Dr Paul Allen

The rules of war for God ’s people are laid down in Deuteronomy 20, and they represent a control of justice, fairness, and kindness in the use of the sword. Special hardship conditions were defined as a ground for excusing individual soldiers from military duty until those conditions were cleared ( Deut. 20:5–7). Even those who had no such excuse but were simply afraid and reluctant to fight were likewise allowed to go home (v. 8). Unlike the contemporary armies of other nations, who might attack a city without giving it an opportunity to surrender on terms (1 Sam. 11:2–3), the armies of Israel were required to grant a city an opportunity to surrender without bloodshed before moving on to mount a full-scale siege and destruction of the city. In this context, the women and children were to be spared from death and cared for by their captors (Deut. 20:14). Only in the case of the particularly depraved inhabitants of Canaan itself was there to be total destruction (v. 16). The reason g...

"Death of King Saul", 1848 by Elie Marcuse (Germany and France, 1817-1902) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Samuel 22:1–23:29; 1 Peter 1:13–19; Psalm 123:1–124:8 Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul , his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who was distressed or indebted (1 Sam 22:1–2; compare 1 Sam 17:28–30). A shared sense of despair reveals the humanity in us all, helping us to get past our disputes and work together for one purpose. For a disjointed band of brothers to be united beyond initial circumstance, they must have one purpose. That’s precisely what David gave his motley crew: They would fight the Philistines ( Israel ’s greatest enemies) together (1 Sam 23:1–5). David took a terrible situation and turned it into an opportunity to do what needed to be done. As rightful king, David was obligated to protect Israel. Yet it still took ...

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; and he shall come against princes as though mortar, as the potter treads clay” (Isa. 41:25). Isaiah here returns to his former argument that only God is all-powerful and only He can determine the future. When God says that He “raised up one from the north,” some see this as relating to Cyrus and others as relating to Jesus Christ . But John Calvin maintains that Isaiah denotes two different things, for when he says “from the north” he means die Babylonians , and when he says “from the rising of the sun,” he means the Medes and Persians. It is as if the Lord had said, “Two changes shall happen that are worthy of remembrance; for I will raise up the Babylonians, whose empire I will exalt on high, and next shall come the Persians, who shall become their masters.” God was displaying His power befor...

English: Asa destroys the idols and forbids worship in local shrines (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing he who chooses you is an abomination” (Isa. 41:24). The passage before us condemns those who are foolish enough to worship idols. It exposes the futility of putting something in the place of God , for if we think rationally about it, nothing created can be the cause of our existence. Nothing created can know itself perfectly from beginning to end. Nothing created has any power over itself, much less power over those things it does not understand. Isaiah knew that when the Jews were taken into exile they would be mocked by the Babylonians and Persians for their devotion to Jehovah . They would be ridiculed as being simple-minded and naive. To help prepare the Jews, Isaiah reminded them through this prophecy that those who worship idols are the foolish ones. Did idols foretell the fall of the Assyrians?  Did idols foretell th...

Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, from the Bible Historiale. Den Haag, MMW, 10 B 23 165r (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea , son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah , Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah , kings of Judah , and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). Although Hosea began prophesying about ten years after Amos, his prophecy is first in the Book of the Twelve (the Minor Prophets). There is a good theological reason for this: Hosea’s prophecy is the longest and the most complete. In a sense, he sets up all the major themes found in the other books in the collection: covenant, judgment, and restoration, and the Lord’s personal relationship with His wayward people. We are not told this explicitly, but Hosea is the only prophet who seems to have come from the northern kingdom of Israel rather than from the southern kingdom of Judah . His familiarity with the culture and ways of Israel has persuaded most ...

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may know that ye have eternal life , and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” ( 1 John 5:13 ) We are informed in Scripture that He assigns great value and power to His Name. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” ( Acts4:12 ). “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” ( Philippians 2:9-10 ). He protects and empowers us to do great things in service to Him. “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” ( Psalm 3:3 ). “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” ( Psalm 91:4 ). In His service and following His lead, we are victorious. “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy ...

“For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” ( 1 Chronicles 16:25-26 ) This testimony is in the heart of a great hymn of thanksgiving ( 1 Chronicles 16:7-36 ) composed by David when the Ark of the Lord was brought back to Jerusalem . It is a testimony of the unique greatness of the God of Israel , with recurring expressions of gratitude for His deliverances and blessings. This God of Israel was no mere tribal-god or nature-god, such as Dagon , the fish-god of the Philistines from whose hands the Ark had been delivered. All such “gods” of the peoples of the earth—whether wooden images in a shrine, astrological emblems in the heavens, or mental constructs of evolutionary humanistic philosophers—are nothing but idols (that is, literally, “good for nothing,” “vanities”). It is Jehovah God who is not only in the heavens but who made the heavens! It is their Creator ...

David and Bathsheba by Jan Matsys, 1562, Louvre (Photo credit: Wikipedia )  For example, in 2 Samuel 11:3, David looks from his window and sees a beautiful woman bathing in an adjacent house. He inquires of her name, and finds out: “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam ?” And from there it becomes your typical king-meets-wife-of-deployed-soldier, affair-pregnancy-murder-cover-up kind of story, and ends up costing David his kingdom. But this story can become confusing when you read in 1 Chronicles 3:5 that David had four children “by Bath-shua , the daughter of Ammiel .” So what gives? Why is Bathsheba’s name spelled differently, and was her father named Ammiel or Eliam? This question is not just simply an issue of missing the forest for the trees—although if you ask this question, please don’t neglect the larger issues of what God wants you to learn from David’s sin and how that ended up dividing the kingdom. But if you spend any time reading Samuel, Kings, and Chron...

English: Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God works and goes before us. Christ nurture us, guides, develops and empowers us. Read and be freed from the burden of bearing your own load. “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you” ( Psalm 55:22 ). Let him do that work. “No eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.” ( Isaiah 64:4 ) “God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything, but he himself gives life and breath and everything.” ( Acts 17:25 ) “ The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” ( Mark 10:45 )  “The eyes of the LORD run through the earth, to show himself strong for those who trust him.” ( 2 Chronicles. 16:9 ) “If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you. Call on me, I will deliver you. You will glorify me.” ( Psalm 50:15 ) “To old age I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save...

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. . . . And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.” ( 1 Kings5:17 ; 6:7) The building of Solomon’s temple was one of the most remarkable construction operations in history.  Much of the temple’s legendary beauty was attributed to the great stones— beautiful and costly stones, quarried from beds of white limestone—which were used in its construction. Probably the most remarkable feature of its building was the fact that each stone was carefully cut and dimensioned while still in the quarry, so that the temple itself could be erected in silence, with each stone fitting perfectly in place as it came to the temple site. ...