The Bible compares those who trust in the word of the Lord to great trees planted by streams of water. What would this image mean to someone living in the desert, where water is scarce and trees are few and far between? Is it possible to live out ... MORE
When the time came for God to choose a people, He didn’t pick the strongest kingdom He could find. He chose the weak, the nobodies – a family that would become the nation of Israel. God rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the... MORE
Interestingly, when God chose a person to lead His people out of Egypt by the power of His word, He chose Moses, a man with a speech impediment. In this lesson, consider the implications of allowing His strength to work in weakness as you discover... MORE
Some of the dangers in the desert are slow to develop: the build-up of scorching heat from the sun, the slow evaporation of streams, the depletion of food supplies. Others are more sudden; the flash floods of desert wadis can come out of nowhere, ... MORE
After their escape from the might of Egypt, the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the desert of Sinai. But were they really wandering? The Bible says that God led them like a flock, like sheep through the desert with a pillar of cloud by d... MORE
Sons of LightIn Jesus' time, there were four major religious groups (or "philosophies," as Josephus, the Jewish historian of the time, called them). They were the Zealots, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. It is impossible t...
GezerTravel to Gezer, and learn what it means to stand at the Crossroads.Gezer is one of the greatest tels in Israel. To stand on this magnificent tel is to stand on a part of history that existed as many as 3,000 years before our Messiah walked t...
The Jewish RevoltsJewish people of Jesus' day had a passionate desire for freedom from the domination of the pagan Romans and the oppressive Herod dynasty that had ruled them for many years. Revolt seethed continuously, mostly underground, for mor...
THE PEOPLE OF THE PALM BRANCHThe history of impassioned defense of freedom and the right to serve God alone was vivid in the collective memory of the people of Jesus' day. Only 150 years earlier, the deeply religious supporters of the Hasmonaeans ...
There is an abundant amount of evidence both in Scripture and in the religious practices of the Jews that God carefully planned the timing of Jesus' death and resurrection. The following are just a few examples of God's planning:Prophecies
Prophec...
Its LocationThe Via Maris entered the Great Rift Valley from the east and continued south to the Sea of Galilee. It then turned southwest into the Valley of Jezreel and cut through the ridge of Mount Carmel to reach the coastal plain. After arrivi...
The JordanThe Jordan River, mentioned nearly 200 times in the Text, is one of the fastest flowing rivers of its size.As a prominent feature in ancient Israel, the Jordan River was mentioned nearly 200 times in the bible. Its fast flowing waters cr...
During Biblical times, Israel was located at the crossroads of the world, where the trade of the civilized world passes through. Since the Arabian desert was in between the empires of Egypt and Mesopotamia (Persia, Babylon, Assyira), the only trad...
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