Thoughts Redemption In the Old Testament? One of the common ideas of the New Testament is redemption. But in chapter 10, verse 8 we read about redemption, too. Here it is again, starting at verse 6: “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on…
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Thoughts At the end of our last reading in Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter 8, Solomon had said that after setting his mind on understanding wisdom, after watching what happens here on earth, he concluded that it is impossible for man to understand it all. And this is coming from the wisest man that ever…
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Thoughts I love the fact that God knows me intimately. To understand that He knows my desire to know and serve Him makes me feel good, as when a little boy is happy when his daddy is pleased with him. But to also understand that God knows my ugly, dark, sinful parts causes me to…
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Thoughts Confession In chapter 10, we find Ezra kneeling in front of the temple, tearfully confessing the sins of the people of Israel. And he is joined by a large crowd of men, women and children who also begin weeping bitterly. Why are they crying? Because they have disobeyed God by marrying foreign, or as…
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Thoughts An Eye For An Eye? The final verse in chapter nineteen says, “Don’t feel sorry for that evil person. A life must be taken for a life. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand…
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Thoughts I’d like to just briefly touch on a couple of points made by Peter. False Teachers Are Easy To Spot First, the topic of false teachers. They were a problem in Old Testament times, they were a problem in the early church, and they are a problem today. False teachers are usually students of…
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Thoughts Conflict I’m always struck by the last scene in chapter 15. It’s in verses 36 through 41. Paul suggested to Barnabas that they go and see how well the followers were doing in the cities they had visited and preached in. Barnabas said, “Hey, let’s take my cousin, John Mark along with us.” Paul…
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Thoughts Introduction Zechariah and Haggai (which we read last week) were contemporaries. Both were called by God after the 70 year exile. Zechariah’s prophecy came two months after Haggai’s first prophecy. Where the prophecies of Haggai had primarily to do with the Temple, Zechariah’s were about the people. The language of Zechariah’s messages were very…
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Thoughts I think that what we can take from Solomon’s teaching here in Ecclesiastes is that wisdom, money, power and everything else that man strives for does not bring happiness or understanding or peace. Solomon had it all. But at the end of his life he realized that what God does is far beyond man’s…
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Thoughts Three more Songs of Ascent today, which are songs that were sung as faithful Jews were going up to Jerusalem as they were going to the Temple for the three annual festivals of the Jewish calendar. Putting Away Pride Psalm 131 is David’s song in which he declares that pride has no place in…
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