Lebanon: Land Of Beauty, Land Of War
The Bible pictures Lebanon as a land of towering mountains covered by tall cedars, rising above lush valleys with flowing rivers. Although few of the famed trees grow in the rugged mountains of modern Lebanon…
ISRAEL'S HISTORY
Warning: God Is a Jealous God! Ezekiel 36:1–7
Of the many imaginative discourses offered by the Talmudic rabbis is one based on Genesis 28:12.
Profaning God’s Name Ezekiel 36:16–24
Ezekiel 36:16–24 A few years ago a survey was taken to determine which events cause the greatest stress on a family. It was discovered that, next to the death of a spouse…
Back to Eden Ezekiel 36:22–38
Ezekiel 36:22–38 In the beginning, God planned a beautiful creation. He created seas and a place of lush vegetation. He made creatures to inhabit the seas and the dry land.
Gentile Rule Over Judæa
Gentile rule over Judæa began in 605 B.C. when King Jehoiakim of Judæa became a vassal of Babylon. As pictured in Daniel’s visions of the image (Dan. 2) and the four beasts (Dan. 7)…
Rendering to Caesar—What?
If you believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior, I ask you the following question: Are you a Christian American, or are you an American Christian? You may answer with some perplexity…
The Pharisees: “They Weren’t All That Bad!”
Intense is the only way to describe an informal discussion that took place among several young students of the Bible. The topic being discussed? The Pharisees during the time of Jesus…
The Apocrypha Apr/May 1997
The four hundred years between the prophecy of Malachi and the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, are frequently described as silent or mute years; however, they were full of activity. Although no inspired prophet appeared…
The Mocking of the Messiah
The Roman general Pompey laid siege to Jerusalem in 63 B.C. Having made Syria a Roman province the preceding year it was now Judea’s turn to be conquered. Twelve thousand Jews died in the ensuing melee.
Behold the Man!
“What is truth?” The words rang out like the vibration of an endless sound wave echoing through the universe. Can one know the truth? Is truth the elusive goal of man’s fertile imagination?
Mary and Joseph
Christmas has never been a time of rejoicing for Jewish people. The hubbub and festivities that effervesce around the holiday seem to many Jews more like a big ball of excitement that rolls…
Herod the Great?
History has bestowed on him the descriptive title, “the Great.” The primary Jewish chronicler of his period, Josephus, was the first to use the actual phrase “Herod the Great” in his Antiquities of the Jews.
Don’t Forget To Give Thanks
We seem to be hearing “Thank you” less often these days, and it’s not a good sign. Some grumpy people go so far as to complain about store clerks who cheerily urge…
Israel’s New Reality
This statement, made by former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Perez, may have paved the way for his failure in May to be officially elected to that position.
Now More Than Ever
The ascent of Benjamin Netanyahu to the position of Prime Minister in Israel gave rise to a considerable amount of hand-wringing among international politicians, as well as liberal and anti-Israel elements in the news media.
Jesus and the Role of Women
It has become quite fashionable among some feminist writers and people sympathetic to the women’s liberation movement to castigate biblical writers for their “sexism.” Often biblical authors have been characterized as “male chauvinists”…
Godly Women Who Made a Difference
When the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, it indwelt each member of that small group of believers in Jerusalem, including the women. Among them were Jesus’ mother Mary and the other…
Herzl’s Dream
Theodor Herzl had a dream. It was a dream born of the desire of the Jewish people to have a homeland in Eretz Israel under the recognition of international law.
Turning Homeward
Thus saith the Lord Gᴏᴅ: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are gone, and will gather them on every side…
Behind the Balfour Declaration
The most prominent events marking the early days of the modern Zionist movement were the publication of Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State in 1896 and his calling of the First Zionist Congress in 1897.
The Betrayal of Balfour
So wrote Chaim Weizmann in 1919. Both God in heaven and Balfour in England viewed “with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”
Will There Be Room in the Inn?
Two thousand years ago a young Jewish woman and her husband came to the town of Bethlehem, in Jewish Judea, to be registered for taxation. Their permanent residence was Nazareth.
Joseph: God’s Man for a Starving World
The life of Joseph presents some very important lessons for all who care to read the chapters in Genesis devoted to him. But there is one overriding factor in the story that should overwhelm…
Joseph’s Trials
Trials and testings come into the life of every person. If you are not going through any at the moment, wait a while. Sooner or later, they’ll come.
