Animal sacrifices could not take away sins; they provided only a temporary way to deal with sin until Jesus came to deal with it permanently. This chapter of Hebrews continues to emphasize the perfect sacrifice of Christ in contrast to the imperfect sacrifices that were offered u …
This psalm is essentially a psalm of thanksgiving and praise after the battle is over and the noise of strife and the drums of war are stilled (vv. 1-6). It is offered to God, by the people on behalf of their king. The dust of conflict has settled, and the foe has vanquished. It is a national anthem, a …
Since Jewish law required trials to be conducted during the day, the chief priests and elders reconvened in the morning and delivered the official verdict against Jesus, so that the people could not say that their hastily – called night meeting was unlawful (v. 1). The court deci …
The church has been often greatly distressed by its enemies on earth: Israel may now say, “I am the people that has been oppressed more than any people, that has been as a speckled bird, pecked at by all the birds round about,†Jer. 12:9. It is true, they brought their troubles upon themselves …
This chapter describes how the Lord will preserve His people. Isaiah describes the situation which will exist when the kingdom is established on earth. He speaks of a future time when Israel and other nations will feast in peace and prosperity. This is after the worldwide j …
God told Moses to get ready to take the people into the promised land (v. 11). Allegiance can be defined as the loyalty owed by a subject to his or her sovereign. Synonyms for allegiance are loyalty, commitment, adherence, faithfulness, and duty…
Samuel reminds the people of how God, through His chosen leaders, delivered them from Egypt (vv. 6-8). He did this to encourage them to trust God in their circumstances now. He then recounted their disobedience under the Judges (vv. 9-11). When he talks about them forgettin …
Paul continued to minister to others, even as a ship- wrecked prisoner. On this trip alone, his centurion, the chief official of Malta, and many others were affected. Is it any wonder that the Gospel spread like wildfire? How do we interpret signs and wonders? We first need to go …
“Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting Gods will done on earth,” wrote Robert Law. Some people hope that they will receive eternal life. John says that we can know we have it (v. 13). Our certainty is based on God’s pr …
This Psalm is acknowledged by many as one of the saddest of all the psalms and some have declared it as “a cry of hopeless despair.” It is a prayer for when you can’t seem to find the way. The key to understanding it is to picture the writer as a leper who is suf …