1 Chronicles 14
1 Chronicles 14 - Following on the same theme from 1 Chronicles 13, we now see David correcting his previous error. He engages in two battles against the Philistines. In both situations, he directly consults the Lord ...
1 Chronicles 13
1 Chronicles 13 - There is a strong theme of unity within the writings of Chronicles. Just as intensely as Saul divided the nation, David began to unify it. Part of that process involved moving the Ark ...
1 Chronicles 11
1 Chronicles 11 - David's ascent to king was not as simple as three verses. In the book of 2 Samuel, the entire process is described in great detail over 3 chapters. David would be anointed king ...
1 Chronicles 10
1 Chronicles 10 - The Philistines Who were the Philistines? They were sea-faring people who immigrated from the island of Crete. According to archeology digs, it is speculated that the Philistines were heavy drinkers with heavy weapons. ...
1 Chronicles 9
1 Chronicles 9 - Psalms 99:5-6 ESV Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he! 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. ...
1 Chronicles 8
1 Chronicles 8 - Within the tribe of Benjamin, we are reminded of Israel's first king. He was the best looking man in all of Israel. He towered above all of his fellow Israelites. He seemed to ...
1 Chronicles 7
1 Chronicles 7 - God has used women to build, lead and change the world from the beginning of time. Here in 1 Chronicles 7, we get a glimpse of a woman who completed a remarkable feat. ...
1 Chronicles 6
1 Chronicles 6 - One particular name that sticks out in this chapter is Hilkiah. An unknown to most people, this high priest played a huge role in three major events during Israel's history. In 2 Kings ...
1 Chronicles 5
1 Chronicles 5 - For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until the exile. 1 Chronicles 5:22 ESV The people cried out to God and He heard them. He ...
1 Chronicles 4
1 Chronicles 4 - I also find the mentioning of Jabez to be fascinating in this long list of names. His name meant "pain." More specifically though, it was translated "he causes pain" which ...
1 Chronicles 3
1 Chronicles 3 - Why the detailed genealogies? In order to affirm God's plan for Christ to come from Adam, David, and Abraham. These names are the historical proof of the fulfilled promises of God. Of course, ...
1 Chronicles 2
1 Chronicles 2 - This chapter begins with the lineage of Jacob through his 12 sons. However, it really focuses upon Judah for most of the chapter. “Judah heads the tribal genealogies and receives more extensive treatment ...
1 Chronicles 1
1 Chronicles 1 - It was a bittersweet time for Israel. The Jews had just returned from 70 years of captivity but their situation was significantly different from when they left. There was no king and little ...
Ruth 3
Ruth 3 - The act of Naomi asking Ruth to go and seek out Boaz does not translate well to our current cultural norms. Boaz was not only a relative, but he was considered the goel, or, ...
Ruth 2
Ruth 2 - It’s important not to overlook the fact that Ruth gave 100% to her work. We know she was given many opportunities by God, however, she also put in the work. When I coached high ...
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66 - As the book of Isaiah comes to a close, I am drawn to the writings of F.F. Bruce. "As the book has stated again and again in a variety of places and ways, however, ...
Isaiah 65
Isaiah 65 - God has made Himself available. He is standing with arms outstretched ready to help His people. God says one thing, but the people say another. God offers His help, but the people will not ...
Isaiah 64
Isaiah 64 - What does it really look like to come before God in humility and express your deepest grief for the sins of you and your people? I'm not talking about grief for consequences or fear ...
Isaiah 63
Isaiah 63 - At the beginning of Isaiah 63, we find a familiar theme in Scripture. There is someone with blood-stained clothes who is robed in splendor and striding forward in the greatness of strength. This can ...
Isaiah 62
Isaiah 62 - *If you haven't read the Isaiah 61 blog entry, it would be helpful for context. Isaiah 62 is picking up on the new status of Israel after their redemptive moment in Isaiah 61.* Holy ...
Isaiah 61
Isaiah 61 - Isaiah 61 is such an interesting chapter. In Luke 4, Jesus reads the first two verses of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue. "The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling ...
Isaiah 60
Isaiah 60 - Isaiah 60 begins a new section that looks ahead Christ's Kingdom and rule. Remember, Isaiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah during the time when the northern kingdom, Israel, had already ...
Isaiah 59
Isaiah 59 - In a beautiful example of what it is like for the Lord to work in a person's heart, Isaiah speaks directly to the blindness of Israel. In reality, it is the blindness that all ...
Isaiah 58
Isaiah 58 - Superficial people. We've all endured them. If we're honest, we've probably been one at some point in our lives. Superficial people seem frivolous, self-absorbed, and shallow. Merriam-Webster defines superficial as lacking in depth or ...
