The Case of Divorce, Remarriage, Divorce and Returning to the First Husband Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Deuteronomy 24 since it is often used as the definitive case regarding divorce. Ironically, it is in the section regarding theft, and it is about a very particular circumstance: A man takes a wife and marries her.She finds no favor in […]
“Teach your sons” in Deuteronomy 6:7 (Reposted from my previous blog) Deuteronomy 6 is the beginning of a sixth chapter exposition of the command, “you shall have no other Gods before Me.” The major idea of the chapter is that learning, remembering, reflecting, and acting upon Torah will keep the community’s heart firmly planted and […]
Growing up, I learned that Hanukkah, Passover, and Purim spoke of the need, motive, and way of social justice. Keeping the feasts and telling the stories kept us focused on the need to see and lift the oppression of others. We were moved to do so because we ourselves had suffered. We were compelled to […]
Colosians 3:3-4 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. When it comes to the Spiritual life and the spiritual disciplines, our hiddenness is at odds with the world. The World […]
“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 The word “being” in the Hebrew is “nephesh” literally “throat.” A “throat” can thirst and cry. To be a “being” is to be capable of thirsting and […]
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He used a series of miraculous plagues to loosen Pharaoh’s grip on the people. But the final plague required an act of faith on the part of the believers in the God of Israel. They had to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb in order […]
“The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands.” I am not able to say this, and I doubt anyone can. I have not “kept the ways of the LORD,” I have not been “blameless with Him.” Can I ask for the same deliverence as the David? What’s more, when could David pray this prayer truthfully?
Over the last few weeks I have been reading and reflecting on the Psalms each day. Along with spending time with God, I have been spending time with David, Asaph, and the sons of Korah, among others. As they share their sorrows, joys, and hopes, I find I am in good company. I have written […]
In the closing verses of Psalm 16, the Psalmist give us the keys to Wisdom, Security, Joy, and Life. By constantly “setting the LORD before me” our lives are correctly measured, and our minds are consistently guided. Faced with His eternity we are compelled to make the best use of our days. In light of […]
We have been told by historians that the December 25 Christmas was the Church’s way of covering over and stamping out the celebrations of Saturnalia. However I can find no early sources that say that is what the church was doing. Nor do I find this widely attested pattern on part of the early church. I do see a pattern in modern scholarship. This pattern insists, “The early Christians were just stealing ideas and holidays from pagan culture and incorporating them into the Jesus myth”.
