Isaiah 9:6 — “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor…” What was the role of “counsellor” in Old Testament times? What was the counsellor supposed to do? How did people view his advice? What is a “wonderful” counsellor? And most importantly, does this name rightfully belong to the child born in Bethlehem?
Exodus 12:14-20 — “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses…” At the same time the LORD instituted the Passover, He also instituted another feast for Israel to keep, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. What did this feast involve and what did it symbolise? As…
Isaiah 9:6 — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder…” This is a famous verse speaks of the child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. It’s a verse we love to sing and meditate on. Over the next few weeks we’re going to think…
Nehemiah 11 — The walls of Jerusalem were finished, but there was a reluctance among the people to take up residence in the city. In this chapter we see how this problem was solved and what it has to teach us about the present and future grace that is ours in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 23:5 — “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” We are very familiar with the shepherd imagery in the Twenty-Third Psalm. Its opening lines are among the most famous and most beloved words in the Bible. But perhaps what we…
I Timothy 1:5a — “Now the end of the commandment is charity…” Timothy had to deliver a difficult message to the church at Ephesus. In this verse, the Apostle Paul tells him why. The goal was love — the Ephesians’ love for God and for each other. False teaching was hindering that love and it needed…
Judges 12:1-7 — “There fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand…” 42,000 dead Israelites. Why? What happened to cause this terrible loss of life? This is the final chapter in Jephthah’s story and it’s awful. A small grievance turned into violence and violence into civil war. As we work through this story,…
I Samuel 8 — “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king…” Israel wanted a king and they wanted Samuel to make it happen. The people wanted a king, in part, because of a poor decision that Samuel had made in appointing his sons as judges. Israel…
I Timothy 1:3-4 — “I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus… that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine…” What was this “other doctrine” that some were teaching in the church at Ephesus? Where did it come from? And what exactly was Timothy supposed to do about it? As we consider these…
Genesis 50:1-21 — “Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.” After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were worried that he would take revenge for what they had done many years earlier. As we consider the ways in which Joseph allayed their fears we discover a…