The identity of this prophet is uncertain. Nahum calls himself the Elkoshite. Elkosh was probably situated in Galilee; certainly Nahum was familiar with this particular part of Palestine. It is most probable that the prophet moved into Judah after the fall of Israel, when the northern territory was re-populated by Esar-haddon. It is not difficult […]
Haggai’s messages were addressed to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high priest, clearly proving that the prophet was sent to the remnant of the Jews that returned to Jerusalem in the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, as recorded in the book of Ezra (Ezra 3:2). To understand the significance of these […]
How vividly Sir George Adam Smith describes Edom in The Book of the Twelve Prophets. The purple mountains, into which the wild sons of Esau clambered, run out from Syria upon the desert, some hundred miles by twenty of porphyry and red sandstone. From Mount Hor, which is their summit, you look down upon a […]
The summer was drawing to a close. The late-night ferry crossing from Newhaven, England, to Dieppe, France, was jammed with college students returning to the Continent. There seemed to be no end to the creativity expressed by my fellow travellers in finding places to sleep. But a few of us were enjoying the moon-lit ride […]
It is helpful to realize that the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, have at least four levels of understanding. For example, a young person in school might be introduced to math–simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Later, he discovers another level to numbers called fractions. Then later, another level with square roots and indices, […]
So you want to study the Bible? Where do you start? How do you make sense of it all? Allow me to suggest a few helpful books. The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study by Oletta Wald is an excellent starting point. This book will teach you how to read the Bible, how to observe […]
“He maketh the rebel a priest and a king,” the old hymn says. This is a thrilling discovery for the believer; that God has called each of us to be a priest to God. That which going on in modern Christendom, the ordination of women and who knows what else as priests, has nothing to […]
Today, even within those churches who consider themselves to be fundamental and evangelical, the emphasis on doctrine is kept to a minimum. The argument is brought forth that doctrine does not have to do with the significant matters of life and that it is irrelevant to most people. Even fundamental doctrines regarding the nature of […]
On the coast of Britain there were small fishing villages peopled by Britons who had earlier been conquered by the Romans. There Christianity had gained a foothold, but the Romans had not penetrated Scotland or crossed the narrow sea to Hibernia, an island we know as Ireland. Whether Christianity gained a foothold among any of […]