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)
It was not possible to separate warfare from religion. The connection of the two was evident in many aspects of military practice. To the Jews, God was the Lord of Hosts who went before them into battle (Exo 15:3; Judg 4:14; 1 Sam 17:45; Isaiah 42:13). There was a sacred “Book of the Wars of the Lord” (Num 21:14). Before going to war, the men had to keep themselves ritually clean, not even engaging in sexual relationships (2 Sam 11:11). Health laws were involved in the commandments concerning ceremonial uncleanliness, but there were other laws in operation as well as those (Deut 13:13-14).
Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE BIBLE (WAR AND RELIGION)
In Bible times wine and other liquids were stored in containers made of animal skins (read Matthew 9:17). These skins would eventually become brittle and develop cracks, particularly when exposed to the smoke given off by fires that burned in the tents and primitive houses of that time.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (FINDING JOY IN THE LORD)
The ten plagues were direct attacks against the false gods of Egypt. The following table shows a possible pairing, among many, of plagues and Egyptian gods. However it might have been, it is certain that God was showing that Pharaoh was a false god. Only the LORD is God, and only he is in control of creation, including Egypt.
Continue reading THE TEN PLAGUES
God promised to be present upon the mercy seat (Exodus 25:22; see also 30:6, 36). The mercy seat was a kind of portable throne, carried along the poles of the ark and complete with an canopy of angel wings. The cherubim faced the center of the seat while their wings overspread if. The picture of God as King of Israel enthroned on the mercy seat is clear no matter where the ark might be: in the wilderness, in battle, or in his tent (the Tabernacle).
Continue reading THE MERCY SEAT
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”?
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playest the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playest the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Continue reading SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY (EZEKIEL 16:15-30 “JERUSALEM’S HARLOTRY”)
Lot thought he made a good choice when he moved to Sodom. He and his uncle Abraham agreed to separate to their huge flocks wouldn’t have to compete for pasture and water. Lot chose the fertile plains of the Jordan River valley.
Continue reading LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT SODOM
This quote is part of the Bible’s earliest record of God. The Hebrew people leaving Egypt understood God as a devouring fire (Exodus 24:17), especially when Moses entered the mist on top of Mount Sinai to receive God’s commandments. Moses spoke of God as a devouring fire (Deuteronomy 4:24) when he explained to the people why he, their leader for forty years, could not enter the promised land with them.
Continue reading HOW IS GOD A “DEVOURING FIRE”?
This is the longest section of the book of Revelation. It describes the visions of John regarding a series of catastrophic events that God would use to judge the earth before the end of the age and the triumphant second coming of Christ.
Continue reading VISIONS OF SUFFERING (6:1-19: 10)