The birth of Jacob’s sons

By Admin | Joseph , Timelines

Some people have no children at all, while others have many children. However many we have, though, we are used to the fact that it normally takes about 9 months of pregnancy for each child. So what happened with the birth of Jacob’s sons?

At first glance, we could think that this 9 month limit wasn’t true in the family of Jacob, the son of Isaac! However, his was no ordinary family, thanks to the trickery of Laban, his father-in-law.  This post looks at Jacob’s speedy transformation from having neither wife nor child to having 4 wives and 11 sons. Continue reading

Washing in Bible times

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah , Jesus

In the last two years we have all become familiar with calls to wash our hands frequently.  With COVID-19 leaving its mark all over the world, we are all encouraged to be vaccinated, but also to use soap, hand sanitiser and disinfectants.  How does our response to COVID-19 compare with cleansing and washing in Bible times?

Many people have observed that the Law of Moses concentrates heavily on cleanliness and frequently mentions washing – yet it is not the only part of the Bible where this is true.
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Destroying Solomon’s Temple

By Admin | Jeremiah

Destroying Solomon’s Temple

Why is destroying things so much more fun than building them?

We can dimly appreciate how much time and effort it takes to build a tall brick chimney.  Yet when such an amazing edifice has outlived its usefulness, large crowds gather to watch its demolition.  No-one watched the long months of building as the chimney grew one round of bricks at a time, yet many will revel in the spectacular destruction as a carefully placed explosive charge brings those bricks crashing down.

Breaking down is always easier than building up – but that doesn’t mean it is always easy. Continue reading

The times of Jehoshaphat

By Mark Morgan | Harmonies , Jehoshaphat

Bible records in the times of Jehoshaphat

Background

King David ruled over a united kingdom of Israel – the 12 tribes that had entered “the Promised Land”.  Today, this land is once again called Israel, although parts are now claimed by the Palestinians and Jordan.

After David’s death, his son Solomon became king and expanded the kingdom even further.  Sadly, in later life, love for his many foreign wives led him into idolatry. In response, God said that the kingdom would be split in two during the reign of his son, Rehoboam.  After Solomon died, Rehoboam became king, but could not hold the kingdom together. As predicted, the nation split in two: Israel, ten tribes ruled by a rebel called Jeroboam; and Judah, two tribes ruled by Rehoboam.

From then on, until Assyria destroyed Israel, the two nations swung pendulum-like between open war and a troubled co-existence. During some of this period, Jehoshaphat ruled Judah, following in the godly footsteps of his ancestor David (2 Chronicles 17:3).

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Jeremiah in Egypt

By Admin | Jeremiah

Jeremiah in Egypt

Background

Nebuchadnezzar conquered the nation of Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587/586BC.  He captured King Zedekiah and killed his sons, then blinded him and took him away to Babylon, where he died in captivity. Continue reading

King David’s Family Tree

By Admin | David , Family trees

King David’s Family Tree

If you look far enough up King David’s family tree (ten generations), you will see that he came from the tribe of Judah.  And as we look through his family tree, we see that some of his relatives are still very well known, even 3,000 years later.  Some of his famous relatives include: Continue reading

Moving the Ark of the Covenant

By Admin | David , Miscellaneous

The Ark of the Covenant was a gold-plated wooden box that God told Moses to make in the wilderness. On top was a lid with two cherubim facing each other and made of pure gold.  Two tables of stone sat inside the box, with God’s law written on them.  The ark represented the presence of God and was a place where God met with his people. As the most holy of the articles of worship, it sat in the innermost room of the tabernacle.  However, the Israelites packed up the entire tabernacle – including the Ark of the Covenant – when they travelled in the wilderness.  God gave special rules about moving the Ark of the Covenant – they had to be very careful. Continue reading

Obed-edom the Gittite

By Admin | David , Miscellaneous

King David wanted the Ark of the Covenant of God near him, so he arranged to bring it into Jerusalem on a cart as part of a huge celebration. However, the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the ark wobbled. Tragically, a man called Uzzah who was driving the cart put out his hand to steady it and was struck dead by God.

David cancelled the celebration and moved the ark into the nearby house of a man called Obed-edom. This event is the subject of a micro-tale found in Fiction Favours the Fact – Book 3.

Since I wrote that story, several people have asked me questions about this man, Obed-edom.

These questions have revolved around who Obed-edom was, his nationality and possible genealogy. The reasoning behind the questions seems to be that David would not be likely to put the Ark of the Covenant in the care of a man who was not even an Israelite. As an intriguing follow-up to this idea, a search of the Bible shows that the name Obed-edom is not unique, but we’ll get to that later. Continue reading

Zelophehad’s daughters

By Admin | Miscellaneous

When the nation of Israel escaped from Egypt and travelled around in the wilderness for 40 years, Zelophehad’s daughters became some of the most famous women in the nation.

We know nothing much about Zelophehad, except that he had five daughters and no sons. Why was this important? Well, in Israel, a man left his land and goods to his sons. When a woman married, she joined the tribe of the man she married.  Any children born to the couple also belonged to that tribe. Even foreign women could join the tribes of Israel in this way. Two examples: Rahab from Jericho and Ruth the Moabitess both married men from the tribe of Judah and thus joined the tribe of Judah.

Of course, most women married local men belonging to the same tribe so they didn’t transferred to another tribe. However, they were free to do so if they chose – in most cases. Continue reading

Timeline of King David’s life

By Admin | David , Timelines

A Timeline of King David’s Life or ‘How old was David when…?’

How old was David when he killed Goliath?

This is one of the many events in David’s life which include hints at his age, but no more.

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David’s legacy

By Admin | David , Miscellaneous

Yesterday morning our family read 1 Kings 1, a chapter that tells about the end of the reign of David, the great king of Israel.  At the age of 70, David was a sad shell of the mighty man that he had been.  He was reduced to needing a nurse to lie in bed with him to keep him warm, and his control of the kingdom of Israel was slipping away. Yet David’s effect on the kingdom was to continue for many generations after his death. So what was David’s legacy and what can we learn from it?Continue reading

Words in Jeremiah

By Admin | Jeremiah

Individual languages will often have a characteristic sound, even to people who cannot speak the language at all. However, many of the interesting characteristics of a language can only be seen by people who are expert in the language. Most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, and the book of Jeremiah is no exception. What can we learn about words in Jeremiah?Continue reading