After the Lord Jesus ascended Peter became the recognized leader of the disciples. He was bothered by the empty space left by the treachery and suicide of Judas, and had decided that someone must replace the missing member of the Apostolic ranks. With this mind a prayer meeting w …
Moses teaches Israel the principles of the Hebrew bond- slave and the conditions for setting him free (vv. 12-18). The Lord had previously made it clear that six full years of a person’s life were enough to have to work as a slave for defaulting on a loan (Exodus 21:2). At the end of that time …
In giving instructions about the tabernacle God progressed from within to the courtyard outside the tabernacle. A large altar of acacia wood covered with brass rested outside (vv. 1- 8). It was about seven feet square and almost five feet high which was large enough to burn the sacrifice…
The northern Israelites were living beneath a pious veneer of religion, worshiping idols, and oppressing the poor. Amos is identified as a sheep-breeder (vv. 1-2). He is a fiery, fearless, and honest shepherd from the south who confronts the people with their sin and warns them of the …
Moses returned to his father-in-law Jethro since he could not depart for Egypt without first returning the flock (Ex. 3:1) and he also wanted Jethro’s blessing on his going. He told Jethro that he wanted to go back to Egypt and see if his family was still alive (v. 18). It is sad to see that he …
Be on guard! Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack (v. 8). You must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by Christians all over the world (v. 9). But God shows undeserved …
Jeremiah makes a charge against these backsliding people. He paints four verbal pictures (vv. 20-28): An animal that had broken its yoke (v. 20) – Judah had broken off the yoke that had bound her to her Lord and followed after the gods of her heathen neighbor. A choice vine that bec …
Firmly committed to build the temple, the people were soon to face some difficult questions. How beautiful would this temple be and how would its glory compare with Solomon’s temple (vv. 1-3)? As work progressed and plans were formed for the new temple, inevitable comparisons wer …
The Lord protected his people as they sojourned in other lands (vv. 13-15). The writer traces the events that led to the exile of the patriarchal family from the promised land to their settlement in Egypt. God created a mighty famine in the land of Canaan that drove the chosen people down into …
The prophet perhaps anticipates the arguments of the wicked people in Jerusalem. They reason that God has chosen them and blessed them in an unusual way? Surely he cannot cast them as “rubbish.” Ezekiel, however, says he can, and will. He goes to compare th …