In 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines took the ark of the covenant from Ebenezer to Ashdod and placed it in…
In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah offers a heartfelt prayer of praise while rejoicing in God's salvation, justice, and power over…
In Proverbs 1, the author identifies himself as Solomon, son of David and king of Israel. The Proverbs of Solomon…
In Judges 21, the Israelites mourned the desolation of the tribe of Benjamin and sought the Lord's guidance (Judges 21:1-4).…
In Judges 13, the Israelites did evil in God's sight yet again. God allowed the Philistines to oppress them for…
In Judges 6, the Israelites once again sinned against the Lord and were oppressed by the Midianites for seven years.…
Judges 5 is the Song of Deborah, a victory hymn sung by Deborah and Barak after Israel’s triumph over King…
Judges 4 recounts how Israel once again turned from the Lord after Ehud’s death. In response, God allowed King Jabin…
Judges 3 describes how the Lord left certain nations in Canaan to test Israel. These foreign nations would help determine…
In Judges 1, we pick up on the journey after Joshua's death. Verse 1 states that the Israelites sought guidance…
Joshua 22 - The one thing that sticks out as a positive note is how seriously the western tribes took…
Joshua 21 - This statement of God's promises is such an encouragement. Let's take a look back and review some…
Joshua 13 - As you read through the inheritance distributed to the different tribes, you will notice that the Levites…
Joshua 11 - Let's set the backdrop. Joshua has just led Israel in defeating the cities in the south. News…
Joshua 10 - So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.…
Joshua 9 - The Gibeonites, fearing Israel's conquests, deceive Joshua and the Israelites by pretending to be from a distant…
Acts 21 - This was a tough chapter for me. We read that the voice of the Holy Spirit is…
Acts 4 - As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and…
Lamentations 3 - The first 20 verses of Lamentations 3 recall the conditions that God has allowed to take place…
Leviticus 15 - The verses here in Leviticus 15 are not directly discussed in the NT but they are alluded…
Leviticus 6 - In Leviticus 6, we get a picture of the reparation offering. There were many offenses that constituted…
Leviticus 4 - While the peace offering in Leviticus 3 was optional, the sin offering was mandatory. The sin offering,…
Leviticus 3 - In Leviticus 1, we explored the burnt offering. In Leviticus 2, it was the grain offering. Now,…
Revelation 21 - There is a lot of crossover between what Isaiah writes in chapter 65 and the 21st chapter…
Revelation 19 - After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven,…
Revelation 18 - Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is…
Revelation 14 - First question I asked myself... who is Babylon? John, again, is writing symbolically here. Literal Babylon was…
Revelation 8 - Continuing on the theme from Chapter 7, John either heard or saw something with every seal that…
Revelation 6 - I grew up in Berne, Indiana which sits directly on top of the continental divide. If you…
Jeremiah 48 - Moab can trace its ancestry all the way back to Lot. Historically, Israel and Moab experienced times…
Jeremiah 42 - Bias. We all have it. There is a lot to be said in this chapter about predetermined…
Jeremiah 32 - This chapter essentially reiterates the destruction we've known will come upon Jerusalem and the peace and prosperity…
Jeremiah 9 - Have you ever been torn between sorrow and anger? On one hand, we are incensed at the…
2 Chronicles 32 - There are times in my spiritual walk when I simply want to take a break. Although…
2 Chronicles 30 - Hezekiah wanted to do the right thing. He believed that Israel and Judah should come back…
2 Chronicles 20 - Did God command his people to go into battle singing? I read this over and over…
1 Chronicles 22 - Though David served Israel in many ways, his primary role was as a military leader. He…
1 Chronicles 21 - To David's credit, he takes responsibility for the error in judgment. He even asks God to…
1 Chronicles 3 - Why the detailed genealogies? In order to affirm God's plan for Christ to come from Adam,…
Isaiah 63 - At the beginning of Isaiah 63, we find a familiar theme in Scripture. There is someone with…
Isaiah 49 - His words were like a sharp arrow ready to pierce the heart. Israel would be his servant…
Isaiah 39 - The last verse of Chapter 39 is probably the most heavily scrutinized statement from Hezekiah. Many scholars…
Isaiah 37 - Much of what Isaiah has written leading up to this point has been about the rebellion of…
Isaiah 32 - Isaiah's description of a true king is exactly what we all desire. He is righteous, just, and…
Isaiah 27 - This chapter, as a whole, is about the destruction of Israel's enemies. The smaller story line, however,…
Isaiah 26 - Disease. Affliction. Poverty. The kingdom of man wrestles with the birth pains of this world. The city…
Isaiah 20 - Let's first set the stage. Coming on the heels of Isaiah 19 and the oracle concerning Egypt,…
Isaiah 9 - Here we get a description of Jesus as a child, son, and eventually, prince. He is called…
Isaiah 2 - The first five verses of this chapter relate to the future Messiah and hint at the admission…
