Reading for February 8th

 Read Habakkuk 2.2-4. In 2.2-4: God's response: God's rule is reliable. In verse 2: God tells Habakkuk to record his revelation so that the prophet as God's messenger can carry and announce it to the people. In verse 3: God emphasizes the reliability of Habakkuk's revelation. In verse 4: This verse may contain the content of Habakkuk's revelation or instruction about waiting for it. The main point is that the righteous live by their faith. "Faithfulness" is a better translation, since the Hebrew "emunah" means "firmness, steadfastness," or "fidelity." Comments or questions..

Reading for February 7th

Read Habakkuk 1.12-2.1. In 1.12-2.1: Habakkuk's second complaint: Chaldean corruption. In his second complaint -probably composed after the Babylonian invaded Judah in 597, replaced its king, deported its leading citizens, and collected tribute (2 Kings 24). Habakkuk claims that the very instruments of God's judgment (v. 12), the Babylonians, are themselves wicked ((v. 13). In verse16: When the Babylonian enemy sacrifices to his net, he is worshipping hiss own military armaments. In 1.17-21: Habakkuk wonders whether the Babylonians' injustices will go unpunished (1.17) or whether God respond (2.1). Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for February 6th

 Read Habakkuk 1.5-11. In 1.5-11: God's response: a Chaldean invasion. God announces to Habakkuk that Judah's injustices will be punished by means of a foreign nation that will depose its current leadership. In verse 6: The Chaldeans are the Neo-Babylonians, who rose to prominence in the ancient Near East during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BCE). In verse 8: The typical ancient Near Eastern military machine was built around horse-drawn chariots and cavalry. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 5th

Read Habakkuk 1.1-4. In 1.1: Title. The customary information about family, home, and date are not provided for Habakkuk. In verse 2-4:Habakkuk's opening complaints: Judean corruption.  Habakkuk draws attention to crimes in his society, not by an indictment as is customary for Israel's prophets (Mic 3.9-12), but by a lament. His lament begins, as do laments in the Psalms (3, 13), with an address to God (v. 2) followed by a description of distress (vv. 3-4). In verse 3; Destruction (or "plunder") and violence are used by other prophets (Am 3.10; Ezek 45.9) to describe the ruthless accumulation of wealth. Strife and contention describe a breakdown in Judah's legal and judicial systems. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 4th

 Read Ephesians 6.21-24. In 6.21-24: Epistolary closing. In verse 21: Tychicus, 4.7; 2 Tim 4.12; Titus 3.12; Acts 20.4-6. In verse 22: Col. 4.8. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 3rd

 Read Ephesians 6.10-20. In 6.10-20: A call to arms and prayer for strength to proclaim truth. In verse 14: Ephesians 4.25. In verse 17: Helmet of salvation, Isa 59.17. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the only offensive weapon. In verses 18-20: On the importance of prayer throughout Ephesians, see 1.15-23; 3.14-21. In verse 20; The ambassador is an envoy sent on behalf of another. Chains suggests dishonor. yet the writer accepts the title and only asks for boldness. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 2nd

 Read Ephesians 5.15-6.9. In 5.15-6.9 Strengthening believers. Contrasts (5.15-18) clarify the believers walk; they are strengthened through worship with others (5.18-20) and mutual submission (5.21-6.9). In 5.20: On continuous thanks see 1 Thess 5.18; col 3.17. In 5.21-6.9: Household codes governed social relations within an extended family, See Col 3.18-4.1. Ephesians expands on relations between husband and wife. In verses 22-23: Col 3.18-19. For the writer, the unity of the  husband or wife, unlike the unity of Jews and gentiles, does not result in equality. In 6.1-4: Col 3.20-21. In verse 3: Deut 5.16. In verse 5-9: Col 3.22-4.1. On slavery, see introduction into Philemon. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 1st

 Read Ephesians 5.3-14. In 5.3-14: Believers as children of light. In verses 3-7: Paul  (Gal 5.19-21; 1 Cor 6.9-10) uses the vice list, here expressing the former life of darkness (5.8). In verses 8-14: Live (walk) as children of the light (1 Thess 5.5) to influence the world through the churches character. In verse 14: The hymn's origin is unknown; it recalls Isa 60.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 31st

