Bronze Snake (Numbers 21:4-9)
Holy War (Deuteronomy 20:1-20)
The term "holy war" refers to a sort of warfare that is dedicated to the purposes of the Lord. God himself is also an active participant it this kind of war. The Old Testament does not use the term “holy war.” Instead, it was coined by the German scholar Friedrich Schwally in the early...
Judge Othniel (Judges 3:8-11)
Othniel (עָתְנִיאֵל בֶּן קְנַז, Otniel ben Kenaz) was the first of the judges of Israel. The name Othniel can be interpreted as „Protector of God“ or „Protection (is) God“. Some time after the death of Joshua, the Israelites once again turned to sin and fell under the subjection of...
Judge Ehud (Judges 3:12-30)
Ehud (אֵהוּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא, Ehúd ben Géráh) is the second judge who was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from Moabite domination resulting in peace lasting for eighty years. He is described as being left-handed and a member of the Tribe of Benjamin. The judge is sent to the Moabite King...
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...
Judge Debora and Barak (Judges 4:1-5:31)
Deborah was the fourth judge and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. She presented her judgments underneath a date palm tree. Since Deborah had a prophetic gift, she instructed Barak that God appointed him to lead an attack against Jabin, the king of Canaan, and his military commander...
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...
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever (Psalm 89)
The Psalm looks to the Lord as a creator. The scientific question of how creation took place goes away, and the main theme is the nature of the Lord, which reveals in creation. King David and his descendants are also a significant theme in the text. They are the object of the Lord's grace....
Wisdom’s Call (Proverbs 8:1-9:18)
The proverb accounts the Wisdom as a direct witness to the creation. She was there and saw the act. Therefore the Wisdom also precedes the existence of the creation. The Wisdom is the one who mediates between God and humans. In the book of Proverbs, God is a somewhat distant deity. He does not...