Gary Gleans

The fourth vision give to Zechariah is one of Joshua, the high priest, standing in the presence of the Lord with Satan by his side.  This gives us a glimpse into what goes on in the spiritual realm and the battle that rages in the heavens.  It is very clear that this is not a battle between two equals.  Satan is subject to the Lord, but he does have genuine power that must be respected.  However, this is a vision about Joshua and the position he has before the Lord and the nation of Israel.  God is sovereign over the world but He uses men to accomplish His will.  He empowers us to do His bidding and accomplishes His will as He sees fit. THE BATTLE: Satan desires to thwart the plan of God in the world.  As an accuser of believers, Satan wants to discourage us in any way that He can.  God in His sovereignty allows Satan to have a certain amount of access to the lives of His children because He knows that our battles with temptation will prepare us for the service He has planned for

The plans of God are not always what we would expect, but He does reveal them to us in the Scriptures.  God continues to give Zechariah a glimpse into the future and the plans that He has for the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.  The seventy years of captivity are over.  The first exiles have returned and are in the process of rebuilding the city.  Progress has been slow and the people have been distracted.  God calls them to get to work and rebuild His temple and has promised to bless them in this endeavor.  However there still remains a question as to the long-term plans of God for this nation.  Zechariah has a vision of a man who is going to measure the city in preparation for an expansion of the city that God is planning.  There seems to be and immediate as well as a future fulfillment of this vision. GOD WILL PROTECT THE NATION: God is measuring the city as a symbol of His plans for the nation.  He is planning to bless this city with supernatural protection and He

Zechariah writes to the same audience as Haggai, the captives who had returned to build rebuild Jerusalem.  Haggai had promised that they would prosper if they built the temple of the Lord and they started the work, but here we are several years later and the people seem to be dragging their feet.  Zechariah comes with a message of warning as well as promise for the people to be motivated to get busy with the task at hand.  It is easy for us to become distracted from the work God has called us to do.  We must be careful not to be negligent of the priorities God has established for us. A CALL TO REPENTANCE: Zechariah’s first word is a word of warning.  He calls for the people to look back at the rebellion of their fathers and see the consequences that they suffered as a result.  They had been repeatedly warned by many prophets but had not paid any attention to the constant warnings.  Now they found themselves in a very similar situation.  God had allowed them to return to the city

Discouragement is a dangerous thing.  The rebuilding of the temple had begun.  Times were far different from the building of the original temple in the days of Solomon.  At that time Israel was united and at the height of its power and prosperity.  Now Israel was divided and returning from captivity to a destroyed land and under the authority of a pagan king.  This new building was not nearly as large and ornate as the original temple.  The leaders and the older people who had seen the original version were likely very discouraged by what they were able to do.  It is in this context that Haggai delivers three messages from God in order to encourage the people.  When we are discouraged we can start to think that our efforts are worthless and be tempted to just give up.  These messages are important for us to keep in mind.     YOU ARE BUILDING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD: When the people began to compare the new temple with the old temple they were unimpressed.  The new temple was much sma

Comfort is one of our greatest priorities.  All of us want to be comfortable.  We have climate controlled homes and automobiles.  Our furniture and beds are soft.  We go to great lengths to make sure we are as comfortable as possible.  However, life is not always comfortable.  There are times of war, sickness and suffering that strip away all of the trappings of comfort and we become focused on survival.  When these times of hardship pass we slip back into our desire for comfort.  It is a natural cycle we all experience.  The nation of Israel had been destroyed, the people were taken captive and for two generations the nation went into “survival mode.”  However, they were allowed to return to their land and rebuild the city and their homes.  They began to get comfortable and forgot their duty to the Lord.  It is in this context that Haggai writes this short book. THE SIN OF COMPLACENCY: The return from exile started with a bang.  The people under Nehemiah rebuilt the walls and the

