Judges 21
In Judges 21, the Israelites mourned the desolation of the tribe of Benjamin and sought the Lord's guidance (Judges 21:1-4). They recalled their vow to punish those who did not join the war
Judges 20
In Judges 20, the 11 tribes of Israel gather at Mizpeh to address the murder of the Levite’s wife by the Benjaminites. After hearing the Levite’s account, the other tribes resolve to punish the tribe of Benjamin ...
Judges 19
In Judges 19, a Levite's concubine was unfaithful to him and left for her father’s house in Bethlehem. After four months, the Levite went to bring her back. Her father delayed their departure for several days ...
Judges 18
In Judges 18, the Danite tribe was looking for land to settle in and sent five men to scout the territory. They arrived at Micah’s house in Ephraim and met the young Levite who was serving as his priest ...
Judges 17
In Judges 17, Micah, a man from the hill country of Ephraim, returns 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother and admits that he stole it. His mother blesses him and consecrates the silver to the Lord to make a ...
Judges 16
In Judges 16, Samson visits Gaza and sleeps with a prostitute. The Philistines plan to ambush him, but Samson escapes by tearing out the city gates and carrying them to the top of a mountain ...
Judges 15
In Judges 15, Samson visited his wife (from Judges 14) but found that her father had given her to another man.. He offered Samson her younger sister instead. This further enraged Samson and in ...
Judges 14
In Judges 14, Samson saw a Philistine woman in Timnah and demanded his parents arrange the marriage, despite their objections. They did not realize this was part of God's plan to confront the ...
Judges 13
In Judges 13, the Israelites did evil in God's sight yet again. God allowed the Philistines to oppress them for 40 years. An angel appeared to the barren wife of Manoah, a man from the tribe of Dan, and told her
Judges 11
In Judges 11, Jephthah, a warrior from Gilead and the son of a prostitute, was driven away by his half-brothers and settled in Tob where he gathered a group of followers. When the Ammonites waged war ...
Judges 10
In Judges 10, Tola from the tribe of Issachar led Israel for 23 years and was buried at Shamir. Jair from Gilead then led Israel for 22 years, having 30 sons who each rode a donkey and controlled 30 cities in ...
Judges 9
In Judges 9, Gideon's son Abimelech persuades the people of Shechem to make him king by arguing that it's better to be ruled by one man than by all of Gideon's seventy sons. With money from the temple of ...
Judges 6
In Judges 6, the Israelites once again sinned against the Lord and were oppressed by the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites, along with the Amalekites and other desert tribes devastated Israel's crops ...
Judges 5
Judges 5 is the Song of Deborah, a victory hymn sung by Deborah and Barak after Israel’s triumph over King Jabin and Sisera's army. ...
Judges 3
Judges 3 describes how the Lord left certain nations in Canaan to test Israel. These foreign nations would help determine Israel's faithfulness to His commands. Despite this, the Israelites intermarried with the surrounding nations and adopted their ...
Judges 2
Judges 2 emphasizes Israel's cycle of sin, disobedience, and God's grace. Despite reminders of the covenant, they abandoned the Lord, adopted Canaanite practices, faced oppression, but received judges for deliverance. ...
Judges 1
In Judges 1, we pick up on the journey after Joshua's death. Verse 1 states that the Israelites sought guidance from the Lord on who should lead the fight against the Canaanites. God designated Judah, who ...
Joshua 22
Joshua 22 - The one thing that sticks out as a positive note is how seriously the western tribes took the possibility of falling back into sin. This had been something that plagued Israel for years, and ...
Joshua 21
Joshua 21 - This statement of God's promises is such an encouragement. Let's take a look back and review some of these great promises. The Promise of LandGenesis 12:7 The LORD appeared ...
Joshua 20
Joshua 20 - It's one thing to say that we believe in God as our refuge and strength, but it's an entirely different experience to go through circumstances where this is all we can cling to. If ...
Joshua 18
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 ...
Joshua 16
Joshua 16 - The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. Joshua 16:4 This made up a good chunk of the land. Again, this point has already been discussed extensively, but a big takeaway from ...
Joshua 11
Joshua 11 - Let's set the backdrop. Joshua has just led Israel in defeating the cities in the south. News travels fast. The northern kings are becoming restless at the dominance of Israel. Specifically, Jabin of Hazor. ...
Joshua 10
Joshua 10 - So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of ...
Joshua 9
Joshua 9 - The Gibeonites, fearing Israel's conquests, deceive Joshua and the Israelites by pretending to be from a distant land. They present worn-out provisions to secure a peace treaty, which the Israelites agree to without consulting God. ...