 Read Ephesians 4.17-5.2. In 4.17-5.2: Old and new walks. (See 2.1-10.) The new walk, which avoids the walk of the gentiles (4.17a) with its futility, vices, opposition to instruction (4.17b-24), has practical implications (4.25-5.1). In verse 17: Affirm and testify, a pleonasm (deliberate repetition) drawn from legal language. In verse 20: Learned ... heard ... taught, instructions preceding baptism. In verses 22-24: Put away, clothe yourselves with the new self, baptismal terms. In verses 25-26: Speak truth, Zec 8-16; be angry and sin not, Ps 4.4. In 5.1-2: Imitators of God, never used be Paul, though he speaks of imitating Christ (1 Cor 11.1), himself (1 Thess 1.6; Phil 3.17) or others (Phil 3.17). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 30th

ETHICAL EXHORTATIONS

In 4.1-6.20: This section contains exhortations to unity and full stature in Christ, admonitions against vice, encouragements to worship and even household rules, in order to participate in the love of  Christ. Much of this material is also in Col 3.1-4.6.

Read Ephesians 4.1-16. In 4.1-16: Maintain Unity. Unity comes from the Spirit (vv.1-6), and the diversity of gifts of the Spirit brings the church to maturity (vv. 7-16). In verse 1: Calling, see 1.18; 2.11. In verse 2:Patience, literally, the ability to endure the pressure of heat. In verses 7-10: Ps 68.18 explains the origin (Christ) and goal (Christ's filling) of Christian gifts. In verses 11-16: The gifts are essential for the church to reach maturity (contrasted with immaturity). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 29th

 Read Ephesians 3.1-21. In 3/1-21: Paul's imprisonment and ministry. In verse 1: prayer (vv.1, 14-21) is interrupted by vv. 2-13 (see Col 1.23-27) clarifying Paul's work on behalf gentiles. On Paul as prisoner, see 2 Cor6.5; 11.21; Philem 19; Phil 1.13-14. In verse 2: Commission, a management or stewardship position. In verse 3: As I wrote above, uncertain, but possibly the mission to the gentiles (2.11-12) or Christ's revelation (1.9-10). In verse 10: The church manifests the wisdom of God's plan of reconciliation. In verses 14-21: The prayer resumes in a single sentence (vv. 14-19) and closes with a doxology (vv. 20-21). In verse 14: A play on father (patera") and family ("patria"). In verse 16-19: The goal is the fulness of God by way of the love of Christ. In verse 20-21: The doxology recalls the emphasis on power and abundance (1.19-20; 2.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 28th

 Read Ephesians 2.1-22. In 2.1-22:God's reconciling grace. God saves humankind from enemy powers and Christ ends the enmity between Jews and gentiles. In verse 1-10: Contrast between past walk (vv. 1-3) and present walk (4-10). In verse 2: Lived, literally "walked," connects the former walk (2.2) and the new way of walking in 2.10 (see 4.1, 17; 5.2,  8, 15). Ruler of power of the air, Satan (4.27; 6.11-12). In verse 3; Flesh, fleshly disposition. In verses 5-6: By grace you have been saved, similar to Paul's language elsewhere, but he never views resurrection of believers as a present reality. In verse 10: The good works that the community does are possible because God has created them in Christ. The life they lead is the way (literally "walk," v.1) God has made possible. In verses 11-22 Jews and gentiles are reconciled to God in the body of Christ. Inverse 12: Aliens, those without knowledge (Col 1.21).In verse 13: The far off ... brought near (also 2.17), possibly drawn from Isa 57.19. In verse 14: Dividing wall, possibly the Temple barrier separating the court of the gentiles from the parts of the Temple open only to Jews. In verse 18: Access, the right of approach, as if to a king (3.12). In verse 19: Hose hold of God: For the patriarchal writer, God is Father over the social relations in the believers family (1.3, 17; 2.18; 3.14; 4.6; 5.20; 6.23), In verse 20: Paul speaks of Christ as a foundation (1 Cor 3.10-15), but not apostles and prophets. Cornerstone or Keystone, a messianic term (Isa 28.16, perhaps Ps 118.21-23). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 27th

