On the long journey of Israel through the wilderness, God provided the nation with instructions for the tabernacle, which we looked at here and here. The tabernacle itself had two rooms, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place was considered the very throne room of God the King and was…
Read MoreDrawing Near to the Throne of Grace
On Israel’s long journey to the land of promise, God gave the people his law, which included instructions on the tabernacle, which represented the presence of God with the people. Why were such detailed instructions given? For starters, the tabernacle was a copy of what’s in heaven (Hebrews 8:5). If you want to know what…
Read MoreThe Tabernacle: The Sign of God’s Presence
After God led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he called them to be holy, just as he is holy (Leviticus 11:44a). But for the people to pursue holiness, God had to teach them what was right and wrong. So he gave them the Old Testament law, which we looked at here. …
Read MoreLiving in God’s Presence
After God freed the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery, he had them gather at the foot of Mt. Sinai. There the people agreed to keep the covenant that God offered them, and God gave them the Ten Commandments and various other laws. Then God called Moses to come up Mt. Sinai to get more…
Read MoreHoliness and the Old Testament Law
As Christians, are we expected to keep the Old Testament rules? Are the Old Testament laws binding on us today? Some people believe the answer is yes. Their churches meet on Saturdays, they don’t eat pork. Of course, they don’t stone their sons for being rebellious (Leviticus 20:9), but that’s another story. Then some say…
Read MoreThe Great Deliverer
One of the most important themes in the Bible is the creation by God of a nation he called his own. God made a covenant with Abraham, a promise that his descendants would be the people of God, occupy the land of Canaan, and become a blessing to all the world. The promise continued through…
Read MoreHe has Risen; He is Not Here
When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, just as the sun was rising. “Who is going to roll the…
Read MoreGod’s Sovereignty and Our Prayers
There’s a question I’ve been asked more than once along the way, and it goes something like this: “If God is in complete control of the world, then why should l pray?” In other words, if everything is always going to happen the way God wants it to happen, then what difference do my prayers…
Read MoreDo You Pray for Your Enemies?
In the previous post, we talked about the importance of praying for others. That doesn’t mean simply praying for family, friends, missionaries, and for our favorite teams to win. It’s easy to pray for those people. Jesus added to that list when he was preaching on a mountainside: “You have heard that it was said,…
Read MoreSharing in the Battle: Praying for Others
In seminary, our classes lasted four hours each, with two classes a day and a two-hour dinner break between each class. One day, the professor of our second class, Dr. Aderhold, warned us not to drive too far for dinner and to be back on time. That just happened to be the day we had…
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