Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:28–46, Mark 12:12, and Luke 20:9–19 Focus verse: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. (Matthew 21:45) Immediately after Jesus counters the religious leaders who challenge his authority, he shares some parables. With a crowd already gathered, it provides him with a […]
Opposing Moses It may surprise you to see Jannes and Jambres in our discussion of Old Testament sinners and saints. This is because they don’t appear in the Old Testament. They show up in the New Testament and then only once. Yet the reference ties them to Moses, so this places them in the Old […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:23–27, Mark 11:27–33, and Luke 20:1–8 Focus verse: “By what authority are you doing these things?” [the religious leaders] asked. “And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) Let’s recap what Jesus has done in the past few hours. First, he rides into Jerusalem like a victorious king, with the people shouting […]
Gideon Tells His Men to Follow His Example Just before Gideon goes to battle, he tells his men to “watch me,” “follow my lead,” and “do exactly what I do.” His men do and God uses their collective actions to throw the enemy into complete confusion. As a result, a great victory is won. Gideon’s actions […]
Discover the Marvelous Things Our Lord Does for Us Paul writes to the church in Rome, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). There are many wonderful passages in the Bible like this one that use the phrase but God. Let’s […]
The Two Sons of Moses and Zipporah Moses and Zipporah have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The oldest is Gershom (1). His name means a foreigner there because Moses says he’s a foreigner in a foreign land. The younger son is Eliezer (2). His name means God is my helper. Moses acknowledges God as the […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:18–22 and Mark 11:12–14, 20–25 Focus verse: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) The next morning, as Jesus and his troop return to Jerusalem, he’s hungry. Seeing a fig tree, he expects a tasty meal and searches for fruit. Though the tree has lots […]
Justifying the Bible ThroughHuman Reasoning Limits God’s Power As Joshua leads the nation of Israel into the promised land, they defeat Gibeon in a most amazing battle. Though Joshua’s army does its part, God plays an even bigger role. He orchestrates a hailstorm that pelts the Gibeon army with huge hailstones, killing many of them, […]
Learn About Moses’s Wife When Moses flees for his life, he meets seven shepherdesses, the daughters of Reuel. Moses marries one of the daughters, Zipporah. Moses and Zipporah have two sons. They are Gershom and Eliezer. Years later when Moses and his family travel to Egypt, God afflicts Moses. This is apparently because Moses failed […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:14–17, Mark 11:18–19, and Luke 19:47–48 Focus verse: The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him. (Mark 11:18) After Jesus clears the merchants from the courtyard around the temple, people come to him for healing. This includes the blind and […]