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Bible Insights

Biblical People: Zipporah

Learn About Moses’s Wife When Moses flees for his life, he meets seven shepherdesses, the daughters of Reuel. Moses marries one of the daughters, Zipporah. Moses and Zipporah have two sons. They are Gershom and Eliezer. Years later when Moses and his family travel to Egypt, God afflicts Moses. This is apparently because Moses failed […]

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Bible Insights

Plotting against Jesus

Today’s passage: Matthew 21:14–17, Mark 11:18–19, and Luke 19:47–48 Focus verse: The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him. (Mark 11:18) After Jesus clears the merchants from the courtyard around the temple, people come to him for healing. This includes the blind and […]

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Bible Insights

How Can We Help the Poor?

Deuteronomy Instructs Us to Help Foreigners, Orphans, and Widows In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds God’s people that when they’re harvesting a field to not pick it clean, to leave some of the produce for others. This includes foreigners, orphans, and widows (Deuteronomy 24:19). Help Foreigners Orphans and Widows Moses’s words reiterate the same […]

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Bible Insights

The Number Twelve in the Bible

A Figure that Signifies Foundation We’ve covered the numbers three and seven in the Bible. Let’s now look at the number twelve. It occurs frequently but mainly references two parallel concepts: Jacob’s twelve sons and Jesus’s twelve disciples. We can consider the number twelve as foundational in the Bible. Twelve is the basis for government […]

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Bible Insights

Reuel (2)/Jethro

Giving Helpful Advice When Moses flees Egypt for his life, he ends up in the desert. There he encounters the seven daughters of Reuel, a Midianite priest. The girls are shepherdesses. When they try to draw water from the well for their sheep, however, other shepherds drive them away. Moses intervenes for them and waters […]

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Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

Today’s passage: Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–17, and Luke 19:45–46 Focus verse: “It is written,” [Jesus] said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:13) After Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the colt, he goes to the temple courts. This is the […]

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Bible Insights

Moses Blames the People for His Mistake

Not Taking Responsibility for Our Actions Goes Way Back We often shake our heads in dismay over people who refuse to admit when they have done something wrong. Instead they want to blame others. They refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes. This is not a new development. Even Moses, who spoke to God face-to-face, […]

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The Jews’ Unbelief

Today’s passage: John 12:37–50 Focus verse: Because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. (John 12:42) At about this time in the book of John, we read of the Jews’ response to Jesus and the miracles he performed before them. We could […]

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Bible Insights

More on Korah’s Rebellion

We Must Respect God’s Chosen Leaders In my post on Korah’s rebellion, I noted that Korah had some progressive ideas about God and the people’s relationship to him. While these views are widely accepted today (thanks to Jesus), they were quite radical in Korah’s day. However, I don’t think that Korah’s rebellion was theological in […]

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Bible Insights

Biblical People: Manasseh and Ephraim

A Grandfather’s Blessing Joseph and Asenath have two sons. The oldest is Manasseh, and the younger is Ephraim. They are the grandsons of Jacob, later called Israel. When Israel is on his deathbed, Joseph comes to see his ailing father, bringing his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. Hearing about Joseph’s arrival, Israel rallies […]