Intro to Judges
The book of Judges chronicles Israel's history leading into the establishment of God's kingdom, ruled through human leaders. It reveals a disturbing trend in the peoples early days, a trend of forsaking God in favor of compromise with the nations around them. This repetitious rebellion lead them to failures in their relationship with God, failures in military might, and failures to be the separate and holy people God intended. In fact, there is archaeological evidence that reinforces the Bible's account. All of the pottery and other artifacts of this period show no differentiation between Israelite artifacts and those of the nation's around them.
YHWH Mekoddishkem
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am YHWH Mekoddishkem [the Lord who sanctifies you]. So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death; indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people. Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest.... — Exodus 31.12-15a
Intro to Numbers
At the start of the book of Numbers we find Israel still at the foot of the Mountain of God, but all that soon changes. This book was written to chronicle the new nations history and their journey across the Jordan River to the nation fields of Moab at the edge of the land of Canaan. The journey is the primary story, but it also continues the story of God's covenant with Abraham all the way back in Genesis and the covenant God made with Moses and the people — even though their numbers would dwindle during this 40-year journey largely characterized by wandering.
Intro to Exodus
Exodus is a continuation of Genesis. Examining Genesis 46.8 where the phrase "These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt..." we find a parallel in the opening verse of Exodus (1.1), "These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family...". Clearly the two books belong together. The book begins listing the names of those impacted by oppression and slavery and ends with a rescued population of Israel camped out in the desert at the foot of God's Mountain.
El Qanna
El Qanna means “the Lord is jealous” and is pronounced El Kah-nah. This is another name God gives himself, this time in Exodus 34.14 and describes an aspect of God’s love for his people: "For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is El Qanna, is a jealous God." Normally jealousy is a sin when it turns to coveting something we do not have or resentment of another's success. But jealousy can also be constructive, as Paul notes to the church in Corinth: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy...” (2 Corinthians 11.2).
Intro to Deuteronomy
At the start of the book of Deuteronomy we find Israel in Moab, where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. Moses takes time to prepare the people for the road ahead. Rather than speaking sternly and professorially, he speaks straight from the heart. He knows these people have endured God's discipline for 40 years, but now they stand on the cusp of receiving the promise. With Egypt behind them and the Promised Land before them, Moses inspires the people not with a battle cry but a reminder of God's law. Obedience will be the key to their success.
The Bible in Media #3
"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media. This week in the Bible and Media: China bans the sale of Bible's online, California makes a move to ban the sale of the Bible in their state, and a public US high school discriminates against LGBTQ students.
Genesis
Today we're back to full time, publishing three articles per week. After having performed fresh research and study we're sure that Think-Biblically.com will continue to be the kind of site you want to keep reading. More Bible, more modern application and thought, and more insight into the character of the God we serve. All designed to help you build relational connections to the Creator and to, as Johannes Kepler once encouraged us, to "think God's thoughts after him." Toward that end, we'll be taking a more planned approach with our publishing schedule, at least for the next few months
Intro to Joshua
Joshua picks up where Deuteronomy left off, continuing the conquest of the land. Taking the promised land would require work, specifically the Israelites would have to defeat a great many city-states, all of whom were idol worshipers and worse, practicing spiritually immoral crafts and worshiping god's that were likely demonic beings. The evil of these groups required judgment, and the army of Israel was God's sword, sweeping through the land to cleanse it and redeem it. Should the Israelites follow God's commands to the letter, the land would see renewal and become a holy place.
YHWH Yireh
We mentioned in this series already that even though YHWH is written in the Bible many times it was only ever spoken by the priests in the Temple. When outside the Temple the priests used the name Adonai. This name for God means “Master” or “Owner” and represents God’s right to rule as he is the creator and owner of every person. This name for God occurs nearly 300 times in the Old Testament. Before the people then, the Priest would read a passage from the Law and replace this personal name YHWH with Adonai.
Intro to Leviticus
The failures of the people of the great “I AM” were made clear in the book of Exodus; in Leviticus God is all about teaching his people how to move forward. Not literally, of course, since we find Moses and the people still at the foot of the mountain of God. Instead of guiding the fledgling nation out of the desert, God guide them to honor and worship him – both publicly and privately – because corporate and personal obedience to the laws would eventually contribute to the overall health of their nation. God is setting them up for success.
Repentance of God
There is a final lesson from the book of Jonah, one that is important for every believer. God never asks us to do anything that he is not prepared to do himself. He never asks us to be irresponsible, or to have bad judgment, or to perform any sinful act. What God asks of us is repentance. In our case, repentance involves sorrow over our offense to God and to turn away from acts of sin and walk according to God's plan. So what does it mean in Jonah 3.10 when it states that God "relented", or as some translations put it, "repented"?.