Joshua 8
Joshua 8 - Joshua 7 left a bad taste in our mouths. After discovering the sin that had caused Israel to be defeated at Ai, Joshua was left to pick up the pieces. ...
Joshua 7
Joshua 7 - Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:15 NASB This is a sad story after such a joyful victory for Israel. ...
Joshua 4
Joshua 4 - In Joshua 4, after the entire nation finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord instructed Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to take twelve stones from the middle of the river where the priests stood ...
Deuteronomy 34
Deuteronomy 34 - So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, ...
Deuteronomy 26
Deuteronomy 26 - Once again we enter into an Old Testament story which has significant implications for how we understand events documented in the New Testament. "Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the ...
Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel 22 - Spiritual sin = practical consequences. This is a fact. Though the OT and NT are under different covenants, God is consistent. Israel would experience physical consequences for the heinous acts they committed spiritually. Though ...
Ezekiel 21
Ezekiel 21 - Ezekiel was a unique and inspired writer that often used abstract visuals to drive home deep spiritual principles. Although the topic is horrific, this chapter is a prime example of this. Take, for instance, ...
Ezekiel 20
Ezekiel 20 - For a good part of my adult life, I chased after the hopes and dreams of man. I had my eyes set on the material pleasures and the finite comforts of this world. God's ...
Ezekiel 19
Ezekiel 19 - In this elegy, Ezekiel mourns the lion cubs (kings of Judah) who were brought up by the lioness (nation of Judah). An elegy is a poem of serious reflection that is typically a lament ...
Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 18 - Turn away from your sins and live. In this chapter, a foundational Christian belief is described in detail. Though the punishment during Ezekiel's time was on a national scale, the sin that caused the ...
Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 16 - This chapter is an anti-entitlement message. Once again, there is application that is extremely relevant for our culture today. The truth is, we all have skeletons in our closet. We are not always who ...
Ezekiel 15
Ezekiel 15 - The grapevine was of utmost importance to the agriculture of ancient Israel. Coming off the heels of Chapter 14 (which was about false prophets), it's interesting to consider that Jesus makes a direct correlation ...
Ezekiel 14
Ezekiel 14 - After introducing His hand of judgment, God reveals four ways in which He will punish the rebellious people. Ezekiel 14:13 - "If a country sins...My Hand....will bring famine."Ezekiel 14:15 - "If I were to ...
Ezekiel 12
Ezekiel 12 - "Son of man, what is this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, 'The days are long and every vision fails'? Ezekiel 12:22 NASB "Son of man, behold, the house of ...
Ezekiel 11
Ezekiel 11 - Although it was written thousands of years ago, Ezekiel 11 has a lot of application for our current society. God said to me, "Mortal man, these men make evil plans and give bad advice ...
Ezekiel 10
Ezekiel 10 - Think for a moment about the devastation caused by sin. This was not just a "mistake" or "moral failure." No matter how much we dress up the sins of the people, the severity of ...
Ezekiel 9
Ezekiel 9 - It's tough to read about the judgment of God with regard to sin, however, it reveals the character of God. The standard set by the holiness of God is not the same as our ...
Ezekiel 8
Ezekiel 8 - The people thought that because the temple was located in Jerusalem, their shameful acts of sin were covered. They really believed that the temple guaranteed their security. In reality, their acts had caused God ...
Ezekiel 7
Ezekiel 7 - The Babylonians invaded Judah twice but the people could not comprehend the severity of the destruction. It's like they could not connect the dots. They couldn't see the connection between their sin and the ...
Ezekiel 4
Ezekiel 4 - Just as Isaiah was asked to walk naked and barefoot for 3 years, Ezekiel is asked to portray the coming judgment on His people. Ironically, we see this type of teaching style used in ...
Ezekiel 3
Ezekiel 3 - First, let's paint a backdrop of what Ezekiel is dealing with here. The people of Israel have continually rejected the Word and the prophets. They are stubborn and obstinant (Eze 3:7). They, like us, ...
Acts 28
Acts 28 - I love the image of Paul here at the end of Acts. He is a man who, under normal circumstances, would have no joy. He’s been falsely accused, spent a considerable amount of time ...
Acts 15
Acts 15 - The first question we want to know is, who was right and who was wrong between Paul and Barnabas? I feel that when we approach it from that angle we really miss Luke’s point. ...
Acts 12
Acts 12 - King Herod never saw it coming. The grandson of the infamous Herod the Great was part of long line of family dysfunction that fought against the people of God many times throughout history. His ...
Acts 7
Acts 7 - I can vividly remember the old seat belt PSA that was shown on TV all the time when I was a kid. Vince and Larry, the Crash Test Dummies, would facetiously admit that they ...
