CHRIST the CARPENTER: “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:55). “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary” (Mk 6:3). Adam Clarke explains: “Among the ancient Jews, every father was bound to do four things for his son. 1. To circumcise him. 2. To redeem him. 3. To teach him the law. 4. […]
“Now Tobiah the Ammonite…said, ‘Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.’ Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads…for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. So we built the wall…” (Neh 4:3-6). Don’t you […]
When witnessing, don’t be surprised to meet believers who are shaken in their faith by some tragedy that baffles them. They are tempted to doubt God’s love or wisdom. George Henderson tells of a believer who said: “I often remember my first year at college, when I was having difficulty with math. After two or […]
Armies break things and kill people. But Cyrus wants the Jews to return, rebuild, and refurbish the temple. Imagine this! Cyrus the Great was not only a king but an empire builder. His armies subjugated people, smashing their fortresses and pillaging their treasures. He had done it scores of times. According to Rüdiger Schmitt, professor […]
CHRIST the SEED of the WOMAN: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen 3:15). Consider the glorious achievements of our Lord as the Conqueror of the devil, promised in the first gospel sermon ever […]
“When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps 61:2). Christian realism has a dab of pessimism but a dollop of optimism. Listen: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can […]
While speaking on the Bible’s inspiration and the many prophecies fulfilled by the Messiah, one detractor advanced the theory that Christ planned His actions based on the Messianic program. I replied: “Did Judas arrange to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver to fulfill the prophecy (Zech 11:12)? And after Judas hanged himself, who arranged […]
Cyrus welded together the world’s first true super-power. But this one letter was more important than that! The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are parts of one continuous history. In fact, the Hebrew Bible had them bound together as one scroll. Although Ezra and Nehemiah seem to be doing very different work—one restoring the temple […]
CHRIST the AMEN: “These things says the Amen…” (Rev 3:14). “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor 1:20). Paul has just explained to the Corinthians that, in seeming exception to Christ’s own instructions, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and […]