1. The descendants of Issachar (vv. 1-5). Issachar was the father of four sons, who were all brave soldiers and family leaders in their clans. According to records the tribe of Issachar had a total of 87,000 warriors …
God promised to restore Israel not only physically, but spiritually. To accomplish this, God would give them a new heart for following Him and put his spirit within them to transform them and empower them to do His will (vv. 25-30). Again the new covenant was promised, ulti …
Due to Rehoboam’s dictatorial threat, he alienated the 12 tribes and only the closest countrymen from Judah did not abandon him. Rehoboam’s insensitivity to the Israelites’ hardships extinguished any hope they may have entertained of economic recovery. His dictator …
The keyword in this passage is “Watch†(v. 37). Jesus compares His going away as to a man who takes a long journey and leaves his servants to watch over things while he is gone (vv. 33-34). Jesus has left the earth to go to His Father and left His disciples with the …
Again we find in this passage that something is lost, the lost is found and because of it there is great rejoicing. This is the parable of: The lost son (vv. 11-24) – The son is willfully lost. He wanted to have his own way so he rebelled against his own father and brok …
After Jesus had finished His prayer, He took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane (v. 1). This is located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives and across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. In a garden, the first Adam brought sin and death to mankind; but Jesus, the last Adam …
Physical healing and spiritual healing are intertwined. The one leads to the other as the blind man moves from darkness to light, first physically and then spiritually. At the physical level his sight was restored. On the spiritual level he came to faith in Christ. The narrative in this chapter is …
Joab knew that David couldn’t stop thinking about his son Absalom (v. 1). Because of this, he sent someone to bring a woman from Tekoa to him and he asked her to put on funeral clothes and not use any makeup (v. 2). He told her to go to the king and pretend that she was m …
God warns His people that they are not to forget Him after they get into the land and experience His blessing (v. 12). He would bless them with children and grandchildren and increase their numbers greatly. He would also increase their crops and livestock so they would not only have …
The ideal life for an Old Testament Jew was to own his own land and be able to sit under his own fig tree and enjoy it with his family (I Kings 4:25). Hebrew law gave sons alone the right to inherit. The eldest son received two-thirds of the inheritance and the other sons divided …