Judge Shamgar (Judges 3:31)
Judge Shamgar (Judges 3:31)
Shamgar deflected Philistine raids into Israel and slaughtered 600 of the invaders with an ox goad. The text is very unordinary compared with the records of other judges. The reference to Shamgar has no introduction, conclusion, or relation to the length of reign. It continues directly from the...
If the Lord Had Not Been on Our Side (Psalm 124)
Psalm 124 is a song of ascents, traditionally attributed to King David, that expresses profound gratitude and recognition of divine intervention and protection in the face of adversity. The psalm begins by inviting the Israelites to consider the hypothetical situation of the Lord not being on...
Defilement comes from within (Mark 7:1-23)
This story questions the very essence of what is really important in our religious life. It would be the mistake to just plain read the story and apply it into our life. Key Greek terms used here are παραδοσις meaning "tradition, something handed down" and κοινος meaning "defiled; ordinary,...
Surely God is good to Israel (Psalm 73)
Psalm 73 is one of the Psalms of Asaph (see 50 and 74-83). It is numbered as 73 in Masoretic numbering while in Septuagint and Vulgate the numbering it is 72. This psalm is raising a topic of prosperity of righteous and wicked people. For the author, as he observes, it seems like those who are...
Jesus Teaches at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:14-36)
In John 7:14-36 Jesus teaches in the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, delivering a profound message with theological implications. Midway through the feast, he astonishes the crowd with his authoritative teachings, despite his lack of formal education, underscoring that his insights come not...