The other day, walking down a tree-lined street, a couple of scientists were startled by a sudden crash and scramble at their feet. A squirrel had fallen from a tree! It quickly recovered and dashed away, back up the same tree trunk from which it had come. That never—or, almost never—happens. Wh…
“The river of Egypt” occurs seven times in the Authorised Version, but two distinct Hebrew words are used. In Genesis 15:18 and 2 Kings 24:7 the Hebrew word is nahar—a stream or river. The word is used to describe a large river (cp Gen 2:10,13,14; 2 Kings 5:12), hence in Exodus 7:19 Aaron stre…
The River of Egypt Read More »
UNESCO claims that Jericho is the oldest inhabited city ever uncovered in the ancient world and geographically, is considered to be the lowest town on earth. In Old Testament times it had a significant part to play in the times of Joshua and the Judges. In the days of Elijah and Elisha there was a s…
Jesus at Jericho (1) Read More »
It is always interesting to know the individuals Paul is writing to when we read his letters, and this letter to the Philippians is no different. Who lived in Philippi? Well, Acts 16:14 tells us that Lydia “a seller of purple” was baptised there and her whole household, and in verse15 it tells u…
No Confidence in the Flesh Read More »
They gathered themselves together
A powerful force of five kings led by Adoni-zedek, who were already concerned about the Israelite threat, were now additionally disturbed over the four Gibeonite cities making a league with Joshua. Their tactics were thus altered from being “gathered together to …
The Gibeonites in History and Type (2) Read More »
The first epistle of John was written around AD90 to provide guidance and comfort to those brothers and sisters that had just experienced an ecclesial split following the Gnostic heresy. As John wrote: “They went out from us” (2:19).
The Gnostics taught that they had a superior experiential k…
First John (3) – To Know God and Love Our Brother (2:3-17) Read More »
Following the foiled assassination attempt, Haman had created an atmosphere of fear in the court of Ahasuerus, which was no doubt what the king appointed him to do. When Mordecai alone, even of all the Jews, refused to bow to Haman, his friends tried to convince the old man to change. But he wouldn�…
Mordecai – The Jew (2) Read More »
A third-grade student gave this definition of salt: “Salt is what you don’t notice until someone forgets to put it in”.
We tend to take many things for granted until they are missing, just as this student did with the salt. We are wise to notice and appreciate the many unseen things in our …
When the State of Israel was declared by David Ben Gurion on 14 May 1948, the Jewish community of Cochin, in southwestern India, were ready to immigrate. “Their whole purpose was to immigrate to Israel and that was their goal”, says Mira Elia of the Cochin Jewish Heritage Centre in Nevatim, in t…
The Cochin Jews – Israel’s Oldest Indian Community Read More »
Early history
Corinth, or more accurately Korinthos, is a very ancient city, thought to have been inhabited from 900BC onwards. Homer records in The Iliad (690BC)—alluding to the mythical origins of Corinth—the list of ships that went to fight against Troy, one of which was from Corinth, which …
