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 …
Author Archives: Fred
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 …
January 14 / Matthew 7:13-29
Matthew 7:13-29 Dear RTB’ers, Much of Scripture is deeply personal for me, as it should be (ideally) for anyone reading these Spirit-inspired words. Today there are two items that touch me every time I read them. Surprisingly, the first has a negative connotation: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom …
January 13 / Matthew 7:1-12
Matthew 7:1-12 Dear RTB’ers, Judging (…don’t) and asking (…do). So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (v. 12) Also known as the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Now you know where that came from …