Malachi: “The Son-Rise” 

Thomas D. Kock

It was about a 20-hour trip to reach our summer vacation destination. Since the kids were young, it made more sense to drive through the night while they slept.  

I listened to tapes, slurped down coffee (but not too much so I wouldn’t have to stop), and munched on sunflower seeds. Sometimes I’d slap myself to drive away the sleepiness, or I sat up straight in the driver’s seat. My eyes were often bleary.  

But then would come the sunrise. As its warming rays streaked the sky, the countryside was more and more revealed. Energy crept back into me. Somehow, it didn’t matter that I’d been driving all night. The sun was shining!  

The wounding darkness of sin 

There’s something about a sunrise, isn’t there? Maybe you’ve experienced the all-nighter and the refreshing rise of the sun. Maybe you’re an early morning riser and see the sun rise regularly. Either way, for many of us it’s energizing and encouraging.  

Perhaps that’s why God chose to use that imagery near the end of the book of Malachi: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2). That “sun of righteousness” is Jesus, the Son. And what does Jesus bring? He brings healing!  

And isn’t that what I need as I enter a new year? I have so many wounds from the year past. Some of those wounds came from others as I struggled with health issues or job losses or relationship struggles. Unfortunately, way too many of those wounds were self-inflicted, the results of my own sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. 

Oh, how I struggle! Oh, how I make a mess out of so much!  

And it hurts! Sin can bring horrible results, either for me or for those around me—or both. Sometimes it hurts more, sometimes less, but it always hurts. It always wounds. 

Thank God it does! If it didn’t hurt, we’d be even more tempted to live in rebellion against God, walking down the road to hell. Thank God that sin wounds us!  

But even as I thank God for the wounds, they’re still wounds. And the wounds drain energy from me, similar to how the all-night drive through darkness drained my energy.  

The healing light of forgiveness 

Take heart, brothers and sisters; it’s sunrise time again! We’ve just celebrated Jesus’ birth; he came to this world because sinners needed forgiveness. And he won that forgiveness for sinners like you and me.  

With that forgiveness comes healing. Jesus’ death and resurrection assure us that forgiveness for ALL sin has been won. Those sins that were committed last year? They’re forgiven. Jesus won that forgiveness. And the sins that were committed last month? They’re forgiven too! What about the sins that were committed last week? Yesterday? An hour ago? They’re all forgiven. God still loves us! He always will.  

Hearing that is oh, so healing! Kind of like feeling the warm, bright rays of the sun as it rises after a long, cold, dark night.  

May the Son shine brightly upon you in 2019! And may he bring wonderful healing in his wings.  

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the final article in a 12-part series on minor prophets.

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MALACHI

Lineage: “Malachi” means “my messenger.”  

Date of writing: c. 450 B.C.  

Unique feature: Written in a dialogue—or disputation—format: a question is posed, and then God answers it. 

Key verse: Malachi 3:6: “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” 

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 106, Number 1
Issue: January 2019

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Haggai: “A need for peace”

Thomas D. Kock

Mom was visiting; the phone call about Grandpa was for her. “Your father just had a massive heart attack; we don’t think he’ll make it. If you want to see him, you better come now!” Shaken, Mom asked me to drive the one-hour trip.  

What did we need? On the way, I suppose we could have talked about my need for a new car, our favorite football team, or politics. But with Grandpa’s life hanging in the balance, none of that seemed important.  

Our real need 

Haggai wrote in 520 B.C., 16 years after a small group of exiles had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. Almost immediately they began rebuilding the temple.  

And then they stopped. God confronts them: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house [the temple] remains a ruin?” (1:3). They had been busy with planting and working for themselves.  

But God says, “What you brought home, I blew away” (1:9). Why? “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house” (1:9). They thought they needed houses, crops, and wages, but they needed something far more important.  

So many of us in America have been blessed with so much. This Thanksgiving many of us will give thanks for food, clothes, jobs, houses, cars, boats, and so much more. Yes, those are blessings!  

