I was reading a chapter on the book of Judges today and I came across a sentence that stopped me in my tracks. God did not wait until His people had cleaned up their lives (i.e., repented) before He saved them. He delivered them when they cried to Him for help ([Judges] 3:9, 15; 4:3;… Read More »
Today I read Judges. I don’t know exactly, but I estimate that I spent about five hours reading through the book (once). It was an exceptional journey. I’ve suggested here before that we need to read more books (and less stories and chapters). Things come to life in a different way if you read the… Read More »
I read this today and couldn’t figure out if the guy is trying to rewrite history or if he is just ignorant. “It is widely argued that Joshua’s account of the conquest does not match what is known from archaeology about the patterns of occupation and destruction of the cities in Canaan….Conservative explanations for these… Read More »
Today only Merrill’s 2nd edition of Kingdom of Priests is available for Logos at “half price.” I put that in quotation marks because it is based on the retail price ($40), and you can buy the paperback version every day at Amazon for $26. This brings to mind yet again my frustration at having to… Read More »
On my first Isaiah post (is that series dead? I don’t think so), I included a “footnote” at the end of the first paragraph which read: 5 minutes ago I finished reading through 1-2 Chronicles in two sittings. This cleared up a problem I’ve long had: was Josiah’s death at the hands of Neco the… Read More »
I resonate with several things in the start of this article by Bruce Waltke, published in Ligonier’s Tabletalk. “Better than a bronze sculpture by Cellini, or a marble one by Bernini, or even a Beethoven symphony,” I was saying to my colleagues, while our waitress with tray in hand waited attentively for my climatic closure,… Read More »
In some churches, they find a demon under every bush and in every sickness. In some circles of Christianity, they find hyperbole in every prophecy. I am not convinced, but I did find one that will put those stupid “literalists” [fn1] to shame: 1 Kings 20:10 (NIV) “Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May… Read More »
I just finished writing a 9-page chapter that gives my take on 1-2 Chronicles. Though written for a new OT survey textbook, this chapter does not give a chronological summary of the book. Instead it is arranged by themes, under the heading of “what did the author of Chronicles really want you to understand.” As… Read More »
Abijah ruled for three years (2 Chr 13:2). He had 14 wives and 38 children (2 Chr 13:21). Do the math. It’s possible, but he must have spent a lot of time visiting the hospital during his reign. Of course, he likely married before he became king. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1… Read More »
Yesterday I finished a year and three months of teaching through 1 Samuel with a lesson on the book as a whole. I summarized the message of 1-2 Samuel with this single statement: The kingship of Israel is established by God through the prophet Samuel by an everlasting covenant with the house of David. Should… Read More »