Dr Paul Allen

Molnár József: Ábrahám kiköltözése (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) After man again failed at the tower of Babel and the new variety of languages brought confusion and scattering, the Book of Genesis ceases to deal with mankind as a whole. The remainder of the book is concerned with Abraham and the chosen line that comes from him. Most mentions of the Holy Spirit in the rest of the Old Testament have to do with Israel . Someone has said, “The story of the Bible is the story of Spirit-filled men.” This may not seem very apparent in the history of the patriarchs, but it would be very strange if Abraham, whom Paul upholds as one of the greatest examples of faith (Romans 4:1–22; Galatians 3:6–18), were not a man of the Spirit. Actually, there is one clear indication that he was, though the circumstances are somewhat strange. Abraham had called his wife his sister (actually, she was his half-sister) and allowed her to be taken into King Abimelech ’s harem. When a treaty was made allow...

Psalmist David by Gustave Doré (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Psalm 52:1-9. The background to this psalm is found in 1 Samuel 21:1–9; 22:2–23. Doeg ’s betrayal of Abimelech leads to the slaughter of the priests. The psalm expresses David ’s righteous anger at this, and it is also the denunciation of a practised liar. There are contrasts drawn in the psalm. There is the contrast between the man who boasts in the mischief he has done, and the man who boasts of the mercy and goodness of God—‘Why boasteth thyself?’, v. 1—‘I trust in the mercy of God ’, v. 8. The ‘mighty man’ is like a tree rooted up, v. 5, but the psalmist is like an evergreen tree , ever flourishing, v. 8. The former will be snatched from his tent by God; the latter, as an olive tree , abides in the house of God. Verses 1 to 5 describe the Condemnation of the Malicious Tongue. Doeg’s story had been told with malicious intent and fatal results. ‘O thou deceitful tongue ’, says the psalmist, boldly identifying the offe...

Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Samuel is one of the most intriguing Old Testament figures (to me, at least). He’s a star player in the story of David and Saul: the first two God -anointed kings of Israel . We meet him as a baby. We see him as a national leader, intercessor, and even a ghost. Here’s a few interesting biblical facts about Samuel. Samuel is a miracle child. The Bible tells of many significant adults, but only a handful of significant pregnancies. Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob & Esau, Perez, Samson, and Jesus are the others. We meet Samuel’s parents before we meet him. His mother Hannah cannot have children, but God hears her prayers and opens her womb, blessing her with the child Samuel. Samuel’s name means “name of God.” Samuel is from the tribe of Levi. He may have had Ephraimite blood, too ( 1 Ch 6:33–38 , 1 Sa 1:1 ). This qualified him to serve in the temple , but Samuel was much more than a priest (see below). Samuel is t...

All 21 dreams included: Abimelech ’s warning Jacob ’s ladder Jacob’s call home Laban ’s warning Joseph ’s grain Joseph’s stars The cupbearer ’s grapes The baker’s baskets Pharaoh ’s cows Pharaoh’s ears of grain The runaway barley loaf God ’s offer to Solomon Nebuchanezzar’s statue Nebuchadnezzar ’s tree Daniel’s four beasts Backstory for Joseph The magi’s warning An angel directing Joseph to Egypt An angel telling Joseph to return God telling Joseph to steer clear of Judea Pilate’s wife’s nightmare Related articles Genesis Chapter 20 - Abraham and Sarah Deceive Abimelech (lastdayscalendar.com) Genesis Chapter 20 - Abraham and Sarah Deceive Abimelech (lastdaysbible.wordpress.com) "Dreams and Dreamers (pjsprayerline.blogspot.com) Dreaming Dreams of the Almighty(2) (vanguardngr.com) Moses Versus Joseph: A Biblical Lesson in Communication about Climate Change (cliffmass.blogspot.com) Joseph Was Forgotten! (enjoyingthebible.wordpress.com...

English: Abimelech was a son of the great judge Gideon (Judges 9:1) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem (Judg. 9:22–23a). Abimelech reigns for three years, and not just as king of Shechem but as king of Israel! His coronation by the Shechemites seems to be accepted by the nation as a whole, though his enthronement in Shechem on the Manasseh-Ephraim border may mean little to the far-flung tribes. In any case, as Matthew Henry notes, “It is not said, ‘He judged Israel,’ or did any service at all to his country, [only that] he enjoyed the title and dignity of a king.” Then God makes His first—and, indeed, His only—appearance in the narrative of chapter 9. He sends “a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem … that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and o...

English: Abimelech was a son of the great judge Gideon (Judges 9:1) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “If then you have acted in truth and sincerity … then rejoice in Abimelech.… But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!” (Judg. 9:19–20) Jotham does not leave the men of Shechem to puzzle out the meaning of his parable. Before fleeing into lifelong exile, he gives the interpretation, publicly charging Abimelech and the Shechemites with their heinous crimes and warning of the dire consequences that are sure to flow from their unholy alliance. The emphasis here is on “ ‘truth and sincerity’ ”; this is the salt with which all of life is to be seasoned in Israel (see Josh. 24:14). “ ‘If’ ” Jotham says, ‘ “you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and … if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, the...

English: Nablus and Mount Gerizim Français : Israël - Naplouse et le mont Gerizim avant 1899 עברית: שכם והר גריזים (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’ ” ( Judg. 9:14). The men of Shechem have crowned Abimelech as king—despite the fact that he has just Carried out a mass fratricide. God is clearly judging Israel by leaving the people to their sin. As Matthew Henry notes, “It was a sign they had provoked God to depart from them that neither any prophet was sent nor any remarkable judgment, to awaken this stupid people, and to stop the progress of this threatening mischief.” However, God has not left Himself without a witness against evil. One of Gideon ’s 70 sons managed to survive the massacre— Jotham , the youngest of them all, who hid himself from Abimelech and his thugs ( Judg. 9:5). Does Jotham seek to raise an army to avenge his brothers or to defend his alleged crown rights? No, he contents himself with...

English: Abimelech was a son of the great judge Gideon (Judges 9:1) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem ( Judg. 9:6). At the end of Judges 8, the Israelites turn to idolatry after the death of their great judge, Gideon . Thus, as chapter 9 opens, the nation is again at the point in the cycle when God allows oppression to come upon His people. That is indeed what happens in this chapter, but the source of the oppression is shocking—it is brought by Abimelech, the son of Gideon by his concubine. “The apostasy of Israel … is punished, not as the former apostasies by a foreign invasion, or the oppressions of any neighboring power, but by [conflict] among themselves,” Matthew Henry writes in his commentary on Judges. Gideon formally rejected an offer to become king of Israel and establish a dynastic succession (Judg. 8:23). H...