Even with self-defense as a perfect alibi, David refused to eliminate his chief adversary at the time. David’s restraint indicates that there is more than one kind of Goliath in life and that duty to God requires different responses.
Continue reading WHY DIDN’T DAVID KILL SAUL WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY AROSE?
It’s one thing to speak the truth to people in power when you have nothing to lose. It’s quite another to speak the truth when you have everything to lose. The Old Testament prophet Nathan faced the prospect of losing everything, including his life, if he spoke the truth to the most powerful man in Israel. Yet that was exactly what God called him to do.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (NATHAN)
Their predictions about Jesus can be found in many books of the Old Testament. The prophet Micah, for instance, said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). Other Bible
Continue reading DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD TOLD MANY OLD TESTAMENT PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS BEFORE HE WAS EVEN BORN?
In the ancient world, ensuring a family line was absolutely necessary for security and survival. What else could a person leave behind? Books and writings? Probably not. Money? Yes, the family property might insure prosperity for a generation or two. Sons and daughters? Definitely. Without heirs, why accumulate an estate?
Continue reading WHY WAS CHILDBEARING AND FATHERING SO IMPORANT IN OLD TESTAMENT DAYS?
The Jewish religious leaders wanted arrest Jesus and have Him tried for blasphemy and treason. But they needed to take him into custody in a secluded place because of his popularity with the common people. They paid Judas to let them know when He could be arrested discreetly and under the cover of darkness.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER)
God took Ezekiel to a valley full of old, dry bones. Following God’s command, Ezekiel spoke to the bones, and they turned into living, breathing human beings (Ezekiel 37:1-14)! Ezekiel learned that these bones were just like the nation of Israel. The people were spiritually dead,
Continue reading DID YOU KNOW THAT A PROPHET SAW DRY BONES TURNED INTO LVING PEOPLE.
The Jewish people believed that contact with a grave caused a person to become unclean (Numbers 19:16), so tombs were coated with a white lime solution to make them stand out to keep people from touching them accidently.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (CORRUT ON THE INSIDE)
Elisha was a yond man plowing his father’s fields when he first encountered the prophet Elijah. Elisha immediately dropped everything to follow him. For years, he served as an apprentice while Elijah performed his duties as a prophet-often under and lows, to his courageous obedience and crippling doubts. He observed the way Elijah interacted with kings and commoners. He studied the prophet’s personal relationship with God.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (ELISHA “FOLLOWING A TOUGH ACT”)
This verse is part of Jesus’ prayer of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and crucifixion. This “cup” to which He referred was the suffering He would endure on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for sin.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (JESUS’ CUP OF SUFFERING)
When we communicate with each other, we do not just with our words but also with the gestures we make, such as clapping our hands. Within the culture of the Western world of our day, this single gesture of clapping our hands together can send many and even contrasting messages. For example, we clap our hands to show our approval and appreciation of what has been said or done. But we also can clap our hands together in a mock show of approval and
Continue reading EVERYDAY LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES (CLAP HANDS PT1)