We have and expression that says: “things will likely get worse before they get better.”  This is often true in time of economic crisis but it is also true in the history of the world as well as God’s eschatological plan.  As we read through all of the prophets they foretell a time of great trials for the nation of Israel, but that time of trial is always followed up with a promise of restoration.  This world will still face much tribulation and God’s judgment will be seen on this planet in a way that we have never seen before.  However, that time of judgment will be followed by a time of blessing and peace that is also far beyond anything that we have ever faced in the past.  Things will get worse, much worse, but then things will get better, much much better! THE JUDGMENT OF JERUSALEM: A time of judgment is coming upon the nation of Israel and specifically the city of Jerusalem that is catastrophic by nature.  We have seen that this took place in the past at the hands of the Rom

Judgment is not a very popular subject.  We all prefer to think of grace, mercy and love.  However, the prophets have a message of judgment and wrath that they have been called to deliver in order to bring the Lord’s people to a place of repentance and restoration.  The danger of considering only God’s love and mercy is that it will lead us to a false sense of security that will have a devastating effect when the truth of the wrath of God is revealed.  Warnings are never fun to deliver because nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news, but it is very necessary for us to give strong warnings because the coming wrath of God is very real. A CALL TO REPENTANCE: Zephaniah’s message is a call for the people to gather together and repent.  They are called a shameless nation because they have been involved in sin for so long that they simply no longer have any shame over their sin.  The danger of living in sin and ignoring God’s Word is that it will harden our conscience over sin.  We mus

“The Day of the Lord” is and expression that is used in Zephaniah more than in any other book of the Bible.  This expression is the source of much debate and confusion as we consider its meaning.  Zephaniah clearly describes the “Day of the Lord” as a Day of Judgment and destruction on the earth during which time there will be great devastation.  He seems to be referring to the coming judgment of God on the nation of Judah at the hands of Babylon.  However, he also seems to be describing a day that is still in our future during which time God will judge all of the nations of the earth.  We call this period the Tribulation.  It is not uncommon in Scripture to see prophecies with double fulfillment.  Clearly, Zephaniah’s intention was to warn the people of his day but the events of that day will be very similar to the coming day when judgment will fall on all the earth. GOD WILL JUDGE IDOLATRY: God hates idolatry and Judah had been full of all kinds of idolatry.  Zephaniah specifica

Habakkuk concludes his book with a prayer in which he calls out to God requesting that He judge with mercy.  He also remembers God’s past provisions and then concludes the book with a declaration of His trust in God and His commitment to God to be faithful and trust Him no matter what may come his way.  The proper response to any crisis in our lives is always to pray.  This is a great example of prayer that we would do well to follow. PETITION IS A VITAL PART OF PRAYER: In light of all that Habakkuk has learned about God and the promises He has made, Habakkuk asks God to take action against the invading nations as well as to be merciful in His judgments.  We know that God will judge and we know that His power is without limits.  He has demonstrated His willingness to judge all of mankind in the past but He has also demonstrated abounding love and mercy.  This is a request based on the knowledge God has revealed about Himself.  We are certainly encouraged to pray in such a way.  We

God will always do right.  He may not fit into the schedule we would like and He may not do as we expect Him to do; but He will always do what is right.  One day this reality will become very clear to us.  In the meantime we are called to simply trust Him and understand that He knows best.  Habakkuk is confused about how God will use a wicked nation to judge the nation of Israel.  God’s answer assures him that despite his confusion, all is well.  God answers Habakkuk with two pieces of advice that all of us would do well to follow. WALK IN FAITH: It is impossible to live in a way that is pleasing to God without faith.  That simply means that we will not always see everything that we want to see and we will not always understand all that we do see.  This is where faith comes in.  We have enough information to know what God wants us to do.  We do not need to see or know more in order to be able to live in a way that is upright and just.  The call of God on our life is to simply trus

God’s ways and means are far different from the way we might expect them to be and how we might want them to be.  It is often confusing to us as we see history unfolding to see the big picture of what God might be doing.  He often acts later than we expect and when He acts it is usually very different from what we have in mind.  Habakkuk begins his book by voicing his mystification with the ways of God.  He says what others may only think.  This first chapter almost sounds like a Psalm.  I believe it is good instruction to pray in honesty.  When we are confused by God’s workings it is far better to call out to Him about our confusion than to hypocritically pretend all is well and live behind a fake facade. HABAKKUK’S COMPLAINT: Habakkuk has a very common complaint: why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?  His question has been asked from the time of the fall of man.  Once sin entered the world we see the wicked Cain killing the righteous Able.  On and on through histor