Joseph and His Tribes
As the aged, bedridden Jacob pronounced prophetic blessings on his sons by Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah, he must have looked forward with great anticipation to what God had in store for his two youngest sons…
Israel’s Darkest Day
Israel’s era of innocence died with the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Theirs was not an innocence bred by naiveté. At its core it was tough—much like the exterior of the Sabra cactus after…
The Jewishness Of Jesus
I had never seen Michael, our Israeli guide, so excited. Our Institute of Biblical Studies group was touring the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, seeing the usual sights, when Michael motioned us to join him on the other side of the church. He led us down a corridor into a small chapel. Michael explained in hushed tones that this was a very ancient part of the church, and tourist groups usually do not get to see it.
Jesus in Josephus
Flavius Josephus was a Jerusalemite priest who lived in the last half of the first century. He also was the commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee during the war with Rome from AD 66–70.
Hillel: The Kind Pharisee
Jewish tradition states that the oral law was transmitted from Moses to Joshua, from Joshua to the elders, from the elders to the prophets, and from the prophets to the men of the great assembly.
Capernaum: A Town That Lost the Light
Capernaum was a picturesque town located on the northwestern shore of Galilee where the Jordan enters the lake. The city lay on a gentle slope rising from one of the numerous shallow coves that lend…
Hezekiah’s Tunnel
American Edward Robinson a former Congregationalist minister, was the first person in modern times to scientifically explore the marvel of Hezekiah’s Tunnel.
Jerusalem: Occupied Territory?
“We want a piece of the action!” This seems to be the prevailing attitude when the international community talks about Jerusalem. Until the Jewish people began to wind their way back toward the Holy City…
The Palestinians
“And Isaac entreated the Lᴏʀᴅ for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lᴏʀᴅ was entreated by him, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived. And the children struggled together within her;
The Jewish Presence in Hebron
This February, a lone Jewish man walked into a mosque inside of a shrine built over the cave of Machpelah in Hebron. Dressed in Israeli military garb, he gunned down 29 Muslim Arabs…
Digging Up Israel
The ground in front of the beautiful Golden Gate was still soft from the recent heavy rains. An archaeology student confidently stepped back from the gate to capture its entire view in his camera…
Israel in the News Oct/Nov 1994
Jerusalem will remain the capital of the Jewish people forever, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin told the conference of Jewish National Fund leaders recently. He was responding to a statement by PLO leader Yasser Arafat that…
From Babylon To Bethlehem
Lord Byron, in “The Destruction of Sennacherib,” caught in vivid poetic form not only the essence of a battle long gone, but the final convulsions of the “times of the Gentiles.” Thus, human observation confirms…
Babylon and Medo-Persia
In Luke 21:24 Jesus Christ referred to “the times of the Gentiles,” when the Gentiles would be the dominant power in the world and Israel would be at the mercy of or dependent upon…
The Greeks
When Bible readers move from the Old to the New Testament, they encounter many new ideas and institutions. They encounter groups like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Zealots, who are not mentioned in the Old…
Ancient Rome: The Pathology of Political Power
The solace of blissful sleep was violently shattered with dreadful visions of hideous creatures. So disturbing was the dream that the usually composed Prophet Daniel was greatly troubled in mind and body.
Israel in the News Aug/Sep 1994
The reason is the source of the request—the United Nations, which has asked Israel to assist in its peacekeeping efforts in Angola by supplying an Israeli-staffed field hospital…
Moses and Faith: Hebrews 11:23–29
Moses had a rich heritage of faith. Before his birth, Pharaoh of Egypt commanded that all male babies born to Hebrew women be killed (Ex. 1:15–22). When Moses was born, his parents had to make…
The World Was Not Worthy of These: Hebrews 11:32–40
Every year new members are elected to the various sports’ Halls of Fame. Many good players, however, never receive this public honor. Buried in the past rosters of hundreds of teams are thousands of excellent…
The Faithful Remnant
Among the material possessions Maxine and I hold dear is an old oak dining room table. It was the object of a rescue effort launched years ago when we discovered the table…
Nehemiah: Facing the Opposition
Whenever the Lord calls a person to serve Him, opposition usually follows. Sometimes it comes in a very subtle manner, and at other times it comes through strong, open resistance. Unbelievers and believers alike can…
Nehemiah the Leader Feb/Mar 1994
Being a leader is an unenviable calling. It appears glamorous and glorious, but it is more often lonely and thankless. The best training for a would-be leader is to observe closely the model…
The Gates Of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s Day
When the Jewish people returned to their homeland after the Babylonian Captivity, Jerusalem lay in ruins. The Temple, the city walls, and the gates had been destroyed as a result of the three invasions…
Israel’s Babylon Experience
Only a remnant of Judah came back to the land in these returns, while a significant number, probably the majority of the population, remained in the East. At the time of Esther…
Nehemiah: The Reading of the Law and Revival
The Jews who were living in their homeland during the 440s BC (93 years after the Babylonian Captivity had ended) had a great heart for God. Perhaps all the opposition, affliction, and reproach they had…
Jesus Is Better Than the Prophets
Something within human beings compels them to look for something new—a better way, better quality, better fashion. “Build a better mousetrap,” youngsters of another generation were told…
Israel’s Political Patchwork
There is a saying in Israel that if you really want to learn about the political situation in the country, the person to ask is a taxi driver.
