David surveys the land that will soon be his responsibility to govern as king. He wanted everything that God had promised to his people. Shechem, was an important territory that had not yet yielded to David’s government (v. 6). The valley of Succoth (Gen. 33:17) which was East of …
The prophet declares that Nineveh’s fate is as certain at that of the Egyptian city of Thebes, which Assyria had conquered in 663 B.C. Both cities depended on their rivers: Thebes had the Nile, and Nineveh had the Tigris. Unlike Nineveh, Thebes had many allies: (1) Cush refers to Southern …
Not ashamed is the key idea to this chapter. In this time of mounting persecution Timothy could have been afraid to continue preaching the gospel. Paul admonishes Timothy not to be ashamed in (v. 8). Paul gives a brief summary of the gospel by saying, God loves us, called us and …
This passage starts out by saying that men of folly are digging their own graves (v. 8). Not paying any attention to duty is also compared to the breaking down of walls. It is easy to get hurt by chiseling stone or falling trees (vv. 9-10). Solomon shows that even though wisdom i …
Elisha tells Ahab that there will be no rain in the land except by his word (v. 1). Then the Lord to go and hide himself near the brook Cherith (vv. 2-3). Elishia did as the Lord told him and a drought came and the Lord fed him till the brook dried up (vv. 4-6). The last king t …
In this chapter the Lord instructed His people to reserve certain dates on their calendar for national public worship and sacrifice. Calendars are a normal part of our modern busy world, but they weren’t that important to the people of Israel in Moses day. The Jews worked from s …
This chapter begins by explaining how Balaam realized the Lord’s intention to bless Israel, so he did not try to use his sorcery as he usually did (v.1) but he looked toward the wilderness and saw the tribes encamped in formation and the Spirit of the Lord came on him (v. 2). He …
The Word of God is trustworthy no matter what people do (vv. 137-139). Though the intellectual giants may attack it and ridicule it, the Word of God stands and will be here long after these people are dead and their writings have been forgotten. God never alters with time; we can meditate upon …
It is important to note that the wife that Samson asked his parents to get for him apparently continued to live with her parents. He was probably taking her an expectant gift on his periodic visit. However, Samson learned that his bride had been given to another by her father who thought …
Though holiness is a rather unknown and a hard to define quality in our modern world it had a real message to these ancient Semites who used it. The basic meaning is separation. As it applies to God, it means He is separated from sin, sinners, imperfection of any kind, guilt, and …