God has great amounts of experience at judging people and nations for their sin.  He has demonstrated His willingness to destroy people from entire nations and even the entire planet in the past.  Unfortunately, people have learned to ignore history and make assumptions about their own well-being that are simply not true.  Nineveh was one such nation.  They were strong and feared by many, but they also had many enemies.  Their greatest problem was the sin of their culture and their refusal to submit themselves to God.  The same could be said for many of our cultures.  Too many nations and individuals continue to live as if there were no consequences for our sin. WHY NINEVEH WILL BE DESTROYED: In a word, the reason given for the coming destruction of Nineveh is: sin.  Sin is always the motivating factor behind the judgment of God.  The sins of men are what led Jesus to be judged on our behalf.  Those who refuse to trust Christ and recognize Him as their only hope for salvation cont

“Be sure your sins will find you out.”  We say this warning because we know that even though sins are not always immediately revealed, experience tells us that they will be eventually revealed.  Nineveh had long been a city known for its violence and perversion.  At the preaching of Jonah they repented but the generations that followed did not walk in repentance and ended up returning to their sinful lives.  God used the Assyrian people to judge the sinfulness of Israel but their pride over this conquest led them to a path of destruction from which they would not recover.  God was well aware of their sin and they were about to pay the price for this sin.  The sobering part of all of this is that the earthy judgment of God on sin is only an appetizer of God’s eternal judgment.  It is meant to demonstrate God’s hatred of sin in hopes of convincing men to turn from sin to Him in order to be reconciled to Him through repentance and faith. THE ARMIES OF NINEVEH WILL BE DEFEATED: The As

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria.  Jonah warned the city of God’s impending judgment and they repented.  God spared them from judgment because of their repentance, but it was not very long lived.  Nahum writes about one-hundred years later and the nation appears to have returned back to its old ways as God renews His promise to destroy the city and judge the nation. NAHUM GIVES A DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S CHARACTER: We learn several lessons about God’s character from Nahum’s description.  God is a jealous God who takes vengeance upon those who are corrupt and rebel against Him.  This is not the picture that we normally think of when we think of God, but it is important that we realize that God is jealous and He will take revenge on the wicked.  God is patient in the exercise of His justice and He will grant much time for people to turn from their wicked ways and follow Him, but His anger will not be delayed forever.  God will condemn the guilty and justify the righteous.  God is

No matter how bad things may get as far as the sinfulness of man and the ensuing judgments of God; there is always hope.  The source of our hope is not due to the goodness of man or the ability of man to withstand hardship.  Our only source of true hope is found in the fact that God is merciful and forgiving.  God desires to be reconciled with us.  So much so that He was willing to send His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sin.  His love for us is only exceeded by His personal holiness which is why He must exercise justice for sin; but He does so through the sacrifice of His own Son.  Micah closes His book with a look at God’s judgment, restoration and forgiveness. MICAH PRONOUNCES JUDGMENT ON SIN: As Micah observes the state of His nation, he sees a nation that looks like a harvested field.  There is nothing left.  It appears as if all of the godly men have been harvested from the face of the earth and all that are left are violent, vindictive men who are bent on doing only wha

God knows the condition of the hearts of men.  People often act as if their deeds were hidden and God is unaware of their actions.  The reality is that God not only know all of our activities but He knows our thoughts and the very motives of our hearts even better than we do.  Nobody has ever been alone.  There are no private thoughts and there are no hidden motives.  God is always with us.  He is also the judge of our hearts and all men will one day stand before Him and give an account of their lives.  Israel became a nation that became more fearful of the nations around them and tried to live in a way that would please them instead of living according to the revealed will of God.  This failure to fear the Lord led them to a place of condemnation before the Lord and captivity in the very nations they were trying to please.  This is the same way that people continue to act before the Lord today.  We fear men more than we fear God and end up being captives to the sins of this world and

