Bible reading notes
The marvel of the tenacious grace of God
Hos 1:10-11; 2:1 Before I studied theology, I used to be puzzled by the abrupt transitions in prophetic books. It made no sense to me that a prophet would thunder with harsh words of denunciation one moment only to follow…
Why God’s love should not be taken in vain
Hosea 1:1-9 One of my younger students at Bible college/seminary described his youth group in a discussion. He said members in the group knew little about what was in the Bible, apart from a few gospel stories and have never…
Introduction to Hosea
I am taking a break from the Book of Kings to reflect on Hosea, who prophesied around the last 30 years of Israel before they went into Assyrian captivity. Since we have just covered this period in Kings, I thought…
What makes for an effective witness about God
2 Kings 17:24-41 I have an old print that I bought during my gap year in Israel when I fell in love with an original painting that I saw in an artist’s shop. Since I could not afford the real…
How sin empties us out and the choice we face
2 Kings 17:1-23 I have mentioned on this blog C.S. Lewis’ imaginative treatment of heaven and hell in The Great Divorce, as busloads of hell-dwellers get a chance to visit heaven. These people experience heaven as a beautiful but unbearably…
The parting of the sea: God makes a way
Exod 14:5-31; Rom 6:1-7 In the church where I came to faith, the cross loomed so large in the teaching about redemption through Jesus’ death that the resurrection seemed almost an afterthought. It took me a few years to appreciate…
The meaning of the Passover: Christ our Passover Lamb
Exod 12:1-13; Matt 26:17-19, 26-29 Increasingly today, family members no longer eat together but consume their meals in their different corners, watching television or being absorbed by their phones. There is something so sad about this, as gathering around a…
How quick fixes can destroy us
2 Kings 16:1-20 A student at a Bible college where I taught was in his last year before becoming a pastor. He was having trouble submitting his last assignment in time and, in desperation, he copied substantial parts of someone…
Heeding God’s warning signs in time
2 Kings 15:1-38 When I was about twelve, my family spent a week’s holiday by a branch of the River Danube. The first day when we went down to one of the beaches nearby, my brother and I were about…
What to do when others get the grace we hope for?
2 Kings 14:1-29 The funny thing about God’s undeserved grace is that we revel in it when we receive it but can feel resentful when others get it whose behaviour is less than ideal. I remember catching myself in this…