One of humanity’s many responses to God’s revelation of Himself. The Bible recognizes that men and women also may be the objects of praise, either from other people (Prov 27:21; 31:30) or from God Himself (Rom 2:29), and that angels and the natural world are likewise capable of praising God (Ps 148). Nevertheless, human praise of God is one of Scripture’s major themes.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (PRAISE)
These laws sound rigid and austere in their proclamations, and we cannot say for sure how often this particular punishment was employed. What we can say for sure is that exceptions were allowed, as illustrated by Jesus. He did not demand that the woman caught in adultery be executed but instead disarmed her executioners and urged her to leave her lift of sin (John 8:3-11).
Continue reading EVERYDAY LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES (STONING “AS A FORM OF EXECUTION” PT2)GREAT HIGH PRIEST
When Christ is called our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) it is because he and he alone was chosen by God to make the perfect sacrifice and intercession for us before God’s merciful throne-and not before an earthly throne, but before the very throne of God’s presence!
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Any priest could offer incense accompanied by some of the grain offering on the altar of incense. It is possible that priests offered incense by itself, although there are no clear indications for this practice (Leviticus 10:1-3; Numbers 16:16-18; Deuteronomy 33:10; 1 Samuel 2:28; Ezekiel 8:10-11).
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The Jews from Matthew’s day would have disagreed. Tradition-minded Jews kept a record of their ancestors partly because certain rights and responsibilities were inherited. Priests descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. Kings-and the coming Messiah-would descend from David, Israel’s most revered king.
Continue reading SHAKING JESUS’ FAMILY TREE
When contemporary hikers traveling the backcountry encounter places where the well-worn path gives way to solid rock, they often find cairns to guide their footsteps on an otherwise invisible path. Cairns are made from natural stones that have been stacked on top of one another in an unnatural way to catch the hiker’s eye. The ancient world had something similar, but it had nothing to do with hiking.
Continue reading EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE BIBLE TIMES (SACRED STONE “TO SET UP OR TO DESTORY” PT1)
Because most people in the ancient world constantly lived on the edge of starvation, obesity was neither an option nor, for most, something to be avoided. Only the rich could afford the luxury of being fat, and for this reason fatness became a mark of status and wealth.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (OBESITY)
This verse refers to the humiliation of the nobility of Judah by the army of Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. Were these princes, or nobles, executed and then hung up by their hands as a public example? Or were they tied and hung up by the hands as a form of torture? We don’t know.
Continue reading THE BIBLE CUSTOMS & CURIOSITIES (HANGING BY THE HAND)
Crowns were worn by kings as symbols of authority and power (2 Samuel 1:10). James compared the believer’s inheritance of eternal life through the atoning death of Jesus Christ to a crown.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS & CURIOSITIES (AN ETERNAL CROWN)
Both men and women of the Bible times wore outer robes or cloaks that extended almost to the feet (read Gen 37:3; Deut 22:5 and 1 Sam 19:24). These loose-fitting gowns were held tight against the body by a belt or sash (generally referred to as a “girdle” by the King James Version) around the person’s waist.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTMOS AND CURIOSITIES (TUCKING IN THE CLOAK)