Building on the Foundation

  In the course of studying Biblical covenants these past months, I became a little puzzled by the story of the Gibeonites. As you may recall, when Israel invaded the Promised Land, the people of Gibeon dispatched ambassadors to the Israelites and asked Israel to make a covenant with them (Josh. 9:3-6). Knowing that Israel’s Divine mission required destroying every nation in that land, the ambassadors pretended to have journeyed from another land far away (v. 6). As we’re told in v. 14, Israel didn’t seek God’s advice in this matter. They simply believed the Gibeonites and made a covenant with them (v. 15). Though obtained by fraud, this covenant held fast. Many generations later, God punished Israel because King Saul had violated the covenant and murdered some of the Gibeonites (2 Sam. 21:1-3). Now, this raises some eyebrows. Number one, this covenant had been obtained by deceit. Number two, God had explicitly commanded Israel to make NO covenant with the peoples of the land (Ex. ...

  A day of great wrath and fierce battle, a day of celebration and a day of mourning, a day that is a thousand years. The day of Atonement has so many layers to it that one study or explanation would be offensive if it were to suggest that’s all there is to the meaning of the day. It’s the same for all of the feast days; as soon as we settle on what they picture and wrap it up all neat with a bow, we prevent further learning about those days. We like to have things all neat and decided and finished, but there are so many more deeper layers to these days. We shouldn’t be surprised by this; after all, God created the Holy Days, and anything He creates is wonderfully complex in its makeup. The thing we have to remember is that different Holy Days can picture and point to things that do not actually happen on that day.  As with all the Holy Days, Atonement is not so easily or neatly tied up with a bow. There is a lot of discussion about what different things mean or represent, an...

  The Truth is not in style, but we who are Christians, God's called-out ones, have a great deal of responsibility to the Truth. God didn't call us so we could live cushy lives, safe away from all the danger and persecution. He didn't call us so that we could be raptured away and never have to suffer; no, He called us for a purpose.  What is this high purpose, this mission, that He has called us to? As I already said, we have a responsibility as God's children, which lies with the Truth. The Truth has gone out of style in modern years; in fact, it has never really been in style. The Truth makes people uncomfortable; it pricks their conscience and reveals that they have things that they need to change, things that they are doing wrong. The Truth makes waves and causes disruptions to the standard operations of society; it requires a change of practices and a rejection of lies. Even other Christians are made uncomfortable when someone speaks Truth that might make waves.  T...

  There’s a famous quote, and I don’t know who first said it, but it goes like this: “Hatred is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.” Hatred, of course, often stems from a lack of forgiveness. As Christians, we know that forgiving others is something God requires of us. Our Savior Jesus Christ told us, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mat. 6:14-15). Just as God forgives us, so we forgive others when they do us wrong. What exactly does forgiveness mean, though? When and how should we forgive? Is there ever a time not to forgive? In the Old Testament, there are five Hebrew words that mean “forgiveness.” They have the literal meaning of covering, lifting, or pardoning. In the New Testament, there are three Greek words that mean “forgiveness.” They literally mean to release, to pardon, to disregard or send away, or...