In our reading today of Deuteronomy 21, we learn about the law of God concerning unsolved murders within the community of His people. If a person was found dead, the elders and judges would measure the distance to the nearest city. The city closest to the victim was assumed to be the place where ...

"God told Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land because he had mishandled His authority given to Him by God. How did he mishandle it? When Israel complained that there was no water, God gave Moses specific instructions to gather the people together. He was to speak to the rock and it wo...

Moses delivers his final blessing on Israel, before his death on Mount Nebo. Through Moses, it is God who tells His people Israel that they are blessed not because they deserve the blessing, but because He loves them. This is an important point for us to remember when we offer our praise to the L...

When Israel crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, God instructed Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes carry a stone from the river and set them up as a memorial. Once the stones were arranged, Joshua spoke to the children of Israel saying that in the generations t...

There will never be any lasting peace until Jesus Christ returns. The LORD will return to the earth at some point in the future to rule and reign for 1,000 years. We read about this in Isaiah 60 and Revelation 20, as well as several other places in the Bible. Personally, I do not believe that Chr...

God does not think like we do. We typically believe that people can do anything if they don’t think negative. But the truth is we are all limited. In reality, it is God who has created us and programmed inside our very DNA the ability to complete all things that He has commanded us to do. Problem...

God sets boundaries for every country, city, family, and individual. But, in this world, we tend to think that we are the ones who set and define our own boundaries. We often tell ourselves that we are limited only by our imaginations. Problem is: that is wrong. There are limits or boundaries to ...

Moses restates the law of God that was first given between the LORD and Israel at Sinai, who had mostly died out in the years from that time, to the younger generation. Deuteronomy is a pastoral repetition of the Law to enable that generation to live obediently before God and to live out His purp...

Details of the land boundaries included all the tribes of Israel. The allotment for the tribe of Simeon and Zebulun were published in the early verses of Joshua 19, by God, for everyone to witness. It is important to remember that it is God who gave these specific lands to the specific tribes, in...

The laws of God, while ancient in origin, are not outdated, irrelevant, or non-applicable in today’s world. They were instructions given so that the people of Israel could, first of all, love and serve God and then love and take care of each other. This was unique in their time, as it is in ours....

There was much grumbling and complaining in the wilderness among the people of Israel before they even entered into the Promised Land. God was not happy with His nation, so to speak, for casting doubt and complaint. In Judges 6, about 100 years after they entered the Promised Land, they were comp...

Gideon was inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. He was chasing 135,000 fighting men of Midian. God had selected 300 men with Gideon to pursue and conquer the Midianite forces. After they fought and conquered the Midianites and Amalekites in the valley, Gideon and his men continued in pursuit of the lea...

Times of great problems and distress don’t just come on us for no reason. Sin is the greatest dark force in our world. It causes tremendous problems. God never desires that any should perish by sin, but in His clear and unmistakable view of the future, He knew that we would fall and fail in our o...

Samson’s parents were visited by the Angel of the LORD and told to expect a son. Samson’s mother was instructed to be careful what she ate and drank while pregnant because the boy would be a Nazirite to God from birth. The vow of a Nazirite was a consecration to the LORD. Nazirites were obligated...

It is interesting to consider who is a true friend and who is your friend for their own benefit. The story in Judges 19 is a harsh one to read about the problems growing in the ancient land of Israel and in the hearts of God’s people. We are introduced to a Levite man living in the hill country o...

Hannah is an outstanding example of how God hears and preserves us in times of difficulty. The second wife of Elkanah, she had no children because she was barren. Each year the family would go to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to God, and each year Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, would take
the ...

The Philistines began to threaten and ultimately conquer Israel during the days of the judges, in about 1200 BC. This would be the last period of time that Israel would be governed by judges. Samuel, Hannah’s firstborn son, was the last judge of Israel. Now Israel had fought against the Philistin...

Saul was the first man anointed to be king of Israel by Samuel, the fourteenth judge of Israel. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. The Bible describes him as being an impressive young man, handsome and standing a head taller than anyone else ( 1 SAMUEL 9:2). Such characteristics were certainly ...

Samuel was distressed when the elders of Israel insisted that he appoint a king, rather than another judge, to rule over them like the other nations had. Deeply offended with their demand, Samuel brought it to the LORD in prayer. God consoled Samuel and assured him that the people were not reject...

David was having great success with the army, no matter where King Saul would send him. So Saul made David head of the army. The people loved David, he was their warrior hero. Even the king’s son, Jonathan, gave David his military tunic, sword, bow, and belt. When warriors would return from battl...

David was a man of God, anointed by God as king, and followed the will of God throughout his life. The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. That doesn’t mean that he was perfect, indeed, he made many mistakes! But David knew how to follow the LORD. This is something I need t...