Meditate on it

I'm admittedly not entirely clear on the concepts of oracles and visions. In Amos, Bullock asserts oracles and visions comprise the two literary centers in Amos.   The Hebrew words for oracle may be translated as “burden,” “saying,” “word,” etc. The words can be translated in different ways, even within the same book/author.  The word oracle can be ascribed to an entire prophetic books or to a part of one.   In one piece of Amos, the King James renders it, "Thus saith the Lord" Encyclopedia.com elaborates on this usage, "The technical term for an oracle of a prophet is n e'  It occurs 361 times in the Hebrew OT, mostly in the books of the "writing" Prophets, where it generally stands at the end of a short oracle given in Yahweh's name, traditionally rendered in English as "Thus says the Lord." It serves as a sort of signature guaranteeing the authenticity of the oracle."  Because they were God's word, these pronouncements were tru

Six Nations and Their Rebellion The book begins with eight oracles against the nations. Bullock points out that the audience is always Israel, not the other nations, even though it begins with them.  "God cared for the other nations even though they cared little for Him. God's expression of concern by pronouncing judgment (or salvation as in Isaiah 19:19-22 ) was intended to remind Israel of her mission to share God with others. At least, these words reminded the hearers of God's international, even universal, power and expectations." -Holman Bible Dictionary In the earlier period, priests were more often sought out to receive a word from God. Later, the prophets were more prominent. Of course, for a long period both functioned as intermediaries. This series of judgements is likened to a noose tightening around Israel's throat, or a progressive bullseye of judgement with Israel as the center dot. The point is that God's judgement was certain and Israel's j

Joseph, the man who buries Jesus.   He is a member of the Jewish High Council.  He's described as a man "of good heart and good character." (Luke 23:50 MSG) He didn't go along with the plans of the larger council. "He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God."  -Luke 23:52 MSG He took the body of Jesus down, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a new tomb. Not many verses are devoted to Joseph of Arimathea and his actions, but they are quietly convicting to me in all ways. He was part of leadership but dared to break with their perspective. He had eyes that were looking and a heart waiting for God's kingdom. He chose action and took initiative to treat the broken and bloody body of Christ with simple dignity. May I be a person of quiet convicting, going against the mainstream, of good character and heart, eyes looking and waiting for your Kingdom. May I act decisively at the right time in the right ways that honor You. 

It's human to prefer some parts of the scriptures more than others.  Christ's arrest, trial, and execution are the worst, revealing the bottom of the pit of humanity and the "religious" establishment. Reading this section of Luke 22:63-71, Jesus knows that they are merely going through the motions.  He reveals this when he states, "If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go."   There is no win to be had in the immediate and he knows it. However, in the discouraging corners of my spirt, I also need to hear the end of his remark as emphatically:  "Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God." And yes, they willfully misunderstand his words--these very words--and use them to condemn him in the immediate,  Then said they all, "Art thou then the Son of God?"  And he said unto them, "Ye say that I am." And they said, "What need we any further witnes

Amos the Shepherd I suppose Amos is much more than a shepherd, not that being a shepherd isn't enough alone. Jack Abeelen translates his name as "burden bearer," more to think about. Background Context Amos was a prophet from Judah, called from his rural  hometown of Tekoa to an urban environment in the Northern Kingdom, perhaps Bethel, their capital. Tekoa was about ten miles south of Jerusalem, one of a chain of places that Rehoboam of Judah fortified to mount a defense.  At one point, Amos says to a king--"I was a shepherd and God called me," which makes him relatable.  Who wouldn't rather be overseeing sheepherders and sycamore figs instead of slogging condemnation at urbanites?  Bring on the sheep and figs.  Truthfully, it reminds me of a visit to my pastor's office one morning--a hundred places both Amos and I would rather be!  Who was ruling?  Northern King: Jeroboam II   Southern King: Uzziah E. Hassell Bullock titles his chapter on Amos "Ca

 It's been a good stay in Jonah, but after three weeks, I'm ready to move along. I finished Jack Abeelen and Alistair Begg's sermons on Jonah, in addition to the Bullock sections. I even re-read my 2014 thoughts on the book, which held up better than I feared. It's both comforting and scary that my realizations then and now have many similarities--comforting to know that I am thinking through things carefully in a way that is "checkable"--scary because I don't remember thinking all those thoughts before.  I guess that's the wear and tear of seven years. Before I leave Jonah though, I have a cache of unsorted truths worth corralling. First, I'm thankful for God's great patience and pursuit of man. He makes a way for Adam and Eve, Cain, Noah. We see it with Abraham and Sodom, Jacob at Peniel, with Job, and yes, Jonah and the Ninevites as well. I see it in my life today as well as the lives of others.   Jesus knew the heart of man, yet he wept ove

Jon 4:1  But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.  He was very angry; Septuagint, συνεχύθη, "was confounded." -Pulpit Commentary Why was Jonah so mad as to be confounded?  Was it because Nineveh was their enemy?  This type of nationalism is hard for me to relate to. The Expositor's Bible explains,  "In short he could not, either then or now, master his conviction that the heathen should be destroyed. His grief, though foolish, is not selfish. He is angry, not at the baffling of his word, but at God’s forbearance with the foes and tyrants of Israel. Now, as in all else, so in this, Jonah is the type of his people. If we can judge from their literature after the Exile, they were not troubled by the non-fulfillment of prophecy, except as one item of what was the problem of their faith-the continued prosperity of the Gentiles. " -Expositor's Bible Alistair Begg sees the problems as that of a double standard: "In Jonah’s case, the root issue is

"And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not."  Jonah 3:10    How can  it be that God would need to "repent of evil"?  It's got to be in the wording, or I run into all kinds of snags regarding the unchangeable nature of God (Westminster Catechism Questions 4) then additional tangles while considering determinism and free will.  As a counterpoint, Numbers 23:19 floats to mind: "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? God a man that he should change his mind?" Alistair Begg addresses this change briefly in his Jonah series, "Man Overboard," "Now, how then are you to understand that? Well, the fact is, loved ones, that there is no ultimate inconsistency between these two modes of expression. Because actual

"Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples]. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him and hand Him over to them." Luke 22:3-4 Even though I am reading short chunks of Luke each day, not even full chapters, I feel like each day brings a new "difficult" verse.  Today's is above. I feel as if I could gain more understanding of it if it came from Mark--it has that abrupt Mark quality---boom, four words and we are in a different spot.  But it's Luke.  Luke, who takes time to linger, who gives us the fullest account of Christ's birth, who sets forth to create an orderly account, who is a physician by trade. And Luke, all these things, sets forth this idea that Satan entered Judas.  John mentions this truth too (John 13:2 and 13:27) in the context of the Last Supper: "It was during supper, when the devil had already put [the thought of] betraying Jesus into the

I'm still making efforts to process the implications of Luke 22:3 this morning: "Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples]."  Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown suggest that this entering was part of a progression of sin, that sin is a process:  Then entered Satan, etc. — but not yet in the full sense. The awful stages of it were these: (1) Covetousness being his master - passion, the Lord let it reveal itself and gather strength by entrusting him with “the bag” (Joh_12:6), as treasurer to Himself and the Twelve. (2) In the discharge of that most sacred trust he became “a thief,” appropriating its contents from time to time to his own use. Satan, seeing this door into his heart standing wide open, determines to enter by it, but cautiously (2Co_2:11); first merely “putting it into his heart to betray Him” (Joh_13:2), suggesting the thought to him that by this means he might enrich himself. (3) This thought was probably converted int