From Ezekiel 34 to the end of his book, Ezekiel focuses on the latter days, emphasizing events far in the future, removed from his world of 600 B.C.  His focus narrows on the restoration of the house of Israel both physically and spiritually, the reunion of the kingdoms of JudahContinue Reading

In our classroom we have a “question box”.  I have found this to be a useful tool in the classroom.  When a student has a question that would take us far off topic, yet is still relevant to their lives, a teacher has a couple of options.  The teacher canContinue Reading

In Isaiah 5, Isaiah combines parable, warning, and promise together with poetry and irony in an effort to portray the Lord’s work with the children of Israel.  This chapter contains the themes reflected in the first four chapters of Isaiah and serves as a transition between chapters 1-4 and theContinue Reading

The demands of justice The atonement of Jesus Christ: his suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection made it possible for all mankind to be resurrected and forgiven of their sins.  Occasionally I am asked why Jesus had to die.  A student recently asked why Jesus could not just forgiveContinue Reading

This contains links to a few books that have helped me understand the context and content of the scriptures. As an Amazon Affiliate, I do earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you). Click here to see all of my favorite books on Amazon. Imagine that youContinue Reading

Due to Ahab’s wickedness (1 Kings 16:33 – 1 Kings 17:1) the Lord sent a famine throughout the land of Israel.  After a time, Elijah is sent by the Lord to a widow that lives north of the land of Israel near Sidon in Zarephath (F1 on the map: GreekContinue Reading

The narrative of David’s downfall in 2 Samuel 11 is given with such detail and in such a matter of fact manner that it is impossible to miss the point.  David made a series of decisions that brought him and those around him misery.  There were several switchpoints in thisContinue Reading

The story in 2 Samuel 6 of Uzzah steadying the ark, although well known amongst adults in the church, is not known by our youth.  When asked if they had ever heard of Uzzah steadying the ark, my students responded that they had never heard the story before. To understandContinue Reading

The showdown between David and Goliath has many relevant parallels to the youth of the Church today.  In many ways Goliath represents the temptations and trials of the world.  He also represents the demands of the world that we must meet.  The author of the text goes on to illustrateContinue Reading

1 Samuel 13 relates the story of Saul making an unauthorized offering.  After waiting seven days for Samuel to come and make the offering, Saul went ahead and performed Samuel’s duties.  The text suggests that Saul felt pressure as the Philistines were gathered against him and some of his menContinue Reading