Dr Paul Allen

English: Zechariah of Israel was a king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel, and son of Jeroboam II. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel , and Jerusalem .” ( Zechariah 1:18-19 )   Immediately after seeing the horsemen that were sent to determine the state of the earth, Zechariah observes four “horns” amid the myrtle trees. Zechariah is told that they represent the authorities responsible for scattering the people of the two nations of Judah and Israel , destroying Jerusalem in the process as well.   The image of horns usually refers to empires in other passages of Scripture. The horns of the goats in Daniel 7 and 8 and the horns of the seven-headed dragon used in Revelation 13 and 17 are good examples. Zechariah may have understood this specific vision as a reference to N...

The Prophet Hosea, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, in the Siena Cathedral (c. 1309-1311) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). God instructed Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer . There is no reason to think that Gomer was a woman of ill repute at the time of her marriage to Hosea, but God told Hosea from the start that she would be unfaithful to him.  She would prove to be an adulterous wife, and her children would be of questionable parentage. God was calling Hosea to experience a little taste of what He Himself had experienced with Israel . God had married Israel in her youth, knowing in advance that she would prove unfaithful to Him. How painful this must have been for Hosea. Yet, because of his love for her, and God’s command, he married her anyway, ...

Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, from the Bible Historiale. Den Haag, MMW, 10 B 23 165r (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea , son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah , Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah , kings of Judah , and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). Although Hosea began prophesying about ten years after Amos, his prophecy is first in the Book of the Twelve (the Minor Prophets). There is a good theological reason for this: Hosea’s prophecy is the longest and the most complete. In a sense, he sets up all the major themes found in the other books in the collection: covenant, judgment, and restoration, and the Lord’s personal relationship with His wayward people. We are not told this explicitly, but Hosea is the only prophet who seems to have come from the northern kingdom of Israel rather than from the southern kingdom of Judah . His familiarity with the culture and ways of Israel has persuaded most ...

Hezekiah with the prophet Isaiah. The Imperial Crown Western Germany 2nd half of the 10th century The cross is an addition from the early 11th century; the arch dates from the reign of Emperor Conrad II (ruled 1024-1039); the red velvet cap is from the 18th century. Gold, cloisonné enamel, precious stones, pearls Brow plate: H 14.9 cm, W 11.2 cm; cross: H 9.9 cm SK Inv. No. XIII 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently, O mighty man, and will surely seize you” (Isa. 22:17). We have before us a prophecy concerning two individuals, which is a rare subject in Isaiah , for he dealt mainly with nations as a whole. But in his case, God chose to bring to light broader principles by singling out a man who represented evil within the Jewish nation. The prophecy is against Shebna , an officer in the court of Hezekiah , a good and noble king. Shebna was a wicked, deceitful, and proud man who, as some Jewish historians maintain, conspired with Assyria in...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice  (Isa. 32:1). The prediction in Isaiah 32 relates to Hezekiah and his reign. Up to this time, Ahaz , a wicked and disgraceful hypocrite, had corrupted everything in the whole civil government and religion. But under Ahaz’s son Hezekiah, the Lord would bring great change. Government would be restored, justice would flourish, and freedom would truly reign because people no longer would fear criminal activity threatening their possessions or their lives. Isaiah presents to us in this passage a lively picture of the prosperous condition of the church, which cannot be attained without Jesus Christ . The prediction, while referring to Hezekiah, also points to Christ , of whom Hezekiah was a type and whose kingdom he foreshadowed. The Lord had brought judgment on the nation for its rebellion by taking away all sense of justice and by dulling unde...

King Hezekiah on a 17th century painting by unknown artist in the choir of Sankta Maria kyrka in Åhus, Sweden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." ( Psalm 127:4 ) This is the central verse in the 101 verses contained in a remarkable group of fifteen psalms called "The songs of degrees " ( Psalms 120 - 134 ). The central verse in the central psalm of this group is the preceding verse: "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" ( Psalm 127:3 ). The origin of these psalms and this peculiar superscript has always been uncertain. Four are said to be by David , one by Solomon ; the other ten are anonymous. A reasonable supposition, however, is that they were composed by King Hezekiah , after he had been miraculously healed of a lethal illness. "I will add unto thy days fifteen years," God had said, and gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign as co...

Isaiah (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Isaiah; illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Prophet Isaiah, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Isaiah stained glass window at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Prophet Isaiah (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The unifying theme of Isaiah 6–12 is the coming Messianic king. Chapters 6 and 12 frame the entire subsection, with chapter 6 telling of the call and cleansing of Isaiah and chapter 12 recording the song of salvation sung by the saved community. The subsection begins with the death of King Uzziah, the embodiment of the Davidic house. Chapters 7–11 then center on the coming of a holy and divine monarch. The two kingships, the divine and the Davidic, will ultimately merge in a Messianic King from the house of David (cf. 7:14; 9:6–7; 11:1–10). The call of Isaiah is narrated in Isaiah 6. The chapter s...