Reading Time: 4 minutes
Joel and Obadiah each had something to say about the day of the Lord. For Joel it was the signal that God was turning a new page in history. . . . For Obadiah it was that all nations should take a cue from the defeat of Edom for how they treated God’s people.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The picture of God in both Jonah and Joel is one of compassion, which the Lord so wants us to experience.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Jonah was on the run. In chapter 1 he ran “from” God. In chapter 2 he ran “to” God. In chapter 3 he ran “with” God. And in chapter 4 he ran “counter” to God. God always desires for us to run to him in full repentance. . . .
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The book of Jonah is a narrative prophetic book. There is no question it is a story. But what kind of story is it? Historical story? Story “based” in history? Fictional story (similar to a parable)? . . .
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The subject matter of the parables was prayer, but the context concerned the faith and humility necessary for always being ready for the return of the king.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin clearly set up the parable of the lost son(s). And all three parables connect back to the criticism of the religious elite in Luke 15:1-2.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This lesson text is highly metaphoric. The main metaphor concerns a master and servant. But under that big-picture metaphor are at least eight others that make this text quite visual . . .
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This is one of the few parables where Jesus inserts “God” into a secular story. God called the man a fool (not an atheist but someone who has no moral compass). Death is a great wake-up call. . . .
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This parable began in reality, for there really was a road that went from Jerusalem to Jericho referred to as “The Bloody Way.” But for a Samaritan to help a Jew on that road? That was the point at which the true-to-life parable veered into fictional analogy. . . .