Normally the Pharisees and Sadducees opposed each other, but in today’s passage they united in an effort to silence Jesus (v. 1). The Pharisees were the traditionalists of their day, and the Sadducees were the liberals. For the fourth time these religious leaders were asking for a sign more …
Right after Jesus’ injunction to ask for laborers we find the twelve apostles listed (vv. 1-5). The qualifications for being an apostle were as follows:
1. Must have seen the risen Christ (1st Corinthians 9:1) …
“Herod the king” mentioned here was known as Herod the Great (v. 1), whose family though nominally Jewish, was an Edomite who became king with Rome’s help. It is no surprise that he was disturbed when the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the one who had been “born king” …
Attention is given in this passage to doing good for those whom you have the opportunity and power to do so. The poor and the neighbor are to be the objects of this kind of good neighbor policy. From these verses we can see three groups of relation¬ships with others and how to be good …
If we as Christians are going to have wisdom, I see this passage laying down six conditions that will result in six blessings (promises). Notice the CONDITIONS laid out in the first four verses: …
David’s next move was to the cave of Adullam, which is about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem and 10 miles northeast of Gath (v.1). David wrote Psalm 34 while he was here at Adullam’s Cave. On the run from mad king Saul, hold up in a cave with all these needy men coming to him, I’m …
When David was brought before Israel’s monarch, Saul tried to talk him out of what appeared to be a foolish course of action (vv. 31-33). Human logic might have implied that he was embarking on a fool’s errand, but his confidence in the God of his fathers was so strong it assured him of …
When we last left Saul he was trapped in a predicament, with no guidance from God, not enough men nor enough weapons to resist a massive Philistine invasion (1 Samuel 13). Saul’s 600 men were stuck in a defensive …
The anointing of a king symbolizes the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in his life (v. 1). When Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head, this act represented God’s approval of Saul as a leader of His people. Anointing …
Today’s passage introduces us to Saul, the first king of Israel. (1) Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, Israel’s smallest tribe and an unlikely place to find a leader all Israel could get behind (read Judges 19-20) …