Category Archives: Old Testament

Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. (Esther 3:1 NLT) Even though the previous chapter ends with Mordecai saving the king’s life and his deed being noted in the king’s records, the next chapter begins withContinue reading “Unearned Rewards”

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NLT) It has often been noted that the book ofContinue reading “Traces of God”

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:28-29 NIV) When Moses, who hadContinue reading “Don’t Hold It, Share It”

“The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand— all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves withContinue reading “Making Promises to God”

“So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them.”… So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites. (Deuteronomy 31:19, 22 NLT) God usedContinue reading “Discerning His Voice Through Songs”

Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on theContinue reading “No Pain, No Gain”

Further, he shall not acquire many [war] horses for himself, nor make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire horses [to expand his military power], since the Lord said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’” (Deuteronomy 17:16 AMP) The Israelites really had it tough in Egypt. They were enslaved andContinue reading “Letting Go of What Hurts Us”

“We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33 NIV) The Israelites, God’s chosen people, His treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6), had low self-worth. They saw themselves as grasshoppers before the enemy. How sad it is when God’s own children, His special creation, see themselves small before the enemy.Continue reading “Know Your Worth”