Isaiah 57
Isaiah 57 - And it will be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people." Isaiah 57:14 NASB Remove every stumbling block! If this phrase sounds familiar ...
Isaiah 56
Isaiah 56 - Here at the end of the chapter, we read that Israel's irresponsible leaders are the source of their blindness. Anytime that leadership is failing, the people under that leadership have little chance of success. ...
Isaiah 55
Isaiah 55 - Faith in Jesus without a life filled with Jesus' attitude and behavior is no life of faith at all. There are no excuses because a reborn life is not done in our own strength ...
Isaiah 54
Isaiah 54 - This chapter focuses on the wonderful love God has for His people. Amazingly, even though human sin has corrupted the future God had promised, His words will not return void. Given the current exile ...
Isaiah 50
Isaiah 50 - Here in Isaiah 50 we read a soliloquy by the Servant as well as statements directed toward the believers and unbelievers of Israel. The soliloquy is found in the opening verses of 4-9 and ...
Isaiah 49
Isaiah 49 - His words were like a sharp arrow ready to pierce the heart. Israel would be his servant and he would be their master. But something was wrong. Their response was rejection! Though he came ...
Isaiah 48
Isaiah 48 - We who know Christ understand that the Gospel message is not a one of mystery and mysticism. Yes, some may claim this because our God is a mysterious God, however, the sending of His ...
Isaiah 47
Isaiah 47 - God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. You were secure in your wickedness; you said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray. You said to yourself, 'I ...
Isaiah 45
Isaiah 45 - Exodus 33:20 NASB But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" He is the unseen God, and for good reason. If we would look at Him, ...
Isaiah 42
Isaiah 42 - God is the only Savior. His creation will bring glory to Him alone and it will not be shared with an idol. In the beautiful and symbolic open verses, the theme of restoration continues. ...
Isaiah 40
Isaiah 40 - The theme of chapters 7-39 focuses directly on the punishment of God. It's easy to read this chapter and become discouraged. We must remember that God's heart was not to needlessly punish his people ...
Isaiah 39
Isaiah 39 - The last verse of Chapter 39 is probably the most heavily scrutinized statement from Hezekiah. Many scholars are split on the correct interpretation of this verse. Surprising to me, most tend to agree that ...
Isaiah 38
Isaiah 38 - Let's review what's happened thus far and what will happen in the future. Assyria has built the strongest military the world has ever seen and has destroyed both Aram as well as Israel. Judah ...
Isaiah 37
Isaiah 37 - Much of what Isaiah has written leading up to this point has been about the rebellion of God's people. They were living like they really didn't trust the Lord, and continually went back to ...
Isaiah 36
Isaiah 36 - The goal of the enemy is to render us hopeless in the face of our circumstances. The world, Satan, and even our own hearts influence our minds to these dark places. Even though the ...
Isaiah 35
Isaiah 35 - The promise at the end of the chapter is beautiful. There will be no lion there, and no vicious beast will go up on it; they will not be found there. But the redeemed ...
Isaiah 34
Isaiah 34 - The idea of this chapter is that the Lord will conquer all who oppose Him. There is no question about it. Within the text, the language is bold and abrasive. Divine wrath will be ...
Isaiah 33
Isaiah 33 - The book of Isaiah is very clear. Trust in nations; destruction. Trust in God alone; deliverance. The irony is that God would use nations to humble His people, but He would command them not ...
Isaiah 32
Isaiah 32 - Isaiah's description of a true king is exactly what we all desire. He is righteous, just, and a source of protection and support. This king would contrast many other kings that ruled in ancient ...
Isaiah 31
Isaiah 31 - God had willed captivity for His people. He also willed restoration. When we must go through a season of captivity in order to receive restoration, we tend to resist. We want to take the ...
Isaiah 29
Isaiah 29 - I can remember times in my life when I was simply neglecting the spiritual wisdom of God. Like a nagging fly that kept landing on me, I swatted those thoughts out of my mind ...
Isaiah 22
Isaiah 22 - How do you handle the immense spiritual burdens of others? Isaiah wept over Israel. You can feel his raw emotion in verse 4. He refuses comfort in his mourning because of his bitter sadness. ...
Isaiah 21
Isaiah 21 - A shared truth sticks out over the past few chapters of Isaiah. All the main players surrounding Judah (Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and Ethiopia) are under the authority of God. The domino effect that occurred ...
Isaiah 20
Isaiah 20 - Let's first set the stage. Coming on the heels of Isaiah 19 and the oracle concerning Egypt, we now see the unfolding of God's judgment. King Sargon of Assyria orders his commander to invade ...
Isaiah 18
Isaiah 18 - I believe that chapter 18 is an expansion of Isaiah 17:12-14. The flow between the two chapters speaks to the hand of God being involved in all details of future events. Although there is ...
