This chapter begins with an emphasis on the mighty acts of God on behalf of His people Israel (vv. 1-2). When they became slaves in Egypt, He cared for them and multiplied them greatly. When Jacob and his family journeyed to Egypt to join Joseph (Gen. 46) there were 70 people and they …
Israel’s greatest temptation was in wanting to be like the other nations, and this is what led to their downfall and captivity. Unfortunately, many in the church today have the same mistaken idea that being like the world is the way to reach the world. Instead of maintaining sepa …
We all have a past. There are very few people today that have not been touched by divorce. We have all heard the statistics that cite that roughly one-half of every marriage ends in divorce. Forty percent of young women before the age of 20 become pregnant here in the United States. Many …
This was our Lord’s last public message which was directed especially to the Pharisees. There were about 6,000 Pharisees in that day and most of them were middle class businessmen. The name Pharisee came from a word that means “to separate” and the Pharisees separated themselves from …
King Neco led his Army from Egypt to Carchemish on the Euphrates River and Josiah met his troops there (v. 20). Neco sent a message to Josiah that he was not attacking him but that God had told him to quickly attack my enemy (v. 21). He said that God is on my side, so if you try …
While Joseph’s brothers had come to repentance in chapter 44 and realized the forgiveness of Joseph in chapter 45, it is not until this time, late in the life of Jacob, that he comes to a significant turning point of his life. While he may well have been saved years before (Gen. 28:10), he has not …
Saul set in motion several steps to kill David (v. 1). First, he asked his servants to kill him. Jonathan went to his father, on David’s behalf, and was able to appease him for a time (vv. 2-7). In fact, Saul made the statement, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be slain” (v.6). Again, David went out to war …
This psalm begins with David’s desire to build the temple. When he became king he built a beautiful palace, but it troubled him that the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence among his people, remained in a tent. The opening verses tell of David’s intention to build a …
Sadly, Nebuchadnezzar did not take the prophet’s advice to turn from his evil ways. It seems almost incredible that the king would refuse to heed Daniel’s pleading and yet that is exactly what happened. The heart of man has not changed since that historic event. With all the preaching of …
This prophecy includes three sections, each of which closes with the words seen so often in Ezekiel, “then they will know that I am the Lord” (vv. 6a, 9, 16). This first of seven prophecies against Egypt was given almost a year after the siege of Jerusalem began …