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Cataloguing the nineteen men who reigned next, the Chronicler traced the downfall of Judah not only to point out the tragic cause of exile, but more importantly, to bolster his point to the returnees that they were serving a God who does not forget His people.
Read MoreIndeed, these repatriates could trust that the God who worked wonders for their ancestors would continue to do so for them and their descendants. Hope for the future had returned, and the Chronicler was determined to use history to prove it.
Read MoreOn the other hand, if we recognize that God works all things “according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11) and “for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28), we can begin to search for God’s purpose in our pain. And that vital truth sets the tone for the rest of the book.
Read MoreFar from being a random assembly of disparate sayings, Solomon skillfully ordered the sequence of his work into a number of intentional collections, or groups. Like links in a chain, each proverb contains its own strength, but also contributes to the strength of a greater discourse.
Read MoreThe three major sections to this book poetically picture the meeting, marrying, and maturing of Solomon and his bride (“the Shulammite,” cf. Song 6:13), corresponding well to the “leave, cleave, and weave” paradigm of marriage that God established (cf. Gen. 2:24).
Read MoreIn order to rebuke the sins of the skeptical, encourage the hearts of the hopeless, and correct the errors in their eschatology, God sent yet another prophet—Malachi (meaning “my messenger”)—who would serve as God’s final spokesman to the nation before what would become four hundred years of silence.
Read MoreEmotion soon became ambition, as Nehemiah determined that he would lead an effort to rebuild the walls. Yet, far from conjuring up these plans from his own intellectual genius, it was actually God who exercised His sovereignty over Nehemiah by putting the very plans into Nehemiah’s mind (cf. Neh. 2:12).
Read MoreAs one of the most quoted Old Testament books in the New Testament, the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ ought to instill both great confidence and great joy in those of us looking forward to Christ’s second coming.
Read MoreIn His kindness, God raised up Haggai for a short four-month, four-message ministry to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself.
Read MoreAnd so it is that with an incomplete return, inferior temple, and immoral nation, the truth becomes even more evident that only the Son of God—the Lord Jesus Christ—can restore Israel (cf. Acts 1:6).
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