Habakkuk 1:1-2:5 Dear RTB’ers, Habakkuk – the fifth of six minor prophets during this stretch of RTB readings. I feel like the STS authors should have done a better job at laying out this book. The text is actually a conversation between Habakkuk and God, with Habakkuk questioning and God answering. You’ll see God speaking …
Monthly Archives: January 2026
January 23 / Nahum 2-3
Nahum 2-3 Dear RTB’ers, I noted yesterday that the book of Nahum is all about Nineveh and its judgment and destruction. That’s what today’s reading is all about, that final destruction. It gets confusing as to whether some of the text is referring to the advancing armies or to defenders in Nineveh itself. See especially …
January 22 / Nahum 1
Nahum 1 Dear RTB’ers, Both the STS introduction and my Study Bible’s notes tell us that the book of Nahum is all about Nineveh and its judgment and destruction. We’ve seen Nineveh before, you’ll recall, in the book of Jonah. He was told to go there, went the other direction, repented of that error and …
January 21 / Zephaniah 3:8-20
Zephaniah 3:8-20 Dear RTB’ers, Today’s reading is a bit confusing for me. (Nothing new about that…! ) Early on we see another picture of complete destruction: For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of My jealousy all …
January 20 / Zephaniah 2:1-3:7
Zephaniah 2:1-3:7 Dear RTB’ers, Yesterday we saw God’s judgment on all humanity, the Day of the Lord, a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. (v. 1:18b) We also saw His warnings for Judah, particularly Jerusalem. Today we back off that final day a bit and see judgment …
January 19 / Zephaniah 1
Zephaniah 1 Dear RTB’ers, Zephaniah, the third of the six minor prophets that we are covering in this two-week stretch of RTB readings. The introductory information in STS and in my Study Bible provide the same focus – the Day of the Lord. And we see that focus develop quickly in today’s reading: “I will …
January 18 / Joel 2:18-3:21
Joel 2:18-3:21 Dear RTB’ers, One item that I failed to mention yesterday was that yesterday’s passage was all about Israel, with nothing said about its neighbors or its enemies. The devastation, the call to repentance, God’s reply – they were all about Israel. Today however, we are only two verses into our reading when we …
January 17 / Joel 1:1-2:17
Joel 1:1-2:17 Dear RTB’ers, Joel. Locusts! It’s hard to read this passage without wincing at the devastation brought on by these insects. Many months ago we read about the locusts plague in Exodus 10:1-20 and probably smiled at the plight of the Egyptians as Pharoah was refusing Moses’ requests to let the Israelites go. But …
January 16 / Jonah 3-4
Jonah 3-4 Dear RTB’ers, I’m trying to imagine a real-life scenario for us. Imagine that you are working in an office. You don’t like your job, but you do your best. Then your boss gets an award for work that you’ve done – and never mentions you or your contribution. You sulk. You go back …
January 15 / Jonah 1-2
Jonah 1-2 Dear RTB’ers, Jonah! We leave Matthew for a couple of weeks while we cover six of the twelve “Minor Prophets”, Jonah being the first of these. Jonah is a story with which we are all familiar. It’s a standard in children’s Bible story books – and yes, it also has theological and historical …