Acts 5
Acts 5 - The early church faced persecution from both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. After hearing the testimony of Peter, they were ready to kill these men just like they had Jesus. But wisdom prevailed. But ...
Acts 4
Acts 4 - As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and ...
Acts 3
Acts 3 - The miraculous signs and wonders led to opportunities to authenticate the message of the Gospel. Peter did not hesitate to give the glory back to God. In fact, he literally asked the people why ...
Acts 2
Acts 2 - At the end of Acts 2, we read the three essentials that contributed to a fruitful body. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread ...
Lamentations 5
Lamentations 5 - We don't often think in terms of the comprehensive suffering that Judah endured during exile. It was not just that their enemies came and put them in chains. They struggled immensely. Their sin cost ...
Lamentations 4
Lamentations 4 - With graphic detail, Jeremiah describes all the ways in which his people suffered during the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem. Those who survived the siege lived under horrific suffering. It was so bad, that women ...
Lamentations 3
Lamentations 3 - The first 20 verses of Lamentations 3 recall the conditions that God has allowed to take place which has brought immense grief to Jeremiah's heart. He is a great lion waiting to ambush. He ...
Lamentations 2
Lamentations 2 - In the second chapter of Lamentations, God expresses His hatred for sin. It's important for us to remember that although God hates sin, it does not cloud His compassion for us. However, when we ...
Lamentations 1
Lamentations 1 - The mere existence of the book of Lamentations shows us that God takes seriously our need as humans to process and grieve. "In this world, you will have trouble... " Jesus promised. Trouble comes ...
Leviticus 26
Leviticus 26 - First off, this is a crazy awesome chapter that raises many significant questions. In the most direct and straightforward language that He can use, God lays out the future possibilities for His people. These ...
Leviticus 23
Leviticus 23 - There are several of these celebrations that were brought into modern-day by Christianity. Passover = Good Friday. Unleavened Bread = Easter. And finally, the Festival of the Weeks = Pentecost. Most of us know ...
Leviticus 21
Leviticus 21 - This chapter primarily deals with the holiness of the religious leaders. We read that higher standards were expected from them as opposed to ordinary citizens. The New International Commentary - OT provides a good ...
Leviticus 20
Leviticus 20 - In Chapter 18, we read that the laws of the OT are still applicable in the NT and beyond. Here in Chapter 20, we get a glimpse of the punishment for those who disobey ...
Leviticus 18
Leviticus 18 - We see consistency in the NT with all of these laws found in Leviticus 18. Incest, idolatry, adultery, and homosexuality are addressed. Jesus actually raises the bar on many of these laws from the ...
Leviticus 17
Leviticus 17 - The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for ...
Leviticus 16
Leviticus 16 - The goat chosen for Azazel shall be presented alive to the LORD and sent off into the desert to Azazel, in order to take away the sins of the people. Leviticus 16:10 GNB It's ...
Leviticus 14
Leviticus 14 - The book of Leviticus deals with holiness in terms of wholeness. It was extremely important for the priests of the OT to have knowledge in what is considered "clean" and "unclean." This allowed them ...
Leviticus 13
Leviticus 13 - "The symptoms that led to a verdict of uncleanness were as follows. The “skin disease” had to be long and lasting. It had to be old (Lev 13:11) or last at least a week ...
Leviticus 12
Leviticus 12 - After bearing a child, a woman was considered contagiously unclean for one to two weeks. One day 8, when a boy would be circumcised, the childbearing mother was no longer contagious but still had ...
Leviticus 10
Leviticus 10 - By the end of Leviticus 9, everything seems to be going great... until we turn the page to Leviticus 10. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put live coals in ...
Leviticus 9
Leviticus 9 - All of these offerings can get confusing! There is a cool resource I stumbled upon that makes it easy for visual learners to comprehend complex chapters like this one. It's called Doodle Through the ...
Leviticus 8
Leviticus 8 - The comprehensive and infectious consequences of sin have no limit. Why did Aaron and his family need to be consecrated? Because they needed to be ceremonially set apart in order to be a priest ...
Leviticus 6
Leviticus 6 - In Leviticus 6, we get a picture of the reparation offering. There were many offenses that constituted having to make such an offering and they fell under two main categories. Trespassing against God Withholding ...
Leviticus 5
Leviticus 5 - In Leviticus 5, there are some deep theological principles that begin to come to life. We've heard it said that our body is the temple of God. Here in the OT, we get a ...
Leviticus 4
Leviticus 4 - While the peace offering in Leviticus 3 was optional, the sin offering was mandatory. The sin offering, or, purification offering, had many layers which will span Leviticus 4 and 5. The reason for the ...
