Dr Paul Allen

"A Levite and his wife are given lodging in the city of Gibeah." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” ( 2 Corinthians 9:8 ) One of the most tragic movements in Christendom today teaches that God promises to make each Christian prosper in material wealth. Suffice it to say, the Bible teaches no such thing, as seen in our text and elsewhere, but this false teaching is not new and is associated with apostasy. Consider chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Judges , which describe a period of rampant apostasy and confusion. The chapters provide character sketches of an itinerant Levite , the tribe of Dan, and a man named Micah . First we see that Micah steals 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, who then places a curse on the unknown thief. Micah, fearing the curse, confesses the crime. His mother tries to lessen the curse by dedicating all the...

Appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene after resurrection, Alexander Ivanov, 1835 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Daniel 7:9–14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him” ( v. 13 ). The title Son of Man appears in the New Testament four times outside of the Gospels . It is used for our Savior unambiguously in three places ( Acts 7:56 ; Rev. 1:13 ; 14:14 ), but whether Hebrews 2:6 intends it as a title for Jesus is debatable. Since it is Jesus’ favorite title for Himself, it seems strange that it is not found more often in the apostolic writings. Maybe the original audiences of the epistles did not know the title’s meaning as well as the Gospels’ first readers. As we continue to study the meaning of this title, we must first consider what it does not intend to convey. Popularly speaking, many Christians look at “Son of Man” as a reference to the humanity of Chr...

The Good Samaritan by Aimé Morot (1880) shows the Good Samaritan taking the injured man to the inn. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31 A traveler was walking along a road when robbers suddenly attacked him. They tore his clothes, beat him, and left him to die. Eventually a priest walked down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed on the other side. Later, a local man came upon the scene, but he, too, passed on the other side. Finally, a stranger from another land walked down the road, noticed the beaten man, and rushed to his aid. He bandaged the man’s wounds, helped him onto his own donkey, and transported him to an inn to take care of him. The next day he paid the innkeeper to look after the man. You are no doubt familiar with this story of the Good Samaritan ( Luke 10:30–37 ). Have your children heard it, too? Jesus told the par-able to show us who our neighbors are—everyone around us—and how we should lovingly respond to their n...

Duccio di Buoninsegna 027 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 9:9 –13 “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (v. 13). Tax collectors are among the most reviled people in Jesus ’ day because of the corruption associated with the office. Customs duties on goods transported through Galilee are among the taxes collected, and it is likely that Matthew, whom we meet in today’s passage (Matt. 9:9), gathers these fees. In his work he collects a set amount for Herod Antipas , the ruler of Galilee, who in turn sends it to Rome . Matthew is free to assess the value of the goods carried through his region and, like other collectors, demands a tax higher than what the government requires and keeps the difference for himself. This offers ample opportunity for unjust taxation, giving the people reason to hate tax collectors. Galilee also views the tax collectors as traitors, for they are...

Baptism of Christ. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Author: David Naselli. 1. You should pray Scripture because God ’s people in the OT and NT did. It’s not always logical to argue that we should do something merely because the Bible records God’s people doing it. Sometimes OT narratives or the book of Acts describe practices without prescribing them. But I can’t think of a one good reason that we shouldn’t emulate these two examples. First, an example from the OT: When the Israelites confess their sins in Neh 9, the Levites lead the people in prayer ( Neh 9:5–37 ). The entire prayer is scripturally informed (e.g., 9:11), 1 and verse 17 quotes previous Scripture: They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt . But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadf...

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." ( 2 Timothy 2:20 ) The "house" referenced here by Paul to young Timothy is the "house of God , which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" ( 1 Timothy 3:15 ). In the Old Testament , the tabernacle and temple were the dwelling place of God and the center of worship led by a high priest from the tribe of Levi . Now, we are members of the Lord's "house" ( Hebrews 3:6 ) and are like "lively stones" that are being "built up a spiritual house" ( 1 Peter 2:5 ), led by Jesus, who is the "high priest over the house of God" ( Hebrews10:21 ). This "great house" has many "vessels" in it of different values. Some are "honorable" instruments (vessels of high v...

English: English translation of hebrew version. Map of the twelve tribes of Israel, before the move of Dan to the North (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light." ( Judges 19:26 )   This tragic story took place in Israel in a time when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" ( Judges  21:25 ). The woman was of the tribe of Judah , concubine to a Levite dwelling among the tribe of Ephraim . Although she had been unfaithful, he had taken her back and they were traveling to Ephraim, staying overnight in a city of Benjamin. The "sons of Belial " among the Benjamites , however, had abused the woman throughout the night, leaving her dead at "the dawning of the day."   The whole sordid story illustrates the depths of depravity to which even men among God's chosen people can descend under cover of darkness....

King Josiah on a 17th century painting by unknown artist in the choir of Sankta Maria kyrka in Åhus, Sweden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Israel 's reformation came via a rediscovery of the law, which created a brief awakening to the bankruptcy of a corrupt nation. As a young man, King Josiah began the process of reformation with a spiritual purge, a cleansing of pagan elements from the religious life of the nation. A few years later, Hilkiah found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses . A scribe brought the book to King Josiah and read it to him. The result was dramatic: "Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes" ( 2 Kings 22:11 ). Josiah was awakened to the greatness of the wrath of God . He realized that God had been pouring out that wrath on the nation of Israel. He further understood that this divine judgment on the nation was a direct result of sin. The most apparent immediate change in the nation...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Deuteronomy 27–30 is important for an understanding of biblical eschatology because it contains God's pronouncement of the blessings that will result from obedience to the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant and the curses that will result from disobedience (cf. Lev. 26). In chapter 27, Moses commands the people to set up plastered stones at Mount Ebal upon which they are to write all the words of the law (vv. 1–8). After the people enter the land, six of the tribes are to stand on Mount Gerizim and six are to stand on Mount Ebal (vv. 11–13). The Levites are then to recite a summary of the curses of the covenant (vv. 14–26). Chapter 28 outlines in great detail the blessings for obedience to God's covenant stipulations (vv. 1–14) and the curses for disobedience (vv. 15–68). Among the curses is the ultimate punishment, namely exile from the land (vv. 36, 64–65). The lengthy recitation of blessing...