Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Discover What Paul Might Mean by This Curious Phrase There is a curious phrase in the Bible: “grace of giving.” It occurs only in Paul’s second letter to his friends at the church in Corinth. Without it appearing elsewhere in the Bible, there are no other verses we can use to grasp a better understanding […]
Early each spring our Jewish friends celebrate Purim. The origin of Purim is found in the book of Esther, which is a beautiful and moving story. In a rags to riches manner, Esther was whisked from obscurity to become queen. From her new position of access and influence, she was able to stop a plot […]
The Apostle Paul Presents a Series of Contrasting Situations for Us to Avoid Paul writes to the church in Corinth. He warns them not to yoke themselves, that is, to pair themselves, with people who don’t believe. The image of a yoke applies to two animals paired together to pull a load. He tells them: […]
God Will Answer When We Pray After Zechariah’s discouraging implication that God is weary of his people and will no longer be their Shepherd, Zechariah has some good news. He concludes his prophetic writings with an optimistic prophecy of a better tomorrow, a future hope. This is a hope that the people of his day […]
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 […]