...................................................................LET US LEARN TOGETHER WHAT IS GOOD. Job 34:4b(NIV)................................................................Some people see the Bible as a long and boring book filled with incidents and events from the lives of ancient people who probably never existed. The biblical stories are seen as fables. Romans 15:4 (KJV) reveals: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. In this blog, many of the situations and conversations found in the divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible have been placed in categories that correspond to expressive sayings and phrases. Reference information, background information and links connecting the people and places are given to help you find a place to begin reading the Bible for yourself.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Old and the Bold

Caleb

The children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba: which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.-Joshua 14:6-15***At the request of the Israelites, and the command of the Lord God, Moses sent Joshua, and 40-year old Caleband 10 other spies on a mission to Canaan, the Promised Land. The spies saw milk and honey and idolaters and gigantic inhabitants in cities behind fortified walls that reached up to the sky. Ten of the men were frightened and informed their fellow Israelites that it was a land that ate people. Caleb and Joshua testified that with the Lord God on their side, they could swallow up the people who lived upon the land. During the 40th year of the journey to the Promised Land, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest, the older brother of Moses, died upon Mount Hor, and Moses went upon Mount Nebo. The Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died and was divinely buried. Joshua was Moses' aide and successor and led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Abraham's son Isaac, and to Isaac's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. Several years thereafter, Caleb stepped forth to claim Hebron, his portion of the Promised Land. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that Caleb and his descendants were given the fields and villages. The Levites and Kohathites, the descendants of Jacob's 3rd born son Levi and Levi's son Kohath, were given the town and adjoining pastures. Notably, Hebron became a city of refuge.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 13:1-7, 14:6-15:63, 21:9-16, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-4:23, 7:20-29, 8:1-40, 10:1-29:30, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26


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The Israelites from Jabesh-gilead

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut of his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; All the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.-1 Samuel 31:8-13***The Israelites in Jabesh-gilead were connected to 3 acts of hacked flesh. The 1st incident involved the rape and death of a concubine whose husband had been sexually targeted by some Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin. The dead woman's body was cut and distributed to the Israelite tribes. A battle resulted in 400 young virgins from Jabesh-gilead being captured as wives for men from the tribe of Benjamin, against whom a vow had been taken. The 2nd incident occurred after Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, became the 1st king to rule over the Israelites in the Promised Land, the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Abraham's son Isaac, and to Isaac's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. During Saul's reign, Ammonites prepared to attack Jabesh-gilead. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that Saul cut a pair of oxen into pieces and sent the parts throughout Israelite territories, with a message warning men to join him in battle. At least twice while reigning, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. While Saul reigned, the Lord God sent Samuel, the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi, to anoint David, from the tribe of Judah, to reign as king. After the Philistines killed Saul's sons Jonathan, Malchishua and Abinadab (Ishui?), and Saul's self-inflicted death on the same battlefield, men from Jabesh-gilead trekked through the night to tend to the mutilated body of Saul and bury the bones of Saul and Saul's sons. Shortly thereafter, men from the tribe of Judah anointed 30-year-old David, and David began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) ruled over the other Israelite tribes. Sometime after Ishbosheth was murdered, the Israelite elders went to David and David made a covenant with them. The elders anointed 37-year-old David, and David became the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites. At least 950 years after Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to rule over all of the Israelites, and 70-year-old David died, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1:1-11:43, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 8:1-40, 9:35-29:30, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26

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Monday, April 21, 2014

Qualified, Credentials Besides

The apostle Paul

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.-Acts 22:1-5***Paul (Saul) was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel, and Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin. Throughout Jerusalem, Paul persecuted and imprisoned  Israelites who believed Jesus, who had been crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, and returned to heaven, to be the Christ, the Son of God. Paul wanted to end the movement known as The Way. When Paul was journeying to the synagogues in Damascus, Syria, to find, bind and take to Jerusalem any Israelite believers he found, Paul and those with him saw a light from heaven flash around them. Paul heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him, and Paul spoke to Jesus, and obeyed Jesus. In Damascus Paul was baptized. From thenceforward, Paul the apostle journeyed and wrote divinely inspired letters, teaching Israelites and Gentiles, people not born into the Israelite tribes, the good news of Jesus the Christ and everlasting life. Some Israelite believers wanted to kill Paul, and the disciples of Jesus were afraid of Paul. Paul continued journeying, preaching, teaching and performing miracles in the name of Jesus. Many of the Israelites who did not believe Jesus to be the Christ of God felt that Paul was working against their faith and against the commandments and laws that the Lord God gave for the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. Some Israelites thought Paul had brought Gentiles into the inner courts of the temple in Jerusalem. As Paul spoke to the crowd after being pummeled and arrested, he brought up his heritage and his reputation for defending the Lord God.-Genesis 1:1-35:29, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 8:1-40, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, 6:1-8:4, 9:1-31, 11:19-28:31, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon


