In this chapter, as throughout this whole letter, it is evident that God is not interested in religion, but in life that produces the evidence of our faith. Real love for others produces tangible actions: Open to strangers, Open to the oppressed, & Open to understanding the dangers of life.
God declares that Oholah and Oholibah are to be destroyed, together with their children and their houses. God is holy, and lewdness and idolatry are to be eradicated from his holy people (vv. 36- 49). In the final section of this chapter Ezekiel reviewed the sin and judgme …
After gaining the silence of the crowd Paul defended himself by showing that he was a good Jew. He addresses them as friends and leaders and asks them to listen to what he has to say (v. 1). When the crowd heard Paul speak to them in Aramaic, they became quieter (v. 2). He used Aramaic not …
God blesses the house of the righteous (v. 6). Whatever riches the wicked may pile up, he shall never be truly rich. Note other verses in Proverbs that speak of true riches; (Prov. 3:16); (Prov. 8:18); (Prov. 8:14); (Prov. 8:24) and (Prov. 22:4). A person’s words reveal wha …
A guilty conscience and cowardice go hand in hand. The guilty run from imagined pursuers while the righteous are as bold as lions (v. 1). Throughout Israel’s history, the stability of the nation nearly always depended on the wisdom of its leader (v. 2). It’s often the poor who are the most …
Just as Jeroboam was about to burn incense at the altar at Bethel a prophet of God from Judah appeared. He pronounced one of the most remarkable prophecies in all of Scripture as he predicted the name and actions of a king who would not appear on the scene for almost 300 years. …
Paul now moves from the doctrinal part of his letter to the practical part. It has been said that “what we believe helps us to determine how we behave.” To be a happy fruitful Christian, we must translate our learning into living. This is the missing link in the lives of many Christians today …
This book was written two or three years after the Roman Emperor Nero began his persecution of Christians. It focuses on the church’s internal problems, especially on the false teachers.. Peter directed this letter specifically to Christians scattered in the region of present-day …
This chapter comes from the time when Jeremiah sent Baruch down to the temple to read the words he had dictated, as we saw in our previous study (v. 1). Chronologically it should follow Chapter 36. But Jeremiah has placed it right here because it gathers up the feeling of the hea …
The fall of religious Babylon (chapter 17) occurs when the beast assumes his religious role in the middle of the Tribulation and assumes world political power. The city of ancient Babylon is in Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River. The captivity by Nebuchadnezzar …