Deuteronomy 2:3 “You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north…” Observation: Israel was near the end of their 40-year exile, and Moses was recounting important passages from their journey. Early on they had licked their wounds from defeat at the hands of...

Mark 10:51 “What do you want Me to do for you?” Observation: Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?” is His response to one of the most arrogant statements in all of Scripture. James and John had just come to Him saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for...

Mark 6:27 “…and He went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.” Observation: Herodias’ daughter had danced before King Herod and his party guests. In response, Herod offered...

Matthew 27:66 “And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” Observation: Jesus had been crucified the previous day and Jewish leaders had gone to Pilate asking that the grave be made secure to prevent Jesus’...

1 Samuel 5:8b “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” Observation: Philistines had captured God’s ark when Israel, in presumption, had carried it into battle. Eli, Israel’s leading priest, had fallen over and died when he heard news of the Ark’s capture...

Judges 11:36–37 “My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised…but…give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” Observation:  Israel had been severely oppressed by the Ammonites for years...

2 Chronicles 5:6 “…and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the Ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.” Observation: The temple’s construction was complete. Solomon had...

Numbers 14:33 “And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.” Observation: Judgment had come upon the Hebrews. Of the twelve spies sent into...

Genesis 28:8–9 “Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took…the daughter of Ishmael…to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.” Observation: This odd passage about Esau is tucked into the midst of a...

Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Observation: Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent when three men appeared to him. Most agree that the three were the Lord Himself and two angels. Abraham begins by acting the good host, offering a meal while...