“And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.” (2 Kings 23:10 ESV). King Josiah, in his sweeping reforms, deliberately targeted the Valley of Hinnom—also known as Gehenna—as a place to abolish one of the
Chapter: 23
URIAH’S FAITHFULNESS AND DAVID’S FAILURE
“Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty… Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.” (2 Samuel 23:24, 39 ESV). The mention of Uriah the Hittite appears at the end of a glorious roll call of David’s mighty men known as the Thirty. They were his most trusted warriors, the ones who fought fiercely
THE LAST WORDS OF DAVID THE PROPHET
“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2 ESV). David’s last words began with the assertion that the Spirit of the Lord had spoken by him. He had an awareness that the multitude of psalms he had written were really from God. They were not merely
WHEN THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD DIED
“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Luke 23:44-45 ESV). As Jesus hung on the cross, an extraordinary darkness covered the land. The Light of the World was
A SOBERING PROVERB FROM THE SUFFERING JESUS
“For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:31 ESV) As Christ was being led away to His crucifixion, He turned to the weeping women following Him and offered a sobering proverb. Even in His own suffering, His heart was full of compassion. Rather
THE MOABITE WHO WAS ACCEPTED
“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation. None of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever” (Deuteronomy 23:3 ESV). The law was clear: no Moabite could enter the assembly of the Lord. The Moabites had a history of opposing Israel, particularly when they refused
HOW THE JEWISH FEASTS POINT TO JESUS
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts” (Leviticus 23:2 ESV). The Lord instituted seven feasts for Israel. These feasts were to remind Israel of God’s provision and to prepare them for the
HOW SHOULD WE TREAT THE SOJOURNER?
“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9 ESV). God inspired Moses to write this instruction, including an appeal to the memories of the Israelites. Namely, that they should remember how it felt to be oppressed as sojourners in
TRUE CONTENTMENT IS FOUND IN CHRIST
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 ESV). David, the shepherd-king, knew how sheep trusted their shepherd with every need. As he considered his relationship with God, he wrote of his total dependence and contentment to the Lord as his shepherd. He said that having the Lord as his shepherd meant
GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER NATIONS
“Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.” (Ezekiel 23:4 ESV). The Ezekiel passage today about the two adulterous sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, graphically illustrates how God (as the