Of absorbing interest to many students in the world today is the divine outlook presented in the Scriptures concerning the international Jewish problem and the final return of the Jews to their homeland. It becomes obvious to the most casual reader of the Old Testament prophecies that God is steadily working out His sovereign will […]
The Bible tells us little about the nature and powers of angels, whose functions seem often to dwarf their personality. Yet our Lord’s own words in the Gospels acknowledge distinctly that angels are real, not any mere figure of speech. In the book of Daniel the name Michael is given to a chief of the […]
Behold then,” cries the Apostle, “the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness” (Rom. 11:22). Surely the chapter before us presents a notable illustration of the truth of his words. Towards Egypt, severity indeed, but for Israel, goodness, which has kept their heart singing for generations. THE STAGE […]
The main outline of the story in Judges 10–11 is clear. After the death of the judge Jair, once again the Israelites had turned to idolatry of a most virulent kind. The Lord thus lifted His protective care from them and the Ammonites threatened to attack Israel from across the Jordan. When Israel appealed to […]
Jabin, king of Canaan, reigned in Hazor, a formidable city in the Huleh Valley in northern Galilee. With ruthless efficiency—his army boasting nine hundred chariots of iron—he conquered Israel and oppressed them. In Joshua 11 we find an ancestor of this very Jabin, also with chariots of war and occupying the same capital. In those […]
The decisive battle in Joshua 10 brings in a succession of victories and the eventual subjugation of the land. And with its telling, Part 1 of the Book of Joshua closes. Finding that the Gibeonites had made terms with Israel, Adonizedec, king of Jerusalem, summoned the king of Hebron and the adjoining city states to […]
For over 150 years assemblies seeking to follow the simplicity of the New Testament have conducted the Lord’s Supper as an open meeting. This means it was not prearranged, but was open for all the brothers to take part audibly, leading the assembly in worship and praise. I remember my first exposure to such a […]
It was a stalemate. The older sons of Jesse, along with the rest of Saul’s army, had been “dismayed, and greatly afraid” (1 Sam. 17:11) at the brazen boast of the Philistine champion. And little wonder, for Goliath was an imposing mountain of a man. Common sense made it clear that no one on the […]
James W. C. Fegan, the Boys’ Friend, was born April 17, 1852, and brought up in a Christian home in Southampton, England. In 1865 the family moved to London, and on his thirtieth birthday James entered the City of London School, where he won high approval. In 1869, on leaving school, he entered a commercial […]