Jeremiah was imprisoned, yet God gave him instruction in prayer. What can we do in difficult times? God invites us to call on Him. Like Jeremiah we can respond to God’s invitation to prayer. 1. His prompting – “Call on me” (v. 33a). 2. His promise – (v. 33b). (a …
Rehoboam had serious intention of quelling the revolt by force but was stopped by the Word of the Lord through the prophet Shemaiah. He then turns his attention to fortifying the cities, which were in existence before Rehoboam’s time. The purpose of Rehoboam rebuilding the cities …
Zedekiah became king of Judah at the age of 21 and ruled for eleven years (v. 11). He disobeyed God and refused to change his ways even after a warning from the prophet Jeremiah (v. 12). He also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia who had forced him to sign a promis …
Paul continues to deal with the subject of Christian liberty as he uses the illustration of an athlete. The Corinthians would have been very familiar with the Greek Olympic games as well as their Isthmian games. He says that one of the most important rules in a race is that all participants run …
There is little doubt that this is one of David’s poems. It seems to have been written to celebrate the bringing up of the ark to Jerusalem. David had attempted to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but he had gone about it in a wrong way and it ended in disaster (vv. 1-2). Now he is re …
This latter part of this chapter is a repetition of the former; the dream is doubled, for the thing is certain and to be very carefully regarded (vv. 14-23). God brings His people into danger and distress that he may have the honor of bringing about their deliverance, and …
It seems that the Judaizers had called into question Paul’s authority to teach spiritual truths. Paul begins with a testimony of his past conduct as an unconverted Jewish rabbi (vv. 13-17). He tells how he loved reli?gion but hated Christians and persecuted them. In fact it w …
By the time the events of Chapter 3 took place obviously some time had elapsed, though it is not known exactly how long. But here it is told that the altar was set up and being used (vv. 1-3). In building the altar they did not follow any recent altar styles they may have observe …
Much the same as in our day, the women of Judah had placed their emphasis on clothing and jewelry rather than in God. It would seem from what we read in the last half of this chapter that they dressed to gain approval and to be fashionable. Instead of being concerned abou …
In Psalm 87 it is referred to as the “city of God (v. 3). The following outline lists the features: 1. Firm foundation (v. 1) – Remember our roots. Built on top of five mountains. 2. Favored …