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?
The word “fire” in our English Bibles normally translates the Hebrew word esh in the Old Testament and the Greek word pur (the root from which such English term as “pyromaniac” and “pure” are derived) in the NT. Both terms signify the physical manifestations of burning heat:, light, and flame. Ancient peoples kindled fire either by rapidly rubbing dry pieces of wood together creating enough fiction to ignite dry vegetation or by striking flint rocks thus creating sparks (cp. 2 Macc 10:3). Normally, fires were maintained and perpetuated to avoid the need for kindling. Abraham, for example, apparently carried a torch with him on his way to sacrifice Isaac in order to prevent having to kindle one at the altar (Gen 22:6-7).
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (FIRE)
Jacob entered the world grasping-literally. The secondborn of twin boys, Jacob started his life journey by grasping his brother Esau’s heel. The symbolism is difficult to ignore. Jacob wanted what was his-and then some.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (JACOB “THE QUEST FOR RECONCILIATION”)
Whether in connection with climate or siege, famine was clearly one of the worst experiences in the ancient world (1 Kings 8:37). The purchase of food would first consume all a person’s precious metal, then livestock, and finally even the land they relied on the produce food, putting its former owners into virtual servitude (Gen 47:13-22). Jeremiah vividly describes the circumstances in which hunger pangs could no longer be endured in silence but were given
Continue reading EVERYDAY LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES (FAMINE PT2)
In the ancient Middle East, the originator of a custom was frequently referred to as the “father” of that custom. Thus, Jubal was called” the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” because he invented those instruments.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (THE TERM FATHER)
In the Old Testament, the object erected time and time again to communicate the presence and power of God was an altar. The altar could be a single rock or a loosely organized arrangement of large stones, so people were never far from an altar or could build one in a few moments. Nothing was more prominent as a biblical image for worship and allegiance to God than the altar. It is no exaggeration to say that the most visible sign of one’s devotion to the true God in the worship of the old covenant was the building of altars or traveling to them for acts of sacrifice or offering. Continue reading SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (ALTAR)
Laban was the brother of Jacob’s mother, Rebekah (Genesis 29:10). This relationship would have made Laban’s daughter Rachel-the woman whom Jacob wanted to marry-Jacob’s first cousin. Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (MARRIAGE AMONG RELATIVES)
Since Jesus is the Son of God who has existed before time began, some people assume He has no family history. But this assumption is wrong. Two Gospel of the New Testament-Matthew and Luke-contain family histories of Jesus. And these genealogies give us valuable information about Him and His revolutionary ministry that changed the world. Continue reading THE FAMILY HISTORY OF JESUS
Flocks of goats were part of everyday life throughout Bible times. Hardier than sheep, goats provided milk, cheese, water skins, meat, and hair from which rough fabric was made for tents and other durable items. When God gave Moses the detailed instructions for creating the tabernacle that would be God’s tent in the wilderness, he specified an outer layer of goat hair that protected the fine linen covering the inner space called the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence would be evident (Exod 2:6). The goat was
Although most Westerners would think of mountains and hills as very different from one another, in the biblical landscape the two terms were used almost interchangeably. We often see mountains and hills used in parallel to illustrate the same idea. For instance, in Psalm 114 we read, “The mountains jumped like rams. The hills jumped like lambs” (v. 4). The two terms are not contrasted, but rather represent the same idea.