But those aren’t the things we really need! Racing down the interstate to try to see Grandpa, I didn’t care about my car, my clothes, or the football team. God’s peace—that’s what I needed.  

Peace was what the Israelites needed too. For them, it was connected to building God’s house, so God urged them on.  

God fills that need 

And the Israelites listened! They resumed work (cf. 1:12-15). But this temple they built paled in comparison to Solomon’s grand temple, and the people became discouraged. God asks, “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?” (2:3). 

Keep building, God told them! For God promised: “ ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty” (2:9). Why so? The builders needed to look forward to the coming of the Messiah. The buildings—even Herod’s temple—were nothing compared to the arrival of the One who would bring peace. “ ‘In this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (2:9). The suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus centuries later near this building would bring peace.  

Peace! That’s what I need. Peace of knowing that my sins are forgiven, that I’m going to heaven! Peace between me and my God! The peace that God earned—that’s what I really need!  

When we got to the hospital, Grandpa was dead. Or to put it far better, Grandpa was with Jesus, his Savior, and he was at peace.  

And so are we, now and forever.  

That’s what we really need.  

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the tenth article in a 12-part series on minor prophets.

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HAGGAI

Lineage: Haggai is described only as a “prophet.” 
Date of writing: August–December, likely 520 B.C. Zechariah is a contemporary. 
Unique feature: The words “LORD Almighty” occur about 14 times in 38 verses.
Key verse: 2:9: “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place, I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” 

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 105, Number 11
Issue: November 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Habakkuk: You’re going to do . . . what?!?  

Thomas D. Kock

“You’re going to do . . . what?!?” Perhaps we expect that surprised question from the parents of a teenagers who announce their latest “plans.” But we wouldn’t expect it to come from a prophet addressing God, would we? Yet Habakkuk directed that sort of question to God himself.  

God has a plan 

Here’s how it happened. Habakkuk was discouraged. He saw evil; he failed to see good. He laments: “Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted” (1:4). 

And, to Habakkuk, it seemed as if God was doing nothing about it! (cf. 1:2,3).  

Oh, but God had a plan! He tells Habakkuk, “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. . . . They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence (1:6-9). 

At that point Habakkuk basically says, “You’re going to do . . . what?!?” This “solution” sounded worse than the problem! Destruction and judgment would come. 

God responds to Habakkuk, “But the righteous will live by his faith” (2:4 NIV84). To Habakkuk, all looked disjointed, random, even crazy! To God, the plan was crystal clear. And then God adds, “The Babylonians will be punished eventually too.” 

In short, God is saying, “Trust me, Habakkuk; I’ve got this.” He will bring judgment, but salvation was the best part of his plan. 

God’s plan assures our salvation 

In Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11,12, God quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to emphatically make the point that salvation is his work and his work alone. So “the righteous will live by his faith.” Or to put it colloquially, as God said to Habakkuk, so God says to us: “Trust me; I’ve got this.”  

Perhaps we’re tempted to say, “You’re going to do . . . what?!? You’re going to do all the work of salvation?” After all, as we look at our own lives we see the same problems Habakkuk did: violence, injustice, strife, and wickedness. When we hear God will send judgment, we understand that we are guilty and deserve judgment. We can’t understand how we could possibly hope to stand “right” in God’s sight, since we’ve failed so much! But God will do what we cannot do. He will save us.  

Why would he want to do that?!? 

God’s answer? “Trust me; I’ve got this.” The salvation plan may not make human sense, but it makes perfect sense to God.  

So Habakkuk was assured! He may not totally understand the plan, but he was assured that God did. He, therefore, concluded his book with a psalm, including these moving verses: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen  

and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:17,18). 

“Trust me,” God says. “I’ve got this.” That’s true, no matter what.  

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the eighth article in a 12-part series on minor prophets

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Habakkuk

Hometown/lineage: Unknown.   

Date: Not long before 605 B.C. (c. 610? 620?)   

