The ministry of the prophet Elisha in the ninth century B.C. comes to us in a series of 18 episodes, extending over more than fifty years. His ministry was conducted mostly as the head of the school of the prophets and was largely public. It included displays of signs and wonders at both the personal … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Kings 5:1-7. What is going on here? Why would the Syrians even have listened to what a captive slave girl had to say? What might be the hidden implications of what transpired? The Bible gives us no real details of how this young girl acted in the home, but it’s clear that there … Continue reading –>
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1 NIV). This verse contains no fewer than … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Kings 5; Mark 1:40-45; 2 Kings 2:1-15; John 15:5; Rom. 6:4-11; Rom. 6:1. Memory Text: And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed-only Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:27 NIV). The books of Kings, covering the … Continue reading –>
THE PHILIPPINES – Max de los Reyes Lem was a soldier, and his assignments often took him away from home. When he was home he spent much time and money drinking with his friends. One day Lem’s buddies began teasing him about his wife’s interest in religion. What’s the matter, Lem? one man challenged.Couldn’t you … Continue reading –>
God called Abraham, and prospered and honored him; and the patriarch’s fidelity was a light to the people in all the countries of his sojourn. Abraham did not shut himself away from the people around him. He maintained friendly relations with the kings of the surrounding nations, by some of whom he was treated with … Continue reading –>
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD, by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will … Continue reading –>
A study of Abraham’s life reveals that his faith included difficult struggles against doubt and disbelief in God’s power. Abraham’s ancestors were idolaters (Josh. 24:2), and perhaps this background explains why he did not always have full confidence in God’s power. Twice he showed cowardice and told Sarah to tell only a half-truth (Gen. 12:11-13; … Continue reading –>
Though hardly perfect, Abraham was a man of God, and time and again in the Bible, even in the New Testament, he is used as an example of faithfulness and of what it means to be saved by faith (see Gen. 15:6, Gal. 3:6). Read Hebrews 11:8-19. What does it tell us about Abraham and … Continue reading –>
Lot was a relative of Abraham and accompanied him on some of his travels. His choice of the well-watered Jordan valley brought him into the company of the wicked men in Sodom (Gen. 13:1-13). He was then rescued first by Abraham (Gen. 14:11-16, and later by two angels (Gen. 19). When Abraham heard that his … Continue reading –>
