Jeremiah 47 – The sword of the Lord now comes against the Philistines just as he came against the Egyptians in the previous chapter. In the grand scheme of what has happened here, it is a stunning …
philistines
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 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. …
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 …
Exodus 13 – The way God led was definitely the “road less traveled.” The people did not go directly toward Canaan. There were traditionally three main routes from Egypt to Asia. The most …
Judges 17 – If you have been following along in Judges, then you know that Israel’s decline has been building. Chapters 2-16 are the meat and potatoes of this book, describing the foreign threats to Israel, the …
Judges 15 – What can we learn from flawed leaders? It’s tough to navigate through the book of Judges, and Samson’s story specifically, because the concepts seem so foreign to us. The stories are puzzling. Why would …
Judges 14 – Samson’s story is a difficult one to nail down. On one hand, we see him as an impulsive, selfish brute. On the other, it seems that he was used by God to lure in …
Judges 10 – Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, Jdg 3:7 The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the …
Joshua 18 – Spiritually, Shiloh is an important landmark for worship during this time period. In both Judges and Samuel, we see special worship take place at this location. This would also be the location God would …
2 Samuel 21 – King David was seemingly indestructible. He was a beast on the battlefield and a musician at heart. Although his sins are well-documented, it is a fact that David was blessed with many gifts …
2 Samuel 6 – Familiarity can often produce deadly results. It was Jesus who proclaimed he could do no miracles in his hometown because of their familiarity. It was familiarity that caused Jesus’ brothers to initially discard …
2 Samuel 1 – There are three versions of Saul’s death mentioned in Scripture and one of them is found here in 2 Samuel 1. Death Reference #1 1 Samuel 31:4 GNB He said to the young …
1 Samuel 31 – Let’s do a quick recap. In desperation, Saul traveled to see a witch who brought back Samuel from the dead and predicted Saul’s death the next day. Today is the next day. Also …
1 Samuel 30 – David returns to Zikleg, where he had fled from Saul only to find that while he and his men were gone, the Amalekites had come and raided their city. They burned the place …
1 Samuel 29 – Can you imagine David fighting against his friends and family? Can you imagine him going to war with his best friend, Jonathan? Jesus speaks in Revelation to the church at Laodicea with strong, …
1 Samuel 28 – I’ve always had lots of questions about 1 Samuel 28. Was David actually going to fight with the Philistines? Why did Saul think that he could contact Samuel through a witch? Was it …
1 Samuel 27 – The life of David is not all sunshine and rainbows. Though he was a man after God’s own heart, he was still human. Here in 1 Samuel 27, he makes a controversial decision. …
1 Samuel 23 – All Saul cares about is killing David. He doesn’t care about worshiping God. He doesn’t care about hearing from God. He doesn’t want to follow God. Yet, he justifies his actions by using …
1 Samuel 18 – “Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.” The wording here says that “all cities in Israel” had women who danced and sang to this tune. It was literally a Billboard Top …
1 Samuel 14 – Those who are dialed into the Spirit are sensitive to the timing of the Lord. In 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan demonstrated that kind of dialed-in mindset. Unfortunately, Saul operated on his own timing. …
1 Samuel 13 – Here in 1 Samuel 13, we see the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites begin when Jonathan decides to attack a Philistine garrison. Up until this point, the Israelites were at peace …
1 Samuel 9 – Saul had everything going for him. He came from a family of prominence and wealth. His father was most likely a feudal lord – a landowner and a leader in times of war. …
1 Samuel 7 – Coming off the heels of their defeat to the Philistines, Samuel would bring forth a challenge. Often in our weakest moments is when God’s voice will speak the loudest. God had stirred their …
1 Samuel 6 – 7 months. 7 months of terror, suffering, and death. The Philistines experienced the white-hot flame of God’s fiery judgment. This was their encounter with the Living God because He will not share His …
1 Samuel 5 – There are times when God uses circumstances to demolish the false gods that we all cling to. Initially, we tend to make excuses and stick with the status quo. This is especially true …
1 Samuel 4 – Israel goes to war with the Philistines. “Never did time seem more hopeless than when Samuel arose. The Philistines, strengthened not merely by a constant influx of immigrants, but by the importation of …
1 Samuel 1 – Historically, Israel was on the ropes. The Philistines were growing and becoming stronger because of their modern Greek military technology. They were the first in the region to discover and use iron, and …
2 Kings 8 – The pattern of Elisha’s service to the Lord consistently reflects the act of leading others to a spiritual mind. There was the birth and healing of the Shunammite woman’s son, the enlightening of …
Amos 1 – Nelson’s Commentary gives an informative but concise background on the book of Amos. “The Lord sent Amos, a Judean, to Bethel to prophesy of coming judgment on Israel. But in Bethel, Amos faced a …
Psalm 56 – In his book “Happiness,” Randy Alcorn writes, “I think it’s fair to say that many Christians don’t believe God is happy. If we did believe it, wouldn’t we be happier?” “Sometimes we read Scripture …
Psalm 53 – When God looks down from heaven at humanity, He’s not looking at innocent people. He’s looking at guilty people who love evil. People love their sin. This is why the sin problem had no …
Ezekiel 25 – It’s easy to read the first 24 chapters of Ezekiel and think that God is only concerned with punishing His own people. This is not the case. He has demonstrated from the beginning of …