Unique feature: Two of the three chapters are a dialogue between one human and God.  

Key verse: 2:4 “The righteous will live by his faith.” 

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 105, Number 9
Issue: September 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Micah: A King who’s a small-town kid

Thomas D. Kock

I want him to understand me! I want him to relate to me!

Is that the goal of the reporter’s question?

People who find it hard to relate

During presidential campaigns, reporters sometimes ask the candidates if they know the price of milk or bread. They may not actually ask that question, but they want to know if the candidate “gets normal people.” It amuses me. Are most of our presidential candidates regularly in the local grocery stores, comparing the prices of bread or milk?!? I suppose that maybe some do. I don’t know.

Wouldn’t the difference be even more pronounced for those who are royalty? The prince who grows up in the palace, served by all sorts of people—what would he know about “normal people” or about “normal life”? Probably not much!

A God who “gets it”

Now let’s take it another step. What does God know about us humans? Oh, sure, one could say, “Everything, because he’s God,” and that would be completely accurate. On the other hand, he’s God! He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent. He’s love. He’s the source of all things. What does God have in common with us humans? By nature, nothing.

So what does God do? God comes to earth, as a real human being. Yes, he comes as royalty. Jesus is the Son of David, the rightful heir to the throne.

But he’s also a small-town kid. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which at that time was a “nothing” little town, a “little sister” to Jerusalem, a few miles away. Jesus spends most of his childhood in Nazareth, in Galilee. The “upper crust” at that time looked down on the Galileans. Regarding Nazareth, Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46). By our parlance, Jesus is a small-town kid.

So what do we have? We have a Savior who “gets it.” He gets what it means to be a normal person, because that’s how he grew up. He grew up as a normal person in a normal place.

That means he gets you, and he gets me. He understands the challenges of life because he has experienced them. He understands the joys of life, the sorrows, the day-to-day grind. He “gets it”!

And yet he’s also the King! He’s the ruler of all, guiding and directing all things for your benefit, ruling the world for the good of his people.

What a combination! We serve God. We serve the King. He has all power. But we also serve a small-town kid. We serve someone who understands us through and through, the one who was born in a little town, in Bethlehem. He relates to you. He relates to me.

Yep, he knows the price of milk. Bread too.

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the sixth article in a 12-part series on minor prophets

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Micah

Name meaning: “Micah” means “who is like the Lord.”

Background: Contemporary of Isaiah (late 700s B.C., perhaps early 600s B.C.) from Moresheth (sometimes called Moresheth Gath, cf. 1:14), about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

Unique feature: Jeremiah 26:18 quotes Micah 3:12.

Key verse: 7:18: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.”

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 105, Number 7
Issue: July 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Amos: What if God had asked you?

Thomas D. Kock

Amos wasn’t a staff minister; he wasn’t a teacher; he wasn’t a pastor. He describes himself as being a rancher of sorts, raising sheep, as well as doing something with figs—though we’re not sure what the fig part entailed (cf. 1:1; 7:14). Amos was a layman, a typical Israelite!

But God had different plans for Amos: “The LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’ ” (7:15).

What if God has asked you? Would you have been ready?

God’s messenger—then

I would imagine that Amos might have wondered, “Why me?!? Why not send one of the prophets?” God didn’t do that; he chose to send a layman.

What if God had asked you? Would you have been ready?

And then there’s the message! God called Amos to bring a difficult message to the Northern Kingdom! The people had rebelled against God over and over. God’s patience was coming to an end. So Amos had to deliver this message: “Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land” (7:17).

Ouch! I’m guessing the people weren’t gathering around Amos to say, “What a great ‘sermon!’ I was really blessed by that!” This was a hard message . . . but a message that needed to be brought to the people because they were becoming more and more hardened in unbelief. It was imperative that Amos—the layman—deliver this message.

What if God had asked you? Would you have been ready?

