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... MORE
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... MORE
Over and over in the Bible, God used the image of fire to illustrate His power, holiness, and passionate love for His people. The fire on Mount Sinai when Moses received the Ten Commandments was just such a display of power, highlighting the holin... MORE
Interestingly, when God chose a person to lead His people out of Egypt by the power of His word, He chose Moses, a man with a speech impediment. In this lesson, consider the implications of allowing His strength to work in weakness as you discover... MORE
In the story of God making Himself known to His people, Passover is a foundational element. As the continuation of this redemptive process, the Lord's Supper finds its most profound meaning when taken in the context of Passover imagery. In this le... MORE
Some of the dangers in the desert are slow to develop: the build-up of scorching heat from the sun, the slow evaporation of streams, the depletion of food supplies. Others are more sudden; the flash floods of desert wadis can come out of nowhere, ... MORE
Of all the parables Jesus told, the one we call "The Prodigal Son" is possibly the most famous. In the story, a younger son demands his inheritance from his father and leaves the family behind, taking his riches to a far country. The imp... MORE
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been called the greatest archaeological discovery of modern times. They have dramatically enhanced our understanding of the world of the New Testament, the teachings of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus, and the early c...
In the Qumran community, the Essenes created several cisterns that, as shown here, were plastered and had steps to allow them to access water. At least two of these cisterns are believed to be mikvoth, ceremonial or ritual baths used for actual cl...
The town of Arad is not important in the sense of great Bible events, but it does give a sense for the lives of common people during the time of Israel's monarchy. The ruins of a small temple from Hezekiah's time are significant in understanding t...
The Temple CourtsThe remains of Israel's first temple lie buried beneath the present-day Temple Mount. But at Tel Arad, a city located in the Negev, archaeologists discovered the remains of a temple modeled after Jerusalem's First Temple.Although ...
Located in the holy place or priests' room of the tabernacle or temple, just outside the Holy of Holies. The altar was 1.5 feet square and 3 feet high. The incense symbolized the "sweet smell" of the worshipers' prayers going up to God.
Structure used for presenting sacrifices to God. A large altar of sacrifice stood in the outer court of the temple at Jerusalem. It symbolically stood before God's presence to indicate the need for forgiveness before approaching God.
A Roman emperor was declared to be divine when a witness came forward claiming to have seen the emperor ascend to heaven or claiming to have seen the emperor's father ascend to heaven (making the current emperor the "Son of God"). This p...
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