1-Page Book Intro: Haggai [Blog]

by Rev. Nicole Henry [DCXA at GU]

The prophet Haggai is writing to Israelites who have returned to their land after being exiled in Babylon. The town is in ruins, and the people immediately start fixing up their own houses and ignore rebuilding the temple of God. God sees this and gives Haggai a prophetic message to share with the people. Basically, God scolds the Israelites for putting themselves and their needs before God, and He informs them that this is the reason they have harvested little and eat but are never satisfied.

 In what seems to me like a rare moment for Israel, they hear God’s warning and obey! The charge to rebuild the temple is led by Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) and Joshua (the High Priest). The people who remember the temple in its former glory are becoming discouraged in the building process because the new temple doesn’t look as great. To encourage the people, God gives Haggai a second message to share: He reminds them that He is with them, and to not be discouraged because He will cause this new temple to be even more glorious than the first.

 Not without their setbacks, the Israelites falter a bit.  Haggai shares a third message from God reminding the people that if they are defiling themselves that everything they touch, including their building of the Temple, will also be defiled. Haggai reminds them that it’s only by confession and true repentance that they will find success and peace.

 Finally, in his fourth prophetic message from God to the people, Haggai addresses Zerubbabel (a descendant of King David). He tells Zerubbabel that God is going to overthrow kings and nations and raise up someone from his line to rule and reign. Messianic vibes, aka allusions to Jesus coming to rule and reign someday!

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1-Page Book Intro: Zephaniah [Blog]

by Alexis Faubel [DCXA at AU]

Zephaniah served as a prophet from 640-621 BC. As one of God’s prophets, Zephaniah spoke to the people of Judah - the southern kingdom of Israel divided after King Solomon’s death. Zephaniah’s role was to wake the people up out of their complacency, and urge them to return to God. 

At the time of this book, Zephaniah was probably near the end of his ministry, while King Josiah of Judah (the last good King of Judah) was trying to reverse the evil habits set by the previous two kings. Zephaniah impacted King Josiah, as his prophecy may have been the motivating factor in Josiah’s reform of the nation as he worked to turn it back to God.

The main themes of this book can be broken down into three parts: The day of judgment - destruction was coming because Judah had denied God. Indifference to God - God’s demands for righteous living seemed irrelevant to the Judeans, whose security and wealth had made them complacent. And the day of cheer / hope - after judgment, God will purify His people, purging away all the sin and evil, and will restore them and give them hope.

Zephaniah’s main message can be summarized as: A day will come when God judges all nations for their actions against, and indifference to, His Kingship. However, He will show mercy to all who have been faithful to Him. This message can be directly applied today, and can be considered by us as we make decisions to act in favor of, or be indifferent towards God. 

A key verse in Zephaniah is: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3) This verse reminds us to obey The Lord, to value righteous and humble living, and to look forward to the hope of salvation.

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1-Page Book Intro: Habakkuk [Blog]

by German Figueroa [DCXA at GU]

The Book of Habakkuk was likely written between 610 and 605 B.C. While some of the other prophets we see engaging and confronting the people of Israel on God's behalf, the book of Habakkuk shows us something else. Habakkuk finds himself in a difficult place because he lived during Israel's southern kingdom time in idolatry and was frustrated at the nation's Babylon's rise. He sees so much injustice, evil, and tragedy in nations like them.

The book begins with Habakkuk crying out to God to answer why the Israelites will suffer in their captivity under an evil nation. The Lord responds by saying he is well aware of all the evil within the different nations. Still, Habakkuk wouldn't even believe what he had planned. Then Habakkuk and God began this dialogue about God's plan. Habakkuk prayed, expressing his strong faith in God, despite his feelings. 

We can learn from Habakkuk's book that God is not afraid of our questions, and he is never surprised in the process of being obedient. The Book of Habakkuk affirms that God is a sovereign, omnipotent God who has all things under control. We just need to be still and know He is at work. He is who He says He is and does keep His promises. He will punish the wicked. Even when we cannot see it, He is still on the throne of the universe.  