Micah reveals truths about who Messiah would be and what that would mean for the nation of Israel.  He is writing hundreds of years in advance of the coming of Jesus to the earth but his prophecies are very accurate.  The fulfillment of what the coming of Messiah would mean are still in the process of being fulfilled in some cases.  However, we can be assured that each and every one of them are completely accurate.  God’s Word will always come true in His time.  We may not understand His ways or His timing but all that He does is perfect and will make perfect sense in the end. WHO JESUS WILL BE: The hope of Messiah had long been awaited by the nation of Israel.  They were expecting a king of royal descent that would deliver them from their enemies.  Micah reveals that Messiah would suffer and be struck by the rod.  This is not what they expected but is exactly what happened.  Messiah would be born in Bethlehem just as the Scriptures revealed happened.  Messiah would be God in the

The message of all of the prophets is a sobering one for the nation of Israel as they all warn of the coming judgment of the nation.  However, they also have a hopeful message as they point to a future restoration in which they will be returned to the land, experience security, have prosperity and most importantly be revived spiritually.  God’s promises are always secure and He is always faithful.  Just as His promise of judgment was and is being fulfilled; so His promise of restoration will be fulfilled.  God is in control of the events on this planet.  We can be assured of His sovereignty over all of our lives and ought to live our lives accordingly. FUTURE PLANS: Micah begins this chapter be revealing God’s future plans for Israel and for all of the nations.  He will establish His kingdom on Mt. Zion and from this exalted place He will reign over the nation of Israel and all the nations.  A time is coming during which the Word of God will no longer be scoffed at and the name of

Leadership is vital to the success of any organization and to the well-being of any nation.  Israel was experiencing a crisis in leadership.  Instead of having leaders that encouraged them in righteousness and punished evil; the leaders were practicing unrighteousness and persecuting those who spoke out on behalf of God.  Much time has passed and the names of nations are different but we see very similar correlations to our world today.  Corruption is wide spread and those who call for repentance and proclaim the Word of God are ignored, ridiculed and persecuted.  Micah’s message warning of God’s coming judgment is as relevant in today’s world as it was in the day he penned these words. THE CORRUPTION OF THE POLITICIANS: The political leaders in Israel were driven to corruption through the abuse of their power.  Instead of serving the people and promoting righteousness; they exploited the people and practiced unrighteousness.  The leaders oppressed the people with taxes in order t

Micah warns the nation that their sinful lifestyle has brought down God’s wrath upon them.  God does not tolerate sinfulness without consequence.  The people thought that because of their status before the Lord they could simply live however they wanted and that nothing would happen.  They ignored the instructions of God, they ignored the prophets of God, they ignored the warnings of God but they would not be able to ignore the judgment of God.  The same could be said of the world today.  Our society has become ignorant of God’s Word, scoffed at those who teach it and have not fear of God’s wrath.  The only way that man will recognize God and life in fear of Him is through judgment. A LEADER’S LUST: Israel had been led by leaders who were only motivated by their own lusts.  They constantly wanted more land and more riches and more power.  When they could not achieve what they wanted through legitimate means; they would simply go and take what they wanted by violence.  God would se

Micah writes to both the nation of Israel and Judah, but mostly to Judah.  As he writes Israel is about to be overthrown by the Assyrians and his message is one that calls for Judah to wake up from their slumber so that they do not suffer a similar fate.  Micah and Isaiah write at the same time and have similar messages but Isaiah was focused more on Jerusalem and the leadership of the nation while Micah lived in a more rural setting and his focus was on the people in general.  This first chapter starts out with a stern warning for the nations of Israel and Judah and ends with Micah’s lament over the plight of his people. MICAH WARNS ISRAEL AND JUDAH: Micah calls for the people of both nations to hear his message.  It is a message of warning that the Lord has been observing the lives of the people and is coming down to judge the nations for their evil acts and idolatrous worship.  The Lord’s judgment will melt the mountains and the valley will open up to swallow them.  The reason

