EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

But do you want to know the answer?   Many of us have a lot of unanswered question which we would like God to answer.  Habakkuk was no exception.  He wanted to know why God was allowing evil to run rampant and not solving the issue.

He got more than he bargained for when God replies and shows him what the judgement will look like.  Suddenly he turns from crying for justice to asking for mercy.

This book shows me that:

• God is ok with questions if they are asked in humility
• Sometimes we don’t understand how God works
• We need to continue to worship God regardless of situations and circumstances but simply because he is God and worthy of my worship

Zephaniah paints a beautiful picture of the restoration and salvation that comes through Jesus but it also shows us WHY we need that salvation.

The people of Judah were doing their own thing and going their own way.  They paid lip service to the ways of God but really they didn’t care at all about his commandments or even about being in relationship with him.  Likewise the surrounding nations were also filled with pride and arrogance over their own ability to live without God.

Left to my own devices I will often leave God out of the picture!  This book shows me so clearly that I need to acknowledge that God is more powerful and may have a different way of doing things that I do.  When I just keep on doing things my way and leave him out I am missing out on knowing his thoughts and actively aligning my thoughts with his.

Why would I do this??

Somewhere deep inside of me is a thought I  know what I am doing and can go this alone.  But why would I want to when I can do life with God.   So the  challenge of Zephaniah is to involve God in my life and realize he has the big picture, he knows more than me – I should go his way!

Zephaniah wrote with an emphasis on pride versus humility. His call to repentance in 2:3

“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility”

shows this well. The most interesting and exciting thing I learned while studying today in his prophesies about the church age. Zephaniah says that the proud “will be removed from [the remnant's] midst” and God will only “leave in the midst of [the remnant] a people humble and lowly.” The remnant that Zephaniah is speaking of is the church.

Now, if I look at this prophesy from a practical view point then I would say that it has not been fulfilled yet, since the church doesn’t act humbly. When I say church I am mean myself included. This was the final teaching that Jesus gave to his disciples before he went to the cross: humility. We know it is important then. But how important? It’s interesting to note that Zephaniah doesn’t define the remnant by faith or love, but by humility. We know that no one can have faith without a portion of humility, so I think it works. But Zephaniah is putting a very great emphasis on humility.

How do we get humble? One simple way is to go embarrass yourself in front of a crowd… you’ll lose most of your pride for a few days.  I’m not recommending this, not because it would be painful, but because that is not what Zephaniah implies for walking in humility. Zephaniah tells us to seek the LORD and obey his commands for humility. This is awesome because relationship with God brings about the fruit of humility in our hearts. This is a general rule from scripture, relationship with God and understanding of his character produces good works. This is the case again… but isn’t that too easy!? Too wonderful, but not too easy. My heart continues to run from the LORD (maybe because it wants to keep its pride).  Continue on in your friendship in the LORD.

Once again, Zephaniah is God’s tool he uses to warn the people of Judah of the coming judgment for their sin. God’s mercy is so evident to me once again. He totally could’ve given up on his people, let them go their own way, the way they chose, and started over. Instead, he continually loves them, is faithful to them, and shows them mercy. He doesn’t want them to be judged. He wants them to turn from their ways, repent, and live a holy life that will lead them on a good path!

In Zephaniah the big problem of the people is their pride. It almost seems to be a blinding shade over their eyes. They can’t see that the path they are taking is leading them to destruction. God even TELLS them this. They still deliberately choose to go their own way. They seem to be blinded by their pride, they can’t even see that they are being stupid. This book clearly shows that walking in pride leads to destruction, but walking in humility leads to blessing from God.

What are the results of walking independently from God? From Zephaniah we see that it leads to judgment, and destruction; definitely not good things. Through the Old Testament over and over I have seen this, and Zephaniah’s message is no different. Walking in God’s ways leads to good things….to life. I think when I realize this more and more, that walking in God’s ways is for my good, then it gives me a much different motivation for why I am living the way I am living. History has proved itself. The Bible has proved itself. God’s way is best.

Habakkuk asks God questions. He invites him into his frustration, and opens himself to God’s answer. He doesn’t ask with a cynical attitude, but with humility. He genuinely wants to know God’s answer, and is honestly crying out for it.

