Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, is the central character of Genesis 34. Though we know what happened to her and because of her, we know nothing about what she said, did, or thought. Her story begins tragically. She is raped by Shechem. Yet after his act of lust, he falls in love with […]

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God Gives Us Living Water Living Water Flows from God’s Temple and Is for Our Benefit In the Old Testament, the people perceived that God lived in the temple. They saw this as his residence on earth. To connect with him meant they had to go to the temple. As Ezekiel winds down his lengthy […]

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Miriam is the older sister of Moses; she’s also the sister of Aaron, but we don’t know which one is older. At the time Moses is born, there’s a degree to kill all baby boys. His mom hides him as long as she can, then she puts him in a basket and places him in […]

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Why Being a Watchman Is Serious Business People in positions of authority are liable if they don’t warn their charges of potential danger The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel opens with some vague references to upcoming danger, a watchman, and heeding the warnings of the lookout. Who is this watchman, we wonder? Could it be an […]

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Do You Know How to Hear God? If We’re Ready to Listen, God Can Speak to Us through His Holy Spirit In the book of Ezekiel we come across an interesting passage. Some of the leaders of the nation of Israel approach Ezekiel. They ask him to seek God’s input for them. They want to […]

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Women in the Bible: Rachel Rachel is an interesting character. She’s the wife of Jacob and also his first cousin. Talk about ick! We read about her in Genesis 29-31 & 35. For some reason, I’m drawn to her, but I don’t know why. We know she’s beautiful. For Jacob, it’s love at first sight. […]

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Consider God’s Punishment God Had a Purpose for His People and They Let Him Down God established Jerusalem as the center of all nations. This suggests he intended them to set an example and be a global leader, showing everyone how to live right and pointing them to him. But this isn’t what they did. […]

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Women in the Bible: Rebekah Rebekah married Isaac and had twin boys: Esau and Jacob. Her story is found in Genesis 24 through 28. The family tree of Rebekah is confusing. She is the daughter-in-law of Abraham and Sarah, as well as their great niece (the daughter of their nephew, Bethuel. Remember Abraham and Sarah […]

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Three Things God Requires from Us God’s Expectations May Surprise Us, but They Do Make Sense As Micah wraps up his prophecy to the people of Israel, he slips in a profound thought. In one short sentence he tells what God requires of his people. It’s succinct and simple. It’s startling but profound. Equally astonishing […]

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Women in the Bible: Sarah The story of Sarah is scattered among the narrative in Genesis 11 through 23. Not only was she the first wife of Abraham, she was also his half-sister. Before we get too weirded out by this, recall that at this time, marrying your half-sister wasn’t prohibited. Sarah, whose name means […]

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Do You Ever Wonder If Your Right Behavior Is in Vain? Keeping Our Heart Pure Is Hard, Especially When God Offers Us Grace and Mercy There are at least twelve psalms in the Bible written by Asaph. Psalm 73 is one of them. Asaph’s having a bad day. He’s going through a difficult time. It’s […]

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Women of the Bible: Esther Was Not Like Cinderella I’ve always liked the story of Esther. She was a peasant girl who won a national beauty pageant and became queen. In my imagination, I’ve given this tale a Cinderella-like grandness, with Esther and the king, falling in love and living happily ever after. Alas, the […]

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The Honor for the Victory Goes to a Woman Barak Chickens Out and Insists Judge Deborah Goes with Him The book of Judges is a colorful read about some strange characters. Except for Judge Deborah, all the other judges in this book are male. That makes Deborah unique. Perhaps that’s why I like her so […]

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Leah, like her younger sister, Rachel, is an interesting character. While I’m inexplicitly drawn to Rachel, I just feel sorry for Leah. She marries her first cousin, Jacob. The problem is Jacob loves her younger sister Rachel. While Rachel is attractive, Leah is not. Though we don’t understand the details, we do know she doesn’t […]

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Women in the Bible: Bathsheba Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, is married to Uriah. Despite being a foreigner, Uriah is loyal to the nation of Israel, King David, and God; he is an honorable man, who is off fighting in the army. Back home, David, from his rooftop vantage, sees Bathsheba bathing. Both are at fault. […]

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The Good Shepherd and the Bad Shepherd Shepherds Have a Responsibility to Their Sheep and Sheep Have a Responsibility to Their Shepherd We know Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The Bible also addresses bad shepherds. The book of Jeremiah talks about this, but it’s easy to miss it if we read too fast. The Bad […]

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Women in the Bible: Naaman’s Servant Girl An unnamed Israelite girl is captured in a raid. Then they force her to work as a slave in the household of the enemy commander, Naaman. Although Naaman is an accomplished military leader, he suffers from a limiting physical ailment: he has leprosy, a contagious skin disease that […]

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Don’t Burn the Bible We Would Never Burn Scripture, but Ignoring a Passage Is as Bad God tells his prophet Jeremiah what to say. Jeremiah dictates it to his scribe, Baruch, who records it in a scroll. The scroll eventually makes it to the king. Though the people who hear Jeremiah’s words take his warning […]

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Women in the Bible: Jephthah’s Daughter We don’t know the name of Jephthah’s daughter, but we do lament what happened to her, all the while applauding the honorable way she accepted her fate, showing her faith and confidence in God in the process. Here’s her brief story: When the elders of Gilead ask Jephthah to […]

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Do What Is Just and Right Do God’s Instructions to the King of Judah Apply to Us Today? It’s dark times indeed for God’s people. The prophet Jeremiah is his mouthpiece to speak truth. God sends Jeremiah to the king of Judah with a message. This message begins with some commands and ends with a […]

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