The story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac is one of the most perplexing and controversial narratives in the Bible. On the surface, it seems cruel and immoral for God to ask a father to kill his own child. However, when we look deeper into the story and the context in which it is told, we can see that it is a powerful metaphor for faith, obedience, and ultimate trust in God’s plan.
Continue reading HOW COULD GOD ASK ABRAHAM TO KILL HIS SON?
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (EZEKIEL 1:1-21)
In Old Testament times, a man’s wealth was measured by the size of his flocks and herds. Job was a rich man by these standards. Female donkeys are mentioned in this passage because they were more valuable than male donkeys. They milk produced by females was a valuable food substance.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (A MAN OF MEANS)
Some interpreters hold that many of the biblical references to Leviathan (Job 41:1-34; Psa 74:14; 104:26; Isa 27:1), dragons (Ps 74:13; Isa 27:1; 51:9), and the behemoth (Job 40:14-24) preserve early memories of dinosaurs. Most, however, prefer to explain these great monsters in terms of large and terrifying animals known to man today.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (DINOSAURS)
First son born to a couple and required of newly married people was believed to represent the prime of human vigor (Gen 49:3; Ps 78:51). In memory of the death of Egypt’s firstborn and the preservation of the firstborn of Israel, all the firstborn of Israel, both of man and beast, belonged to Yahweh (Exod 13:2,15; cp. 12:12-16). This meant that the people of Israel attached unusual value to the eldest son and assigned special privileges and responsibilities to him.
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THE PASSOVER is the Old Testament feast that celebrates and remembers God’s liberation of Israel from Egypt. After Joseph saved Egypt from starvation (Genesis 41), the Israelites lived in Egypt as guests. Eventually, the Egyptians forgot about Joseph and enslaved the Israelites for hundreds of years (Exodus 1:6-14).
Continue reading OLD TESTAMENT ORIGIN OF THE PASSOVER
Persons whose profession was to sell or exchange Roman or other moneys for Jewish money acceptable in the temple worship. In NT times regions and cities issued their own money. This caused Jews of the Dispersion, those who lived outside of Judea, to bring many kinds of money to Jerusalem. To help visitors change money into that acceptable in Jerusalem, money changers set up tables in the temple court of the Gentiles. Syrian silver coins were the money of Jerusalem then, and worshipers used them to pay their temple tax of a half shekel and to buy sacrifices for the altar.
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Different kinds of shelters or dwellings. In the OT the Hebrew word translated “inn” or “lodging place” might refer to a camping place for an individual (Jer 9:2), a family on a journey (Exod 4:24), an entire caravan (Gen 42:27; 43:21), or an army (Josh 4:3,8). In these passages (with the possible exception of the reference in Jeremiah) the presence of a building is not implied. Often the reference is only to a convenient piece of ground near a spring. It is doubtful that inns in the sense of public inns with a building existed in OT times.
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The idea of sacrifice is at the core of the Christian faith. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is one of the central truths of the gospel. However, this important element of the Christians faith finds its origin and explanation in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. It is true that Jesus’ sacrifice has made obsolete the Old Testament sacrificial system (Hebrews 10:1-18). However, the original readers of the letter to the Hebrews knew and understood the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. From that knowledge, they were able to more fully understand Jesus’ work on the cross.
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After this short visit to Capernaum, Jesus apparently traveled to Jerusalem to observe the Passover festival. Here He found the outer courts of the temple cluttered with merchants who were selling sacrificial animals to pilgrims who had come to the Holy City for the annual Jewish holiday. Other agents were busy exchanging foreign currency for the Jewish coins needed to pay the annual temple tax (John 2:13-25).
Continue reading JESUS’ CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE