Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Some Psalms Ask God to Punish Our Enemies and Those Who Do Evil Many people enjoy reading the Psalms. They appreciate the poetic nature of its words. They find encouragement to persevere and inspiration to strengthen their faith. Many Psalms also lead us into our worship of God. These are some of the best. However, […]
Keeping Our Heart Pure Is Hard, Especially When God Offers Us Grace and Mercy There are at least twelve psalms in the Bible written by Asaph. Psalm 73 is one of them. Asaph’s having a bad day. He’s going through a difficult time. It’s a rough season for him. He’s discouraged and pours out his […]
The Tongue Is a Dangerous Tool that We Must Tame In one of his Psalms, David writes that he will be careful in what he says so that he doesn’t sin. He talks about putting a muzzle on his mouth (Psalms 39:1). He says nothing about having freedom of speech. James is clear about the […]
Michal marries David, who will later become king; her father is King Saul. Though her story starts out with promise, it ends sadly. David plays a critical role in the success of King Saul and the nation of Israel. Despite this, Saul’s attitude towards David varies greatly, with Saul often wanting to kill David out […]
The King Claimed to Be Afraid of His Men, When He Should Have Been Afraid of God From a human standpoint, Saul appeared he had what it would take to be king. Yet from God’s perspective, his first king fell short. Saul had many character flaws, which ultimately caused God to reject him as king. […]
A curious fellow in the book of Judges is Micah (not to be confused with the prophet Micah who lived many centuries later and has a book of the Bible named after him). This Micah, with two chapters surrounding him, is not listed as a judge and does not lead the people to overthrow their […]
If We Don’t Protect the Innocent from Retribution, Who Will? God tells Joshua to establish cities of refuge, a safe place for people to seek sanctuary. The specific context is that a city of refuge is a place for people to go if they accidentally kill someone. Once these people make it to the city […]
Even One Sin Is Enough to Disqualify Us from Attaining God’s Perfect Standard; Jesus Bridges the Gap The book of Deuteronomy concludes with the death of Moses. Moses faithfully leads God’s people as they wander in the desert for forty years, brings them to the border of the land God had promised to give to […]
The Book of Deuteronomy Offers Surprising Insights into Our Relationship With God The book of Deuteronomy is never high on my reading list. The seemingly endless instructions about the form and format of God’s expectations for his people vex me, especially given that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, and today we live under a New […]
After Their Situation Changes, David Gives Them New Jobs The book of Numbers is so named because it starts and ends with a census—a numbering of the people. These take place forty years apart. Moses orchestrates both counts, at God’s command. For the third part of the first census, Moses counts all men who can […]