Leviticus 3
Leviticus 3 - In Leviticus 1, we explored the burnt offering. In Leviticus 2, it was the grain offering. Now, in Leviticus 3, we come to the peace offering. If you remember, the burnt offering required only ...
Leviticus 2
Leviticus 2 - The grain or cereal offering of the OT symbolized man's work for God. The offering would be brought to the priest and would symbolize man's willingness to keep the law. But, the grain offering ...
Leviticus 1
Leviticus 1 - The book of Leviticus picks up right where Exodus left off. The opening verse begins with "Then the Lord called to Moses..." 'Then' signals us to look back at the end of Exodus which ...
Revelation 22
Revelation 22 - Tree of Life The final chapter of the Bible bookends the story that God started in the Garden of Eden. There, we saw a glimpse of the plan He had for mankind which was ...
Revelation 21
Revelation 21 - There is a lot of crossover between what Isaiah writes in chapter 65 and the 21st chapter of Revelation. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will ...
Revelation 19
Revelation 19 - After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are ...
Revelation 16
Revelation 16 - The continuity of the seals and the trumpets is broken up with the bowls as they move seamlessly through all seven with no interlude between the 6th and 7th as we have traditionally seen. ...
Revelation 15
Revelation 15 - The divine judgment which was revealed by the seals and proclaimed by the trumpets will now be poured out by the seven bowls. From a literary standpoint, the seventh seal was unleashed by the ...
Revelation 14
Revelation 14 - First question I asked myself... who is Babylon? John, again, is writing symbolically here. Literal Babylon was a mere fraction of what it had been in years past. But, the wording certainly plays into ...
Revelation 13
Revelation 13 - The First Beast At the end of Revelation 12, we read of Satan's rage. He sets out to destroy the people of God. Now, in Revelation 13, we are introduced to the two henchmen ...
Revelation 12
Revelation 12 - The Woman It is out of Israel that the Messiah will come, therefore, it makes sense that the woman would represent not only Israel but also the Messianic community. We can marry these two ...
Revelation 11
Revelation 11 - I think a major issue with Revelation 11 is the fact that it relies heavily on Revelation 10 for continuity. It is best to read on and view chapters 10 and 11 as one ...
Revelation 9
Revelation 9 - The 5th Trumpet The 5th trumpet releases a key to open the abyss. Many scholars believe this is the same abyss that the demons begged Jesus not to throw them in. It may be ...
Revelation 8
Revelation 8 - Continuing on the theme from Chapter 7, John either heard or saw something with every seal that was opened. Here in Revelation 8, the seventh seal is broken and he hears and sees nothing ...
Revelation 7
Revelation 7 - God’s primary motive in our hearts has always been this: transformation. I think it's important to understand Revelation in terms of the overall picture instead of as individual narratives. We see a great transformation ...
Revelation 6
Revelation 6 - I grew up in Berne, Indiana which sits directly on top of the continental divide. If you are not familiar with the continental divide, it is an area of raised terrain that ...
Revelation 5
Revelation 5 - The Scroll In ancient times, the Romans would seal their wills seven times. Each wax seal usually contained an engraved emblem and sealed the letter for security or to designate ownership. Marriage contracts, leases, ...
Revelation 4
Revelation 4 - The Throne We just recently studied the book of Ezekiel and Leviticus which have some strong ties to the language here in Revelation. Before God's throne, John sees brilliant and vivid imagery that is ...
Revelation 2
Revelation 2 - Although these letters are addressed to specific congregations in the first century, I believe they are representative of all churches that will exist throughout history. No matter what church you attend, it is likely ...
Revelation 1
Revelation 1 - The comparison game. We all do it. When life throws us unpredictable storms, (and especially when we wrestle with why God would allow such things) we feel sorry for ourselves. We ask ourselves questions ...
Jeremiah 51
Jeremiah 51 - As I look over the book of Jeremiah and see now how the final judgment of Babylon is going down, it's pretty amazing to think about all that Jeremiah has been through. God has ...
Jeremiah 48
Jeremiah 48 - Moab can trace its ancestry all the way back to Lot. Historically, Israel and Moab experienced times of peace and hostility but there was little love lost between these two nations. Moab seemed to play both sides of the fence. Often, they were a thorn in the side of God’s people. ...
Jeremiah 47
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 ...
Jeremiah 46
Jeremiah 46 - Just as God promised, He outlines some of the details that will take place as Babylon prepares to destroy Egypt. It is proof of His justice and his power, as well as His grace ...
Jeremiah 45
Jeremiah 45 - This is a flashback to the 4th year of Jehoiakim so it's not happening here alongside the destruction of Jerusalem. However, it was placed here, probably to be a timely reminder that God is ...