Jehoram was the world’s best-known fratricidal maniac. He waited until power was solidly in his palm, then wiped out all possible bloodline competitors. The crime carried little strategic advantage, and alternatives, such as appointing brothers to cabinet posts, might have been more effective in securing Jehoram’s reputation and power.
Continue reading HOW COULD ANYONE BE SO CRUEL AS TO EXECUTE ALL HIS BROTHERS
King Daivd’s great-grandmother got her husband by sneaking into his bed with him after he fell asleep.
Continue reading WHO’S WHO AND WHERE’S WHERE IN THE BIBLE (RUTH)
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (JOB 1:6-22 “THE DEVIL AND GOD HAVE A TALK”)
John assassinated King Ahab and assumed the kingship of Israel. Then he had all of Ahab’s sons killed to eliminate all claimants to the throne. These sons were beheaded, and their heads were piled in a heap outside the entrance to the city of Jezreel. King Ahab’s palace was located at Jezreel. This was probably Jehu’s way of sending a message that anyone who remained loyal to Ahab and opposed Jehu’s accession to the throne would suffer the same fate. Continue reading EXECUTION BY DECAPITATION
Elizabeth, mentioned only in Luke’s Gospel, was married to a priest named Zechariah. “Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).
Yet in a culture where children were viewed as a primary evidence of God’s blessing, they were also childless. Elizabeth was unable to conceive. This barrenness was a source of deep disgrace to her (Luke 1:25). Only those who’ve suffered through fertility issues can fully appreciate the sting of all those unanswered prayers, the piercing pain of an empty nursery. Since Elizabeth and Zechariah “were well along in year” (Luke 1:7), it’s not unreasonable to assume that they had given up the hope of ever becoming parents. Continue reading WOMAN OF THE DAY (ELIXABETH: THE MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST)
Judges led Israel before the coming of the kings, but though Eli the high priest served God for forty years, he wasn’t named as a judge. He acted nobly at first but turned a blind eye to injustices as he grew older. Most of these injustices had to do with his sons who were abusing the women of the temple and helping themselves to the offering. Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE “ELI: GOOD DAD, BAD DAD”
28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (JOEL 2:28-32)