Anger reveals the truth about our own hearts.  When we become angry it shows us what we truly love and the picture may not always be very pretty.  Jonah becomes very angry in this last chapter.  We would expect for him to rejoice because of the effectiveness of His ministry, the grace of God and the salvation of souls.  The truth is that Jonah did not want any of that.  His anger reveals a lack of compassion for the souls of men.  Our anger is also very revealing.  We will often become angry when we suffer some kind of loss or even when our sports team suffers a loss.  How often do we become angry about the suffering of others or blasphemy against the Lord? JONAH IS ANGRY OVER NINEVEH’S SALVATION: It becomes very clear that Jonah ran away from God’s command in the first place because He had no love in his heart for the people of Nineveh.  He wanted them to be destroyed and He did not want to warn them of the coming judgment because he knew that God would likely forgive them if the

Jonah’s prayer of repentance brought him to dry land once again, but God was not done with Jonah yet.  Once again God calls Jonah to go to the very same task he had been given to do before all of the trouble in Jonah’s life.  God was determined to have His message preached in Nineveh and He was determined that Jonah would be the one to preach that message.  This is clearly a demonstration of God’s grace on both the city and Jonah.  God could have easily just turned His back on Jonah and called another preacher to go do His work.  However, that would have left Jonah in a place of rebellion against God.  As always, God is longing to have men restored to fellowship with Him.  Bringing Jonah to obedience and Nineveh to repentance are illustrations of God’s grace. JONAH’S OBEDIENCE: This time when God called Jonah to go and preach against the city of Nineveh; he went.  The city of Nineveh was a massive place that took three days to walk across.  Jonah does not try to argue with God or

Pain is a wonderful blessing from God.  None of us like pain because of the way it makes us feel but without it we would not be able to liver very long.  Pain is God’s way of warning us that something is wrong and motivating us to change in order to find relief.  If I put my hand too close to a fire, the pain I feel will let me know my hand is too close and will motivate me to move it away as quickly as possible.  Pain also has a way of making us draw closer to the Lord and turn away from our sin.  Jonah was disobeying God but feeling no pain until his body hit the water in the midst of a storm and he began to tire and sink to the bottom of the ocean.  God spared his life by sending a fish to swallow him which in and of itself must have been a very painful experience.  Jonah, now in the belly of a fish, continues to be in pain and knows that death must be imminent.  Jonah’s pain motivates him to call out to the Lord from whom he had been running. JONAH PRAYS FOR DELIVERANCE: Jonah

Jonah is one of the best know narratives of God’s Word.  This chapter is all about Jonah’s refusal to obey God and the consequences of his disobedience.  Jonah refuses to preach to the people of Nineveh and decides to run from the presence of God.  This proves to be harder than Jonah might have thought and has consequences far beyond what Jonah might have imagined.  God demonstrates His compassion for a sinful nation and His determination to use a sinful prophet.  It is clearly a dangerous thing to live in rebellion against a sovereign God.  God continues to show His compassion for sinful nations by calling His children to go and preach in these places.  Unfortunately the story of Jonah repeats itself far too often in the lives of the men and women God has called to warn the nations for who Christ died.    GOD CALLS JONAH BUT HE IS UNWILLING: God’s instructions to Jonah are very clear.  He is to go to Nineveh and proclaim God’s judgment on the city because of their sin.  Nineveh w

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament and his message is directed at Edom who are the descendants of Esau.  We are accustomed to the prophets speaking to the nation of Israel, but this book is a little different.  Edom had been a threat to Israel from the very beginning.  Even though there may not have been very much outright aggression against Israel; Edom was not an allay either.  The two nations had been at odds since the time of Jacob and Esau and the rivalry only intensified with the passing of each generation.  God intends to judge Edom and sends Obadiah not only to warn them but also to comfort Israel from their fears of being attacked and overrun by this neighboring nation. THE EXPECTATION OF JUDGMENT ON EDOM: God has determined to judge the nation of Edom.  They were a strong nation that lived in a very secure location.  They saw themselves as eagles soaring in the skies and nesting on the top of a high mountain.  They did not consider the possibility that the

