Book of Genesis
In the Beginning, God Created...
I want to show you what the ancients would have understood this very first sentence of Genesis to mean, because it’s different from how most of us see it. We'll examine three words: heavens, earth, and created.
The Tower of Babel
Let’s talk about the tower of babel! I think most of us have missed something significant with this Tower because we’ve not seen it through ancient eyes. It all starts with the way we envision this tower.
Ancient Covenants
The Bible contains covenant language, which meant something particular to the ancients. The more you understand ANE covenants, the better you can inform your own walk with our covenantal God.
Abraham Planted a Tamarisk Tree in Beersheba
This often overlooked verse holds some interesting insights for our own walk when we view it through ancient eyes.
Putting Down Roots in the Land
Everything Abraham did was with an eye toward God’s promises for his future descendants. He roots his descendants in the land with this first purchase.
Jacob and Esau
From the biblical twins we can learn that we all have an identity crisis typified by the twins. These two natures, in Judaism called, the Yetzer HaRa (evil inclination) and the Yezter Hatov (positive inclination) are the twins in each of us. Which will lead?
God is in This Place
Jacob has an encounter with God in a place that he did not expect Him to be. Learn what that's about from an ancient near east perspective.
Reversing What Was Stolen
It may be that Jacob’s actions were a way to make right a bygone wrong. Perhaps it was only when he better understood the awe of God that Jacob was able to see beyond his own flaws and put his sights on the calling God placed on him, something that in time, he would live up to. Reversing past mistakes, where possible, is a good first step, right?
Look for the Spice Carts
A tear-stained young Joseph crying from the pit faced a timeless question: is encountering extreme adversity an indication that God is no longer there for me? None of us can escape this question.
Joseph's Great Reversal
We all love a good reversal of fortune story. In this lesson, you'll learn about Joseph's reversals and what this says about God's sovereignty even in our deepest pain.
The Unseen World of the Ancients
Egypt is not the promised land, for sure. What is God's plan to make Israel’s descendants a great nation within the borders of Egypt - with its multiplicity of gods and a religion of death deeply entrenched in the minds and hearts of the people.
Adoption in the Ancient World
You don’t have to have had adoption touch your life personally to see the message God wants to show. He uses adoption language to teach us truths about our relationship to Him -the God who adopts. We find our identity when we realize we are an accepted child of God. But many of us aren’t yet walking that reality out.
