2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 40-44 Sometime after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the upper echelons of Judean society to Babylon, they appointed a Judean named Gedaliah as governor over those who remained in the land. At Mizpah Gedaliah encouraged those who remained to embrace Babylonian rule and reestablish their lives in the land, cultivating […]
Author Archives: Administrator
Border Conflict between Israel and Judah
1 Kings 15:9-22; 2 Chronicles 16:1-6 Around 895 B.C., a few decades after Israel divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, a border dispute erupted between the two nations. King Baasha of Israel seized the strategic Judean border town of Ramah and fortified it to gain control over all […]
Jephthah’s Exploits
Judges 10-12 The story of Jephthah is set in the time of the judges, when Israel was settling into the land they had taken possession of many years earlier under Joshua’s leadership. Continuing their repeated pattern of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, the people of Israel were suffering attacks by the Ammonites, who normally occupied […]
Paul Travels from Malta to Rome
Acts 27:39-28:16 As Paul was being transferred to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, his ship was driven by a storm until it was wrecked near the small island of Malta. The entire crew was saved, and the people of the island treated them with unusual hospitality. During their time there Paul prayed for many […]
The Tribe of Benjamin
The tribe of Benjamin was descended from the youngest son of Jacob (Genesis 35:16-26) and occupied one of the smallest allotments in the Promised Land (Joshua 15-16; 18:11-13), yet it proved to be a people of great consequence throughout the history of Israel. Benjamin’s allotment in the Promised Land fell between Ephraim to the north […]