Building on the Foundation

  As we’ve noted before, God’s Word contains an incredible depth of meaning. Layer upon layer. Every time we pick up the Bible and study it, we’re likely to learn something new, to notice some new detail we never noticed before. Concealed within the pages of the Old Testament are many types and foreshadows of Jesus Christ. The story of Joseph found in Genesis 37 is one such example. This, of course, is the story of how Joseph’s brothers grew jealous of him, hated him, and sold him into slavery. Throughout this story, we can see Joseph as a type, parallel, and foreshadow of Jesus Christ. Joseph was a shepherd, watching over and feeding his father’s flock: “Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers” (Gen. 37:2). Likewise, Jesus Christ said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). And of Him, Mic. 5:4 prophesied, “He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the LORD.” Joseph’s brothers evidently were less than faithful in their duties, thou...

  God’s Word, the Bible, is an incredible book! Though it took more than 1,500 years to write, and though it involved roughly 40 or more human authors working under Divine inspiration, it all fits together perfectly. Researchers have identified roughly 340,000 cross-references between various passages in the Bible. The Old Testament explains the New Testament, and the New Testament explains the Old. It’s impossible to understand either one without the other. From beginning to end, it preaches the same God, the same plan of salvation, and the same standards of good and evil. There’s no filler or wasted space. Every story, every instruction, every prophecy, and every detail is there for a purpose. Or probably for more than one purpose, because God’s Word also contains many layers. There’s the face value interpretation, but hidden within are also types, symbols, and additional meaning. Today, let’s look at one such example: a part of the story of Isaac. I think we’re all familiar with...

There are numerous lessons that we can learn from the story of Gideon, but one of my favorite pictures that is painted is about the resurrection.  No, Gideon was not brought back to life after meeting his demise, nor were any other people in this story. In fact, there is a lot of death and destruction contained in these pages.   Let's start in the book of Judges and in Chapter seven.   Gideon was leading an army of 32,000 Israelite men.  The enemy were the Midianites and the Amalekites, and were described in verse 12 as being "... as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude ." That's a lot more than 32,000 men. Now Gideon was a nobody that was recruited by our God for this task. He had no military history, nor was he a renowned general.  And even if he had been; it would still be akin to suicide to engage in such a lop-sided battle.   Then in verse 2 things really get interesting. ...