Isaiah 17
Isaiah 17 - Mount Hermon was a massive ridge north of Damascus After focusing on the nations to the south, this prophecy shifts to the northern borders...
Isaiah 16
Isaiah 16 - Though Moab's nation was broken to pieces, they had far more hope through Salvation than did Babylon or Philistia. The language describing the destruction of Moab offers much hope. In fact, we read in ...
Isaiah 15
Isaiah 15 - Moab was the region on the east side of the Dead Sea. The total land surface would have been about 30 miles long and 30 miles wide. As compared to the nation of Edom, ...
Isaiah 13
Isaiah 13 - Chapters 7-12 were Messianic in nature and now in Chapter 13 of Isaiah turns to the surrounding Gentile regions. Isaiah reiterates that God knows of the destiny of Babylon, Assyria, and every nation in ...
Isaiah 12
Isaiah 12 - Isaiah 12:1 is a mirror image of Paul's writing in Romans 6:17. Compare the two passages. Then you will say on that day, "I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You ...
Isaiah 11
Isaiah 11 - There is a good point here to be made about the wrath of God. Many skeptics are quick to point out God's wrath, especially in the Old Testament. Of course, we have all heard ...
Isaiah 10
Isaiah 10 - 'Woe" is a dangerous word in Scripture. Chapter 10 kicks off with God using this word as a warning of the severe consequences to come. It is the deprivation of the poor and ...
Isaiah 9
Isaiah 9 - Here we get a description of Jesus as a child, son, and eventually, prince. He is called the Prince of Peace. He follows in His Father’s footsteps. The God of peace will soon crush ...
Isaiah 8
Isaiah 8 - There are many prophecies to sort through in this text. First, we have the prophecy of Samaria falling to Assyria. This was written in verse 4 and would occur in 722 BC. Verses 5-10 ...
Isaiah 6
Isaiah 6 - The first 5 chapters of Isaiah outline his prophecies, but do not establish his calling. In chapter 6 we read the details of God's calling for Isaiah. In many ways, Isaiah filled a role ...
Isaiah 5
Isaiah 5 - Six woes are given to the nation of Israel starting in verse 8. The woes include greed, debauchery, unbelief, perversion, arrogance, and injustice. "To these sins are added prophecies of judgment: desolation, captivity or ...
Isaiah 3
Isaiah 3 - Strong Christian leadership is important. Most likely during the time that Isaiah was writing this, the readers were under the leadership of King Uzziah. He was a wise and godly king, however, a time ...
Isaiah 1
Isaiah 1 - The book of Isaiah is full of prophecy. Hebrew poetry used a literary style called parallelism, much like a modern-day analogy. In the first several verses, we see the parallels being drawn. "An ox ...
Colossians 4
Colossians 4 - A very practical and important set of instructions are given here by Paul on how we should act toward nonbelievers. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Your speech should ...
Colossians 3
Colossians 3 - Ironically, the ethics listed here in Colossians 3 are not foreign to the Jewish law. No one who grew up learning the law of Moses would scoff at the morality prescribed here by Paul. ...
Colossians 2
Colossians 2 - Think of it in these terms. Any philosopher, theologian, scientist, professor or quantum physicist, whether Christian or not, has borrowed their wisdom and knowledge from God. Without God, there is no logic or reason. ...
Colossians 1
Colossians 1 - Who has ever seen God? Jesus answered this question. "Lord," said Philip, "show us the Father, and that's enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been among you all this time ...
Philippians 4
Philippians 4 - As I introduced in my commentary on Philippians 1, we read in Chapter 4 that this church was the only one to form a contractual friendship with Paul. There was an active relationship of ...
Philippians 3
Philippians 3 - Have you ever met someone who always tries to one-up you? No matter how the story goes, they always pull the trump card with some experience or credential that's bigger and better. It's not ...
Philippians 2
Philippians 2 - Paul's opening in Philippians 2 follows a delicate and precise structure. He opens with "Therefore" and unfortunately the breakup of these chapters forces us to lose part of the context if we don't go ...
Philippians 1
Philippians 1 - He who began a good work... Paul qualifies the promise of God completing a good work with a specific view. He says “in view of your participation in the Gospel from the first day ...
Ephesians 6
Ephesians 6 - It all begins with Psalm 82:1. God presides in the heavenly council; in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision: Psalms 82:1 GNB That word gods is translated from the Hebrew word ...
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5 - For this reason, it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." I’ve researched this phrase, and it must have been familiar to those he was writing to. ...
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building ...
Ephesians 2
Ephesians 2 - Many of us today live under the illusion that we simply can’t change. Hidden deep under a “that’s just the way I am” attitude is a deadliest of all sins - human pride. It’s ...