Homeward Bound
The United States of America was built by immigrants. In the earliest days, they came from England, Holland, and Spain, often seeking freedom from religious persecution.
Viewing the Evidence
Looks of revulsion marked the faces of primly dressed Aryan ladies who pressed handkerchiefs against mouths and noses as a defense against the acrid stench rising from the piles of bodies and charred remains draped…
The Palestinian Covenant
A brief look at world conditions clearly indicates that many international disputes concern land ownership, particularly in the Middle East. The so-called occupied territories—the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights—are familiar to anyone who…
The New Covenant
In the Scriptures, a covenant is a legally binding obligation of God for man’s redemption. It is God’s solemn pledge to fulfill His promises to those included in the covenant.
The Rise of the Crescent: The Arabs and Islam
The Arabs of the Middle East are constantly in the news, one probable reason being that they control a major portion of the world’s petroleum. Islam, the religion most often associated with them…
Why Anti-Semitism?
Why have the Jewish people been persecuted more persistently than any other ethnic group throughout history? Why, in spite of overwhelming evidence of the Holocaust, do some deny that it happened?
A History of Anti-Semitism
This chart, although extensive, is not meant to be complete. Many other instances of anti-Semitism in South America, North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa could be cited.
Rome Revisited
The days of the judges were a time of almost unbroken national depression for Israel. All of the indicators for survival and success of the nation were pointing downward.
Ruth: The Woman Who Wouldn’t Turn Back
Ruth comes to us from the pages of biblical history as a young woman of Moab who married a young man from Bethlehem of Judah. At first glance, it may appear that her husband simply…
Ruth and Boaz: The Story of the Kinsman-Redeemer
The Jewish community has always looked upon marriage as a sacred and divine institution. It is viewed as a holy covenant between a man and a woman, a necessity for the divine plan to propagate…
God’s Law for Redeeming the Land
One cannot understand fully the story of Ruth and the role of Boaz as the kinsman-redeemer apart from a knowledge of God’s program of land redemption for Israel and the responsibilities of the kinsman-redeemer.
Ruth and the Messiah
The charming little account contained in the Book of Ruth has all the interest-catching elements of an absorbing short story. The reader is exposed to a plot containing elements of tragedy, conflict, characterization, and resolution.
Charles Orde Wingate
Israel is a nation in need of friends. But, understandably, after centuries of rejection, abandonment, and betrayal, the Jews are somewhat hesitant about whom they call a friend. For Charles Orde Wingate…
Approaches to Jerusalem Part Two
A barren ruggedness marks the eastern side of the Judean Hill Country. Virtually year-round the face of these slopes is covered with only sand, stones, and deep gorges…
Reunified Jerusalem: Twenty-Five Years and Counting
It has been 25 years since those battle-begrimed young paratroopers stood looking up at the Western Wall, the last artifact of the Herodian Temple. Their faces graphically mirrored the awe engendered in the heart…
Jerusalem: Icon of the Ages
Jerusalem! The very name commands a fascination. No other city in the world has been both adorned and devastated so many times by so many different peoples over so many centuries.
The Modern Emergence of Jerusalem in the Last Hundred Years
The ancient rabbis said, “Ten measures of beauty descended to the world. Nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the rest of the world.”
The Future of Jerusalem
The future of the city of Jerusalem is of vital concern to the three main monotheistic religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each has an historical claim to and a compelling interest in this city.
My Son! My Son!
In the last article in this series, we saw that Abraham desperately wanted the heir God had promised to him. He realized that Eliezer of Damascus was not the one (Gen. 15:2).
Menachem Begin
The passing of Menachem Begin, Israel’s sixth Prime Minister, on March 9th, marked the end of a singular period in the history of the modern State of Israel.
Jerusalem of Gold Jun/Jul 1992
Anyone who has stood on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem, and overlooked the city of Jerusalem will never forget the sight. This is especially true if it is seen as the early…
Israel in the News Jun/Jul 1992
Likud USA mourns the passing of one of Israel’s Founding Fathers, Menachem Begin. Begin was one of the “Gedolei HaDor,” or giants of his generation. He was one of the greatest Jewish leaders…
Purim: No Minor Festival
An old Yiddish saying translated into English, says, “As a high temperature does not denote serious illness, neither is Purim a festival.” Its meaning reflects the impression among some that the Feast of Purim…
Moving On
Passing a milestone is often a noteworthy experience—it can be downright exhilarating. When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan on the way back to their homeland, they lived out one of the great highs…
God’s Plan for the Jews
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from their birth, who are carried from the womb;
I’ll Do It My Way, Lord!
