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The June issue of the free Meet with God Bible study is up at the Back to the Bible website! Meet with God is a monthly study guide that contains 4 different studies, each focused around a particular question about God or faith. The June issue tackles these questions:

• How Can Five Plus Two Equal Five Thousand? In the economy of faith, God provides for every need even in surprising ways. 

• Why Does the World Hate Jesus? Following Jesus’ example can produce strong, even hateful responses. 

• Why Don’t People Just Believe? Learn how God can use misfortune to bring people to faith. 

• If I Die, Is That the End? Jesus answers the life and death questions in His own work.

It’s a nice resource both for spending some time in Bible study each month and working your way through some of the tough questions about Christianity. And once you’ve worked your way through this month’s study, there’s an archive of past Meet with God studies for you to check out.

When was the last time you really studied the Old Testament? Sure, most of us know the famous stories and characters—Adam & Eve, Noah, King David, Jonah, etc. But the vast majority of verses and Bible passages that Christians look to for guidance come from the more familiar New Testament.

There are some perfectly legitimate reasons for that, of course. But the Old Testament is much more than just a series of stories setting up the “important” part of the Bible. The latest issue of Uplook magazine has just been posted online (in PDF), and its focus is on revisiting the Old Testament. It’s got articles by Shawn Abigail, James Martin, and Jack Baker about how to read the Old Testament, where we find Christ in the Old Testament, and how the Old and New Testaments are intended to relate to each other.

You can download a copy of the new May issue (and take a look at back issues) at the Uplook website.

Zechariah is the second-to-last book in the Old Testament. It’s far from the longest book in the Bible, and Zechariah is far from the most famous prophet. But the book of Zechariah is incredibly important to the overarching theme of the Bible: its prophecies clearly and plainly predict the coming of Jesus Christ.

The prophet Zechariah is believed to have carried out his ministry at the same time as Haggai, who we looked at last week. It was a dark time for God’s people; in the aftermath of a long captivity in a foreign land, it was unclear what the future held for the remnant of Judah.

But in an uncertain time, Zechariah’s preaching rang out with hope and the promise of restoration. In chapter 12, Zechariah predicts a trying future—but promises that God will preserve His people through it:

The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.

But beyond these general prophecies, the book of Zechariah is sprinkled with predictions that seem to point strongly at Christ and His saving work. Early in the book, God promises that He will “bring my servant, the Branch”; later comes a reference to God as “the one they have pierced”, and even a mention of thirty pieces of silver!

Zechariah’s clear hints about Jesus Christ make it a fascinating book to read, and especially appropriate as Easter approaches. It’s also filled with very memorable imagery, evocative descriptions of angels, and a strong message of reassurance. For all its import, it’s only 14 chapters long—consider adding it to your Lent reading list this week!

When’s the last time you heard a sermon preached about the book of Nahum?

It isn’t too surprising that Nahum isn’t exactly a regularly-occurring character in most sermons and Bible studies. For one thing, the book of Nahum is extremely short—it’s only three chapters long. But more challenging than its brevity is its subject matter: the book of Nahum is essentially a prophetic poem predicting destruction for the wicked Assyrian capital city of Ninevah.

The book of Nahum describes in vivid and sometime disturbing detail the fate of a mighty empire whose cruelty and mistreatment of its subjects was legendary. It’s a cry to God to administer justice to a powerful enemy that Israel cannot defeat or escape on her own:

O king of Assyria, your shepherds [c] slumber;
your nobles lie down to rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.

Nothing can heal your wound;
your injury is fatal.
Everyone who hears the news about you
claps his hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?

It makes for an interesting read—but how could anyone today relate to any of this?

In his book A History of Prophecy in Israel, Joseph Blenkinsopp suggests that to really understand the spiritual impact of the book of Nahum, we have to remember what this prophecy meant to its original audience:

The tone of these poems will not easily find sympathetic resonance in the mind of the modern reader, or at least the modern reader who has not suffered under such conditions as the Assyrians imposed on their subject provinces. But it may help to recall that what was at stake for the poet and his audience was the reality of divine power and the possibility of justice in the world of international affairs. (p. 123)

Nahum’s prophecy, then, was a promise that Israel’s oppressor would not escape God’s justice—and beyond that, it’s a reminder for all readers that God takes note of His people’s suffering, and that when God acts, not even the most powerful human forces in the world can stand against Him.