The style of the book is poems of lament similar to the ones you read in Psalms. This makes sense when you realize that Habakkuk has a direct conversation with God. 

Research Sources

https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Habakkuk.html

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/habakkuk/#:~:text=Unlike%20other%20prophetic%20books%20that,and%20tragedy%20in%20the%20world.

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1-Page Book Intro: Nahum [Blog]

by Rev. Blane Young [DCXA at AU]

Nahum is uniquely simple and also multifaceted. It’s like a good painting, a Criterion Collection film or even a complex sparkling kombucha. This is one of the books in the Bible that you could summarize in a tweet (or two) but I’m not sure that method would fully allow us to experience the message as it was intended. 

If this is your first time reading Nahum (or even hearing that name!), don’t beat yourself up. In fact, scholars and commentators know very little about the person of Nahum outside this book and the vision(s) it contains. 

As with all prophesy (whether in the Old Testament or in modern-day contexts), it’s important to remember that prophesy is focused primary on truth-telling and potentially (secondarily) on future-telling. Does that make sense? Truth is being conveyed, and it’s a truth that exists in the present and willl come into reality in the future.

In the words of Dr. John Walton, “The Bible is written for us, but it’s not written to us.” I would also be so bold to add, ‘The Bible isn’t primarily about us.’ These are helpful principles to keep in mind when digging into Scripture and perhaps, even more essential when reading though the Old Testament. 

You may recall the story of Jonah and Nineveh, which happened in the same location as the setting of this book but many decades earlier. This is noteworthy because there’s history between people in this land and the redemptive outreach of God.

Circling back to our initial point, one one hand, this text serves as a rebuke to an evil people that have caused harm to believers in God. On the other hand, the text exists as a reminder to God’s people that their assurance and hopes shouldn’t not rest in the bloody demise of their enemies but in God’s goodness alone. This is a somewhat complex or nuanced idea in that God is fighting for His people and righting wrongs while also serving as a testament to the beautiful theological reality that redemption trumps even well-deserved retribution of those that cause us harm.

We win because we get to be close with God, not because others get what we think they deserve.

Research Sources: NIV Study Bible, Biblica online 

Research Sources: The Fire Bible (Study Bible), pp. 1445-1446

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1-Page Book Intro: Micah [Blog]

by Rev. Natalie Hill [DCXA at AU]

Micah is another prophet whom God used to convey a series of messages to His people about their sin and unfaithfulness.  The book of Micah is composed of poems written to the people of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, who had rebelled against God and used religion for personal gain.  It lays out a list of accusations, warns of coming punishment (defeat and capture by Assyria and Babylon), and proclaims a future of hope and restoration.

Through the prophet Micah, God accuses Israel’s leaders and prophets of committing injustices and violating laws in the name of religion.  They took advantage of the weak and helpless and lived spiritually hypocritical lives, full of corruption.  The book exposes these evils and tells of coming judgment and punishment for their sins.

Although God comes to bring His judgment, He also brings a future hope.  He promises that He will shepherd His people and bring them back to Him, restoring His promise to them by rebuilding the temple, bringing peace on earth, and establishing a New Jerusalem with a new Messianic King (We see in the New Testament that He doesn’t do this in the way they were expecting, and in many ways we’re still waiting on that day where this promise is fulfilled – this is why this book is often referenced when talking about eschatology or “end times theology,” but that might be a topic for another day…or a whole theology course).

It can be easy to read this book and get swept up into all this talk about end times (What is the New Jerusalem?  Will there be a literal temple, etc.?), but really the whole point is that after His judgment of their sins, God will restore His covenant promise with Israel.  That’s what He was trying to tell them through Micah.  We have a reason to hope because of God’s character and His promise, the covenant that God made with Abraham.  The message of Micah is that God exposes injustice, He opposes evil especially in the name of religion and pride, and He calls His people to be faithful to Him.  And in the end, His judgment ultimately leads to hope.

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