Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Punishment May Await Us If We Fail to Listen to God Isaiah wraps up his lengthy prophecy talking about judgment. He prophesies that God has destined the people for death. That they will be slaughtered. There will be consequences. Why would a loving God want to kill his people? Through the mouth of Isaiah, God […]
Our Savior Came to Heal and to Save After giving us four chapters of historical narrative, Isaiah shifts back to more prophecy. His future-focused look tells us about Jesus and justice. Though Jesus is God’s Son, as our Savior—the Messiah—he is also God’s servant, who will come to earth in service of Father God to […]
Characteristics of God In the Bible, Jesus makes several declarations of who he is and his character. In the book of John alone, he says: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). “I am the […]
Isaiah’s Shocking Prophecies about the Nation of Egypt Isaiah often mentions the nation of Egypt in his prophecies. Egypt appears in the book of Isaiah forty-three times. Many, but not all, of these mentions relate to judgment and punishment. In a surprising passage, Isaiah looks forward to the day when Egypt will openly and intentionally […]
Don’t Drink Blood versus Drink My Blood Among the many “laws” (that is, rules and regulations for right behavior), that God—through Moses—gave the nation of Israel was an unconditional prohibition against drinking blood. Every Hebrew would have been taught this from early childhood. Breaking this law would have been unthinkable to them, a repulsive act to […]
Stop It Micah! The prophet Micah gives some strong words from God to his chosen people. Although Micah’s proclamation—his prophecy—should convict them, instead they take offense. At one point the people even tell him to stop talking—they say, “Stop it Micah”—as if his silence would keep God’s plans from happening. Micah’s sarcastic retort is that […]
We Can Believe That God Hears and Answers Our Requests When you pray do you think God hears you? Does he answer your prayers? All of them? The Bible says so. Consider what Scripture teaches. God Hears Our Prayers First, we can have assurance that God does indeed hear our prayers. John writes that we […]
Jesus Shocks His Audience Jesus said many things that surprised and even shocked his followers. One of his more appalling statements was that we needed to eat his body and drink his blood. That’s a hard thing to swallow—literally and figuratively. Gross. He asserted that those who ate his body and drank his blood would […]
Regardless of How God Speaks to Us, We Should Listen to What He Says The words of the Old Testament prophet Amos appear in the book of the Bible that bears his name. The words the God speaks come to Amos in a vision. But the Bible doesn’t tell us the circumstances surrounding the vision […]
Many People Like an Easy Jesus, But Not Everyone Accepts What He Says Jesus normally teaches the masses in parables. Though most don’t really understand what he means, they like his stories because they’re so countercultural. Inaddition, he sometimes gives them food and heals them. He’s a cool speaker who does nice things for them. […]