Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Childless, Elizabeth and husband Zechariah are getting old; their chance for kids is slim. Still they pray for the improbable. Despite not receiving what they yearn for, their faith remains strong. They are a righteous couple who honor God. One day at work, an angel shows up and tells Zechariah that he and his barren […]
Offer a Male Without Defect Leviticus is a book that most people tend to skip. At best, they skim it. Leviticus gives meticulous details about how God expects his people to worship him. It involves a lot of animal sacrifices—blood, guts, and death—something we find off-putting and foreign. Yet Leviticus also offers us much insight […]
Potiphar Reacts to His Wife’s Accusations Through a series of events outside his control, Joseph has become a slave owned by Potiphar. Potiphar is one of Pharaoh’s officials and captain of the guard. God’s favor is on Joseph in Potiphar’s household, and he proves himself to the captain. Potiphar eventually puts his entire estate under […]
Mary Receives Shocking News An angel visits Mary, a teenage girl engaged to be married. The angel celebrates her as one highly favored by God. Perplexed, she wonders about the angel’s shocking greeting. Then he further stuns her by saying she will become pregnant, and her child will save her people. “How,” Mary asks? “I’m […]
Listening for God’s Direction Some people tell me they’ve never heard God speak to them. Of those, I suspect many actually do hear him, but they don’t realize it. Can you hear the voice of God? For others, they need to train themselves to listen. And there may be a few people with something blocking […]
A Story of Immorality Joseph is an attractive man. Potiphar’s wife notices. She pursues Joseph. We don’t know her motivation. Does her husband ignore her? Is she bored? Perhaps she’s merely promiscuous. Yet her reasons don’t matter. She tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph resists. He explains why he won’t sleep with her, but she ignores […]
A Wise Woman Abigail is an intelligent and beautiful woman. In contrast, her husband, Nabal, is surly and mean; his servants call him wicked and she confirms his name means fool. Nabal is wealthy, with thousands of livestock. David and his men protect Nabel’s herdsmen and flocks, anticipating he will appreciate their efforts and one […]
Don’t Hold on to Guilt Over What God Has Already Forgiven From the life of Jacob, we learn a lesson in how to receive God’s mercy. After Jacob dies, Joseph’s brothers come to him. They’re worried he’ll hold a grudge against them for what they did to him when he was a teenager. At that […]
The Younger Twin Brother of Perez Zerah is the younger twin brother of Perez. They are sons of Judah and Tamar (1). When Tamar is in labor, the hand of one of her babies emerges. The midwife ties a scarlet thread around his wrist. Then the hand withdraws. The baby who is born first, however, […]
Though an entire book was written about his prayer (The Prayer of Jabez), we actually know little about Jabez. The Bible only mentions him in two obscure verses, buried among a lengthy genealogy. We know even less about the mother of Jabez, not even her name. We do know his birth is difficult, and the […]