The Other Joseph
The book of Genesis describes the dramatic story of Joseph, son of Jacob. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, he eventually rose to power in Egypt. But there is…
The Hebrew Canon
Here are the closing words of the Torah: "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous…
The Promised Land
In our last two blogs, we've been exploring the New Exodus theme found throughout the New Testament. The disciples of Jesus were Jews who cherished the grand story of how…
Obedience Unto Life
Every year since 1973, the epic movie The Ten Commandments has aired on network TV at Easter. This film was directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille & released in…
The New Exodus
Holy week is already upon us since Easter comes relatively early this year. The method used to calculate Easter Sunday is quite confusing: it's the Sunday following the first full…
The Children of Abraham
We've recently examined the life of Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel. The promises God made to Abraham are foundational for Christianity. The Almighty pledged to bless Abraham and through his…
Purchase and Promise
The death of Abraham's wife Sarah is recounted in Genesis 23. For many Bible readers, this is a very strange chapter of the Bible. Although the Lord had blessed him…
The Good News of God’s Judgment
If you were to ask most evangelical Christians to explain "the gospel" - the good news - the reply would no doubt be that we are offered forgiveness and reconciliation…
God’s Blessing
Among evangelical Christians, Abraham is quite possibly the most overlooked character in the Bible. He's certainly the most misunderstood. In my experience, not one in a thousand Christians can provide a coherent…
The Star in the East
Nativity scenes are one of the time-honored traditions of the Christmas season. Such displays vary widely in style but have a number of fixed elements. The central figure, of course, is the…