Reading the Bible Through

 Micah  2 - 4 The Lord will deliver and many nations will seek him. Those who do evil will be repaid. 

Jonah 3 - Micah 1   The contrast between God's love and mercy and Jonah's (man's) thoughts and actions are so far apart. 

Obadiah 1 - Jonah 2 Who is Obadiah? I really don't understand his vision.  As I listen to the story of Jonah, with which I am familiar, this evening, I am reminded of the stormy sea on which Jesus slept in the boat and Paul's shipwreck. Also, this evening, I see Jonah's instruction to the men to throw him overboard as a sacrifice. Jonah did not want them hurt because he was running away from God.  3 days and nights in the fish remind me of Jesus in the tomb.  Jonah's prayer and the fish spitting him out remind me of the power of prayer. 

Amos 7 - 9  I think it's interesting that Amos tells Amaziah that Amos was not a prophet, but Amos did what the Lord told him to do. And, as far as I can tell, Amos kept right on doing it after Amaziah told Amos to go home.  I love the hope at the end of this passage. There is a time coming when the people will no longer be uprooted. They shall have wine and fruit. 

Amos 4 - 6   I was curious who  Sikkuth your king was. Apparently it's an idol seemingly of a star/light in the sky. 

Joel 3 - Amos 2   Where does Joel come from all of the sudden? In Amos, it seems to me that the Lord has seen what all countries have done and will treat them accordingly. 

Hosea 12- Joel 2   Walk in the ways of the Lord.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved!! God will pour out his Spirit!!  We will prophecy and have dreams!!

Hosea 9 - 11   The Lord continues to call with love even while, or maybe after, meting out punishment for idolatry. 

Hosea 6 - 8   When it talks of the calf of Samaria, I'm thinking that's related to the calf that Aaron made way back when. When Moses comes down from the mountain then, it sounds like he puts an end to the calf. Here it looks like some continued to worship a calf. 

Hosea 3 - 5   So, is Hosea getting back Gomer his wife or is this a different woman entirely?  I find myself wondering if the sin of idolatry is related to the sin of pride? Both seem prominent sins to me. Perhaps, the sin of pride is making ourselves the idol while the sin of idolatry is having something/anything in the place where God should be.   Throughout the old testament, it seems to me that God compares idolatry to prostituting one's self. 

Daniel 12 - Hosea 2   I always think it's interesting that God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. Shouldn't this woman have been stoned according to the law?

Daniel 9 - 11   When Gabriel explains the vision to Daniel, that didn't clear it up for me.  I wondered where/what Uphaz was and found this interesting:  Uphaz I find myself wondering if these prophecies have been fulfilled. It seems to me that some of them were similar to Nebuchadnezzar's dream. I googled some about it. It seems that some of these prophecies have been fulfilled, but not all of them. I don't care to speculate about the end times because Christ will come like a thief in the night. No one will know. We must keep watching for Him. 

Daniel 6 - 8   So, why is King Darius so easily swayed, by these men, to make as if he, King Darius is a god?  Dare to Be a Daniel Is  the " Ancient of Days" God? A quick google search says yes. I can see why Daniel did not understand the vision neither do I. 

Daniel 1 – 5   Here we are in the book of Daniel. I do so much better with stories. Still, Daniel does have weird end time prophecies in it.  Who are the Chaldeans? Are they the same as the Babylonians or somehow different? Apparently, the answer is both yes and no:  Chaldeans  Until I read this, I did not remember that Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldeans.

Ezekiel 46 - 48   More descriptions.  I do find myself to whom the prince refers. A quick google search tells me that I'm not the only person wondering. And this is how Ezekiel ends. 

Ezekiel 43 - 45   Mostly, I find this boring.  However, I find it troubling that in 44:25, the priest cannot defile himself when his wife dies as he can for other close relatives. 

Ezekiel 40 - 42   Here is a rendition of the temple that Ezekiel saw in his vision: Attribution:  Sonia Hidalgo Z, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wiki

Ezekiel 37 - 39   Dry Bones

Ezekiel 34-36   This talk of sheep reminds me of Jesus' story of the shepherd searching for 1 lost sheep. 

Ezekiel 31-33   33:8 The Lord tells Ezekiel that he a watchman for Israel. When Ezekiel hears a word from the Lord, Ezekiel shall give Israel warning. In my opinion, this verse and similar verses are often used to justify judging others. We still have a plank in our own eye. Judge not lest ye be judged; Don't judge because you will be held against that measuring stick.  33:22 Says the Ezekiel was mute and the Lord opened his mouth. I had thought Ezekiel had stopped being mute earlier in this book something about when his wife died. Still, it does occur to me that this passage may have been written earlier than where we see it here. 

Ezekiel 26 - 30   I find this passage hard to follow/understand. Did the things prophesied here happen to Tyre, Sidon and Egypt? How would I know if they did? Perhaps, a better question is would I recognize what happened to fulfill these prophecies? Or are they more of a warning: if you don't change, such and such will happen? The one thing I do get from this reading is that God is in charge of everything and He wants everyone to know it. 

Ezekiel 23 - 25   24:27 This say Ezekiel was mute. I guess he could only speak when the word of the Lord came to him earlier. I had thought there was something about Ezekiel being mute, but I was starting to think that I was mistaken. 

Ezekiel 20 - 22   I find a couple of things curious in this passage.  20:25 How can a loving God give statutes that are not good? 22:30 Why could Ezekiel not stand in the breach?

 We can always turn toward righteousness--it is not too late!!

Ezekiel 14 - 16   Taking an idol into one's heart is a new idea to me. Is there a differentiation between having an idol and taking and idol into one's heart? It would seem so.  How can Sodom be sister when it has been destroyed previously? 

Ezekiel 11 - 13   About magic wrist bands One of the things it says is that putting something on one's hand/wrist symbolizes the heart. I found that interesting. 

 I found this interesting as there is no explanation in the text:  The women wept for Tammuz

 I find it interesting that Ezekiel sits overwhelmed among the exiles at Tel-Abib for 7 days. I think that is the same timeframe that Job's friends sat with him before they spoke.  How can Ezekiel lay on his side for over a year while bound and yet cook food day to day? I'm missing something here, I think.  Also, the Lord tells Ezekiel that he will be mute until the Lord opens Ezekiel's mouth. If I recall correctly, this seems to be the case throughout the book of Ezekiel. Kinda makes me think of the father of John the Baptist who was struck mute.

 Jeremiah's lamentations end and Ezekiel sees the glory of God. 

 Lamentations must have hope. If we grieve without any hope, we get nowhere. Still, we do need to grieve those things which we have lost. Perhaps, some day, we may regain some of our losses back. I find myself thinking of Job as I type this. 

 The book of Jeremiah ends and his Lamentations begin. Jeremiah grieves the many losses of Israel, but he is not without hope. 

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I'm just trying to get this Blog caught up to where it's supposed to be. It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!!

  I'm just trying to get this Blog caught up to where it's supposed to be. It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!!

  I'm just trying to get this Blog caught up to where it's supposed to be. It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!! I did find Isaiah a bit easier reading this time. It's kinda like the book of Judges and the books of the Kings, except it's not stories specific to the people, but rather more like the words of their advisors. 

 Still catching up. I can see why Jeremiah is called the "Weeping Prophet."

 I'm just trying to get this Blog caught up to where it's supposed to be. It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!!