God’s messengers—now

During this month we’ll celebrate Pentecost. We’ll again celebrate how the Holy Spirit was poured out in a miraculous way, giving power to proclaim the Word. And what had some of those proclaimers done previously? They’d been fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, John), tax collectors (Matthew), and political activists (Simon). In other words, they hadn’t been officially trained clergy. They’d been laymen!

And?

And God touched the world through their message! The message of Jesus spread from person to person! And generally, it seems to have spread through laity! Through people like Amos!

Through people like you.

What if God had asked you? Would you have been ready?

I’m convinced that the answer is yes! You know Jesus; you know his Word.

However, could it hurt to deepen your knowledge? While it’s critical for our church body to train our public ministers thoroughly, it’s also incredibly important that our laity understands the Word of God deeply!

So, if you’re not sure if you’d be ready, head to Bible study! If you think you might be ready, head to Bible study! If you’re pretty sure you’re ready, head to Bible study—both for yourself and for the good of others!

And in the study of the Word, God will make you ready for whatever opportunities he grants you.

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the fourth article in a 12-part series on the minor prophets.

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Amos

Background: A shepherd and fig-picker from Tekoa (in the Southern Kingdom). He prophesied in the Northern Kingdom from 760-765 B.C.

The book’s major truth: God’s patience with the Northern Kingdom is running out. Judgement!

Key verse: “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD’ ” (8:11).

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 105, Number 5
Issue: May 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Joel: Deliverance for God’s people 

Thomas Kock

Tears formed in Joshe’s eyes as he overlooked the devastation. The locusts had eaten everything!  The two olive trees—his chief source of the so-often-used olive oil as well as a critical food-source—were stripped bare. Not only had the locusts devoured every leaf, they’d even attacked the tree bark! The grain had been gnawed to the ground, and the grape vines had fared no better.  

And it wasn’t just Joshe’s property; the locusts had invaded the entire land. Devastation was rampant! What would people eat? How could they survive? 

“Joshe” helps us to envision the situation when the book of Joel is written. A locust plague had devastated the land! Thousands, millions of locusts would eat voraciously and reproduce quickly. (There are even stories of clothing being eaten off people’s backs!) And, while it’s unclear, it seems as if an invading army—of humans—is on the way too, bringing even more devastation. How would the people respond? How would the Lord respond? 

Our devastation 

Lent reminds us that sin has devastated humanity. Selfishness, anger, timidity, greed, lust, fear, substance abuse, rebelliousness—those things have devastated individuals, families, and nations! Only if you deny it will you claim to be untouched. Our heads and hearts contain devastatingly sinful thoughts and desires, earning us damnation.  

How will we respond? Joel called to the Israelites: “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD” (1:14). 

Cry out to the Lord for help in time of distress! For rescue! The Israelites desperately needed God’s help both for their physical needs and for their spiritual needs. Our need is just as desperate.  

And, God wants us to turn to him! “ ‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning’ ” (2:12). 

God’s deliverance 

The people seemed to listen! And how does God respond? “Then the LORD was jealous for his land and took pity on his people” (2:18). 

God pitied his people! He then promised to restore their fortunes, replenishing the grain bins and the olive oil. Joshe’s fortunes were looking up! And in amazing grace God promised, “Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed (2:27). 

And yet it gets better.  

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people. . . . And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance” (2:28,32). 

Deliverance! The message of Lent! You and I need deliverance; Jesus came to win deliverance for us!  

And so when the final day of the Lord comes? “The LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel (3:16). 

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Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee.

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This is the second article in a 12-part series on the minor prophets.

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Joel 

Background: Son of Pethuel. (We know nothing more about either man.) 

Time he prophesied: Perhaps 722-586 B.C. (The Northern Kingdom is not mentioned; temple worship is taking place.)  

Key phrase: The day of the Lord. 

The book’s major truth: Rescue for repentant, distressed sinners.

Interesting fact: Peter “preached” on Joel 2:28-32 on Pentecost Day.  

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Author: Thomas Kock
Volume 105, Number 3
Issue: March 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us