Ephesians 1
Ephesians 1 - The readers of this letter in Paul's day would have received a rolled up scroll that required unrolling before reading. It was important to quickly see who the writer was and what the letter ...
Galatians 5
Galatians 5 - The fruit of keeping the law is exposed here in Galatians 5. According to Paul, the devotion to the law was leading to a cold, empty legalism. They were "biting and devouring one another." ...
Galatians 4
Galatians 4 - I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in my own wants and needs that I miss the bigger picture. We all tend to gravitate toward a "me first" attitude even if we ...
Galatians 2
Galatians 2 - As we read in Chapter 1 of Galatians, Paul's message that he was delivering to the Gentiles came straight from God. In so many words, he was establishing that he was not the apostles' ...
Exodus 39
Exodus 39 - At the end of the chapter, Scripture tells us that everything God had commanded, the children of Israel completed. The construction went without a hitch. We see no evidence of an argument or distraction. ...
Exodus 36
Exodus 36 - Can you believe it? I don't recall very many stories in the Bible where a cheerful giver was giving so much that they had to be restrained. Exodus 36:3-5 NASB They received from Moses ...
Exodus 34
Exodus 34 - The term glory is not really an accurate depiction of what Moses asked for and received from God. We tend to associate the word "glory" with majestic light. A lot of times it has ...
Exodus 33
Exodus 33 - Perseverance. Can you imagine being Moses? On one hand, he is a spiritual leader for these obstinate people. He lives among them. He leads them. He loves them. On the other hand, the Lord ...
Exodus 32
Exodus 32 - The first question I asked when reading this chapter was - what caused this? We read in the very first verse that it was because of a delay. How many times have we allowed ...
Exodus 31
Exodus 31 - At the end of the chapter, God reminds Israel of the third sign of their covenant - the Sabbath. Overall, these signs were established as a reminder of the great provision of God, and ...
Exodus 30
Exodus 30 - The ability to come before God is an opportunity, not a right. Aaron was given the duty of burning sweet incense at morning and at twilight on this smaller altar. To us it may ...
Exodus 29
Exodus 29 - From the beginning we get a glimpse of God's design for sacrifice. Consecration. This word was translated 'hallow' and meant distinct, holy, and set aside for God's purposes. Most of us probably think of ...
Exodus 28
Exodus 28 - "You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: Exodus 28:33 NASB You may ask, why ...
Exodus 27
Exodus 27 - "You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. Exodus 27:20 NASB Light is the essence of God. ...
Exodus 26
Exodus 26 - "You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver. 37 "You shall make five pillars of ...
Exodus 24
Exodus 24 - What does the manifestation of God look like? For Moses and these others, they received a small glimpse of His glory. The description, as in Revelation as well, hardly does it justice. In fact, ...
Exodus 23
Exodus 23 - "You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. Exodus 23:1 NASB "Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill ...
Exodus 22
Exodus 22 - I am most struck by verses 22 and 25 in this chapter. God has, from the beginning, always had special feelings toward the orphaned, the widowed, and the poor. If anyone wanted to set ...
Exodus 21
Exodus 21 - God, through His law, established some basic truths that the people were to follow. It's interesting how things are viewed somewhat differently today. During a less civilized time, and without the indwelling Holy Spirit ...
Exodus 20
Exodus 20 - The 10 Commandments illustrate the vertical and horizontal obedience that God desired for humanity. Jesus came to fulfill and (in many ways) raise the standard of the law. Mount Sinai was a particular summit ...
Exodus 17
Exodus 17 - The team was assembled and ready to go! Joshua would lead the army into battle. This is the first we've heard of Joshua but, of course, it wouldn't be the last. His training here ...
Exodus 16
Exodus 16 - I've had the opportunity over the years to witness many young people and adults get confronted with the Gospel and respond to the call. In most of those situations, the moment their hearts are ...
Exodus 14
Exodus 14 - Like the Canaanites, ancient Israel thought of the sea as an uncontrollable beast. At creation the Lord hovered over the waters of chaos. At the flood, the raging waters engulfed the sinful generation that ...
Exodus 12
Exodus 12 - The Passover is a powerful event in both Jewish tradition as well as Christianity. One major difference, obviously, is that the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah. It's tradition when the Jews celebrate the ...
Exodus 8
Exodus 8 - Pharaoh was so hardened that even when the supernatural evidence was directly before him, he refused to acknowledge it. Notice that God not only sends Moses and Aaron to testify to His power, but ...
Exodus 5
Exodus 5 - This is just the beginning of Moses' journey and, understandably, he's ready to give up. We often feel like this. God calls us to something, and we try and follow through the best of ...