Bible Fiber

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.  This week we are studying Zechariah 6. Zechariah 6 provides the eighth vision in the s...

Zechariah’s sixth vision opens with a flying scroll. In my imagination, the scroll is like one of those aerial advertisement banners that fly over busy beaches encouraging people to “Eat at Joe’s.” Obviously, this sky banner is a religious scroll and there is no attached airplane.  An anonymous speaker in the vision asks Zechariah to identify what he sees. The speaker is likely the angelic messeng...

We are halfway through Zechariah’s vision sequence. Before we move on, I want to review the tradition of visions in the Hebrew scriptures. You may be wondering if Zechariah’s constant dreaming is out of line with the rest of the prophets.  Since the time of the Exodus, God has provided a series of righteous human mediators to communicate his will to the Jewish people. During the forty years of wil...

This week we are studying the third chapter of Zechariah, the prophet’s fourth vision out of a sequence of eight. The end of Zechariah’s third vision segues into the opening scene of the fourth vision. At the close of Zechariah 2, the prophet called for silence from “all flesh” out of reverence for Yahweh who “roused himself from his holy dwelling” (2:13). In chapter three, the prophet awakens to...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.  This week we are studying the second chapter of Zechariah, a c...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.  I am sorry about the prolonged break between our last episode...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.  This week we are reading the second chapter of Haggai. We know...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.  This week we are reading the prophet Haggai, the first prophet...

We had a little break since our last Bible Fiber. I was in Israel helping with the writing for a new documentary called Uncovering the Tabernacle which should be out by November 2022. If you want to learn more about the documentary, go to www.geshermedia.com or follow Gesher Media on Facebook for behind-the-scenes photos.  This week we are closing out the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah’s condemnatio...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are reading the second chapter of Zephaniah, a pro...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we begin the book of Zephaniah, the prophet most extr...

This week we are closing out the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk 3 is traditionally read in synagogue services on the second day of Shavuot, or Feast of Weeks. Shavuot, which falls this year in June, is the Jewish holiday to celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19). On the Christian calendar, Shavuot links to Pentecost.  Why read Habakkuk in remembrance of the Sinai theophany? Well, Ha...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are studying the second chapter of Habakkuk. The d...

This week we are studying the first chapter of Habakkuk. More than any of the other prophetic books, Habakkuk provides a glimpse into the nature of the relationship between Yahweh and his messengers. Habakkuk is not delivering an oracle to the people. His book is not a recording of a sermon with “Thus saith” or “Woe to you.” His book is a prayer dialogue that was once personal and became public. W...

This week we are studying the last chapter of Nahum. As you close out your reading of this prophet, you may wonder how a text explicitly focused on the rise and fall of one ancient empire, Assyria, applies to your life or our world today. But let me explain a little bit about why their seems to be a prophetic obsession with Assyria in the Bible.  Prophetic Obsession with Assyria At its highpoint,...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are finishing the first chapter of Nahum and readi...

This week we begin our study of the prophet Nahum, the seventh of our twelve prophetic books. There are no biographical details about Nahum other than the name of his hometown, Elkosh. Nahum is not mentioned in any other biblical text outside of his own book. The location of Elkosh has been lost to history. Fourth century Christian theologian Saint Jerome claimed Elkosh was a village in northern G...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are reading the last portion of Micah, chapters 6...

This week we are reading Micah chapters 4 and 5. If you have been reading along, you probably have noticed that Micah’s style lacks fluidity. His book is like a collection of oracles stitched together by rough transitions. Some oracles point to judgement and some point to salvation. Some oracles apply to the near future and others connect to Israel’s distant future, also known as the messianic age...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are reading Micah chapters 2 and 3. Micah warned o...

The book of Micah opens with: “The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem” (1:1). Half the Minor Prophets have historical superscriptions in their introductions, but Micah’s is the fullest in detail. Superscriptions are helpful in our reconstruction of the historical, political, and re...

On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo included the prophet Jonah among his series of scenes from the Old Testament. In the painting, Jonah, larger than any of the other Hebrew prophets, is leaning back in an awkward way, looking up at the ceiling itself. Many art analysts have proposed that Jonah was painted as Michelangelo’s alter ego. The prophet’s hands seem poised to hold a paint...

Jonah is a narrative that places two events under the microscope to exam the nature of God’s wrath and His compassion. In the first half of Jonah, God canceled his punishment of the prophet, saving him from death by drowning and the pagan sailors from shipwreck. In the second half of Jonah, God withdraws his judgement on Nineveh. In both cases, the reader feels God’s punishment on either Jonah or...

Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. This week we are studying the second chapter of Jonah. Chapter...

We made it through Obadiah, and some long lessons on the Edomites, and now we have arrived at Jonah, the most exciting of all the prophetic books. In preparation for our Jonah studies, I checked my large collection of children’s bibles at home to see which of the minor prophets made an appearance. As I suspected, Jonah is with rare exception the only minor prophet to appear in illustrated Bibles....