The law stated that wherever there were 10 Jewish families there must be a synagogue. This meant that wherever there was a colony of Jews, there was a synagogue. If a man had a message to preach, the synagogue was the obvious place to preach it and that is why Jesus went there. On …
Chapter eight shares the climax of Solomon’s accomplishments and the dedication of the temple. The verses today recount the period of “moving in” (vv. 1-21). The most important item after all the new furnishings and utensils had been put in place was the Ark of the Cov …
Paul prayed that the God of peace will keep them from profane things, make them pure and consecrated to God and completely blameless at the coming of Christ (vv 23-24). He also requested that the Christians pray for him (v. 25). After the worship services are over, the Chri …
This chapter is the beginning of what some Bible scholars refer to as “Isaiah’s apocalypse.” The next four chapters discuss God’s judgment on the entire world for its sin. It starts off with a pronouncement of “Woe” on “Ariel”, a code name for Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s worship had become …
Two things distinguished Israel’s history from that of all other nations.Divine presence – (vv. 7, 8) – Picture Israel marching out of Egypt wrapped in a Shekinah cloud. When, in all of history, has this world ever seen anything like this?Divine providence – (vv. 9, 10) – For man …
Jesus knew that before the day was done He would die, and not just die but die a very painful death. Oh sure, he was God and He could make it so it wouldn’t hurt, but that wasn’t a part of the plan. Dying would be the easy part and Jesus Christ, the son of God knew th …
The early church was faced with a big problem involving money (v. 1). There were two groups: the Hellenistic Jews (Greek speaking) and the Hebrew Jews (Aramaic speaking). The Hellenists said that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. Tension developed …
After the priests and Levites had made things right in their own life and cleansed the temple Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple (v. 20). They brought with them bulls, rams, lambs, and goats to offer as sacrifices (v. 21). These were offered …
Judgment would sweep through Judah like a raging forest fire (vv 1-7). In bringing the Babylonians toward the land, the Lord would draw His sharp and polished sword. Flashing like lightning, this sword would bring destruction throughout the land. Since the people refused …
We are introduced to a young man from Bethlehem who is later identified as the grandson of Moses (vv. 7-9). His name was Jonathan, son of Geshom, son of Moses (18:30). It is not for certain why he was wandering alone, away from his family but it seems he was looking for a job and …