1 Kings 19:4-8 Elijah is terrified and running for his life in this passage. Jezebel has vowed to take revenge on him for having killed the prophets of Baal, so he is justly afraid and flees into the wilderness. The prophet is clearly overwhelmed by his circumstances and at the end of his rope. He…

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a In this passage, we see the prophet Nathan, being the voice of God, in confronting King David about his behavior. David had abused his authority as the king and had not treated Uriah the Hittite or his wife Bathsheba with justice. This greatly displeased God and God gave hard justice to David…

2 Kings 4:42-44 In this passage, we see demonstrated for us two ways of seeing the world and its resources: the logics of scarcity and abundance. The first is illustrated by the servant of the man who has provided food for the group, understandably incredulous at Elisha’s suggestion that 20 loaves and some grain could…

Jeremiah 23:1-6 The prophet Jeremiah may have witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in the early sixth century B.C.E. Likely his words were preserved, edited and expanded upon during the exile as a testament to the pain sustained by the people of Judah, an exploration of the reasons behind the…

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 These passages first describe David and his company taking the ark out of the home of Abinadab with great rejoicing, then state that God blessed the household of Obed-edom “because of the ark.” The change of household names alerts the careful reader (or listener) to a bit of lectionary sleight of…