In times of trouble, Israel had a habit of turning to foreign nations for help and protection. Instead of relying on God, the nation would form alliances with world powers like Assyria or Egypt. The point of a “half-baked cake” was to
Continue reading WHAT’S THE MEANING OF HOSEA’S REFERENCE TO “HALF-BAKED CAKE”?
Jeremiah. When asked to become a prophet, Jeremiah politely told God no. “I’m too young!” Jeremiah argued (Jeremiah 1:6).
Continue reading PROPHETS WHO DIDN’T WANT THE JOB
Jonah stands alone among the prophets of the Old Testament. Certainly he was the only one (that we know of) to spend three days in the digestive tract of a fish. In the bigger picture, though, he was the only one (that we know of) to flatly refuse an assignment from God.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (JONAH “RUNNING FROM GOD”)
At the time of Nahum’s prophecy, Assyria (of which Nineveh was the capital) was the most powerful empire on earth. For three hundred years the Assyrians had conquered all people’s in their path. Nineveh, the shinning center of Assyrian culture, learning, and technology, was
Continue reading WHAT’S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THE PREDICTION OF NINEVEH’S DOWNFALL?
King Sennacherib of Assyria had a huge army and ruled a large empire. And he was determined to add Judah to the list of nations under his control. He believed that no one could resist his demands-after all. Assyria had never lost a war, and Judah was a small nation. But Sennacherib failed to realize that Judah was different-it’s king, Hezekiah, depended on the Lord to fight Judah’s battles.
Continue reading DID YOU KNOW THAT AN ANGEL ONCE DESTROYED AN ENTIE ARMY?
The formal mention of prostitutes in the Bible is often used to shape our impression of people with whom they were associated. Because the law of God was clear on this matter, the linking of a man with a prostitute, whether sexually or by birth, cast a dark cloud over his character. This included notables like Judah, Jephthah, and Samson (Gen 38:15; Judg 11:1; 16:1). When Joshua sent spies to Jericho, the population was so immoral that the one person of redeeming value found in the city was a prostitute (Josh 2:1). And the image of Ahab was clearly tarnished by the fact that his bloody chariot was washed out at the place where the prostitutes bathed (1 Kings 22:38). By contrast, Israel’s leaders who aggressively expelled shrine prostitutes
Continue reading EVERYDAY LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES (PROSTITUTE P2)
In the ancient Near East dreams were one of several ways people sought to see the future and to make decisions that would be beneficial to them. In some societies, people went to temples or holy places to sleep in order to have a dream that would show them the best decision to make.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (DREAMS)
10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (ISAIAH 7:10-17: THE SIGN OF IMMANUEL)
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All forms of idolatry were forbidden in Israel (Exo 20:2-6; Lev 19:4), but Baal worship was especially popular among the people. Baal was one of the primary deities of the Canaanites. He was regarded as the god with the power to bestow or withhold fertility to Continue reading WHY WAS BAAL WORSHIP CONSIDERED SO OFFENSIVE?
Hebrew term with several meanings. 1. Seventh son of Ishmael (Gen 25:14; 1 Chron 1:30). 2. Arab tribe perhaps descended from 1. The Massa are listed among the people who paid tribute to King Tiglath-pileaser III (745-727 bc) of Assyria. Some interpret the use of Massa in the titles of collections of proverbs (Prov 30:1; 31:1) as referring to the Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY “MASS”