That’s a message that might not resonate strongly with many Western Christians today; few of us have experienced the brutality that Israel did under Assyrian conquest. But for brothers and sisters in the persecuted church around the globe, Nahum’s assurance that God is ultimately in control of human politics and empires is a powerful one.

Have you ever watched as someone you loved—a friend, a child, a spouse—made choices you knew were foolish and wrong? From your perspective, you could clearly see that their decisions would end in disaster, but they refused to listen and insisted on doing it their way?

If you’ve ever been heartbroken by a wayward loved one, you’ll find a lot to relate to in the book of Hosea. It’s a short book—easily readable in a single sitting—but Hosea is packed with insight into God’s character and love for us. It tells the story of a man stung by his wife’s repeated adultery and betrayal, but who actively seeks her out and forgives her long after even the most patient person would’ve given up on her.

Hosea’s life, and relationship with his straying wife, is a living metaphor for God and his love for his people. Hosea’s story is interspersed with poetic statements of alternating anger and love from God to Israel. The mingled anger at Israel’s rejection and promises of forgiveness if they would repent make for an emotionally powerful reading.

If you’ve never read Hosea, take a look—you might be surprised how interesting it is. In it, we learn all sorts of things about God’s love for us, like:

• God is hurt when we choose to reject Him and follow our own ways. His love for us is like a father’s for his children—our actions may hurt and anger Him, but he never stops loving us.
• God uses the natural consequences of sinful behavior to point people back to Him. He doesn’t force us to obey Him—He wants us to see the error of our ways and come back to him of our own accord.
• God stands ready to welcome you back no matter how far you’ve strayed from Him.

Hosea closes with a beautiful call to repentance and promise of forgiveness:

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!

Take words with you
and return to the LORD.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.
 
“I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.

See also an excellent short devotional that draws from the book of Hosea.

What springs to mind when you think of Old Testament prophets? Famous names like Samuel, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Isaiah probably stand out—they certainly play a key role in the history of Israel, and in their prophecies, judgments, and calls for repentance can be found many pointers to the eventual birth and saving work of Jesus Christ.

But these oft-quoted heavy-hitters weren’t the only prophets in the Bible. In fact, there’s a large group of ancient preachers whose stories have always lived in the shadow of the so-called “major prophets” like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Some of these “minor prophets” spoke of love and forgiveness; others of justice and repentance; all burned with a desire to see God’s people brought back into a relationship with their Creator.

There are twelve minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habkkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malach. How many of those names do you recognize? If you can’t remember what these prophets did, don’t feel bad! This week we’ll be looking at some of these fascinating characters. To start with, here are some overviews of these prophets, and why their ministries were anything but “minor”:

• Which prophet’s name meant “wrestler”? Which prophet was married to a prostitute? Which was famously swallowed by a whale? Uplook Ministries has a helpful two-part introduction to the minor prophets. It includes a map to show you where each of the minor prophets lived, and a short paragraph with some interesting facts about each.
• Here’s another overview of the minor prophets from a Jewish perspective. This summary talks a bit more about the historical context in which these prophets delivered their messages.
• The Bible books about the minor prophets tend to be short—some just a few chapters long—so why not try reading a few of them this week? Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk are brief and representative. As you can see, many of their prophecies are poetic calls for justice and repentance, usually (but not always) directed at Israel.

[Painting of Elijah by Antonio Cifrondi.]

Over the last two weeks, we’ve pointed out several Lent-related devotionals and Bible reading plans. But are you looking for something even more in-depth? If so, the Quotations Bible Study might be what you’re looking for.

The Quotations Bible Study is a Lent Bible study that narrows in on specific Bible quotations each week. Each Wednesday a new Bible study is posted online, along with study questions to help you dig deeply into the Bible text. Answers to the questions are posted on Fridays. (The study is already into week 2, but the study’s once-a-week pace should make it easy to get caught up.)

One thing that makes this Lent Bible study particularly interesting is that it doesn’t focus just on the Gospel accounts. The weekly Bible studies will take you all across the Bible, from the familiar Easter story to obscure-but-relevant parts of Deuteronomy. It’s a nice reminder that the Easter story—God’s great act of salvation—is truly a story that spans the entirety of Scripture and human history. If that sounds intriguing, give Quotation Bible Study a try!

Two new features were unveiled today at the Bible Gateway, one of them specifically related to Lent (which officially began today on Ash Wednesday). Here’s a quick rundown of the new items:

• A new Lent reading plan. Have you ever thought about making a commitment during Lent to help you focus on the meaning of Easter? Committing to spending more time in the Bible is always a good idea, and a Lent plan that walks you through each of the four Gospels in time for Easter might help you do just that. Read more about the Lent reading plan on the Bible Gateway blog.
• On a somewhat related note, the Bible Gateway now makes it possible to subscribe to a reading plan (such as the aforementioned Lent reading plan) via email, so you can have each day’s Scripture reading delivered to your inbox. It’s still in beta, but if you’re interested, head over to the Bible Gateway to read more about it and subscribe to an email reading plan.

Stop by the Bible Gateway, try out the new features, and let the Bible Gateway team know what you think!

Do you have any Bible passages memorized? If you were brought up in a church community like mine, Scripture memorization was a staple of the Sunday school experience. Every Sunday morning, on the car ride to church, I’d find myself hastily memorizing that week’s Bible (or catechism) passage, knowing that my Sunday school teacher would show no mercy if I mangled Romans 8:28 or stammered my way through Heidelberg Catechism question and answer #1.

Over at the Addenda and Errata blog, Dan Reid admits to living through a similarly demanding Scripture-memorization routine as a child. But as an adult, he’s developed a new perspective toward memorization. Memorizing Scripture needn’t be just an onerous Sunday school routine: it can be a wonderful way to internalize and reflect on passages of the Bible.

His memorization strategy is more ambitious than most Christians’ (he does some of his memorization in the original Greek!), but there’s no reason anyone couldn’t get a lot out of memorizing Bible verses in good old English. Here’s some encouragement from Dan for anyone considering embarking on Scripture memorization:

First, I learned that memorizing doesn’t come as easily at age 59 as it did at age 9 or 20. Though I’m sure there are many other folks my age who can memorize with much less effort than I! But it’s possible. Just don’t set your expectations too high. Don’t beat yourself up when it doesn’t seem to be “taking” fast enough. If you keep at it, the text will work its way into the cranium, laying down its patterns and crystallizing in words, sentences and paragraphs. Keep inching forward and keep reviewing. Nothing is lost and much is gained by taking more time. Think of it as meditation. [...]

And here is another benefit: walk the dog, go on a drive or a run, and lines and paragraphs of the Greek text come to mind unbidden. Not bad.

If you’re looking to dive into the teachings of the Bible in a new way this year, I can think of few better ways to do so. So grab a Bible, pick a passage or two (start with some short and easy ones), and see if you can’t commit some Scripture to memory!

The folks over at IntoThyWord quietly launched the Biblical Eschatology blog a few weeks ago. If you’re interested Biblical exegesis or eschatology, this might up right up your alley.

From their About page:

This is not a simple Bible study; it is a vast undertaking, of which I do not believe has ever been done. What we sought to do is give you a more thoroughly engaged and proper viewing into the art and science of eschatology, evaluating end time’s scenarios and biblical thinking into the book of Revelation. At the same time, layout all of the main views for you side by side!

And from their first post:

The main point of Biblical, Exegetical Eschatology is to tell us not to be discouraged, but remain faithful and vigilant. We are to live our lives as if Christ were coming tomorrow, or preparing and planning as if He were coming a thousand years from now. We are not to be preoccupied with the details and trivialities. That is why Jesus did not give them to us. Rather, our faith development and steadfastness are far more impacting and real for ourselves and others around us!