 Read Ephesians 1.15-23. In 1:15-23: A thanksgiving. In verse 18: heart, the seat of knowledge and understanding. because of the hope to which he has called you, the church must live out its calling, as described in 4.1-3. In verses 20-22: At the right hand, the most honored position (Col 3-1); under his feet, a sig of victory, both quoted from Ps 110. In verse 22: Christ as head of the head of the church (compare Col 1.18) is not found in the undisputed Pauline letters, which speak of local churches, not the universal church. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 26th

 Read Ephesians 1.3-14. In 1.3-14: Praise to God. The repetitions of praise (vv. 6, 12, 14) divide the Greek sentence into three parts (vv. 3-6, 7-12, 13-14). In verse 3: heavenly places occurs nowhere else in the New testament but Ephesians (1.20; 2.6; 3.10; 6.12). In verses 5-6: Adoption, a favorite concept for Paul (Gal 4.15; Rom 8.15, 23; 9.4); Paul never uses beloved to characterize Christ though later Christian writers, like Ignatius do. In verse 7; For Paul, redemption (a purchase payment) covers all of the believers lives and is completed only at the second coming ("parousia"). (See 3.24; 8.23; 1 Cor 1.30; see also 1 Cor 15.23) Ephesians holds a similar view but never mentions parousia. In verse 8: Wisdom and insight emphasize adequate perception, the recipients should avoid deceit and spread truth (4.14, 25; 5.6; 6.14). In verse 9: Mystery, Colossians reserves this expression for Christ (Col 1.26-27; 2.24.3); here it indicates God's reconciliation of all things including Jews and gentiles in the body of Christ (3.3-4, 9). In verse 10: Gather up, "head up": Jesus is head of the body and the church grows toward that head. In verse 11: Paul links adoption to inheritance (Gal3.29; 4.7; Rom 8.17). In verses 12-14: We, you connects vv. 7-12 to 13-14, anticipating the direct address to gentiles in 2.1 and 3.1. A seal confirms authenticity; a pledge is a deposit against a full amount to be paid later; both are used similarly in Paul's undisputed letters (2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Rom 8.23). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 25th

 Read Ephesians 1.1-2. In 1.1-2: The epistolary opening. Is typical for Paul's letters: identification of the letter's sender and recipients, followed by words of greeting. Comments or questions..

Reading for January 24th

 Read Nahum 3.8-19. In 3.8-19: Nineveh's fate is sealed. In verse 8: Thebes was the capital of Upper Egypt which, though heavily defended, was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 BCE. In verse 9: Put is a North African people associated with Egypt and Ethiopia (Jer 46.8-9). In verse 19: Nahum's final verse summarizes the image of Nineveh held by all who had suffered as a result of its imperial ambitions. Comments or  Questions..

Reading for January 23rd

 Read Nahum 2.10-3.7. In 2.11-13: The lion is frequently used in the Bible as an image for a king and a royal family (Ezek 19.2-7), in this case for the king of Nineveh filling his caves with plundered prey. In 3.1: The City of bloodshed is Nineveh. In verses 4-7: Nahum now  takes up the image of a proustite to describe Nineveh. Nakedness and the accompanying shame are traditional punishments for promiscuous behavior (Isa 47.3; Jer 1.26). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 22nd

 Read Nahum 2.1-9. In 2.1-3.7: Nineveh is attacked. The detailed descriptions of a military assault on Nineveh and of battles in its streets anticipate the immanent end of the city. In 2.1: The shatterer (or "scatterer") is the enemy army attacking Nineveh. In verse 2: This verse appears to be out of place, as the paracenteses added by the translators indicate. It describes the restoration of Judah, interrupting the narrative of the attack on Nineveh. it probably once followed 1.15 or is a later scribal addition. In verses 3-5: The description of the army attacking Nineveh continues from 1.5: the Hebrew term translated by "mantelet" is a noun from the root, "weave," and may be a woven shield to protect soldiers in battle. In verse 6: These river gates controlled a network of canals the brought water into Nineveh from the Tigris and Khoser rivers nearby. They appear to have been opened by the enemy to flood the city (v. 8). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 21st

