Dr Paul Allen

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I say, “Help comes from God .” I tell people, “You’re not alone.” Both are empty phrases if I don’t live like I believe them. The book of Numbers shows us that as the Israelites traveled through the wilderness, they, too, struggled to live out these words. After 40 years of wandering, they were likely wondering if God had fallen asleep on the job. The author of Psalm 121 spotted this problem. The ancients believed the gods dwelt on the mountains, but the psalmist says otherwise: “I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD , the Maker of heaven and earth” ( HCSB ). God doesn’t sleep . In contrast to the belief that gods drifted into the underworld, and consequently awful things happened, the psalmist explains that God is always present: “He will not allow your foot to slip … the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.” We think we are different than the ancients, but we,

Samson in Dagon Temple In Hebrew the title meant simply someone who puts things right, by whatever means. This might include acting in a judicial or legal way to sort out disputes between people, or giving judgments on difficult local problems.  But it could also include leading the people in battle against oppressive enemies, or calling the people to united action against some sudden threat. Some of them seem to have been fairly local heroes, whereas others rose to more national prominence and leadership. One thing that is said quite often about these “judges” is that the Spirit of the LORD ( Yahweh ) would come upon them.  When this happened it was a signal for action. Empowered by the Spirit of the LORD, they could exercise charismatic leadership and do valiant exploits that were recited around the campfires of Israel for generations to come. Here are some examples, all from the book of Judges : The Spirit of the LORD came upon [ Othniel ], so that he became Israel’s j

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh (painting by Benjamin West) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Israelites who followed Joseph to Egypt were made slaves, and the man God chose to deliver them was also a Spirit-filled man. God himself recognized Moses as the greatest prophet of his time. Other prophets of the day would experience God speaking to them in dreams and visions only, but to Moses God spoke directly, “face to face,” just as a man would carry on a conversation with a friend (Numbers 12:6–8). It is true that at the burning bush Moses complained that he could not speak well and God designated Aaron as Moses’ prophet or spokesman. But God still spoke to Moses, and Moses would then speak to Aaron. Thus, Moses was still the real prophet ( Exodus 3:4; 4:10–16). At every point in Moses’ dealings with Pharaoh and Israel, God continued to speak to Moses. At Mt. Sinai God did speak directly to the people in the initial giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17). But the people