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The Jews of Jesus’ day lived in homes meant to house an entire extended family, with several rooms situated around a common courtyard. A family’s home in that patriarchal society was known as a “beth ab,” which means, &ldqu...
When the disciples arrived with Jesus in Jerusalem, they marveled at the unbelievable beauty of the Lord’s temple. According to the Bible, the original temple built by Solomon was also absolutely stunning. And yet, in both cases it wasn't en...
When the believers began to bring the message of the gospel to the world of the Gentiles, they quickly realized that their faith made them extremely countercultural. How would they explain the good news in places where they couldn't engage in the ...
The apostle Paul was no stranger to the duties of a rabbi, having studied under one of the most famous rabbis in Israel before becoming one himself. He understood exactly what Jesus meant before His ascension, when He commanded the church to go ou...
The Lord defied the gods of Egypt with mighty displays of power so that Israel, Egypt, Pharaoh, and ultimately the entire world would see the strength of the one and only God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, but the Israelites responded to the power o...
God desired a people who would partner with Him in bringing shalom to the chaos of a broken, hurting world. Israel experienced a taste of the peace He brings when He rescued them out of Egypt. In this lesson, you will continue on the road of the e...
Psalm 78 says that God led his people Israel "like sheep through the desert." Their wanderings through the Sinai provide a striking image of God's leading in our lives today. In this lesson, you will follow God's people through this barr...
During their forty years of testing in the desert, God continued to teach and shape the Israelite nation. By the time they entered the Promised Land, a new generation had formed, a people who obeyed and trusted God with all their heart, soul, and ...
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 ...
Sheep and shepherds were so much a part of the Biblical world, it's no wonder Jesus uses the imagery as a metaphor in several of His teachings. The shepherds of His day knew every one of the animals in their flock by sight and spent their lives pr...
The Colosseum in Rome is famous for many reasons, not least of which because it was built by the spoils of war from the destruction of Jerusalem, the military defeat of the Jews. In the Roman world, it was assumed that if Caesar was...
Jesus came with a unique message, preaching to the Jewish people that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). But from the beginning, there was another king who hates the shalom that God creates and loves life’...
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...
When questioned about his message, Paul tells the Athenians that the one and only God "does not live in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). Naturally, anyone who was curious about Jesus in the Greco-Roman world would ask the early bel...
City that controlled the Via Maris trade route. It was located near the coastal plain and the Aijalon Valley.
Gezer in the BibleThe strategic city of Gezer was mentioned several times in the Old Testament:- As the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, Joshua defeated the king of Gezer:- Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish...
Mountains east of the Jordan Valley between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee.
Give Us A KingYou may have learned somewhere that God did not want Israel to have a king. Most Christian churches teach this to youngsters early in Sunday school. But it is wrong. God did want Israel to have a king; he just had a certain kind of k...
Jesus commanded his followers to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation?" (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). It took his followers a while to understand the good news and what all the world meant, but as the Holy Spirit ope...
The Text includes stories, poems, and arguments about a variety of topics. But more than anything else, it's a story about God and his relationship with humans.Biblical writers often used word pictures to describe God and his power in the world. A...
Many parts of Israel are extremely rocky, especially in the wilderness. This geographical condition, combined with the Hebrews practice of using concrete images of the world around them to describe spiritual reality, led to the Jews frequent use o...
The city of AradAs far back as 3,000 BC, a large Canaanite city stood in the Negev, where the small town of Arad sits today. This city probably existed when Abraham and his family lived in Beersheba, a nearby desert region.Arad was eventually dest...
The people of Jesus' day believed that God alone could rescue them from the evil of the sea.From the beginning, God had power over the formless, watery chaos. He brought order to the chaos, gathering the seas together to form dry land. He saw what...
God's Truth The Word of God is true, and we can confidently share the gospel message with anyone. But God's truth is also powerful and it will make an impact, at times it will turn people's hearts toward God and at other times it will bring us int...
Who Was Baal? Baal was the primary god of the Canaanite fertility cults. He was often depicted as a man with the head and horns of a bull, who carried a lightening bolt symbolizing destruction and fertility.Baal supposedly won his dominance by def...
People in the ancient world worshipped a multitude of different gods. Each had its own story, its own myth, of the origin, the character, the blessings and curses they offered, and the worship each demanded. These myths often recalled ancient even...
After finding carvings of Philistine soldiers in the temple of Ramses lll in Egypt, archaeologists discovered that the soldiers:- wore feathered helmets secured under their chins by leather straps. Headbands, probably of metal, held the feathers i...
Perhaps the most well-known Philistine soldier. He taunted the Israelites and ridiculed God, but fell when David threw a stone.
City near the southern end of the Dead Sea that God destroyed because of its wickedness, which included oppression of the poor.
Means "good news." The gospel is the message about how Jesus defeated evil. He died and then became alive again to make us new and give us hope for the future.
Valley east of Israel where the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are located. Also known as the Jordan Valley.
Every major Hellenistic city had an educational institution called a gymnasium, in which citizens of the Greek/Roman community were taught the wisdom of Hellenism. Religious Jews during Biblical times believed the gymnasium to be an abomination be...
Many Westerners think of the "green pastures" mentioned in Psalm 23 as tall, lush grasslands like those in North America. But such pastures don't exist in Israel.The regions in Israel where shepherds live are predominantly wilderness are...
1) The place of the dead (Matt. 16:13%u201420).2) Greek god of the underworld. Brother of Zeus and Poseidon.