Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
The Tenth Sermon in the Book of Acts The tenth sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 25:10-Acts 26:22 (specifically Acts 26:2-29) Setting: A hearing before Festus in Caesarea Speaker: Paul Audience: Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice, high-ranking military officers, and prominent city leaders. Preceding Events: Paul, in an effort to avoid being assassinated in Jerusalem, […]
Faith Comes from Hearing God’s Message About Jesus and Believing In the book of Isaiah, the prophet asks, “Who has believed God’s message?” Isaiah then goes on to prophetically proclaim what Jesus will do. He will suffer and die for us, sheep that have wandered off. He will take upon himself the punishment for our […]
We Can Learn From the Many Wise Sayings in the Bible We consider the book of Proverbs as being a collection of wise sayings from King Solomon. This is mostly correct. However, it also includes proverbs from other people. The book opens with Solomon giving instructions to his son. Then the king adds some more […]
Distinguishing Between the Many Men in the Bible Named Simon and Simeon When I write a blog post, I never know which one will resonate with people. A perennial favorite—which always surprises me—is 9 guys named Simon in the Bible. The only post is more popular is 4 angels in the Bible with names. And […]
The eleventh and final sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 28:17-28 (specifically Acts 28:25-28) Setting: Rome Speaker: Paul Audience: Jewish leaders Preceding Events: Paul conducts a pre-meeting with the Jewish leaders, explaining his situation and confirming his commitment to his faith. Overall Theme: Though Jews hear the message of Jesus, most do not understand; […]
God Promises to Go Before His People and Be Their Rear Guard In Isaiah’s lengthy prophecy, he tells God’s people in Jerusalem that they need to leave. However, they don’t need to leave in haste. This is because God will go before them and he will take up the rear. That means, God will pave […]
We Will Do Well to Listen to the Advice of Those God Sends to Guide Us King Solomon opens the book of Proverbs extolling the value of wisdom and the importance of receiving wise instruction, which starts with a reverence for God. After establishing this opening premise, Solomon begins his instruction to his son—and to […]
In reading the book of Acts in the Bible we learn about a badly misguided dude named Saul who turns his life around and later goes by the name of Paul. When did this name change take place? If you say his name changed when he stopped killing Jesus’ followers to become one himself, I’d […]
When God needed to turn Saul’s life around, he used a supernatural light, an unseen voice, and temporary blindness to get Saul’s attention (Acts 9:3-9). Some time later, Saul (Paul), under the power of the Holy Spirit, did the same thing to a guy named Elymas. Elymas was supernaturally blinded for a time so God […]
The Lord Is Gracious, Compassionate, and Just After Isaiah records the stinging words of God against his people, Isaiah adds a passage of comfort and reassurance. It starts with the word yet. He writes, “Yet the Lord longs . . . Here are the three things that result from God’s longing for us, to offer us grace, compassion, […]