This letter was written by Jude, the brother of James to all who were chosen and loved by God and kept by Jesus Christ (v. 1). Jude longed for them to know God’s “mercy, peace, and love” (v.2). While wishing to write on a more pleasant theme of …
What was the purpose of the Law? It was given to show that we sin. The Law was a dramatic event (Ex. 19) in comparison with the giving of the covenant to Abraham (Gen. 15). The Judaizers were impressed with the emotional externals and they were saying “In order for a person …
Up to this point Nehemiah’s challenges as a spiritual leader had been primarily from those outside of Judah. However, in this chapter he faces the most difficult and intense kind of problem that any leader faces and that is problems from within. Not only were their enemies a cons …
As with chapter 7, this chapter precedes chapter 5 chronologically. Approximately two years after Daniel had his first dream in chapter seven he had another dream. This dream came during the third year of Belshazzar’s reign (v. 1). He was in the palace at Shushan, about t …
Before I made a trip to Israel I used to think of the wilderness mentioned in the Bible as a huge forest. However, I found out it was just barren land with lots of rocks. It is thought that the place where Jesus was first tempted is a barren area northwest of the dead sea and …
In the interpretation of the dream Daniel gives a prophetic outline from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the second coming of Christ (v. 36). The image of Nebuchadnez?zar’s dream symbolized the four great world empires. The Babylonian Empire (vv. 37-38) – Daniel said …
In this chapter we have reference to certain bodily functions, discharges from the body, which many feel are so personal that it is not proper to read this in public nor to refer to it openly. But I like pastor Ray Stedman’s answer to this when he says: “If this chapter sho …
In this chapter Job talks to God about the seeming futility of his life. He questions as to why God should keep him alive. What is all this suffering accomplishing? Job says, “If I am a great sinner, either pardon my sins or take my life. Either way I will find some pe …
This takes us back to the year 605 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar first came up against Judah. He was met by the armies of Egypt at the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and there one of the great strategic battles of all history was fought (vv. 1-2). Here Jeremiah is describ …
When the king’s messenger arrived, Elisha announced a prophecy. He said that within 24 hours the siege would be over and there would be plenty to eat (vv. 1-2). This officer sent by Joram found this prophecy to be incredible and expressed his utter disbelief that God could or …