The very mention of the name Abraham causes multitudes of people to perk up their ears. Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike look to this patriarch as the founder of their religion.
A Land Flowing With Milk and Honey
Leviticus 25:8–17 provides for one of the more interesting statutes in Israel’s history. Beyond the rest that the land and the people were to receive every seven years, when the seventh seven came along…
The Sea of Galilee Part Three
Transitions can be very difficult, but most of us are called upon to make them from time to time. One of the most difficult transitions to make is a change of vocations.
Messianic Ideas and the Messiah
What did the Jewish people of Jesus’ day believe about the Messiah? What Messianic preconceptions greeted Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel?
Operation Solomon
Many questions have been asked recently about the Jewish people in Ethiopia and their immigration to Israel. These Ethiopian Jews are sometimes referred to as the Falashas. Who are they? How did they become Jewish?
The Sea of Galilee Part One
At the southern end of the Huleh Valley and the northern tip of the Jordan Valley lies one of the most amazing geographical features in Israel. It is the Sea of Galilee.
The Feast of Tabernacles
The Temple of God had been completed. More than 150,000 men had labored for seven years in the building of what became known as Solomon’s Temple. The finest wood, the purest gold and silver…
Hazor
One of my favorite expressions to describe Israel is Land of Contrasts. Just below the region of Dan, which was covered in the previous issue, is a valley that typifies this expression very well.
Biblical Dan
When the children of Israel first settled the Promised Land, the tribal allotment for Dan was along the coastal plain. But, by nature, the openness of the coastal plain created problems for the tribe…
Tisha be-Av
Tisha be-Av, or the Ninth of Av (Av is the fifth month in the Jewish calendar, corresponding to July/August), not only commemorates specific tragedies in Jewish history; it also symbolizes all that has been dismal…
Yom Haatzmaut
The time was 4:00 p.m. The date was Friday, May 14, 1948. A black sedan pulled up to the front of the Tel Aviv Museum. Out of the back seat emerged a short, white-haired man…
No Middle Wall
With His talk of crucifixion at Jerusalem, Jesus’ disciples were struck dumb with consternation. Their anticipation and preparation had been geared for the coming Kingdom—a literal, one-thousand-year era during which the Messiah/King Himself would take…
Judgment on Jerusalem Zephaniah 3:1–8
Perhaps no city on earth is more loved than Jerusalem. The psalmist has well written, “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion … the city of the great King”…
Abraham: The Man Blessed by God
A promise is only as good as the one who makes it. We have all had promises made to us that we knew would never be fulfilled. Conversely, other promises have been made…
Abraham: The Man Who Couldn’t Wait
Abraham was a man who couldn’t wait! The result of his impatience has been a conflict that has spanned the millennia and, even at the present moment of history, is far from being resolved.
Judgment in the Middle East Zephaniah 2:4–15
When Iraq’s Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait, world tensions were ignited. Hussein is a proven despot who envisions himself as a modern-day Nebuchadnezzar and aspires to become the leader of the Arab world.
The Seed of Abraham
Abraham—the very mention of his name stirs the hearts of multitudes of people the world over. Three religions, each spanning the globe, trace their origins back to him.
The Day of the Lord Zephaniah 1:7–2:3
On June 22, 1990, a massive earthquake rocked northern Iran just after midnight. Iranian radio estimated the death toll to be approximately 45,000, with as many as 130,000 injured. Entire villages were either reduced…
Where Was Herod’s Temple?
Many Bible students are aware of the Old Testament Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary of the Lord described in graphic detail in Exodus 25-40. Fewer students however, have paid close attention to the Temple, the permanent…
The Tribulation and Millennial Temples
Since the early days of the Davidic kingdom, when David first had a desire to build a permanent dwelling place for the Lord, most Jewish people have longed for such a central place of worship.
Live and Let Die
A visit to Yad Vashem, Jewry’s memorial to the Holocaust, is a haunting experience. Yes, “experience” is the correct word, because Yad Vashem is something more felt than seen.
Israel: The Nation of Destiny Amos 9
Israel is an enigma to the world. She was miraculously created from the loins of a couple long past the age of childbearing. She was endowed with divine privileges and covenant promises…
Who Is the True Messiah?
We nearly fell out of our cushioned synagogue seats when we heard the rabbi’s answer! I had accompanied a group of believers from a suburban Detroit church to a conservative synagogue to learn more about…
Israel: A Dying Dynasty Amos 8
In winter it is trendy to give friends a large basket of fresh fruit wrapped in cellophane and tied at the top with a red bow. The fruit is beautiful to behold…