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The world is a difficult and often dangerous place. It is easy to focus on one's problems and become ungrateful. That is what happened to Esau when he despised his birthright. Learning to look for the good in every situation can radically improve your attitude and your situation.

Paul takes his final sea voyage to Rome. The ship is caught in a storm and wrecked on the island of Malta. The book ends with Paul continuing his desire to bring his brother Jews to a knowledge of Y'shua.

As the wall was completed, the leadership of the returning Jews formally renewed their covenant with God preparatory to a dedication ceremony for the wall. After that, Nehemiah returned to Persia for a time. When he returned, he found that the Jews had already backslidden. They were working on Shabbat, not giving the Levites their portion of the tithes and continued intermarriage with the pagan in...

When Abraham sent his servant to get a bride for his son, Isaac, the servant paused at the well in Haran and sought the Lord's favor in his mission. In this prayer, he asked that God show chesed to his master and guide him to the right young woman. Chesed, often translated as 'loving kindness,' is a frequently mentioned characteristic of God. As those who are created in His image, we also should c...

In his final event before being sent to Rome, Paul appears before Agrippa. He tells of his conversion to the Way and demonstrates from the Scriptures that Y'shua is the Messiah.

Although the wall was complete, Jerusalem had yet to be rebuilt and populated. At Yom Terruah, the people gathered from the surrounding villages and Ezra read the Book of the Law aloud. The people, understanding the fall feasts, celebrated Succot at the appointed time and then gathered together to confess their sins in much the same spirit as Daniel 9. They then prepared to renew the covenant with...

In Genesis 22 Abraham is called upon by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. This, of course prefigures the Crucifixion in nearly every detail. In addition it says something profound about the relationship between children and their father. Contrary to every other society at the time, fathers do not own their children. (Inspired by Rabbi Sacks, "The Binding of Isaac" on Aish.com)

After Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, he goes before the council where he causes a riot when he asserts that his only crime is believing in the resurrection. He is spirited away by night to Caesarea where he appears before Felix, the Roman governor.

The story of Abraham marks the beginning of God's establishing personal relationships with people. Before Abraham Scripture simply records events. With Abraham we get much more personal and emotional information about His relationship with God. It is also significant that in order to develop that relationship God removed him from the big city and made him live in a tent. The patterns developed in...

In Jerusalem, Paul meets with James and the elders who discuss how to address the rumors that Paul is teaching a new religion. They decide that he will consecrate himself along with others who are coming to the end of their Nazarite vows and that he will publicly sacrifice in the Temple. This includes a discussion of Paul's attitude toward Moses.

As construction of the wall progressed, the common people complained that they were unable to feed their families because the Jewish elites were loan sharking. Since this sort of practice was one of the major reasons for Judah having gone into exile, Nehemiah put a stop to the practice and made the elites pledge to return all of the interest and collateral that they had gained. Also, as with Ezra,...

Over the years, the Christianity has become less and less effective in shaping the culture and effecting national politics. This is largely because the church has ignored or deprecated those parts of Scripture that it finds 'inconvenient'. Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is a unified whole and avoiding parts of it robs it of power and influence.

On his way to Jerusalem for the final time, Paul bids farewell to the Ephesian church. The subject of his remarks echos the first of the Kingdom Parables in Matthew. They also presage his pastoral Letter to the Ephesians as well as Y'shua's Letter in Revelation 2. These four passages of Scripture address the same subject from different time perspectives.

Having received permission and resources from the King, Nehemiah proceeded to Jerusalem with an armed guard. After secretly surveying the state of the city, he gathered the returned exiles and set them to building the wall. The opposition to the project from the nations around him was so fierce that he was compelled to sacrifice some efficiency in building to obtain military security.

Having travelled secretly to Jerusalem for Succot in order to avoid arrest, Y'shua made a very dramatic appearance on the last day. The high point of the day was the water pouring ceremony at the altar. There He announced that those who believed in him would have rivers of 'living water' flow from their hearts. He so startled everyone that the guards didn't arrest Him. He went on the following day...

Stops on Paul's route back to Israel. In the manner of all religious hucksters, the silversmiths in Ephesus tried to elevate their economic interests to the status of a conflict between piety and blasphemy.

Upon Ezra's return to Jerusalem, he discovered that the people of Israel had intermarried with the pagan nations in the land. This was contrary to the Law of Moses and has always been a way to draw Israel away from God. Ezra gathered all the men of Israel and took an oath from them to put away the foreign wives. After some time had passed, Nehemiah received permission to rebuild the city walls.

At Succot we are reminded that we are sojourners in this world and are looking forward to the next. Jeremiah gives some advice to the Jews who were 'sojourning' in Babylon: "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." So also we are called to engage with the political and civic life of the place...

Paul's speech in Athens about the shrine to the Unknown God. The introduction of Apollos. The baptism of repentance as opposed to baptism in the name of Y'shua.

After the death of Darius, his son Artaxerxes continued in his father's benevolence to the Jews. He sent Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem with the brief to establish judges and magistrates in Israel, Syria and Phoenicia, teaching all people the law of Moses. In aid of this, the king provided him with a vast amount of silver and gold to be used in temple worship.

The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most Christian of the Torah's appointed times. On that day, the High Priest goes into the presence of God and obtains atonement for Israel and cleansing of their sins. Other than being present for the ceremony, the people do nothing. This should also be a day when one examines his life and begins the process of teshuvah or repentance.

Paul and Barnabas separate in a dispute over John Mark. Paul and Silas carry the Jerusalem Council's letter to the churches in Asia. They travel to Macedonia. The Philippian jailer is saved.

After the hiatus caused by the Samaritan's letter to Cambyses, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah received word from God that they should resume. Simultaneously, half a continent away, Zerubbabel was given permission and resources by Darius.

Yom Teruah can be translated as a day of cheering. In Revelation when the seventh trumpet sounds there is cheering in Heaven because "the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ." At that time Christ will begin purging the world of His enemies, those who worship false gods. The impulse to idolatry has not gone away. What does it look like today when people in the...

Standards for gentile behavior and salvation were burning questions in the early Church. The Council of Jerusalem debated and answered those questions.