Kirjahaku

The book of Jeremiah is the history of the last five kings of Judah. Jeremiah is prophesying within the walls of Jerusalem during all three sieges against the city. The value of the book of Jeremiah is similar to other pre-exile prophets in that they record the events surrounding one of the most historically important event in all the scriptures, the fall of Jerusalem. He was an eye witness what war does to a people. He had seen the horrific famine, and the impact which it made on him earned him the title "The weeping prophet". Jeremiah's ministry was to proclaim to the kings of Judah and the people the way of life and the way of death. If they surrender they will live, if they resist they will die. The people choose death.

One of the most prominent men in the entire Bible is Job. He is listed with such great men as Daniel and Noah as one possessing personal righteousness (Ezek. 14:14, 20). Thus, the Book of Job starts out with, "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." It would be Job's personal righteousness that will make him the target of the one person that hates all things good, Satan, the adversary of God. It is also Job's righteousness that will prove to be a personal struggle for Job. For a right holiness and right walk carries with it the possibility of pride and an overestimation of one's self-worth in the sight of God. Job's so-called "friends" will prove to be nothing more than miserable comforters who while dancing around the truth are never able to lend any advice to comfort Job's pains. It will be God that will set them all straight with wisdom from above; the wisdom that only God can bring, and with wisdom comes comfort and restoration. James asks, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (James 5:11). The end of the LORD is seen in the Book of Job. It is a lesson for all ages and generations. So, let us travel to the land of Uz and sit at the feet of Job, a man that fears God and eschews evil.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? Knowledge, power, wealth, love... King Solomon was truly the man who had it all, yet at the end of his life he found it all vanity and vexation. Delve into the wisdom, and learn from the life of this extraordinary Empty King.

The book of Nehemiah finds itself nestled among the other post-excilic books of Ezra and Esther. The first wave of Jewish people returned under Zerubbabel over 70 years previous. It was under Zerubbabel that the altar and the temple would be built. Ezra would be the next to return with a remnant of Jews. It would be Ezra that would aid in reestablishing right worship. With the people of Israel back in the land having an altar, temple, and worship, they found themselves continually harassed by foreign influences in the land because they have no wall of protection. It is this fact that touch the heart of Nehemiah. God not willing to have His people be a reproach, moves not only Nehemiah but the heart of Artaxerxes, the heathen king of the Grecian Empire. God's calling is God's enabling. Thus in Nehemiah we see a man touched with a burden. He was focused and determined to complete the burden given him by the LORD regardless of countless challenges and oppositions from enemies.