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Today’s discussion took in two topics of particular interest: both of them have vexed the Church since that first day.  First, let’s take a look at today’s scripture:
3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 Thus he has [...]

I’ve had people ask me from time to time, “Why do you suppose God chose Israel?”  It’s an understandable question.  Why did God choose this particular people – descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?  It’s funny, the people of Israel probably asked themselves the same question from time to time.  When we ask the question [...]

I’ve been off for a while.  That is, I haven’t blogged, although I’ve kept up with reading the daily verses.  Part of the reason is that I’ve been leading a group this fall studying N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense.  It’s an excellent little book with some really deep ideas and we [...]

I think that the quarterly lesson series editors want us to take specific historical accounts from the Old Testament and apply them generally – even universally – to our lives.  I agree with this goal, but some days it’s a stretch to do so when the context is really not there.  Today’s lesson scripture offers [...]

There will come a time of rest, but in this life rest is something that is of short duration at best:
15 When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
16 From that day on, half of my servants worked [...]

Today’s lesson scripture could be viewed as simply an introduction – a setup for this week’s lesson on Sunday.  I mean, it’s just four verses that start with Nehemiah telling us that for the first time he was sad in the king’s presence, that the king noticed and remarked on this and that after Nehemiah [...]

Today’s lesson scripture contains the concluding words of Artaxerxes’ instructions to Ezra:

25 ”And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them.
26 All who [...]

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally considered one and were separated by Origen and Jerome in the 3rd and 4th centuries (not for another 1200 years were they separated in the Hebrew Bible).  In the first six chapters of the book that bears Ezra’s name we are provided a history of the return [...]

Today’s lesson scripture begins to tell a story that will be retold throughout the history of Israel – indeed, throughout the history of the world:
1 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; [...]

As we examine Gideon’s role in the early days of Israel as a judge, we find him approaching his calling with caution.  As alluded to in yesterday’s post, the Israelites were a nomadic, pastoral people and upon entering Canaan they had to learn a whole new way of life that involved planting crops and harvesting [...]