the 1960s.

Each time God is at work doing a new thing. Each time, many of his people mount a significant opposition. And God’s messengers usually suffer for it.

Gamaliel’s Wise Advice

Don’t label the people who follow God into his new way of doing things as heretics and oppose them. Instead, we would be better off heeding the words of Gamaliel who told the religious leaders, “Don’t bother with them.

If they’re doing this on their own, they will fail. But if it’s of God, we can’t stop them—and could end up fighting against God himself,” (see Acts 5:38-39). That is, don’t fight against God.

Instead of kicking the people we disagree with out of church, we would be better off seeing if God is at work.

Instead of arguing, let’s listen.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 16-17, and today’s post is on John 16:2-3.]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more about the book of Acts in Tongues of Fire: 40 Devotional Insights for Today’s Church from the Book of Acts, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Save

Categories
Bible Insights

Four People Stripped of the Names God Gave Them

names

Daniel and His 3 Friends

In my last post, Three People Given a New Name by God, we looked at God renaming people to give them a new identity. Today we will consider the opposite: people whose names were changed in order to strip away their identity.

I’m talking about a young man named Daniel and his three friends.

These lads were forcibly relocated after their country was overthrown. They were removed from their families and all they knew in order to be indoctrinated into the king’s service.

In a final act of reprogramming, they were stripped of their Hebrew names and given new identities.

This was not to encourage them or elevate the trajectory of their lives as God did with Abraham, Sarah, and Israel, but an attempt to remove every last bit of who they were, including their faith.

Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego.

We live in a world that continually gives us names, names to push us down, names to remove the identity God gave us or how he sees us.

Though these may be in the form of nicknames, such as “Shorty,” “Goofus,” or “Blondie,” they are more often labels: loser, worthless, klutz, or stupid.

Daniel and his friends didn’t let others reprogram them from who God made them to be—and neither should we.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Daniel 1-3, and today’s post is on Daniel 1:6-7.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
​
​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Bible Insights

What is the Spirit of Truth?

John Teaches about The Holy Spirit

One of the things I enjoy when studying the Bible is to investigate words and phrases that are repeated throughout its pages. The phrase “Spirit of Truth” is one such example that jumps out at me and begs further investigation.

Interestingly, only John uses “Spirit of Truth” in his writing. Since John is a bit of a poet, it makes sense that he would use this intriguing phrase.

These words appear three times in the Gospel of John (John 14:16-17, John 15:26, and John 16:12-13) and once in John’s first letter (1 John 4:6).

Though the precise meaning in 1 John is a bit confusing, in each instant in the book of John, he quotes Jesus.

In these contexts, Jesus is talking about sending an Advocate to help us and be with us forever. He speaks of the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit of Truth is a synonym for the Holy Spirit.

I actually prefer the label Spirit of Truth, as it better conveys who the Holy Spirit is and what he does: the Holy Spirit comes to reveal truth to us; he is the Spirit who brings us truth; he is the Spirit of Truth.

In his first letter, John writes about distinguishing the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

Though John is maybe alluding to something else, it makes sense to also understand this as the Holy Spirit, as that’s what John means the other three times he uses the phrase.

Though I doubt I’ll adjust my vocabulary to start calling the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the descriptive nature of Spirit of Truth is certainly worth remembering: the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth to us.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 13-15, and today’s post is on John 14:16-17.]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Bible Insights

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Jesus is the Way1

The Source of Life, Truth, and the Way to Father God Is Through Jesus

The disciple Thomas wants to go where Jesus will go but doesn’t know how to proceed. He seeks clarification. Jesus gives him a five part answer, which another disciple John records for us.

Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6, NIV).

I Am

In the Old Testament God the Father effectively tells Moses to think of him as “I am.” When Jesus repeats this phrase in his concise answer we are reminded that Jesus also exists as God, in the form of God the Son.

The Way

Jesus is the path to God the Father. Jesus points us in the right direction and provides the means for us to get there.

The Truth

Jesus personifies truth. He exemplifies truth, proclaims truth, and models truth. We can rely on the words of Jesus as true.

The Life

Not only does Jesus give us life, he is life. As taking part in creation, he emerges as one with life eternal.

The Door to Father God

The first four parts of Jesus’s answer, culminate in his conclusion: it is through him that we are reconciled with God the Father.

Jesus is the way. He provides all that we need for our journey in this life and into the next.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 13-15, and today’s post is on John 14:5-6.]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.