222: Swallowed Alive (Jonah 1-4)

A heartwarming image of old people sitting on benches leaning on their sticks, watching children play in a rebuilt city that had been utterly ravaged and ruined by war.God promises the beleaguered returnees from exile in Babylon they can finally begin to thrive, and the prophet Zechariah foresees a golden age, when Jews and their city will become magnetic to people who will all want to bask in the benevolent glow of God.\Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

A stone with seven eyes, a wall of fire, a ragged priest, women who fly with the wings of storks, a crown made from exile gold, chariots, a whirlwind.In one wild night, the prophet Zechariah is bombarded with visions, leading to one of the most colourful - and apocalyptic passages in the Bible.Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

The Jews' return to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon should have been triumphant.Instead, they have rebuilt their own houses but left God's temple a ruin.For this, their harvests will fail and they will suffer economic hardship, the prophet Haggai tells them.Seemingly as a consequence of this half-heartedness, God threatens to shake things up so  all nations, not just Israel, will experience what he describes as his glory.Haggai's book ends and the prophet-priest, Zechariah launches into some of the Bible's most epic apocalyptic writing.Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

In jealous rage, God will consume the whole earth with fire, and all life will end suddenly in a catastrophic end time event for the planet.No one living in Jerusalem at the time the prophet Zephaniah is writing can say they haven’t been warned, but, there is hope.There is still time for Judah's people to turn things around, get a grip, humble themselves before God and try and do the right thing. With the finger of God about to land on the entire Near East, no one is safe, and Judah alone appears to have an escape route.All Zephaniah can do is advertise this, now it's down to Judah's king, priests and other rulers to choose whether or not to do the right thing.Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

In dramatic poetic language, the prophet Habakkuk describes a furious God bestriding the earth, shaking mountains and hills and firing arrows of lighting to create rivers and seas.He then passes his pen to the prophet Zephaniah whose verses direct God’s fury at Jewish leaders who have not only abandoned God, but who have placed their faith in pagan deities, an act of treachery which God will not allow to go unpunished.There is nowhere for the guilty to hide, Zephaniah writes, as God warns ominously: 'I will search Jerusalem with lamps.' Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

Before the nation of Judah has even fallen, the prophet Nahum announces the future destruction of its formidable and seemingly unstoppable enemy, Babylon.No punches are pulled as the prophet describes the terror that will rain down on this ancient Near Eastern superpower.Then, the prophet Habakkuk takes the floor, and registers his outrage that God is using the godless Babylonians to punish the Jews.The sense of injustice is palpable, and asks a bigger question: whose side is God actually on?Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

Judah’s wealthy elite are violent, and the ordinary people are liars, and this is why God has begun to ruin them. They will eat but never feel that they have had enough.They will store up wealth only to have their treasures plundered by enemy soldiers.They will plant and harvest but never see the fruit of their labour.Punishment is coming, Micah tells readers, but the good times will return and their enemies will be left in awe of a God who rescues his people.Micah's book ends and Nahum dials up the poetry with a rant against the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, which will be consumed like fire raging through dry stubble in a cornfield. Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

Incredibly, a man who lives almost two centuries before the Jews of Judah are defeated then exiled to Babylon, has a vision.In it, he hears God telling him exactly what will happen to his people.What makes Micah's prediction even more impressive is that he seems to know what happens next.Not only will a remnant of the Jews survive, they will be given a ruler who appears to be none other than their longed-for Messiah, and who will be born in Betlehem...Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

Israel and Judah's leaders hate good and love evil.They tear the skin and flesh from people’s bones, eat their flesh, smash their bones and butcher them like meat for the pot.But punishment is coming.Their ancestral land will be ploughed like a field, Jerusalem will become rubble and the hill on which the temple sits will be overgrown with weeds. But Micah's words are not a warning, they are a promise.  Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast

Given it's one of the most famous stories in the Bible, if not literature, Jonah's story needs little introduction.But most people who know that Jonah is swallowed alive forget that he not only accomplishes his mission, but brings about the largest mass conversion in the Bible.Much of it while absolutely furious!Written and produced by Chas BayfieldMusic by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicOriginal cover art by Lisa GoffE: [email protected]: Wholly Buyable Podcast