The exodus from Egypt was a metaphor for God's greater redemption story, the restoration of shalom from the chaos of the evil one. His purpose was to invite Israel into a greater story than the one of their bondage, eventually unveiling a plan of ... MORE
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Promised Land awaited them, but first God led them into the desert. The time they spent there would not only get them out of Egypt geographically, but would also remove its influence from thei... MORE
When the tabernacle was established among the Israelites, God came and lived among His people. Its design, construction, and function revealed much of His character, which proved to be completely unlike that of any gods the people had ever known. ... MORE
At times, God chose to use the harsh reality of life in the desert near the Promised Land as a practical teaching tool to mold and shape His people. The Essenes went willingly into this wasteland to allow Him to do just that: to teach them His wor... MORE
In the Bible, the desert is an image of great hardship and suffering, signifying the impossibility of survival without access to basic resources. God often led His people through desert places, using the barrenness of the land as opportunities to ... MORE
When the Israelites left Egypt and began their journey with God to the Promised Land, how much did they know of their past history? Some, like Moses' parents, seemed to have retained a knowledge and faith in the God of their fathers, but the Bible... MORE
The people of the Bible lived in temple-building cultures. Temples provided pagan gods with a place to live, keeping them close to the people who worshiped them. Even Israel did the same – first Solomon, then Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, and eve... MORE
Most of Jesus' ministry was spent in Jewish communities, proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom to the people of Israel. His greater intention, though, was for His Jewish followers to bring this message to the Gentile world around them, a worl... MORE
Unable to stand their suffering under a cruel Pharaoh any longer, the Israelites cried out to God. He heard them and initiated his plan to deliver his people, not only from their physical bondage but from slavery to Egypt's story. In this lesson, ... MORE
In Deuteronomy, God tells Israel that He led them into the desert in order to train and test them, so that He might know what was in their hearts. He still does this for His people today, leading us through experiences to reveal the depths of our ... MORE
God desired a people who would partner with Him in "making space" to reveal Himself to a broken world. The detailed patterns and plans for the tabernacle not only illustrated the kind of care and devotion He wanted to display to His peop... MORE
- Sardis stood in the middle of the Hermus River Valley, just over fifty miles east of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now the country of Turkey. The main east-west trade route came through this valley.- On a spur of Mount Tmolus, on the north si...
These niches originally held statues of the pagan gods worshipped at Caesarea Philippi. The largest is actually an artificial cave that leads to a niche in the cliff itself. This niche apparently held a statue of Pan. Above it is another niche wit...
Against the cliff and in the large cave on the left, in the third century BC, was a cult center to the fertility god Pan. This center probably was built to compete with the high place at Dan, about three miles away.The presence of the spring formi...
The reconstructed platform, or podium, near the cave at Caesarea Philippi was originally the base of a temple either to the Roman emperor Augustus or to Pan (or possibly both). The entrance to the Grotto (or cave) of Pan is seen to the left of the...
En Gedi is the home of desert goats known as ibex. These heavy- horned males and graceful does graze on the sparse grasses in the surrounding desert.
The only available water for miles around is the spring of En Gedi. This photograph doesn?t exact...
En Gedi is the home of desert goats known as ibex. These heavy- horned males and graceful does graze on the sparse grasses in the surrounding desert.The only available water for miles around is the spring of En Gedi. This photograph doesn?t exactl...
The result living water is clearly seen. The barren wilderness on the background contrasts sharply with the lush growth produced by the water. The sudden appearance of water brings like out of the barrenness of the desert.Many Bible passages descr...
The desert around En Gedi is hot, barren, and dry. God's promise to his people was to turn the desert into "pools of water" (Psalm 107:35). Even the barrenness is made fruitful by the living water from God.The water and shade seen in thi...
When we say the words "science" or "technology," we don't usually picture the ancient world. But in biblical times, new advances and discoveries were always being made.In the field of metalworking, the world gradually shifted f...
The early writers and readers of the Scriptures viewed their world in concrete, rather than abstract, terms. Because of this, they used word pictures and symbolic actions rather than formal definitions to describe God and his relationship with his...
Name given to a room in the Qumran community in which many scholars believe the Essenes wrote some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Excavation has revealed tables and benches similar to those used by scribes, as well as ink pots and basins in which the Es...
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