Category Archives: Bible

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Jonah

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

One of the most beautiful stories in the Old Testament is found in the book of Jonah.

And, one of the most sobering, even frightening, stories in the Old Testament is found in the book of Jonah.

Whale Tail

You probably know the story; after all, it’s one of the old standby stories for Sunday School.

Here’s the story in a nutshell, but I suggest that you take some time and read the entire book of Jonah. It’s short, and it won’t take you very long.

Jonah was called by God to go preach a message of destruction to the city of Nineveh. Jonah had plenty of reasons to hate Nineveh. It was the capital city of Assyria, who had been enemies of Israel for a very long time. In fact, God used Assyria to take captive the northern tribes.

Jonah decided to ignore God’s call, and run the other way. As a result, God sent a big fish that swallowed Jonah, holding him for three days before spitting him up on a beach. After that Jonah went to the city of Nineveh and preached God’s plan for destruction unless they repented.

The amazing thing is, they did! God diverted his wrath and held off on the destruction because the people turned away from their evil, for a time.

Take a few moments and read the story. There’s so much more packed into this short book than what I’ve highlighted here.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Jonah:

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Think On These Things… Whatever Is Lovely

Philippians is one of my favorite letters in the New Testament, mainly because of the large amount of practical advice contained in these few short chapters.

As Paul continues to list his instructions for our thought life, he adds a word that, at first glance, doesn’t seem to fit.

He adds the word “lovely.”

Whatever Is Lovely...

Lovely. This word brings to mind things associated with my wife, and with my daughters. It’s not exactly along the same lines as the rest of this list.

Or is it?

Interestingly, as I took a deeper look at this word, I found that it is used no where else in the New Testament. In fact, this word isn’t used as a virtue in any ancient text.

So just what does Paul mean by this word?

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Think On These Things… Whatever Is Pure

As Paul continues his list of what types of thoughts we should think, he adds the word “pure” as the fourth on the list.

This word brings up lots of images, many of which convey, at least in part, the idea he’s trying to get across.

Whatever Is Pure...

As I started thinking about this word, I started listing all the mental images I think of when I think of “pure.”

  • My wife’s wedding ring is pure gold.
  • I keep a filtered pitcher in the refrigerator for pure water.
  • My friend is a pure genius.
  • The snowfall was pure white.
  • My dog is a pure blood.
  • True Love Waits helps one stay pure until marriage.

These are all good examples of what the word means, but they all only contain an aspect of the idea of pure.

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Think On These Things… Whatever Is Right

Paul’s third word in his list of what we should dwell on is fairly vague. He calls us to think on what’s right. But what does that mean, exactly? What is “right”?

Whatever Is Right...

Paul has already given us some direction by instructing us to think about things that are true and things that are noble. His third category is things that are right.

My first impression was that this is the opposite of things that are wrong, and while that leans in the right direction, it doesn’t fully grasp the meaning of this word.

Looking at other translations, the word “right” is replaced with the word “just”. But that word is somewhat hard to define as well.

Just what does Paul mean when he says that we are to think about what is right?

In the Greek, the word in question is dikaios. It’s most basic definition is a sense of being straight, describing something that is just or righteous, being in accordance with God’s compelling standards.

But how do we fit that into our daily lives?

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Amos

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

Have you ever wondered why many people don’t seem to read much of the prophecy book of the Old Testament? I have. And I wonder if those people have any idea of what they are missing.

Level

The books of prophecy can be intimidating, I understand that. They are written in poetic form, and address people and events that seem far removed from life in the twenty-first century.

But nothing could be further from the truth!

These books are full of incredible passages, passages that proclaim God’s promises and presence to his people, both in ancient times and now.

Take the book of Amos for example. This short book begins by announcing judgment upon eight nations. Six of those nations surrounded Israel, and God was proclaiming punishment on them for their oppression upon other people. The seventh nation listed was the nation of Judah, with whom Israel shared a close cultural and national heritage.

But the eighth nation listed was Israel, not because the oppressed other peoples; Israel oppressed her own people and was guilty of a grave injustice.

Amos is believed to be one of the earliest prophets to write, and his book is dated to the eighth century BC, along with Hosea, Isaiah and Micah. This was a time of great prosperity for the nation of Israel, and they were at peace with their neighboring nations. But blessing and prosperity can soon degrade into complacency and corruption. This is the climate into which Amos writes.

Even though much of this book details God’s judgment upon these nations for their oppressive ways, there are sparks of light that shine through, giving us a glimpse of God’s ultimate plans.

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Judges

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

In my current Bible reading plan, the Old Testament books of history form one of the longest lists, along with the Old Testament books of prophecy. As a result, it takes me longer to get through these lists than it does the rest.

And, let’s face it, some of the OT history books get pretty repetitive, such as the books of Chronicles.

Gavel

But the book of Judges is different. This book details some of the earliest history of the nation of Israel after they entered the Promised Land, before God gave the people a king. The leaders that God raised up were, well, judges. And their stories are pretty interesting.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Ehud – Judges 3:12-30

Ehud was one of the earliest judges, who led the Israelites against the Moabites. By some trickery, he gained access to King Eglon, who was very fat, and killed him. The story tells us that Eglon’s fat completely swallowed Ehud’s sword. Leaving the palace, Ehud closed the doors to Eglon’s inner chambers, causing his servants to think he was in the bathroom. They waited to the “point of embarrassment” before realizing that Eglon was dead, but by then, Ehud was long gone.

Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. – Judges 3:15

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Think On These Things… Whatever Is Noble

We have to be extremely careful with our thoughts. They tend to pop out in our words and actions. Some people are adept at hiding their thoughts from most of the rest of us. But most of us can’t do that all the time. In fact, for those who know us best, our thoughts are written across our face.

Whatever Is Noble...

We need to avoid certain actions, locations, books, magazines, movies and other things that contribute to our though life if they contribute to negativity in our minds, if they lead to evil thoughts.

In Philippians 4:8-9, Paul gives us some direction on how to direct our thoughts. First, he tells us to think about things that are true. But next, he instructs us to think about things that are noble.

If you are like me, nobility is a vague notion in my mind. Just what does it mean?

Dictionary.com lists several different definitions for the word noble:

  • distinguished by rank or title.
  • pertaining to persons so distinguished.
  • of, belonging to, or constituting a heredity class that has special social or political status in a country or state; of or pertaining to the aristocracy.

I’m pretty sure none of those really fit what Paul is trying to say here. But dictionary.com goes on to list a fourth definition:

  • of an exalted moral or mental character or excellence: a noble thought.

That seems more likely. But it still doesn’t really tell me what noble means.