The psalmist supplies us with several reasons for praising God. At the start of his list is “forget not all of His benefits” (103:2). In v. 3-8 he enumerates some of those. Applicationally speaking, this is a part of the psalm where there is plenty of room for us to personalize the psalm by thinkingContinue reading “Reasons to Praise”
Tag Archives: Bible study
If it’s not broken, God hasn’t fixed it!
Psalm 51 is a challenging psalm. There’s the historical context (it is likely a psalm written by David after Nathan exposed his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah). Then there’s our context (i.e., most of us have not committed adultery and set a man up to be killed as David did). That beingContinue reading “If it’s not broken, God hasn’t fixed it!”
Ten Lepers and Two Cookies
Our six-year-old grandson (Bryant) lives a few states away, but I get to talk with him and his brothers every Sunday night. Our conversations revolve around sports, bad jokes (“Why couldn’t the pirate recite the alphabet? He kept getting lost at sea”), food, and what they learned in Bible class that morning. We go otherContinue reading “Ten Lepers and Two Cookies”
Reverence & Rejoicing
David had become king of Judah and Israel—but this didn’t happen all at one time. He became king of Judah when Saul died (2 Samuel 2:4), and then king of Israel 7 1/2 years later (5:4-5). This reflected the instability that existed among the tribes of Israel. Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, had been king of IsraelContinue reading “Reverence & Rejoicing”
God Prepares a King
1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book. However, when the Hebrew book Samuel was translated into Greek in the Septuagint, it took up too much space for a single scroll, so it became 1 and 2 Samuel. (The same is true for Kings and Chronicles). While Samuel and Saul occupy important roles, David is theContinue reading “God Prepares a King”
Samson: Strong Man with a Weak Character
Samson is a messy character who meshes perfectly with the messy spirituality of the book of Judges. It’s easy to see the book of Judges as nothing more than Israel’s habitual inability to live right and God’s resulting chastisement. That’s certainly part of the story—but it’s not the only part. Why does God bother withContinue reading “Samson: Strong Man with a Weak Character”
Samson: The Fighter Still Remains
Samson’s failure to live a God-directed life ended up bringing a lot of pain into his life. His failure to respect his Nazarite commitment in reference to Delilah left him blinded and in shackles grinding grain in a Philistine prison. He had fallen a long way from the angel’s glorious announcement about his birth. ButContinue reading “Samson: The Fighter Still Remains”
Showing Up
Israel had been under their thumb of King Jabin and the Canaanites. The writer of Judges tells us they had been “cruelly oppressed” at the hands of Jabin’s military leader—a man named Sisera (4:2). God allowed this to happen to His people because they had turned their backs on Him (v. 1-2). Their suffering andContinue reading “Showing Up”
That’s the Story (1)
Joshua 5 tells us some important things: In these things we see Israel transitioning from a wilderness people to a nation living in the land Yahweh was giving them. As God continued to provide for them, they responded by with a heart-felt observance of His covenant commands. Things were on track for them. As GodContinue reading “That’s the Story (1)”
That’s the Story (2)
There are lots of lessons to learn from Joshua 6. Here are some of them: 1. The walls fell to servants, not lords. From beginning to end, God specified how He wanted everything to happen. Israel’s role was to carry out God’s commands. They weren’t in charge, He was. That is always the formula for victory.Continue reading “That’s the Story (2)”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 