Bammerhab: Bible Explainer

Have you ever wondered why Jesus sometimes seemed so miracle shy? I have. But in reading Matthew 11 and 13, Jesus actually answers this question for us, though it is admittedly an indirect answer. He’s actually trying to protect us. Let me explain… This episode digs deeper into “epachynthe” (meaning ‘calloused’) in Matthew 13:15. “For this people’s heart has become calloused ; they hardly hear wit...

Every casual bible reader knows that the Philistines were the archetypal enemies of Israel, but what fewer know is what eventually happened to the Philistines. Well, at the very least I didn’t know until very recently. Let me explain… This episode digs deeper into “wenisar” (meaning ‘But He Who Remains’) in Zechariah 9:7. “I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood fro...

God is slow. There’s something about slowness that God treasures (and we do not). Let me explain… This episode digs deeper into “peripaton” (meaning ‘walking’) in Mark 6:48. “Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake.” (NIV) Mark 6:48 – ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτοὺς περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης Links: SDG Morg...

God wanted to do something, but he had to wake up the spirit of his people first. Just as He did in the very beginning The Spirit did what He always does. He hovered over things, stirring them, waking them up, bringing them to life. This time it was Israel, and this time the Spirit decided to use the voice of Haggai. The people needed to be woken up because they were weary, so weary. Why? Let me e...

When is a name more than a name? Isaiah 7 tells about the time Isaiah took his son to meet the king, but it wasn’t a social call. This wasn’t take your child to work day. His son’s name, Shear Yashub - meaning “A remnant will return”, was already a promise to all of Israel, it was a living letter to continuously remind everyone who spoke it that no matter how evil and faithless Israel would become...

Jesus left his home, and came to tabernacle with us. He left his home so we could have a home in him. But during his ministry he had no home, or as he put it: “the birds have nests and the foxes have dens," but he had no permanent home. However he should have had a home, even then. Why? Let me explain… This episode digs deeper into “kataskenosis” (meaning ‘nests’) in Matthew 8:20: “ And Jesus said...

The two disciples who fled Jerusalem toward Emmaus, were discipled by Jesus himself. These two no doubt healed and cast out demons just like all the other 70 did. They were sufficiently strong in their faith to follow Jesus into the lion’s den, to go into Jerusalem with him. But despite all Jesus’ many warnings, they just weren’t prepared for his death, and it shattered their hope in a way they ha...

Psalm 19 contains echoes of the many nights the shepherd David took a moment of rest from watching the landscape vigilantly for predators, and looked up to study the stars. At first glance, surely the young shepherd only saw the same old stars scrolling slowly past, night after night, year by year. But for God to make a shepherd into a king, one of the lessons He had to impart was to train the boy...

Psalm 31 was likely written as David was on the run for his life, unjustly accused of treason by a jealous King Saul. And as David was hiding in narrow dark caves, in his mind and heart he felt hemmed in and crushed by stress, anger, and fear. But he won’t let that crushing claustrophobia have the last word. He knows God will deliver him into a place of great space. And that phrase, a place of gre...