A reader enquires: Aaron and Miriam both criticized Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, and were jealous that the Lord had spoken through Moses and not them. Yet Miriam was stricken with leprosy and Aaron was not. Why was only Miriam punished?
The record of this incident is in Number 12. The que…
A correspondent writes: “Note 2 Chronicles 5:10: ‘There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb’; and compare Hebrews 9:4: ‘the ark of the covenant … wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant…
The ark of the covenant Read More »
A questioner asks: “Wrested Scriptures shows that the Satan of 1 Chronicles 21:1 is the Lord of 2 Samuel 24:1. If God was angry with the people of Israel and wanted to punish them, why do you think He instructed David to number Israel? 1 Chronicles 21:7 indicates that God was displeased with David…
The Numbering of Israel Read More »
Question: Who was the “Satan” of the book of Job? Was he an angel?
The identity of the Satan of Job 1–2 has been the subject of debate within the brotherhood from its earliest days. It is not our intention, except incidentally, to argue with the proposition that in t…
Bible Questions, Difficulties Read More »
Question: Does God, by His angels and/or through His Spirit, operate on people’s minds to direct or influence a thought?
We know that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Dan 4:17,25,32). So God actively engages in the affairs of…
Bible Questions, Difficulties Read More »
Having been found asleep, Jonah must now endure a very public scrutiny. No longer can he travel incognito; there must be a full disclosure of his background, identity and role. Jonah’s bold, though belated declaration fills the sailors with fear. And his suggestion that he must be sacrificed to en…
The Flight and the Storm Read More »
Jonah’s anger at the Ninevite response to the Word emboldens him to the point where he presumes to remonstrate with his God. He takes up station outside the city where through the triple miracle of gourd, worm and east wind Yahweh teaches him that his own devices and his own thinking are quite…
The Lesson of the Gourd Read More »
“I love animals and I hate to see them suffer or be killed, so I am a vegetarian. I really struggle with the requirement for the shedding of blood and all those sacrifices of animals under the Law of Moses.”
This comment was made to me by someone who was quite troubled, and I hope my response w…
The Sacrificing and Eating of Animals Read More »
It is difficult to think of the Western World as Christian any longer. Our societies are secular, with a significant atheist component becoming more assertive as “Christians” become more timid. Increasingly we face attacks upon the veracity and even the morality of Scripture. One topic aggressiv…
The Bible and Slavery Read More »
In the last issue we considered one of the examples of apparent discrepancy in Bible numbers. Another issue where some suggest the numbers don’t add up is the number of Israelites who left Egypt to embark on the exodus to the Promised Land. To have 603,550 men over twenty years and fit for war if …
The Number of Israelites Who Left Egypt Read More »
