The king’s soldiers battered the city’s wall with ramparts. It wouldn’t be long before the town of Abel Beth Maacah fell and its citizens were slaughtered.
At the helm of the assault was Joab, King David’s commander-in-chief. The warrior’s hands likely were still red with the blood of his cousin, whom he had just executed to avoid being supplanted.
But one fierce woman (more…)
Sometimes disaster comes upon us so the Lord can use it as a platform for His love, power, mercy and restoration—case in point: Job.
Sometimes it comes upon us because of our own sin. We can repent, and we can change course, though we may endure the consequences of our bad choices.
But sometimes disaster comes upon us as the result of someone (more…)
Resilience was not an aspiration in Achsah’s day. It wasn’t a quality to be fostered. Nor was it a trait for which people received an award at the end of the school year. It was a matter of survival.
Achsah grew up wandering the desert—packing up as the Lord led His people on, facing constant threats from enemies, walking endlessly, longing for (more…)
Forrest Gump would likely summarize James 2:14-26 by saying, “Faith is as faith does.” And one Old Testament woman gives us a beautiful picture of that kind of living, doing faith.
She’s referred to as only “the Shunammite” in reference to her home in Shunem, whose people lived in the light of Israel’s God while simultaneously in the shadow of Baal worship. (more…)
You have been a pariah for more than a decade. Cries of “unclean!” and stares of condemnation follow you everywhere. The social isolation and loneliness add insult to injury. You’ve been bleeding for 12 years, and doctors have done nothing more than bleed your pocket dry.
You’re weak. You’re broken. You’re desperate. You have no money and have earned no sympathy.
But then (more…)