This message was given by Jeremiah during the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, the year Nebuchadnezar came to power (v. 1). Jeremiah had been prophesying for 25 years. He had spoken to the people again and again but they had not listened to his warnings to repent (vv. 2-3). God had …
David prepared once again to relocate the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. He may have chosen to move the ark on a cart the first time (13:7) because it was the method successfully used by the Philistines who were ignorant of God’s word (l Samuel 6:7). However, he learned through Uzziah’s …
When Jesus left Pilate’s judgment hall, he was carrying the cross. This was part of a prisoner’s humiliation that he carry his own cross. However, because of physical exhaustion Jesus was unable to carry it very far. A man named Simon, from the town of Cyrene in N …
Calvary is at the crossroads of history and eternity. Actually the pathway of the cross began in eternity. The book of Revelation says that Jesus was “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world†(Rev. 13:8). Someone has said, “The cross was no ambulance sen …
In this chapter everyone is doing the wrong thing. It all began when Esau and Jacob were born and when Isaac and Rebekah each chose a favorite son. Isaac, now at the age of 137, was thinking about death and the giving of his patriarchal blessing. This blessing had to be given in accordance …
Most commentators agree this psalm belongs to the time when God overthrew Sennacherib’s hosts before the gates of Jerusalem. Like Psalm 75 it is a hymn of praise. We are told how God is great (v. 1) and His fame is known in (Zion) Jerusalem (v. 2). He is known because of His defe …
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council (v. 1). When he came to Jesus, he said that no one could help but be impressed by the signs and wonders that Jesus did (v 2). As a Pharisee, Nicodemus lived by the strictest possible religious rules. In his response, Jesus …
The first 8 words are very special (v. 1). “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing.” “Every living thing†was on the ark in a sea of nothingness. God sent a “wind†over the earth and that the waters then receded (v. 1). After 40 days it stopped raining (v. 2), then for 150 days (about …
This verse states that unrepentant sin “shall not go unpunished†(v. 5). God makes use of the wicked to execute righteous vengeance on each other; and he will be glorified by their destruction at last. Though sinners strengthen themselves and one another, they shall not …
As this chapter opens, we find two opposing parties ready to leap at each other’s throats. Haman’s decree had stated that on a certain day (13th day of the 12th month) anyone could kill the Jews and take their property (v. 1). This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to do away …