Thoughts Introduction Esther is the final book of history in the Bible. King Ahasuerus is better known as Xerxes to students of history, and he was the son of Darius I, whom we read about in the books of Ezra, Daniel and Haggai. The ruins of Ahasuerus’ palace, in which the events of this book…
Read MoreThoughts Moses is near the end of his life and he has brought the people to the threshold of the Promised Land. However, because of the disobedience we read about in Numbers 20:7-12, it will not be Moses who leads them in. As a matter of fact, God will not allow him to even set…
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Thoughts 3 John is addressed to a man named Gaius. There seem to be several men with this name in the Bible, one of whom was baptized by Paul. We don’t really know anything more specific about this Gaius, except that John considered him a dear friend. John commends Gaius for the good reports he…
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Thoughts Much of this chapter is self explanatory, though there are fine points to be learned by deeper study than we typically do here. But one thing I would like to bring out is at the very beginning of the chapter. After Ananias the high priest, in a fit of rage orders that Paul be…
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Thoughts Setting the Scene In chapter 5, the book with the seven seals is introduced. No one in heaven or on the earth was able to open the book or look into it. And John wept. But then one of the elders told him to stop weeping because the Lion from the tribe of Judah…
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Thoughts Chapter 3 shows us snapshots of the wedding ceremony and chapter 4 the wedding night. Much of the language of this book sounds strange to modern ears. We do not speak in metaphors such as “Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. 2Your teeth are like a flock of…
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Thoughts Make A List As I was reading chapter 145, I began to think of the blessings in my life. Have you ever sat down and made a list of all the blessings in your life? All the good things from your past and from the present, and even your future? It’s a great exercise….
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Thoughts At the end of it all, Nehemiah’s conscience is clear, but he is disappointed that the people could not fulfill their vows to serve faithfully. And once again, we see that there is nothing new under the sun. We are not better than they were at living a sin-free life. Despite our best intensions,…
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Thoughts On the Threshold The children of Israel are about to enter into the Promised Land, but God has a message for them through Moses. Over and over again in these chapters we read the word “obey”, or a variation on that command. And in chapter 27, they are instructed that the first thing they…
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Thoughts A Woman or a Church? 2 John is addressed to a very special woman and her children. Some commentators believe that this “woman” is actually a specific church, and her “children” are the members of the church. In my opinion, whether it is a specific woman or a specific church is not important. The…
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