However much some Christians, for various reasons, seek to separate the Old Testament from the New, it can’t be done, at least not without all but denuding the New Testament of its true meaning. The New Testament, in its revelation of Jesus and its theological explanations of His life, death, resurrection, and High Priestly ministry, … Continue reading –>
Israel — the nation as a whole — was called to love God. But this was something that could happen only individually. As a single human being given free will, each Israelite had to make the choice to love God — and they were to show that love through obedience. What do the following texts have … Continue reading –>
Even amid rules and regulations in Deuteronomy and all the admonitions warning the Jewish nation that the people must obey “His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes,” they were first and foremost to love God with all their heart and soul and might. Of course, they had good reasons to do just that. Read Deuteronomy 4:37; … Continue reading –>
Moses told the children of Israel to love God with all that they had. That was a command. However, a few verses earlier Moses gave them another command: “That you may fear the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 6:2). Read Deuteronomy 10:12. What does it say in this text about love and fear, and how do we understand … Continue reading –>
After Moses recounted to the children of Israel their history, he began giving them instructions on what they were to do in order to take the land and to thrive on it. Indeed, one could argue that the bulk of Deuteronomy was simply that: the Lord telling the people what they needed to do in … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Deuteronomy 6.4-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Ephesians 2:1-10; Revelation 14.6-7; Deuteronomy 4:37; Deuteronomy 11:1; Mark 12:28-30. Memory Text: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). In the Jewish religion, one of the most important prayers is taken from Deuteronomy 6. It is … Continue reading –>
Good After Beirut Blast? By Kathie Lichtenwalter I barely noticed the first thud and shudder. We’d had breezes all afternoon that rattled our front door. But the second, unfamiliar thud-shudder was unmistakable. In a politically fragile world, I know the possibilities well: Fireworks? A machine-gun? A car bomb? A fighter jet flying over? While nothing … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: “The spirit of bondage is engendered by seeking to live in accordance with legal religion, through striving to fulfill the claims of the law in our own strength. There is hope for us only as we come under the Abrahamic covenant, which is the covenant of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. The … Continue reading –>
Biblical scholarship has long recognized the similarities between Israel’s covenant with God and other covenantal agreements between kingdoms. This parallel shouldn’t be surprising. The Lord was simply working with His people in an environment that they could understand. At the same time, the idea of a covenant, a legal agreement between two parties, with rules … Continue reading –>
It’s hard for us today to grasp much of what the ancient world was like at the time in which Israel was wandering the wilderness. If whole empires have come and gone, with only ruins (if that) remaining, what can we know of many of the smaller pagan nations that lived in the same area … Continue reading –>
