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…)
Infertility was God’s judgment on wicked women, or such was the ancient Israelite mindset. Barren women were openly mocked and scorned. After all, if God were against them, why shouldn’t everyone be against them?
This was Hannah’s world, and it was wrecking her, especially as she endured the taunts of her rival.
But even in her brokenness, Hannah clung to her faith. She (more…)
For years, a little girl lived and thrived in the care of her Israeli parents, who taught her the word of God. But then the Arameans came. They abducted her, ripping her away from her family and the only home she had ever known.
She became a slave in a foreign land. Her master: an Aramean army commander.
Had she seen her parents (more…)
And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of (more…)
Many of us remember the story of Gideon, the unlikely biblical hero whom God used to defeat the menacing Midianites. Gideon went on to judge the Israelites for 40 years.
But Gideon’s death ushered in an ugly chapter for the people of Israel.
And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of (more…)
What would you do if you knew the decisions you made could affect the lives of countless people over multiple generations? How would you verify your path forward?
Chances are, you would seek the counsel of a wiser person.
That’s exactly what Judah’s King Josiah did when a temple repair project unearthed a forgotten biblical scroll. The scroll terrified and convicted Josiah because (more…)