Jesus did not come into this world to gain status or political power, but to suffer and die so that we could have eternal life. Through the Lord’s suffering God made Him fit to bring man unto salvation (v. 10). Because we have the same Father, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brot …
This Psalm has to do with the security of the believer. It is a security that cannot be threatened by outward circumstances. While the Assyrian overthrow was still fresh in the writers mind, he wrote this song of the security of the saint. He tells how he is safe in two ways:He i …
Sometimes we don’t want people to get to know us completely because we are afraid, they will discover something about us that they won’t like. However, God already knows everything about …
Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah again and met him in secret at the entrance to the temple (vv. 14-16). Zedekiah wanted to ask Jeremiah something, and he told the prophet not to hide anything from him. Jeremiah said, if he did answer with a message the king did not want to hear he had …
False teachers in John’s day claimed to have a special anointing from God which gave them special knowledge that others did not have. But John points out that all true Christians know God and have received the Spirit of God (v. 23). Apparently these false teachers in John’s day w …
Noah, Daniel and Job were great men in Israel’s history who were known for their wisdom and relationships with God (v. 14). However, even these great men of God could not have saved the people of Judah because He had already passed judgement on the nation’s pervasive evil …
Listening and responding is vital in a relationship with God. As we see from this passage, God is no respecter of age or position when it comes to communication. He can and may work through anyone he chooses. Most of us would have expected God to speak to the older statesman, E …
Sometime later the armies of Israel and the Philistines faced each other across the Valley of Elah (vv. 1-2), a wide valley approximately 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem (v. 3). The two armies decided on a contest of champions to determine victory. The Philistines chose Goliath, a nine-foot …
The writer warns in this passage against diverse and strange teachings which are linked with food restrictions and external religious demands. Apparently some were teaching that keeping the Old Testament ceremonial laws and rituals (such as eating certain foods) was important to …
The prophet seems to place himself in the future “day of the Lord” and from that position looks back to the present locust plague. With this dual crises in mind Joel wrote to warn his nation and at the same time encourage her to a holy walk. The trumpet of alarm …