10–16 September 2017. 1 Samuel 31 (click to read). In just a few short sentences at the end of 1 Samuel we read about the downfall of King Saul and his family. We followed Saul’s story, we watched him become king, and now it’s all over. Jonathan and his brothers are hunted down and killed. […]
3–9 September 2017. 1 Samuel 19–20 (click to read). In 1 Samuel 20:1 David turns to his friend Jonathan, King Saul’s son, and in despair he asks: “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?” In ch. 19, Jonathan had managed […]
27 August – 2 September 2017. 1 Samuel 5–6 (click to read). In the Bible days, it was common for people to think that each country had their own gods. Israel had a god, but so did the Philistines and the Egyptians and all of their other neighbours too. When countries went to war, people […]
17–23 July 2016. 1 Kings 9–10 (click to read). In the book of Kings, one of the morals that the writers want to teach us is that sin always has it’s price. Sooner or later, God’s punishment catches up with people. That’s what happened to Saul and David, and that’s what’s coming for Solomon too. On the […]
26 June – 2 July 2016. 1 Samuel 26 (click to read). When people do horrible things to us, straightaway we start to think how we can get back at them. How can we make them suffer for hurting us so badly? Sometimes people even think that taking revenge is what God wants them to […]
19–25 June 2016. 1 Samuel 17 (Click to read). Over and over in this world we see how the strong survive and succeed, and how they do this at the expense of the weak. Strong nations attack weaker nations; strong armies fly into other countries and randomly bomb and kill families and children; big companies use […]
12–18 June 2016. 1 Samuel 7–8 (click to read). Today when we think about good judges, we think of someone making neutral decisions, someone not biased one way or the other, someone who doesn’t get involved. But the great judges in ancient Israel weren’t like this. Instead of simply making neutral decisions, the great judges […]
1–7 May 2016. Joshua 3–4 (click to read). The ancient Romans used to tell a story about the way their empire began. Twin baby boys, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned by their father, but were then saved by a female wolf. This wolf fed them with her own milk, cared for them, and helped them grow strong […]