Augustine called the Ten Commandments “your sum of 3 and 7 – a golden harp of ten strings”. The first three are toward God, and the final seven are toward others – and 3 and 7 are the “perfect” numbers. These commandments serve as the moral backbone for any functioning society. No other law or […]
Sometimes small details in Scripture point us to vast vistas of God’s work. One such place is in Exodus 2. In verse 1, the writer notes that Moses comes from the priestly tribe, the Levites. Moses was born a priest. As the story unfolds, he continues serving as priest – repeatedly interceding on behalf of […]
As D. A. Carson notes, everyone in this chapter speaks better than they know. What do they say, about Jesus? He is . . . The King of the Jews, of Israel, of God’s people. 2, 16-20, 26 Like a sheep led to the slaughter, opening not his mouth – see Isaiah 53. 5 The […]
Merry Christmas! This is the time of year that many of us think about starting a Bible reading plan. Here are some important principles to keep in mind: The Word of God is a means of grace. We need God’s grace, and one means by which God sends that grace is through His Word – […]
There are two elements from today’s reading, that should be encouraging to us, in the middle of our real life challenges. The first comes in v. 10-17. Jacob has left his father, on his way to look for a wife among the daughters of his uncle Laban. And along the way, God meets him, in […]
Melchizedek is a unique figure in all of Genesis. Where everyone else appears in the middle of some kind of genealogy, Melchizedek seems to appear out of nowhere, bless Abraham and receive a tithe of honor from him, and then disappear again. No genealogy, and never mentioned again. It’s as if he is above the […]
Reading Genesis 6 requires self-control, to keep from getting lost in the weeds, distracted from the author’s main intent. Who are the “sons of God” (v. 2)? The Nephilim (v. 4)? Were they fallen angels? Or just really big humans, that have since died out? Did the Nephilim have kids? These questions can dazzle us […]