Tag Archives: Classic Bible

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From 2 Thessalonians

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

Paul’s letters are generally very encouraging, but one of my very favorites is his second letter to the church in Thessalonica. Full of hope about the return of Christ, this letter, though short, is packed with encouragement.

2 Thessalonians

Many scholars question if Paul actually wrote this letter, or if it was a pseudepigraph, a letter composed after his death, modeled after the first letter to the Thessalonians. However, this is problematic, and nothing in this letter would require someone to usurp Paul’s apostolic authority in order to lend weight to this letter. Reading this with the understanding that Paul is the author is best.

Paul writes this letter to address the pressures of persecution that the Thessalonians are facing. Paul encourages these believers, who are suffering intensely, to remain confident in the Lord’s return. Until then, they are to live as responsible members of their culture and community, and strive to represent Jesus well.

In that light, this letter is highly encouraging to modern readers, just as it was to the people of Paul’s day.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of 2 Thessalonians:

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Ezra

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

Ezra is one of those books that you don’t hear much about from the Old Testament. It’s not as well known as some of the other books, like Jonah or Daniel. But Ezra has a lot of great information in it, and we can benefit from it when we study it.

Second Temple, credit Wikipedia

The book of Ezra is closely tied in with Nehemiah. These two books are tucked away, almost hidden in the historical books of the Old Testament. What we can gain from reading this book, though, is critical historical information. These books, along with portions of Chronicles and Esther, give us some insight into the life of the nation of Israel after the exile to Babylon.

Ezra is considered to be written by Ezra himself, although whether he actually wrote it, or simply compiled it from various other sources is not clearly known. The events described in Ezra and Nehemiah are written of after the fact, indicating that these events were complete, and finished. That gives us a possible date of between 400 and 300 BC, depending on which commentaries you read.

With the historical focus of Ezra and Nehemiah being on the life of Israel after the exile, the specific focus of Ezra is the rebuilding of Jerusalem and especially the temple. As Israel struggled to develop their identity again, after being gone for so long, they needed Ezra’s, and God’s, help to do so.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Ezra:

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Daniel

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

As a kid growing up in church, the events that unfold throughout the book of Daniel are some of the most familiar lessons that I was taught. Along with Jonah, this short book of prophecy contains some of the coolest displays of God’s power in the Old Testament.

Lions

The book of Daniel takes place in Babylon, while the Israelites were held in captivity. Daniel and the other prominent people in this book were taken from their homeland and brought to serve in the king’s court in a land foreign to them.

The author of this book is most likely Daniel himself, writing sometime around 530 BC. That he is the actual author is alluded to by Christ himself in Matthew 24:15.

With so much going on in Daniel’s life, the lives of his friends, his countrymen, and his nation, this is the perfect setting to see God’s faithfulness at work. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Daniel:

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Philemon

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

The shortest of all Paul’s letters is his personal correspondence with Philemon concerning his slave, Onesimus, who had run away. Though short, Paul skillfully weaves several key Christian principles into the fabric of this letter.

Shackles

Onesimus, a slave, had run away from his owner and escaped. Over the course of time, he met Paul, who introduced him to Jesus, and accepted him as Lord and Savior.

This places Paul in a bind, both legally and spiritually. Paul is obligated to report to his friend and Christian brother, Philemon, that he has found Onesimus, and is sending him home. But what if Philemon didn’t accept Onesimus in a favorable manner? What if there were extenuating circumstances, as verse 18 seems to imply? And is seems that Paul may even want Philemon to release Onesimus, perhaps even to assist Paul in his ministry.

Out of this dilemma, Paul writes this brief masterpiece. He writes to Philemon to appeal to his love as a Christian for Onesimus, encouraging him to release him from slavery. In fact, it seems that Paul could require this, as indicated by the suggestion that Philemon owes his own conversion to Paul’s efforts as well.

By the fact that this letter was preserved in the canon of Scripture, we can assume that Philemon complied to this request. And, in the early second century, there is an Onesimus who is mentioned as a bishop of the Ephesian church. It is not provable if this is the same Onesimus, but the timing certainly fits.

Out of this brief letter, which takes only moments to read, I find a couple of passages to be extremely encouraging. Here are my favorite passages from the letter to Philemon:

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Nehemiah

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

One of the most encouraging stories in the Old Testament is the story of Nehemiah.

Tied in closely with the book of Ezra, this short piece of the Old Testament is an amazing bit of history.

Rock Wall

The nation of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon somewhere around 587 BC. Fifty years later, Cyrus sent some of the people back to rebuild the temple of God. During this time, Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, Ezra brought the Law back into the life of Israel, and Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, making it secure in the face of intense conflict and opposition.

Nehemiah’s abilities in administration and perseverance helped him mold the Jewish people back into the people of God so they could obey God’s commands and have a distinction from the people around them.

This is really the beauty of the story. Not only did Nehemiah have to rebuild a wall around the city, he had to rebuild a people to the point where they could stand on their own as an independent nation, following God’s lead.

Although the book is only thirteen short chapters in length, it is full of sage wisdom and leadership advice. You will gain much by studying this incredible little book.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Nehemiah:

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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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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.