God doesn’t reject Habakkuk. God shows that he wants Habakkuk to know him, and thus chooses to answer his questions. God isn’t intimidated or annoyed by his questions, but wants Habakkuk to know the truth, and answers his questions.

This showed me again something I have been thinking about lately. That is, inviting God more into my daily life. I want to be able to honestly share my feelings with God. Not just surfacy ones, but my feelings of pain, frustration, and my hard questions. I want to come to God with these, knowing that he wants to reveal things to me. I want to come with humility like Habakkuk, open and willing.

Habakkuk possibly still doesn’t understand God’s answer once it is given. He chooses to remember God’s character. He recites it to himself, reminding himself that though he may not understand all of God’s ways, he can still trust in His character.

This is so cool! We have a faithful God, that we can come to and ask questions, and not be rejected. He wants us to know more about him. Though we may not understand everything he does, we can trust him. He is good, faithful, and a secure foundation. He is God, we are not. He does know best, and he does want the best for us. Though we may not understand why he does everything the way he does it, we can trust in Him, that he does know best. We can rejoice that he is a good God! Habakkuk ends by saying, no matter what happens, though the earth falls apart and things go wrong, he will rejoice in God, his strength and salvation. When everything goes wrong, we can rejoice, because we have God. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

The book of Joel is an example of God reaching out to his people and trying to call them back to himself.

Joel calls to the priests of Judah to call all the people to fast and mourn and turn back to the Lord.  He has a real sense of urgency for the people to act and return to the Lord because he can see that their current state is going to lead them down the path of destruction quickly!   However it seems that the people are not aware of how far they have drifted from God.

Despite the locusts and judgement passages what stands out to me about this book is how much God desires to be with his people and how he wants them to acknowledge him as Lord and worship him alone.   He disciplines them in a desire to have them see their need for him and return to him.   He restores them because he is merciful and compassionate and truly wants  them to know how much he cares for them.

This book looks forward to the New Testament era and shows us the reality that if we turn to God we will find refuge in him but if we turn away there will be judgement.  God longs to show his mercy to me and has in Jesus!

God said that he would pour out his spirit on all flesh, not just his prophets. And this would happen when the Messiah came. It was fulfilled in Acts 2:17-21 when the disciples were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues that the foreign Jews could understand.

My challenge this week is to believe that prophesy, dreams and visions and other manifestations of the spirit are meant for all of us. God can do this for anyone of us who are believers and at any point in our relationship with him.

Right now I am trying to seek the LORD’s guidance in my life, but at times feel as though he is silent. I need to trust him that he can speak to me, and he will do it in his timing. My call is to trust and wait – but he himself will provide the guidance clearly.

I am reminded of Saul’s encounter with trusting the LORD in 1 Samuel 13… He was told to wait for Samuel to come and make a sacrifice before he went out into battle. But as the enemies approached in great numbers and his soldiers began leaving him he acted rashly and did the sacrifice himself. Then Samuel arrived and rebuked him for his faithlessness. Saul however claimed to have acted righteously and in line with biblical principles. The faith that God wanted from Saul was a faith that would wait for the guidance of the LORD even if he was the last one standing on the hill with a great army closing in on him. Maybe God is asking me or you to have this kind of faith as we wait for his guidance.

Jeremiah is a solid reminder to us all that God values obedience and devotion to him above all else.  He clearly uses the life of Jeremiah to show that is not results that matter but obedience.  The people of Judah are so far away from his heart that even Gods constant attempts to call them back to him are meet with contempt.  Jeremiah shows great emotion for the people of Judah – he weeps over their rejection of God and their refusal to take the offers of restoration that God holds out to them.

There is a contrast between the trust that Jeremiah has in God and the lack of faith of the Israelites.  Jeremiah has put his trust in God time after time and has not been let down,  yet the Israelites are fearful of the Babylonians and refuse to put their trust in God.  They don’t test God and see if he is really who he keeps telling them he is.

Jeremiah is also a good example of someone who is honest in their relationship with God.  Jeremiah’s warts and all approach to relationship with God is refreshing and challenging to me.  I often want to skip the nitty gritty and get to the fix it parts but God wants us to put it all out there and be real with him.  I think this is a key for a sustainable relationship with God.  It seems to be in these moments that God meets Jeremiah and reminds him of who he is; when he brings perspective and even courage to continue to face the trails of life.

