Bible Study Lessons
Valentine’s Day is full of hearts and so is the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah, however, does not have good things to say about the human heart. In fact, his words are disturbing. Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet when he was a youth in 627 BC. During his four decades of prophesying, … Read more
What’s the difference between God and idols? Isaiah highlights the fact that idols are man-made: The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint. … Read more
I recently started teaching a course on the book of Jeremiah to ninth and tenth graders. Last week we read Jeremiah 10, which is a back and forth contrast between the LORD (Yahweh) and idols. For example, Idols For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and … Read more
The Old Testament encompasses two-thirds of the Bible yet it has baffled Christians for centuries. What does ancient Israel’s sacred literature mean for Gentile Christians? In The Problem of the Old Testament, Duane Garrett seeks to answer this question. Parts One and Two After posing the problem in part one, Garrett moves to inadequate solutions in … Read more
I have written about theophanies or appearances of God in the Bible, but I missed one. In Daniel 10, while Daniel was near the Tigris River, he says, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like … Read more