For the past several months, most of the ABibleADay posts have been about the minor prophets. Recall that they are called minor not because their prophecy is insignificant, but because their books are short!
Though more posts may be added in the future, there are no more planned at this time. See all posts about the twelve Minor Prophets:
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.
As part of your Christmas celebrations, don’t forget what Christmas is all about—Jesus. Read or re-read the Christmas story.
May you and your family and friends have a wonderful Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
…and Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
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.
“As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.”
Obadiah Said
The short book of Obadiah is a stinging rebuke to the nation of Edom, not for what they overtly did, but for what they did indirectly: for a failure to act, for smug attitudes, and for capitalizing on the wrong actions of others.
Even though they did not directly do wrong, the outcome is quite clear:
Paul Said
A few centuries later, Paul teaches the same lesson:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
Hosea Said
Hosea phrases this in the positive:
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love”
Jesus Said
However, Jesus said it best:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you…For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
More succinctly, in what we call the Golden Rule, Jesus also said:
“Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
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.
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.
Levi was one of Jacob’s sons (the third of twelve). The Bible doesn’t tell us much about him; what it does say, doesn’t bode well.
The short version is that Levi’s sister, Dinah is raped. Levi and brother Simeon exact revenge by killing the perpetrator, his family, and the whole village, plus taking all their stuff.
Levi’s version of justice far exceeds the crime—and father Jacob is ticked (Genesis 34:1-5, 25-31).
Jacob doesn’t forget this incident either. On his deathbed, he gathers his sons to prophetically tell them their future. This would be a time of expected blessing.
Not so for Levi (along with Simeon). Because of their misdeed, Jacob essentially curses them (Genesis 49:1, 5-7).
Interestingly, many centuries later God—through the prophet Malachi—reveals what he thinks of Levi, saying “True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin” (Malachi 2:6).
God’s view of Levi is certainly different than Jacob’s. While Jacob focuses on the bad and can’t forget it, God forgets the bad and focuses on the good.
When we follow God, that’s what he does.
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.
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.
In Jesus’ parable of the tenants, there is a man who plants a vineyard and rents it out. When it is harvest time, he sends his representative to collect some of the harvest, which is likely the terms of lease.
Instead of remitting to the owner what is due him, the tenants refuse, mistreating everyone the owner sends, even to the point of killing his son. The owner then kills the evil tenants and leases the vineyard to others.
Perhaps the first part of this parable is a picture of what God wants from us. As tenants in his creation, he desires us to give part of our “crop” to him as a form of “rent” for the privilege of living here.
This seems simple enough, but often we are greedy, wanting to keep everything for ourselves. The implication is that God will then find someone else who is willing give to him what is due him.
This is perhaps what Jesus had in mind when on another occasion says “…and give to God what belongs to God.”
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.
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.
Here is another thought building on the prior post about one of Jesus’ parables.
To review, the parable is about a nobleman who, before going on a journey, entrusts three servants with varying amounts of money to invest for him.
The first two invest their amounts and earn a good return, apparently doubling their stakes.
The third, however, to whom little is entrusted, makes no effort to invest it. He lazily does nothing and merely returns the original amount to his master. This is done under the guise of keeping it safe.
The master takes the money from the lazy servant and gives it to the first servant. The people nearby protest that this is not fair.
Jesus replies “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”
The lesson in this seems to be that to those who have been blessed with resources and have been faithful with them, more will be given. However, to those who have not faithful with what they have, that too will be taken away.
We must be wise and faithful stewards.
A direct application of this may be for the person who is asking God for more, be it for the physical provision or spiritual blessing.
Perhaps their felt lack is a result of them having already been unfaithful with what they had been given; therefore it was taken away.
The warning in this is that perhaps we shouldn’t ask God for more if we have misused or squandered what he has already provided.
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.
Doctor Luke records a parable of Jesus. It is about a nobleman who, before going on a journey, entrusts three servants with varying amounts of money to invest for him. He is a “hard man.”
The first two invest their amounts and earn a good return, apparently doubling their stakes. The third, however, to whom little is entrusted, makes no effort to invest it.
He lazily does nothing and merely returns the original amount to his master.
This is done under the guise of keeping it safe, calling his master a hard man. The master judges him accordingly, taking the money away from him and giving it to the first servant.
Although we must guard against reading too much into a parable, the nobleman in this one parallels God. When the servant declares that the noble is a “hard man,” is this a characteristic that we can apply to God?
At first glance it is difficult, perhaps even seeming sacrilegious, to call God “hard,” but is there truth that can be gleaned from this?
In balancing the paradox of a God of love with a God whom we fear, does a “hard” God fit somewhere into the picture of who he is?
For those who think God will give them a free pass regardless of how they act or what they do, the image of God as hard, that is a strict God, might be a good characteristic for them to ponder.
However, there are also those who view God as mean and vindictive, just waiting for them to mess up so that he can inflict ill-will upon them.
Their view of God is already way too “hard.” They will do well to focus on his loving nature instead.
Yes, God does have a hard side to him, but that’s not all there is to him; he is also loving and gentle.
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.
When you pray, be careful what you pray—I’m serious, be very careful. In the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples (also called “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father”), one part says: “Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.”
Some translations use the word “sins” or “transgressions” in place of debts, but the intent is the same.
The request is that God will forgive us…to the degree we forgive others.
That is, if we forgive fully, we are asking God to forgive us fully. However , if we only forgive partially—keeping grudges, holding onto ill-feelings, or harboring hate—then we are asking God to only forgive us partially.
Our lack of forgiveness towards others could limit the amount of forgiveness we receive. Ouch!
So when I pray that prayer, I do so carefully and with some trepidation; some days, I even want to skip that part!
However, skipping it is not the answer. A better solution is to be steadfast and diligent in forgiving others—then we can likewise expect the same from God.
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.
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.
As I read the prophetic book of Nahum, I see a familiar sounding passage: “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!” (Nahum 1:15).
I find a similar text in Isaiah: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace…” (Isaiah 52:7).
The book of Romans even quotes Isaiah: “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:15).
But these are not what I am thinking of. Knowing that good news means gospel, I do some searching and find: “Your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace”. (Ephesians 6:15).
I get excited when I see themes repeated throughout the Bible; it adds emphasis and reinforces the timelessness of the message.
May we all be people who bring peace!
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.
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.
If we’re not careful, it’s all too easy to end up doing things that, at best, are secondary, and at worst, don’t matter at all. Such was the case of the people of Israel a few millennia ago.
The prophet Amos states that God is critical of their religious gatherings, their offerings, and their music. He uses phrases like:
“I hate…”
“I despise…”
“I will not accept…”
“I have no regard for…”
“I will not listen…”
What did God want instead? Righteousness and justice.
Although it would be an incorrect conclusion to completely jettison our gatherings, our offerings, and our worship music, it might not be a bad idea to give them a bit lower priority.
Certainly, the admirable traits of righteousness (“right living”) and justice need to be elevated.
If that’s what God wanted all those years ago, it might just be want he wants now.
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.