JEREMIAH SHOWS US THAT GOD IS AFTER OUR HEARTS!

Jeremiah was a man of his word. He would speak the truth even if people did not believe him and wanted him to speak a different message.  He spoke the what God gave him to speak no matter if it was dangerous, embarrassing or shameful. Several times people accused him of lying. And other times very powerful people threatened to kill him if he kept speaking the truth.

This book is full of stories about “lies” and truth. Why so much talk about truth and lies?

Well, this is a prophetic book and in the historical context of the writing there were many false prophets (prophets who prophesied something that did not come true, thus not from God). The people were very confused and skeptical of prophets. Many probably thought that they were like politicians: saying whatever they wanted to to win favor. The author wants to show that Jeremiah was a man of his word.  Jeremiah was a stud at keeping his word and telling the truth with integrity.

I think that I can learn from this. There were many powerful people around him threatening him to shut up or prophesy something good instead of destruction. Jeremiah stuck to his message. I think that people working in the science and technology fields need to learn from Jeremiah to speak the truth about their findings – be honest about what the data is implying and how certain they are about the results. Distorting data is easier than it many of us think.

Jeremiah was a book that challenged me over and over again. In it we studied Jeremiahs character. His amazing example made me examine my own life, and see things I want changed.

Jeremiah was such a faithful, obedient, trusting servant of God. He did what God told him to do no matter what. Though he faced social humiliation, oppression, opposition, persecution, and even death, he was faithful to trust and obey God. I did really like how the book shows his emotion. Though he didnt give up, there were definitely times when he wanted to. He is able to openly and honestly share his emotions with God. He cries out to him, seeking him alone as his hope and trust. He is able to invite God into his pain, distress, and frustration. This challenged me to do the same. I feel like I do that, but not enough. I want to be more open with God, I want to invite him into my everyday life. I want to share with him know my pain and frustration, or my joy and excitement.

Another thing that Jeremiah challenged me with was his boldness. When God first called him, he was afraid, unsure, and felt inadequate. As he stepped out in obedience he seemed to grow. He gave up his reputation, and subjected himself to rejection, shame,  and persecution. Jeremiah had to do crazy things in front of his peers, and even in front of kings. He didn’t back down or give up though. He valued obeying God. He obeyed God rather than his fear. He was human, and he probably did have fear, but he didn’t let it rule him. He still obeyed God no matter what.

This was a really big challenge to me. I know that sometimes I let my fear stop me from doing what God has told me to do. Jeremiah’s example showed me that its okay to have fear, I just shouldn’t let it stop me from doing what God tells me to do. I will most likely face fear, but I should still obey God, face it, and do what he tells me no matter what.

“See, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke” Nahum 2:13. God himself is the one who is judging Nineveh the capital of the Assyrians.

Yet  the book also prophesies saying “The shields of his warriors are red; his soldiers are clothed in crimson. Them metal on the chariots flashes on the day when he musters them; the chargers prance” Nahum 2:3. The Babylonians wore red into battle, and we know from historical accounts that it was the Babylonian, Median and Scythian army who sacked Nineveh.

What does this imply? It implies that the Babylonians were God’s warriors: “his soldiers”.

We also know that the Babylonians were pagans who worshiped many gods including Ishtar and Marduk.  So God used an pagan and ungodly army as his instrument of judgment. We also know that God is righteous, good and just.

What does this imply then? It implies that God can used an ungodly person/people to accomplish his work and yet still retain his righteousness and justice. The injustice, evil and wickedness that the person does who is an instrument of God does not reflect the hand of God but the will of that person. I would describe it as a very wild and dangerous way that God works in history – yet he has complete control as God.

If we take a step back now and look at how God has dealt with humankind ever since sin entered the world. I can’t imagine walking so closely next to evil and wickedness yet God chooses to work closely with sinful people. The Son came to earth to work alongside wicked men.

We see this in the gospel, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ ”

Why do we think it unacceptable that God work through wicked men?