Colossians 3 - Ironically, the ethics listed here in Colossians 3 are not foreign to the Jewish law. No one…
Philippians 4 - As I introduced in my commentary on Philippians 1, we read in Chapter 4 that this church…
Ephesians 6 - It all begins with Psalm 82:1. God presides in the heavenly council; in the assembly of the…
Ephesians 4 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as…
Exodus 24 - What does the manifestation of God look like? For Moses and these others, they received a small…
Exodus 14 - Like the Canaanites, ancient Israel thought of the sea as an uncontrollable beast. At creation the Lord…
1 Thessalonians 5 - I want to follow up on what I wrote yesterday from 1 Thessalonians 4 with some…
Job 38 - After all of Job's questions, and his friends weighing in, God answers their questions with some questions…
Job 37 - We experience and come to know God through Scripture. Another place we come to know Him is…
Job 30 - Which is more agonizing for Job - the suffering he is currently enduring or the exasperation of…
Job 29 - What does it mean to reflect on the former times? We've all heard people talk about the…
Job 28 - Whatever time period Job was written, it's clear that the author was familiar with mining expeditions. The…
Job 24 - Job continues on his theme of questioning why the wicked get away with so much. To the…
Job 22 - When we do not pay attention to the needs before us, true care can turn to condemnation.…
Job 21 - Job thoroughly rejects the doctrine of retribution and he draws from common knowledge to do so. Throughout…
Job 12 - Job comes out with some bold truth in addressing his friends. He seeks to point out that…
Job 7 - Job now turns his attention to God. He is fully convinced that he will die soon, and…
Matthew 21 - During the Passover festival, scores of Jews came from all over Israel and the Roman Empire to…
Matthew 8 - Jesus marveled. It's a strong phrase. What was it like for Jesus to marvel? What did it…
Matthew 2 - Remarkably, the calendar we all depend on was originally created around Jesus' birth. Medieval creators tried to…
Proverbs 17 - As I read this chapter, I see a theme of relational conflict. "Better a dry crust with…
Proverbs 15 - "The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good." Proverbs 15:3 HCSB This…
Proverbs 6 - Satisfaction comes when we do what we ought to do. Taking care of our responsibilities and prioritizing…
2 Samuel 24 - This account of a census is a puzzling chapter. We wonder today, what could be wrong…
2 Samuel 20 - Concubines, intestines, and a severed head being thrown over a wall! This chapter is not for…
2 Samuel 19 - It's an awkward moment when the rebels realize their rebellion has failed and the king they…
2 Samuel 16 - The reason why we read several chapters back about the grace David extended to Saul's family…
2 Samuel 12 - Sin often causes innocent people to perish. This is because sin cannot be overlooked. Though David…
2 Samuel 9 - David had made a promise to Jonathan, and David was a man of his word. So…
2 Samuel 8 - In many ways, David is presented as the "anti-Saul" even though at times, their behavior does…
2 Samuel 3 - In 2 Samuel 3, we find two men making a deal in order to see their…
1 Samuel 22 - There's no doubt that David felt completely isolated. Living in a cave, he was completely humiliated.…
1 Samuel 18 - “Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.” The wording here says that "all cities…
1 Samuel 13 - Here in 1 Samuel 13, we see the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites begin…
1 Timothy 6 - Paul bookends this letter by circling back to his thoughts from 1 Timothy 1. In that…
1 Timothy 4 - Expect turmoil. Expect opposition. Expect deception. These are the difficult expectations Paul lays out to Timothy…
Romans 5 - Romans 5 marks a transition. Paul has been formulating his theological argument around sin and justification which…
Romans 3 - When we study Scripture, it is important we don't sweep through it with a predetermined mindset. There…
2 Kings 20 - Through all of Hezekiah's successes, we finally come to a weakness. It is a strange chapter…
2 Kings 15 - If you get bored and skim through 2 Kings 15, you will miss a very significant…
2 Kings 9 - One of my favorite parts to this story is the fact that Jehu was recognized by…
2 Kings 5 - Remember when King Ahab was shot by a "random arrow" in 1 Kings 22? Now a…
1 Kings 22 - What's the deal with Ramoth-Gilead and why did they want it back? Ramoth was a Levitical…
1 Kings 8 - We really cannot understand the massive celebration that took place here until we look deep into…
1 Kings 5 - There were two key ingredients Solomon needed in order to build the temple. 1) Peace. 2)…
1 Kings 2 - After the peaceful resolution in chapter 1, we are now back to the chaos of David's…
Genesis 35 - Which is more dangerous, heading to Bethel or disobeying God? We often justify disobedience with fear. We…
Genesis 33 - There are simple but profound lessons found in this story. How many times have we stressed over…
Genesis 32 - There are three points that really stick out to me in this chapter. Separation from the world…
Genesis 8 - Mount Ararat and the Araratian plain, seen early morning from near the city of Artashat in Armenia.…
John 4 - Jesus told him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe." John 4:48 HCSB…