As the burden continues, God promises blessings mixed with chastising refinements. God promises judgments from which great blessings come. “‘It shall be in that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered…'” (Zech. 13:2-9). Remember that in …
So Don’t Drone On, Like a Bee in a Pitcher
“Scarcely one man in a dozen in the pulpit talks like a man” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 111).
They Will Look on the One They Have Pierced
The second oracle, the second “burden,” begins. Now a burden is a negative prophecy. In some sense, this contains hard words for Israel, but in another sense it is full of consolation. “The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of …
Spiritualize It
“Within limit, my brethren, do not be afraid to spiritualize, or to take singular texts. Continue to look out passages of Scripture, and not only give their plain meaning, as you are bound to do, but also draw from them meanings which may not lie upon their surface. Take the advice for what it is …
That Princely Sum!
In this oracle, we have seen the conquests of Alexander, the great contrast with the humility of Christ, and the success of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid dynasty. We come now to the next stage of redemptive history — the apostasy of the Jews and God’s judgment against them in the time of the …
Prepare the Preacher, Not Just the Sermon
“Read also good suggestive books, and get your mind aroused by them . . . Your pulpit preparations are your first business . . . I have no belief in that ministry which ignores laborious preparation” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 93).
Prayer for the Latter Rain
Recall that we are in the midst of the first great oracle in the latter portion of Zechariah. In this oracle thus far we have considered the rise of Alexander, the contrast of that evil man with Christ, and the triumph of the Maccabean resistance to Greek oppression. In this portion we see how the …
And That Means Preaching Through Leviticus
“We would give every portion of Scripture its fair share in our heart and head. Doctrine, precept, history, type, psalm, proverb, experience, warning, promise, invitation, threatening, or rebuke — we would include the whole of inspired truth within the circle of our teachings. Let us abhor all one-sidedness, all exaggeration of one truth and disparagement …
The Lord Against the Greeks
The prophet has given us a glimpse of the conquest of Alexander. In the midst of this vision, he jumps ahead so that we might see the character of another kind of conqueror, our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in this portion of Scripture, he returns to the scene established by the wars of Alexander, …
Taking Aim From the Pulpit
“God’s truth is searching: leave it to search the hearts of men without offensive additions from yourself. He is a mere bungler in portrait painting who nees to write the name under the picture when it is hung up in the family parlour where the person himself is sitting. Compel your hearers to perceive that …