 Read Nahum 1.6-15. In verses 9-15: Nineveh will be judged and Judah restored. The audience shifts repeatedly is this brief speech from Nineveh to Judah and back again. In verse 9: Nahum addresses the Ninevites (you is masculine plural in Hebrew). In verse 10: Thorns (Isa 34.13), drunkards (Lam 4.21), and stubble (Ob 18) are all images used for enemies whom God punishes. In verse 11: Nahum addresses the city of Nineveh (you is now feminine singular) and describes its king as one who has gone out. In verses 12-13: While you is still feminine singular in form, Nahum is now addressing Judah, describing its new freedom from Assyrian control as a release from imprisonment. In verse 14: Nahum turns to address the Assyrian king (you is now masculine singular). In verse 15: The poem concludes with words of hope to Judah delivered by a member of the heavenly court. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 20th

 Read Nahum 1.1-5. In 1.1: Title. The location of the Judean town Elkosh is unknown. In verses 2-8: God's terrifying power. These verses make up an incomplete acrostic poem, in which each two-line verse unit begins with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In verse 2: The emphasis on the vengeance and wrath of God at the beginning of Nahum is related to the book's central theme: God's judgment of Nineveh for its cruelties. In verse 3: God often appears in the form of a thunderstorm  (Ex 19.16-17: Ps 77.17-18). In verse 4: traditional enemy of the storm god in ancient Near eastern mythology is the sea (alias river), a tradition reflected at points in Biblical thought (Ps 89.9-10; Hab 3.8, 15). In verses 4-5: God's appearance shakes the world of nature (Am 1.2; Mic 1.3-4), Bashan, the highlands east of the Jordan, Carmel, the mountain range touching the Mediterranean Sea in northern Israel and Lebanon, the costal range north of Israel, were famous for their elevation and natural vegetation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 19th

 Read Micah 7.8-20. In 7.8-20: Israel is pardoned and restored. Like the speeches in chs. 4-5, this speech addresses the plight of the exiles after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. In verse 11: The building of your walls anticipates the reconstruction of Jerusalem. In verse 12: The surrounding nations will recognize Jerusalem's new stature (4.1-5). In verse 14: Bashan and Gilead, east of the Jordan, were prime pasture land. In verse 15: The return from Babylonian captivity is viewed as a second Exodus, an event as significant as the first deliverance from slavery (Isa 51.9-11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 18th

 Read Micah 7.1-7. In 7.1-7: The powerful dictate what they desire. From the opening speech, in which Micah singles out for criticism the capitals of Israel and Judah, to this concluding speech (7.8-20 is an exilic supplement), the abuse of power is a central concern in Micah's message in this speech. Micah, laments the spread of corruption from the powerful (vv.1-4) to friend and family (vv. 5-6). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 17th

Read Micah 6.9-16, In 6.9-16Judgment on Israel's businessmen. Micah resumes his attack on Israel's leadership, indicting its wealthy citizens for cheating the poor(vv.9-12) and imposing a sentence by which they will be unable to enjoy the profits they have earned unfairly (vv. 13-16). In verse 11: Merchants use false weights to shortchange customers (Am 8.5). In verse 16: Omri and Ahab were the first two kings of a dynasty that ruled Samaria for 131 years (876-745 BCE). Comments or Questions

 

Reading for January 16tth

 Read Micah 6.1-8. In 6.1-8: God demands justice above all. This speech, beginning the second collection from the eight-century prophet Micah (6.1-7.7), describes God's message to Israel as a lawsuit brought against the people . In verse 1: Elements of nature , like the mountains here, are often called to witness solemn announcements (1.2: Deut 32.1). In verse 4: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were Israel's leaders at the time of the exodus from Egypt (Ex 4.10-17; 15.20-21). In verse 5: King Balak of Moab paid Balaam son of Beor to curse the Israelites before they entered Canaan, but God intervened (Num 22). The Israelites passed from Shittim to Gilgal when they crossed the Jordan River to enter the land of Canaan (Josh 3-4). In verses 6-8: Like other prophets (Am  5.21-24), Micah asserts that religious rituals are meaningless without the pursuit of justice in all areas of life. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 15th

