Wangsa Ukay Gospel Hall

Organisation of the synopsis The Writer  The prophet is contemporary with Haggai and he encourages the Jews to complete the rebuilding of the temple. His ministry was also recorded in Ezra 6:14. The name Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo is instructive for our understanding of this book. Zechariah means “Jehovah remembers”, Berechiah means “Jehovah to bless”, and Iddo means “the appointed time”. We can therefore memorize it as” Jehovah remembers to bless at the appointed time!”  Key verse  Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.  If the Jews had carefully studied the coming of the Messiah in the above verse, they would not have made the mistake to expect the Messiah to appear immediately as a deliverer from the Roman’s yoke.  There are two advents in the coming of t...

Organisation of the synopsis The Writer  Haggai ministers to the Jews and encourages them in the rebuilding of the temple. The first return of the Jews to their land was during the decree of Cyrus in 537 BC and the temple reconstruction was only finished in 516 BC. The temple rebuilding process was stopped for 14 years when the Jews’s enemies petitioned the King to stop the work of rebuilding the city. When King Artaxerxes gave the decree to stop the construction works (Ezra 4:21; 24) the Jews interpreted the decree as not only to stop the rebuilding of the city and its walls but also the work in the temple. However, the King does not mention any order to stop the temple building work.  Meanwhile the Jews concentrated on building their own houses during the interval of 14 years. Haggai was mentioned in Ezra 5:1 when he encourages the Jews to continue with the reconstruction of the temple.  Key Verse  Haggai 1:4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses...

Organisation of the synopsis The writer    The prophet traced his lineage to King Hezekiah. His name means ‘Jehovah hides or hidden’. The meaning of his name is instructive as the day of the Lord (an event of great significance and very much emphasised in this book) is hidden from the majority of the people. If this coming event is taken seriously, many more people will be blessed.   Zephaniah’s ministry was in the days of King Josiah (BC 640-609) who was a good king in Judah. But the influence of Josiah’s predecessors Manasseh and Amon had led the people astray from the worship of Jehovah for about 50 years and its idolatrous effects continued to be felt during Zephaniah’s time.  Key verse  Zephaniah 1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.   The day of the Lord is repeatedly mentioned in this book. It is the dreadful day...

Organisation of the synopsis The writer  Micah’s name means ‘who is like Jehovah’. The period of his ministry is probably between 735 to 700 BC. In 722 BC the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians. His ministry covered the reign of King Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.  Key verse  Micah 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?   In an earlier verse, Micah 6:2, God declared that He had a controversy with His people Israel. A controversy is the opposite of a communion. God was not pleased with His people because of their spiritual apostasy and the oppression of the people by the leaders in Israel (Micah 3:1-3).  The key verse summarises what God requires: to be just in our dealings, merciful towards the less fortunate and submit to the word of God.   Humility means our will or preferences should be suppressed and God’s words should be g...

"The greatest opposition lies with you. If you have no desire to seek Him, God’s perfect salvation plan will elude you. But if you seek the Lord Jesus for help, you will understand clearly God’s triumphant plan available to you."    2 Corinthians 2: 14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.  In this short passage of the scripture, the Apostle Paul burst out in jubilation despite his earlier worries over the state of the Corinthian Christians. He was worried that his earlier letter of reprimand may have a negative response from the church. We learn that when he is worried or down in spirit, he strengthens himself in the knowledge of his victory in Christ who permeates all things.   This Bible passage was selected because we are likewise in a dismal state with the pandemic ravaging the world. We are daily inundated with terrible news and as if there is no ligh...

The writer    Little is known of the author and the date of this writing. The meaning of his name is ‘to hug or embrace ’. On the date of his writing, we can infer that it was during the time the Chaldeans, also known as Babylonians, when they were about to invade Judah, Hab 1:6. This would place the writing sometime in BC 612 (fall of Nineveh) and BC 605 (first attack on Judah).   Habakkuk is unique as it is not written to a particular people but expresses the prophet sadness over the state of affairs in the society he lives.      Key verse   Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.    Habakkuk found deep anguish in witnessing the sins of the people in Judah and was equally troubled by Babylon's ruthless treatment of those they conquered. In his distress, he turned to the Lord, seeking a resolution. In the k...