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During the time before His crucifixion, Y'shua spent considerable effort contending with the Pharisees about their interpretation of God's law as given by Moses. In these encounters, there are several key phrases: "You have heard it said..." and "It is written..." What to these phrases signify and what does that mean to us today?

Every six years God promises a bumper crop so Israel will let the land have a sabbath in the seventh year. Obeying this command requires no faith - the farmer can see the sixth year bounty. If he plants on the seventh year, he is taking more than God is offering. Such ill-gotten wealth creates all sorts of societal problems.

Elijah, distressed by the behavior of Israel, turns off the rain. The resulting drought sets up the remainder of his ministry.

James talks about pride in the context of wealth, slander and boasting. Those who live for their wealth will find no peace and that wealth finally desserts them. Those who slander others will find themselves shunned. Those who boast of their plans may find that God has other plans for them.

In Scripture there are three distinct voices: the king, the priest and the prophet. The king speaks of the wisdom people have learned over the centuries of human existence. The priest speaks of the things that have been revealed to man by God. The prophet speaks for God when a society has drifted away from God's plan. Y'shua embodies all three roles and speaks with each of the three voices at diff...

Elijah, distressed by the behavior of Israel, turns off the rain. The resulting drought sets up the remainder of his ministry.

The tongue is both hidden and visible. It serves as the gateway for the things of the heart to be revealed. When governed by wisdom, it promotes societal well being. When the heart is wicked or foolish, it can cause great harm.

Leviticus is the center of the Torah and, since it describes how God is to be approached and worshiped, it is the most important of the books in the TANAK. In Leviticus 19 and 20 God defines how Israel is to behave as a holy people in the presence of a holy God. This behavior is to the benefit of the nation. They will be blessed if they follow God's instructions. More important, however, is that I...

David's reign comes to an end. Bathsheba short circuits Adonijah's attempt to succeed his father and David anoints Solomon. David also alerts his son to a list of people to either watch or execute because they will be a threat to his reign.

James writes of unrighteous partiality based on perceived wealth. In God's eyes, a faithful poor person is preferred over an unrighteous wealthy one. He then goes on to speak of the proper attitude toward works., basically saying that a profession of faith that does not translate into good works is in vain.

In the sermon on the plain, Y'shua is speaking to His disciples and explaining what He expects of them. He describes His own character as the Lamb and tells them to emulate that. He also tells them that whatever standard they use with others will be applied to them and that, if they are successful, they will have a great reward.

Toward the end of his life David decided to number the men in his kingdom. Joab thought that was a bad idea but was overruled. God was displeased with David's hubris and sent a plague upon Israel. This incident lead to the purchase of a threshing floor that would become the site of the Temple.

Attributed to the brother of Y'shua, James focuses on practical application of the Word of God to a believer's life. In chapter 1, he starts with a paraphrase of Proverbs 2 - how to seek God's wisdom - and finishes with an admonition that the believer should put God's Word into practice or risk becoming futile in his religion.

During the dedication of the Tabernacle, Nadab and Abihu died when they brought unauthorized fire before the Lord. Despite an abundance of speculation as to their motivation, that is not what is important here. Rather, the problem is that they tried to introduce something common into holy space. That was not permitted.

After putting down the rebellion of his son, David had the task of restoring and reuniting the kingdom. In this process he acted with his usual political skill. He refrained from acting in anger and taking vengeance upon those who sided with Absalom.

Peter closes out his letter with an exhortation not to be led astray by scoffers who mock the belief that Christ will return and establish His reign of righteousness. He assures his readers that, just as God destroyed the previous creation with a flood, He will destroy the present one by fire and create a new heaven and earth.

At Passover we remember and celebrate the birth of God's firstborn; when the Hebrews went out through the bloody door, Israel was born. Today there are powerful forces seeking to eradicate Judaism and Christianity from the world and replace it with Islam or some secular form of collectivism. Instead of uniting to resist, Christians are fragmented and arguing. One of the wedge issues splitting us i...

Bathsheba's grandfather, Ahithophel, advised Absalom to pursue David immediately. When that advice was not followed, the rebellion was essentially lost. Although David prevailed, the death of his son was devastating. Especially since he knew that the whole thing was his own fault.

After having instructed his readers on the way to godliness, Peter switches to warning them about false prophets and teachers. These, he says, will preach sensuality which will be attractive to those who are unaware or are so inclined. Those who follow such teachers will wind up worse off than if they had never know Christ.

When Job is suffering, his three friends keep accusing him of hidden sin for which he is being punished. His response is that they have the platitudes correct but that is not his situation and those platitudes don't apply. With the rise of AI people are turning to chatbots for answers to all sorts of questions. It is inevitable that some of those questions will be spiritual. The very grave danger...

After his adultery with Bathsheba, God cursed David saying that evil would come upon him from his own family. David's son Absalom would be the vehicle for the outworking of that curse.

1 Peter closes with an exhortation to good behavior especially in the face of worldly persecution. 2 Peter opens with the description of a process or algorithm for increasing ones fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God.

Leviticus is the central book of the Torah and as such is arguably the most important. This is where God tells humanity how He wants to be approached and how we safely can interact with Him. The book begins with sacrifice. Contrary to the perception of many, most of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle had nothing to do with sin. Those that did concern sin only covered unintentional sins. As such they...

David's firstborn son, Amnon, raped his half sister Tamar. Tamar's brother Absalom secretly planned vengeance. As prophesied by Nathan, this began a string of tragedies within David's family.

Peter exhorts his readers to good conduct, first in the family, then in the exile community and finally in society at large. This is to serve several purposes. First, because it is pleasing to God. Then that it will strengthen the family and the exiles. A bad example will also hinder the spread of the Gospel. Finally, it is the best defense against persecution. Although persecution may come, it is...