How do we best describe mercy? On the one hand, it is a simple term that is easy for anyone
to understand, yet on the other hand it carries with it a great responsibility of knowing the
truth about yourself and others. Without mercy, none of us would be living right now! Without
mercy, every good...

Incense was an important element of Israelite worship. In fact, the LORD commanded Moses
to make a special altar for the burning of incense, about 18-inches wide, 18-inches deep and
36-inches high. The High Priest would carry burning coals from the altar of sacrifice outside
the Tent Tabernacle, ...

The construction of the ancient Tent Tabernacle is both fascinating and, in many ways, supernatural. At this time, Israel was in the middle of nowhere, walking aimlessly in the
wilderness. Their central place of worship was constantly on the move. Now, when building
the Tabernacle and its items,...

In ancient Israel, it was known that if you see the face of God Almighty, you will die. But there are
many accounts of peoples and prophets meeting with God in unique ways, called a theophany in
academic circles. Exodus 24 records one of these meetings. God chose to meet with the leaders of Israe...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth: This is how Genesis 1 opens the Bible. Everything that exists in the physical world begins here, and there are spiritual beginnings as well. The Scriptures tells us that God is the creator of everything; it wasn’t time or chance that author...

Genesis 3 records the fall of mankind. Eve famously succumbed to the temptation of the devil and ate the fruit from the only tree that was off limits. What is interesting is that it appears her husband Adam was right there with her, watching, and that he responded by following in her sin. The cou...

The Scriptures tell us that Abram came from Ur of the Chaldeans, which is in modern day Iraq. The ancient culture there was very sophisticated. It had amazing architecture and left a beautiful and complicated material culture. In this hub of ancient humanity, Abram was born to a man named Terah, ...

Genesis 12 begins God’s call and promises to Abram. God’s call to Abram is to separate from the other peoples on the earth and follow Him. God’s first promise to Abram is that He will make Abram into a great nation that will become a blessing; to those that bless Abram and his offspring, God will...

Genesis 14-16 gives us a closer look at Abram. In chapter 14, we see how he was able to respond to a large-scale war involving nine kings: four against five. In chapter 15, God promises Abram that he will have a biological son. This seemed impossible to Abram because his wife Sarai was well beyon...

Genesis chapters 17-19 are very eventful! God secures His covenant with Abram and renames him Abraham, meaning father of a multitude (GENESIS 17:5). In chapter 18, Abraham is invited into a discussion with God about the future of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham intercedes for Sodom, asking God to spa...

Genesis 20-23 show us examples of faith tested, faith failed, and faith well-lived. Genesis 20 records when Abraham lied to a king named Abimelech in order to save his life. This was a deep violation of trusting God. In chapter 21, God visits Sarah and Abraham in their old age and miraculously, S...

Though Rebekah was an amazing woman and Isaac was a one-woman man, they still had difficulties. We see this play out in the later part of their marriage when it came to passing on the father’s blessing. In those ancient days, the father was expected to give a special blessing of his family to the...

Four women bore Jacob's children. His first wife, Leah, was given to him in marriage deceitfully. She entered the marriage with her maidservant, Zilpah, whom she would later use as a surrogate despite carrying her own children. Jacob then married Leah’s sister, Rachel, who he had originally inten...

When God began to deal with Jacob, Jacob moved to cleanse his household of evil. Even though they did not have the law of God yet (this would come with Moses later), they knew that worshipping idols and other gods was a violation against the one true God. In Genesis 35, we witness the change in J...

Once again, our reading covers a lot of history. Genesis 36 begins by listing out the genealogy of Esau, who becomes the nation of Edom. Chapter 37 tells us about Joseph’s dreams and what happens when his brothers become jealous and hateful of him. Chapter 38 introduces us to the unique and distu...

Our reading today brings us into the long saga of Joseph’s life. Genesis 40 reveals that Joseph was so trustworthy and faithful in the prison he was wrongly confined to, that the captain of the guard trusted him with the care of the chief baker and butler, who were sent to prison by Pharaoh himse...

Genesis 47 ushers us into a new time for the people of Jacob. As they are introduced into Egypt and to the Pharaoh, they settle and grow over the next four hundred years. In chapter 48, word came to Joseph that his father Jacob was sick, so Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to visit...

In the first few chapters of Exodus, we see the times change for the nation of Israel. Israel had come into Egypt as a family of about seventy people, but we are told their numbers grew very quickly. A more concerning change was that since the time of Joseph, the Egyptian Pharaoh had changed. Thi...

At the age of eighty, Moses was called by God to go back to Egypt. It was time for God’s people to be released, time for Moses to face his past, time for Israel to head to the land of Canaan. I wonder if Moses knew just how much confrontation was in his future. In Exodus 4, the confrontations beg...

In today’s reading, Moses spoke to Pharaoh about the plague of frogs that would infest the land of Egypt. When they did, Pharaoh’s magicians pulled off a similar trick. This seems to have served to minimize the power of God in their minds, but there was so much more to come. Exodus 8 records all ...

Israel’s exit out of Egypt had longstanding impact. No longer would they be just a family, or a people group living within a country, they were forming into their own nation with leadership structures and a law code. They were becoming Israel the nation. God had given them that name back in Genes...

The Law was created by God to show the sinfulness of man in contrast to the holiness of God. This would shape the culture of Israel in a unique way. On this side of the cross, the Mosaic Law is usually broken into three parts: ceremonial, civil, and moral. The ceremonial law pertained to worship ...