Amos closes his book with two very distinct promises.  One is a promise of destruction the other of restoration.  It is a very dangerous thing to continue in sin as God’s wrath is full and complete.  God is faithful to keep His promises to the nation of Israel and will continue to fulfill them in the time that He has determined.  However, the generations who have rejected Him and trusted in their own holiness and followed after false gods are forever lost and without hope.  Every individual responds before God regardless of nationality.  We can all take God’s warning of judgment seriously and we can all find hope in God’s promises if we trust Christ. A PROMISE OF DESTRUCTION: Amos sees a vision of the Lord beside the altar making a declaration of destruction on the nation of Israel.  He promises to wage war on the cities of the nation and kill the inhabitants both on the inside and the outside of the cities.  There will be no place to hide from the wrath of God.  From the pit of h

God shows Amos a basket of summer fruit that is about to spoil.  This is an illustration of what is about to happen to the nation of Israel.  They had been prosperous and God had provided for them in an abundant way; but those days were just about to pass.  Just as the fruit would soon rot in the basket so the bodies of the nation of Israel would rot in the streets.  It is a blessed thing to experience prosperity but it is also a very dangerous thing as it will often lead to pride, sinfulness and the judgment of God. THE RESOLVE OF GOD’S JUDGMENT: God has made a decision and will not turn back from that decision.  The sins of the nation have become so great that God has resolved in His heart to bring about judgment.  For generations He had tolerated their sinful practices and idolatry.  He passed by them in hopes that they would repent and turn to Him.  Those days are over.  He will no longer tolerate this nation and has firmly resolved to bring the nation to judgment.  We live in

It is very easy for us to be misunderstood.  We may be doing the very best thing possible for someone but they may still misinterpret it as being harmful to them.  Amos was called to be a prophet of the Lord.  He did not choose to be a prophet and had been happy to be a farmer but when God calls you to do something you do it with all of your heart no matter how men may misinterpret our actions.  The desire of Amos’s heart was to serve the people by warning them of God’s impending judgment.  This is not a popular message but it is a very important message as the hard truth is always more helpful than easy lies.  AMOS REQUESTS FOR GOD TO HAVE MERCY ON THE NATION: God revels to Amos three different ways that He plans to judge the nation of Israel.  First He shows Amos a plague of locust that will come and devour the land.  Amos knows that this will bring great financial burden to the people and cause starvation to the poorest people of the nation so He prays for God to relent and God

Relativity is one of the key components of today’s society.  Relativity is the belief that there is no objective standard for truth.  It gives everyone the right to determine what is true for them but would never admit that this truth could be imposed on someone else.  That almost sounds like a good way to live, but we must understand that relativity is a lie from the pit of hell.  Amos writes to a group of people who are convinced that they are right but he is striving to demonstrate to them just how wrong they are.  This is the task of every preacher of God’s Word.  We must confront the lies of a relativistic society with the truth of what God’s Word reveals. FALSE HOPE: The children of Israel were living under the delusion of false hope.  They had placed their trust in many things that were not in line with God’s Word.  First of all they thought that they were secure because of their geographic location.  The mountains surrounding them afforded a protection from invasion that t

Judgment is coming on the nation of Israel.  God calls Amos to warn the people of this fact and call the people to repent of this sin so they might live.  Unfortunately, the people largely ignored his warning and refused to repent so they were hauled off into captivity and many of them were slaughtered in battle or consumed by the various plagues sent upon the people.  God has repeatedly called His people to repent but many have refused this grace.  Sinful men prefer to follow the idols of their own hearts over worshiping the God who created the heavens and the earth.  The Day of the Lord is coming and it will usher in a time of judgment on the earth much more complete than the judgment of the nation of Israel.  The only means of escaping this judgment is to repent and trust the Lord. A REQUEST FOR TRUE REPENTANCE: Amos calls the people to a life of true repentance.  He tells the people that God is planning to judge the nation in such a way that on ten percent of the population wi