Category: Scripture Observations
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The Power of Story: What Aladdin and the Arabian Nights Teaches Us About Biblical Narrative
I’ve been reading Aladdin and the Arabian Nights lately—a collection of tales filled with adventure, wisdom, and the power of storytelling. At the heart of these stories is Scheherazade, a young woman who captivates a ruthless king with her tales, postponing her execution night after night. She understands something profound: stories have the power to…
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Reflections on Reading: The Book of Micah
The short book of Micah is a theologically rich and important book. Micah lived and prophesied around the same time as Isaiah. He prophesied to both Judah and Israel. Micah warned of God’s coming judgment because the leaders and prophets of the land are becoming wealthy through theft and greed at the expense of the…
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Reflections on Reading: The Book of Jonah
The short book of Jonah is probably the most commonly read of the Minor Prophets. Rather than a series of poetic prophecies, it is primarily a narrative. The story follows Jonah, a prophet called by Yahweh to prophesy destruction on an enemy of Israel unless they repent. Jonah’s hatred of Assyria causes him to choose…
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Reflections on Reading: The Book of Amos
The prophet Amos was a shepherd by trade. He is from the kingdom of Judah, but God called him to prophesy in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom and King Uzziah in the Southern Kingdom. His prophecy begins with…
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Reflections on Reading: The Book of Joel
The prophet Joel begins his book by warning of the coming judgment of the Lord. He begins by drawing on the image of a plague of locusts. In Exodus, Yahweh had sent such a plague on the Egyptians; now He turns them on His own people. Yet these locusts are actually…
Joel McReynolds 