December 31 - The Rising Sun of Righteousness
זרח - But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. MALACHI 4:2
December 30 - Aaronic Unblessing
חלל - For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be…
December 29 - The Pierced
דקר - “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall…
December 28 - Donkey Throne
חמור - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a…
December 27 - God’s Signet Ring
חותם - "On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord…
December 26 - O Come, Desire of Nations
חמדה - For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the…
December 25 - When God Sings
רנה - The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. ZEPHANIAH 3:17
December 24 - Settled on Their Lees
שׁמר - "At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’" ZEPHANIAH 1:12
December 23 - In Wrath, Remember Mercy
רגז - O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. HABAKKUK 3:2
December 22 - Make It Plain
באר - And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it." HABAKKUK 2:2
December 21 - Laid Waste
שׁדד - And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you? NAHUM 3:7
December 20 - God’s Battle Cry
גער - [The Lord's] way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of…
December 19 - Household Enemies
נבל - The son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the…
December 18 - O Insignificant Town of Bethlehem
צעיר - But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old…
December 17 - King Jonah of Schadenfreude
רע - When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly…
December 16 - The Shortest Sermon
הפך - [Jonah] called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” JONAH 3:4
December 15 - Hurled into Watery Exile
טול - [Jonah] said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” JONAH 1:12
December 14 - Jonah the Downer
ירד - Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them…
December 13 - Casting Lots
גורל - On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. OBADIAH 11
December 12 - A Fruity Pun
קץ - This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end…
December 11 - The Lion Has Roared
שׁאג - The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? AMOS 3:8
December 10 - Kibbutz of Judgment
קבץ - “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel." JOEL 3:2
December 8 - Out of Egypt I Call My Son
בן - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. HOSEA 11:1–2
December 7 - Hosea and Flannery O’Connor
פתה - “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her." HOSEA 2:14
December 6 - The Holy Christian Jezreel
יזרעאל - And the Lord said to [Hosea,] “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of…