Moses, Peter, Paul and James each tells us to be joyful in all of our circumstances. Further, Moses says that a lack of joy will cause Israel to go into exile. How is it possible for joy to be a commandment? Why does a lack of joy lead to curses and exile? What does that say for us today?
Psalm 110 introduces the idea of a priestly king. Heretofore priests have come from Levi and kings from either Judah or Ephraim. This change and the reasons therefore are explained in the Book of Hebrews.
Many of the stories in the Bible revolve around competition between brothers for a blessing. In all of the major stories, the younger son is favored.
The story of human liberty begins in the first vignette - the Garden of Eden. Why was there a toxic tree in the Garden and what was going on with a talking snake?
Tending a prayer is much like tending a garden. You only plant the seed once, but then you must defend the crop.
The intellectual foundations of liberalism were laid in the 19th century. The ideas of Darwin, Malthus and Marx made atheism respectable, racism 'scientific', and promised a man-made paradise. We are now seeing the dismal failure of that legacy. It appears that God has once again answered prayer and is moving to deliver us from our hubris and folly.
The relationship between Torah (law) and grace goes clear back to the apostolic age. Denominations have been born and died over this question. In truth, there is no conflict at all. Both are attributes of God.
Psalms 22, 23 and 24 form a Messianic tryptic. The first describes the crucifixion and the last describes the return of the conquering king. In between is the Valley of the Shadow of death where He descended into the grave and then arose three days later.
In a remarkable display of deja vu, Joseph's brothers deceive their father using a goat.
During the plagues, Pharaoh had a hard heart and refused to allow the people of Israel to leave. Was it unfair of God to harden Pharaoh's heart and then destroy him and his nation?