Author: Bill Nicholson
Posts by Bill Nicholson
January 25, 2023 — Woodman, Spare That Tree!
These verses show the balance between preserving natural resources and utilizing them. Times of war not only can bring death to the population but also devastation to the countryside. At the conclusion of Deuteronomy 20 we see the wisdom of God in balancing both the need for utilization and preservation of the resources He has […]
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January 24, 2023 — The Special Case Of The Canaanites
There is no mercy only for those who despise it; there is no pardon only for those who reject it. In our last study, we saw that we are to “Pursue peace with all people” (Heb 12:14). Israel was to offer peace to cities at war if they would covenant with them (Deut 20:10-11). However, […]
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January 23, 2023 — Approaching A City In War Time
There are enough verses on peace in the Bible that you could read a new one every day in the year. As a general principle, the Lord told the Israelites, “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it” (Deut 20:10). The only city on earth […]
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January 20, 2023 — Military Exemptions
Solomon says there is “a time of war” (Eccl 3:8) but some people aren’t ready when it comes. After the priest had rallied the troops, calling them to keep their hopes in God, “Then the officers shall speak to the people” (Deut 20:5). Israel to this day has a very small standing army. When war […]
January 19, 2023 — Battling Your Enemies
They say that if blood was indelible, Jerusalem, the “city of peace,” would be red, all red. Few other nations, if any, have faced more warfare than Israel. The land they occupied was at the crossroads of the ancient world, with the superpowers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Nubia to the south and Chaldea, Assyria and […]
January 18, 2023 — Nothing But The Truth
Here are God’s principles for the courts: honesty, corroboration, inquiry, fair sentencing. As important as being straight about boundary lines, God’s people also need to be straight about telling the truth. In Israel, false testimony could be as fatal as a knife to the heart. That’s why “by the mouth of two or three witnesses […]
January 17, 2023 — Ancient Landmarks
“Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls” (Jer 6:16). After discussing the difference between murder and manslaughter, and taking a life, it hardly seem important to talk about taking land, but that’s the next subject. “You shall not remove your […]
January 16, 2023 — The Sinner’s Only Refuge
“But thus the eternal counsel ran: ‘Almighty love, arrest that man!’” (Jehoida Brewer) So there they were—six cities strategically placed throughout the Promised Land, three on each side of the River Jordan. God told them, “You shall prepare roads for yourself” (Deut 19:3), to provide good accessibility to the cities. A man fleeing the avenger […]