ALL Scripture is inspired by God

 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” -2 Timothy 3:16,17

This past week at the Institute Debbie Jo White and Blake Holmes taught on Daniel and the Old Testament prophecies. As we walked through the prophetical books of the Old Testament, that most Christians pass over, it was good to remember that ALL scripture is inspired by God and good for equipping.

Of the 39 books of the Old Testament 17 of those are prophetical books;

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

12 were written pre-exile, 2 were written during exile, and 3 were written post-exile. Many were written to Judah but a few were written to Israel (Amos, Hosea), Assyria (Judah, Nahum) and Edom (Obediah) All the prophecies emphasis their own day, captivity and return, the first coming of Christ, and the millennial reign. And the theme of all the books are repentance and restoration through the future hope of the coming Messiah.

It was cool to read some of the prophecies that will come to fulfillment in the future and read some prophecies that have already been fulfilled and recorded in Scripture. Micah prophesied that Christ would come from Bethlehem about 700 years before Christ was born! Throughout our study two of my favorite books we looked at were Hosea and Micah.

Hosea wrote the book of Hosea to Israel before they were conquered by Assyria. He told the story of his faithfulness to an unfaithful wife and compared it to Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. Hosea 3:1 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” But God shows grace when to those who turn from their sin and return to Him. Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.”

So many times I am like Israel but God is faithful. This book is a great reminder to return to the faithful Lord!

Micah is another book that I really liked learning about. Micah wrote to Judah before they were taken captive by Babylon. The book tells of the Lord’s indictment of the nation of Israel and tells what the Lord requires from His people. This is a question that Christians today wonder about and we took some time going through different verses that say what the Lord desires from us:

Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 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?”

Matthew 9:13 “’But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

Psalm 51:16,17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

God doesn’t care about burnt offerings or acts without the heart behind it and He wants His people to love like He does.

Through the Old Testament prophets I have understood more of God’s mighty power and wrath coinciding with His incredible love and mercy for mankind. This week really got me interested in reading the Old Testament prophets that I probably would have otherwise skipped over. There is knowledge to gain from all scripture, prophets included.