The word “novice” appears only once in the New Testament in 1 Timothy 3:6. In this passage, the apostle Paul is describing for Timothy the necessary qualifications of a man who would be appointed a “bishop” ? in other passages called “elder” (1 Timothy 5:19) or “overseer” (Acts 20:28) in the local church. Of the […]

God took action to delay the progression of the plans of mankind at the tower of Babel. Man had the tendency to move toward evil and were quite inventive in the pursuit of it. So God divided mankind by tribe and tongue. We learn that it is by God’s decree that there are so many […]

In Mark 12:41-44, the text reads: “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, […]

A few weeks ago I received in my e-mail inbox an article on a psychological study regarding wisdom. My first reaction to the article was, “How can you study wisdom from a psychological perspective?” So I read. The article spoke concerning the “Wisdom Project,” conducted at the University of California Davis. In the study, the […]

Matthew 2:13-23 – Jesus in Egypt By Egypt to Galilee and Nazareth Vs. 13-15 – The wise men depart and now God sends a messenger to warn Joseph regarding Herod’s impending plans. This isn’t the first time that Joseph had been visited by God’s messenger in this way (see Matthew 1:20). The warning is to […]

It is hard to over-estimate the importance of the passage before us. Abram (later, Abraham) is introduced as one that God had special dealings with, much as He did with Noah. To the Israelites this passages points back to their origin. Abraham is their father. They will be introduced to the faith of Abraham and […]

Moses continues with his enumeration of the the basic features of the physical universe. He now ascribes to God’s creative power the dry land on which the Israelites were sitting at their first hearing of the book. While other religions ascribed the earth as a god in itself, Moses explained it to be a creation […]

Did the Israelites live under the bondage of the Egyptians for 430 years? This question arises due to the alleged contradiction between Exodus 12:40; Genesis 15:13-14; Acts 7:6-7; and Galatians 3:17. The two general views that are held are that 1) the Israelites were in bondage 430 years, and 2) the Israelites were in bondage […]

You’ve heard the saying, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” Relative to God’s word, we might express this principle this way: “Teach a man what the Bible says, and he has knowledge for a day; teach a man to […]

There are those in the religious world today who ridicule the idea of keeping commandments. They claim that keeping God’s commandments have nothing to do with our salvation today. If someone objects and says that we must keep God’s commandments to be saved, the charge of legalism is leveled against him. Is it true that […]

In the book of Job we are taken back to a time that predates the Mosaic law or, at the very least, is outside the reach of it. Many Bible students place this book at the time of or before Abraham (about 2000 BC). The worship depicted within marks it as part of the Patriarchal […]

There they stood. Hand in hand; heart to heart. He was seventeen; she was sixteen. They had known each other since kindergarten, but had never really taken notice of one another. One day, however, she gave him a flirting glance that prompted him to return the flirt in kind. He asked her out and she, […]

Each year around this time it is popular for different social groups to host egg hunts. Someone takes the eggs and hides them in various “secret” places in a designated area and then children go out and look for the eggs. There are, among the children, various different kinds of hunters. There are those who […]

In 586 B.C., Judah was taken captive into Babylon (2 Kings 25:8-21; Jeremiah 52). At the time this captivity took place, Jerusalem was plundered by the conquering people and then burned (2 Kings 25:8-9; Nehemiah 1:3). After toiling for 70 years in captivity, a remnant of the people was allowed to return to the land. […]

In Matthew 20:20-21, we have an account of the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee) coming to Jesus desiring a favor of Him. This mother’s wish was that her two sons would be granted the privilege of sitting with Jesus in His kingdom – one being seated on the right hand and […]

Please open your Bibles to Job 2:7-13. Description of Job’s Disease Vs. 7-8 – Satan unleashes his second sortie against Job afflicted Job with a terrible disease. From the various descriptions of Job’s disease in the book (Job 2:8; 7:4-5; 13:14; 13:28; 16:16; 16:8; 17:1; 19:20; 19:26; 30:17; 30:30), it has been strongly suggested that […]

Prophecy is foretelling an even in such detail before it happens so as to necessarily require divine guidance. The Bible is a book containing hundreds of detailed prophecies. There are, for example, well over sixty distinct predictions in regard to our divine Savior Jesus Christ. Not only were some these predictions made one thousand years […]

In Matthew 18:1-6, Jesus gives some very important qualifications for those who would enter the kingdom of heaven. He would say, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Notice that this is something all who wish to enter that heavenly abode must do. But […]

God, in His wisdom, saw fit from eternity to establish the church. Ephesians 3:10-11 reads, “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This organization of […]

There is righteous worship and there is unrighteous worship. The former is to please God and the latter is to please self. Abel presented his offering to God by faith (Hebrews 11:4). This means that he heeded the instructions of God on how God was to be approached (Romans 10:17). By implication we know, then, […]