Author: STEVE BALL

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself… Hebrews 6:13-20 We may well be living in the most anti-intellectual era in the history of the church and, it goes back as far as the Enlightenment, when the guns of intellectual criticism were…

Judges 16-18 Samson and Delilah 16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till…

Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity… Hebrews 6:1-12 Having chastised his readers for their spiritual immaturity previously, the author of Hebrews, in today’ verses, writes, “Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.”  The author knew there is always room for growth in the…

Judges 4-6 Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots…

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God… Hebrews 5:11-14 We have just been given a brief presentation on the high priestly office of Christ, focusing on the incarnation as qualifying Jesus to be our High Priest, on the…

Judges 1-3 The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into…

And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him… Hebrews 5:1-10 In our verses today, the author briefly describes the work of the old covenant priesthood. Having written about the priesthood, he now demonstrates how Jesus meets the requirements of the old covenant high priest. To add to this, Jesus…

Joshua 22-24 The Eastern Tribes Return Home 22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down…

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14-16 In our verses today, we read these words, “the throne of grace.” A throne speaks of authority and power, while grace conveys the idea of sympathy and…

Joshua 19-21 The Inheritance for Simeon 19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. 2 And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen…