It is commonly thought that Jesus was talking in Matthew 11:28 about the yoke that harnessed animals together when they were pulling a plough or a load. He was instead referring to a piece of wood that was fitted over one’s shoulders so that loads could be hung on it. The device was similar to the yoke used by the milkmaid of a bygone age when she was carrying two pails.
Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BIBLE (JESUS YOKE)
Goliath, the Philistine giant whom David faced in battle, was equipped for close-quarter combat. Several implements of attack and defense are mentioned in these three verses.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (GOLIATH’S BATTLE GEAR)
1.But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
2 He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (1 KINGS 7:1-12 “SOLOMON’S OTHER BUILDINGS”)
Supplying wood for priests to use in offering burnt sacrifices on the altar was a task assigned to the Nethinims, or temple servants (Ezra 2:43). But not enough of these servants returned from the exile in Babylonia and Persia to handle this task.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (WOOD FOR THE ALTAR)
As a prophet of God in Israel during the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, Elijah was an endangered species. The evil royal couple had done everything in their power to rid the nation of God’s spokespeople so that their own prophets of the false gods Baal and Asherah could do their work unopposed.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (ELIJAH “SOLO, BUT NOT ALONE”)
The Hebrew word translated as “chariot” in this passage actually refers to a palanquin-a portable couch or chair in which kings were carried from place to place by royal servants. Poles were fastened to each side of the palanquin.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES (SOLOMON’S PORTABLE CHAIR)
The horns of certain animals appear frequently in Scriptures as symbols. These are often used in prophetic visions to represent the power of individuals or kingdoms (1 Kings 22:11). While horns were also fashioned into musical instruments (see TRUMPET/SHOFAR), their symbolic use is usually indicated when they are mentioned. Hornlike projections were included at the four corners of the altar of incense in the original tabernacle and in the Jerusalem temple. These horns were carved from wood