I find it interesting how I can find application points to my life from a book about God’s judgment on a wicked city. I wouldn’t have thought I would’ve found Nahum so applicable.

Nineveh is being warned of God’s coming judgment for their violence, cruelty, prostitution, sorcery, deceit…and the list goes on. The first thing that struck me about this book was its vivid visual descriptions. It is interesting to read b/c of its excellent descriptions, and is almost like a story in the way that it describes things so well it paints pictures in my mind.

God’s wrath on Nineveh is sobering, humbling, and terrifying. It shows a God who has had enough of the incredible wickedness and cruelty of the Assyrian people. He is going to give them in return what they have dished out to people. As I was studying this, it hit me how terrifying God is when he is angry. The wrath of God is a real thing. It isn’t something that we just make up because it sounds good, ‘yeah, Jesus saved you from God’s wrath’. This is what hit me in studying Nahum. God’s wrath is real, and every human being deserves it. Every human being is fallen, depraved, and would be judged with God’s wrath if it weren’t for His grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. Reading Nahum brought to me a deeper meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus, and what he did on the cross. I was fully deserving of this terrifying and powerful wrath of God, but because of his love, he chose to send Jesus. This King humbled himself, and took God’s wrath in my place. Wow. What an amazing, loving, merciful, and gracious God we have. Who would do that? Really? Who would give up their perfect life, to take on another person’s punishment? And not just one person’s, but all of humanity. I have trouble even fully grasping this. The love of God is so big and so different that it is hard for me to understand. All I can conclude is that I am so thankful for it.

It reminds me of that hymn by Samuel Trevor Francis, “O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free”.

I have heard people say that one of the reasons people walk away from their faith is because they don’t know how to respond to the pain and suffering in their lives.

We are all faced with times when things don’t work out as we expected and we are hurt, offended or disappointed.    The book of Obadiah has something to say to us about how we respond in such situations.  It really makes me stop and take a close look.  Am I secretly pleased when something bad happens to someone who has hurt me?  Do I take pleasure in the suffering of those who I consider deserve  it?

In the light of Jesus we are all flawed and sinful at heart.  This book is a call to remember that and not to continue to build grudges and bitterness towards  others.  It is a good reminder that we all need the grace and forgiveness of God.

This is the classic situation for any sports fan: When the star player from the opposing team goes down on the field and looks like he/she might be hurt, where do you draw the line over celebrating for the advantage your team will gain as opposed to feeling compassion for the injured player? Is it when you realize that the injury is only minor like a sprained ankle? Is it when you realize that the player will be out for the rest of the season? Is it when you realize that this player has been paralyzed and can no longer play the game in his/her life time?

I’m sure it’s not the last one. But this does show an interesting fact about our hearts. We like to gloat over our “enemies”. Are we willing to not only gloat, but also take advantage of them in their hardships? This is not right. As I have been learning in Obadiah – our response should not be to take advantage of our enemies or adversaries when they are judged or in a hard spot, EVEN if they deserve it (and we know that many times they do).

The book of Obadiah lists 8 different things that the Edomite should not have done when their enemies the Israelites were judged and defeated by Babylon. The book does not say in explicit details what the Edomites should have done… but that is the author’s intention, so that this would be food for thought. So what should they have done?

Obadiah: God warns Edom he is going to bring judgment on them for their pride, violence, and hatred towards their brother Israel. When Israel was being judged, the people of Edom laughed in their face. They gloated, smirked, sneered, and were glad that their ‘enemy’ was being judged. God warns Edom that they are no better than Israel. They are not above them, they are equal, and able to make the same mistakes as Israel. In fact, they have made a big mistake in the way they have treated their enemy. Because of their actions, they are going to be  judged.This is a sobering, and should be a humbling warning from God to Edom (unfortunately they didn’t listen).

This is a challenge to me concerning how I will treat certain people. People that get under my skin, on my nerves, and make steam come out of my ears haha! No, but seriously, how will I treat people who are my ‘enemies’, when they get what was coming to them? Will I rejoice like Edom? Or will I humble myself, and realize I am able to make the same mistakes. I am not above or greater than anyone, even my ‘enemies’. God loves them just as much as he loves me! We are equal. This is a sobering…humbling thing to think about.