The Lord told Moses to say to Israel (vv. 1-2): If you ever want to free someone, you may do so by paying different amounts (vv. 3-7). If you have promised to give someone to me and can’t afford to pay the full amount you will be taken to a priest who will decide how much you ca …
This passage is an extensive quotation of the first l5 verses of Psalm l05 (vv. 7-22). Four elements of thanksgiving are found in this song: …
On the day appointed a great crowd gathered on Mount Carmel (v. 20). Mount Carmel, which was agreed on by Ahab, was a fitting location since it lay between Israel and Phoenicia, the lands of the Gods in question. Also Mount Carmel was regarded by the Phoenicians as the sacred d …
When two people had a dispute they could not settle by themselves they could bring it before the judges who would determine who was guilty. The guilty person was to then be beaten in front of the presiding judge with 40 lashes of the whip…
Now that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were restored, it was important that the Jews live in their capital city and make the population grow. For one thing, people were needed to protect the city; for they never knew when the enemy might decide to attack. It may have been safe …
A religious person usually feels that he has a special standing before God, not only because of his intellectual assent to certain beliefs, but also because he keeps the ordinances, the rites, and the rituals of that religion. Paul shows in this passage that mere rituals will gain no favor in God’s …
Once again, Jesus predicted his crucifixion, this time revealing that it would happen on Passover (vv. 1-2). The feast of the Passover was the first feast on the Jewish calendar and was kept in observance of the national deliverance from Egypt in the exodus under Moses. Passover gets its …
This psalm is about a nation that was about to go to war. War is a terrible thing but there are times when it is the only possible answer to circumstances and there is no other solution. Throughout history God has frequently used war to bring rebellious nations to their knees. There comes a time …
Malachi took dead aim on the priests of his day (v. 6) and delivered a stinging indictment on their careless, haphazard, and profane service to the living God. He lists the sins that the priests were guilty of (vv. 7-8). Three things they offered that according to Malachi were wrong …
People in the Corinthian Church were questioning Paul’s authority and rights as an apostle, so he gave his credentials (vv. 1-10). Paul saw and talked with the resurrected Christ who called him to be an apostle (Acts 9:3-18). Changed lives within the Corinthian Church were the evidence that …