God is a Jealous God

In today’s Bible reading,* God tells Moses to execute His vengeance against the Midianites. One thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel went out and did just that, killing every male, including the kings. And they took the women and children captive. Moses was furious when he learned that the women were still…

When is an Army Not an Army?

I saw something in today’s Bible reading* that I’ve never seen before in all of the times I’ve read these chapters. God tells Moses to bring out the Hebrews “according to their military divisions”[1] in Exodus 6:26, 7:4, 12:17, 41, 51. I’ve never seen that terminology before. Why? Well, it comes down to Bible translations….

Rebekah “Falls” for Isaac

In today’s Bible reading*, we read the story of when Rebekah falls in love with Isaac. The culture of the Twenty-first Century Western World is very different than that of Isaac’s day. Abraham sends his servant to the land of his relatives to find a wife for his “firstborn son” Isaac. Abraham was concerned that…

Abram Follows God’s Call

In today’s Bible reading*, Abram follows God’s call to leave his home in modern-day Southern Iraq, up the Fertile Crescent into modern-day Syria and down through modern-day Lebanon, Israel, across to Egypt, and back up into Israel, settling in Hebron. The trip was over 3000 miles. On foot. And Abram had a lot of stuff…