All suffering, when you boil it down to its essence is the suffering of individuals. Yes, nations do suffer and so do churches but at the heart of it, it is the struggle of the individual, trying to make sense of it all that hurts. After the readings of pre-exilic prophets the past five weeks, we are now moving to the Wisdom writings, a genre of literature which attempts to "connect the dots of life" and derive meaning from observation and experience. It is intensely personal as we view life through the eyes of Job, Solomon, Qohelet the teacher, Agur, and Lemuel. "Where is God when it hurts?" ,"Where is God when I need Him the most?", "What is the meaning of life?" - These are all real questions which cannot be dismissed away with a few 'pet-memorized-verses", it requires a wrestling with matters of wisdom. Our first "wisdom wrestler" is Job, a name synonymous with suffering, affliction, and endurance (Jam 5:11). I would encour...

We continue on this week with our road trip with another four prophets - Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. The chapters may be short but you can still feel the weight of the message for the nations - not only for Judah in the south but also for neighboring kingdoms. Picking up from the prophetic road trip last week where the focus was on the northern kingdom of Israel, this time (with the exception of Nahum) the road trip is led by prophets from the southern kingdom of Judah. Connecting the dots MICAH Road sign: Justice is social . Here's the classic verse in Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (6:8). Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and while Isaiah was a prophet primarily to the royal court, Micah was a prophet of the people who lived on the plains. He wept over the influence of injustice and corruption that spread from the city of Jerusale...

For this week, we are embarking on a "prophetic road trip" with Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah through the years of the northern kingdom of Israel (also identified with the tribe of Ephraim just as the southern kingdom is identified with Judah) before they were overtaken by the Assyrians in 722 BC. The Lord had long warned Israel of judgment, going all the way back to Moses’ stern warning in Deuteronomy 28:62–65. 2 Kings 17:13 summarizes, “Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, 'Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.'" There are many road signs for us to observe during this trip ahead, unfortunately most of the signs are tragic and very telling of the consequences that accompany a nation and its people who have fallen into the snare of idolatry. Look out for the following signs as we con...