 Read Micah 5b-15. In 5.5b-15: Israel will be restored and its oppressors punished. In verses 5-6: The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel with its capital Samaria in 721 BCE. Nimrod was a legendary Assyrian ruler (Gen 10.8-12). In verses 10-15: It is unclear whether this judgment is intended for Israel or its enemies. The pronoun you appears to refer to Israel as it does in v. 9 and the context is typical of judgments on Israel, but the context of Israel's restoration and the reference to Israel's enemies in vv. 9 and 15 imply that this judgment is directed to them. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 14th

 Read Micah 5.2-5a. In 5.2-5a: A new ruler. In verse 2: By associating the new ruler over a restored Israel with Bethlehem, David's home town and with Ephrathah, David's clan (1 Sam 17.12), the author announces that the coming ruler will revive the dynasty of David, which ruled in Jerusalem before it fell to the Babylonians in 587BCE. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 13th

 Read Micah 4.6-5.1. In 4.6-5.1: God gathers the exiles to Jerusalem. In verse 6: This characterization of the returning exiles as as lame recalls other exilic descriptions of them as similarly disabled (Zeph 3.19-20; Isa 35.5-10). In verse 8: The phrase former dominion looks back to the time of the prophet Micah when Jerusalem was capital of an independent kingdom. In verses 9-10: The image of a woman in labor, commonly used to describe excruciating pain, is also employed by Jeremiah to describe the suffering of the exiles (3.1-7). In verse 10; Babylon is the Mesopotamian city to which Jerusalem's leaders were deported when the city fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. In verse 13: The image of an ox threshing grain is used to describe God's judgment of then actions that have oppressed and exiled the Israelites (Isa 41.14-16). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 12th

 Read Micah 4.1-5. In 4.1-5: God rules from Jerusalem. This begins a new collection of speeches (chs. 4-5) that announce salvation rather than judgment. They stress the return of the Israelite exiles and the restoration of Jerusalem  to its former power and prestige. This same speech, celebrating God's rule over the nations in an era of universal disarmament, is preserved also among the speeches of Micah's contemporary Isaiah (2.1-5). In verse 1: The mountain on which the temple in Jerusalem is located is an reality overshadowed by the highest peaks in the vicinity. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 11th

 Read Micah 3.1-12. In 3.1-12: Judgment on the ruling elite. Chapter 3 is composed of three typical judgment speeches, each with an indictment of crimes and a sentence of punishment for them, directed at political and religious leaders. The theme introduced in Micah's opening speech, that the corruption of Israel and Judah stems from the highest levels of power in it capital cities, continues here. In verse 1-4: The first judgment speech, directed to political officials, includes an indictment (vv. 1-3), accusing them of devouring their people by their injustices, and a sentence (v. 4), according to which they are abandoned by God. In verses 5-8: The second judgment speech, directed to false prophets, indicts them for accepting bribes to give favorable prophecies (v. 5). The sentence by which they are blocked from receiving further revelations (vv. 6-7) is contrasted with Micah's own power to preach (v. 8). In verses 9-12: The third judgment speech indicts Jerusalem's political rulers, its priests, and its prophets (vv. 9-11). The sentence Micah announces, the fall of Jerusalem (v.12), set him off from his contemporary Isaiah, who thought Jerusalem would be threatened but not conquered (Isa 29.1-8). Jerusalem in fact survived the Assyrian invasion and did not fall during Micah's career. Nearly a thousand years later, when the prophet Jeremiah also predicted the fall of Jerusalem and was about to be sentenced to death for his prediction, Micah's prophecy easily recalled in Jeremiah's defense (Jer 26.16-19). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 10th

 Read Micah 2.12--13. In 2.12-12: Salvation for the survivors. This brief speech, describing returning exile as a flock of sheep led by the Lord, is characteristic of the later, exilic parts of Micah (4.6-8) and of other exilic literature (Isa 40.10-11). It is likely a supplement added to Micah's own speeches. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 9th

 Read Micah 2.6-11. In 2.6-11: The true prophets' message rejected. Opposition to prophets such as Micah who pronounce judgment arises from the belief that a disaster is unthinkable. "Disgrace will not overtake us" (v. 6; 3.5, 11). In verse 9: Micah tells the male elite (you is a masculine plural form in Hebrew) that women and children will bear the punishment for their sins. In verse 11: False prophets dull the senses like liquor. Comments or Questions..