Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Regardless of Circumstances, God Walks With Us In Paul’s second letter to the believers in Corinth, he warns them not to deceive others or distort God’s word (2 Corinthians 4:2). That is, don’t misrepresent God’s character or intent to the world. Yet, this happens. Some people, in their zeal for Jesus, promise those on the […]
Is Your Name on the List? Chapter 2 in the book of Ezra overflows with names. We often skim it or may face the temptation to skip it altogether. Buried among this dizzying array of names is a sidenote that’s easy to miss, but it carries an important lesson. Many of the Israelite exiles prepare […]
Examine Our Motives When We Give Paul writes a succinct reminder to Jesus’s followers in Corinth. By extension it also applies to us. It’s about generosity. He says “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously,” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Generosity produces blessing, whereas stinginess results in scarcity. In […]
Azariah the Son of Oded Azariah, son of Oded, comes to Asa, King of Judah. The prophet tells the king, “If you see God, you’ll find him. If you walk away from him, he’ll walk away from you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). That is, to seek God first. King Asa takes the prophet’s warning seriously and […]
Contrary to the Law of Moses King David Reassigns the Duties of the Levites In the book of Numbers, Moses details the assignments and responsibilities of the tribe of Levi, mentioning them over fifty times. Though the priests, descendants of Aaron, are from this tribe, the rest of the Levites have God-assigned responsibilities too. Chief […]
The third line of Jabez’s prayer is: “that Your hand would be with me” Having just asked God for greater blessing—in order to bless others—and more influence—in order to help others—Jabez realizes that he needs God’s direction and guidance so that he may proceed wisely and justly. Indeed, having more blessing and more power can […]
Living Water Flows from God’s Temple and Is for Our Benefit In the Old Testament, the people perceived that God lived in the temple. They saw this as his residence on earth. To connect with him meant they had to go to the temple. As Ezekiel winds down his lengthy prophecy, the man in his […]
In my prior post, entitled Cannibalism, Holy Communion (aka the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist) was seen as a spiritual invitation to salvation. Communion is a symbolic rite reminding us of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us as the solution for the wrong things we have done. This is all good. However, Paul warns against the abuse of […]
God Does What It Takes to Get People’s Attention God speaks to the prophet Ezekiel and gives him a prophecy against Ammon, against Moab, against Philistia, and against Tyre. The prophecy against Tyre is the longest and most devastating, but all four carry the same rationale. God will inflict them with punishment for their past […]
Love versus Fear As we struggle with the paradox of fearing God and loving God, there’s another thought on the subject. John writes that “perfect love drives out fear.” Perfect love never fails. Perfect love is love that’s without fault, consistent and always present. God embodies perfect love. Paul gives us a list of what […]