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From a letter written by the apostle Paul,
with Timothy, 
to believers in Corinth and its surrounding areas:

Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.-2 Corinthians 11:22-27***The apostle Paul (Saul) was concerned about believers in Corinth and its surrounding regions after learning that some of them had their own agendas, and were teaching false doctrines and establishing man-made rules. Paul sent a divinely inspired message to the Corinthians describing his life as a descendant of Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and the depth of his life as a servant of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. Over 35 years earlier, Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. On the 8th day after Jesus was born, Jesus was circumcised. Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist, from the tribe of Levi. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. Less than 3 1/2 years after Jesus was baptized, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the disciple and apostle, and Jesus was arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and returned to heaven. The apostle Paul revealed that Jesus appeared to him.-Genesis 11:26-35:29, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 8:1-40, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, 6:1-8:4, 9:1-31, 11:19-28:31, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon

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Monday, April 14, 2014

Provisions Light, Feeds All in Sight

Elijah the prophet

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
-1 Kings 17:8-16***Forty years after Moses and his older brother Aaron led their fellow Israelites away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, into the desert wilderness of Shur, and the desert wilderness of Sin, and the desert wilderness of Sinai, on a journey towards Canaan, the Promised Land, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died upon Mount Hor, and Moses went upon Mount Nebo, according to the commands of the Lord God. The Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua was Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Noah and the ark builder, Noah's son Shem, Shem's son Arphaxad, Arphaxad's great-great-great-great-great-grandson Terah, Terah's children Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah ((Sarai), their son Isaac and his wife Rebekah, Isaac and Rebekah youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. After the Lord God spoke to him, and Joshua sent 2 spies to Canaan, and Rahab hid the spies, and the spies returned, Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Over 300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, became the 1st king to reign. David, the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites, was from the tribe of Judah, descended from Jacob and his 1st wife Leah and their 4th born son Judah. Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Levi. Solomon, a son born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Ahab was the 7th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Ahab's 22-year reign, Elijah the prophet began proclaiming the words of the Lord God to the Israelites. After Elijah prayed about rain and dew, the Lord God answered Elijah's prayer, and Elijah fed himself with food brought to him by ravens, and soothed his thirst with water from a brook, according to the command of the Lord God. After the brook was dry, the Lord God told Elijah to go to Zarephath, a town in Sidon (Zidon). Sidon was in the portion of the Promised Land associated with the tribe of Asher, the Israelites descended from Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, and their 2nd born son Asher. The inhabitants of Sidon, the Sidonians, descended from Noah's son Ham, and Ham's son Canaan, and Canaan's son Sidon. At least 10 years after Elijah went to Zarephath, Elijah and his successor Elisha the prophet went to the Jordan River, and Elijah went up into heaven by a whirlwind. Over 750 years after Elisha died, and a dead man began living again after contact with Elisha's bones, John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, were born. John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and his wife Elizabeth (Elisabeth). Jesus the Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Elizabeth's relative Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites. In Sychar,  Samaria, Jesus told a woman at a well to give him a drink, and when Jesus was being crucified less than 3 1/2 years after he was baptized, an onlooker offered Jesus vinegar from a sponge to drink.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings 1:1-13:25, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, James 5:1-20

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Saturday, April 12, 2014

This Bunch for Hire

Abimelech

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him
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-Judges 9:1-4***Abimelech and his half brothers shared many familial circumstances, and there were distinct differences between them. Abimelech's half brothers were born to their father Gideon (Jerubbaal) and Gideon's wives. Gideon was an Israelite from the tribe of Manasseh, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife  Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's firstborn son Manasseh, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. 
Abimelech was born to Gideon and a concubine. After Gideon died, Abimelech wanted to take control of the family and everyone else in their region of the Promised Land. Anticipating success, Abimelech used the 70 pieces of silver given to him by his mother's kin and townspeople to hire men whose killing skills could be bought. Jotham was the only half brother who survived Abimelech's killing spree. Over 1,100 years after Abimelech was killed by a woman in Thebez, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Jacob's 4th born son Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-9:57, 1 Chronicles 1:34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 7:14-19, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26

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