Introduction to the Jewish Feasts – a summary of the seven feasts God commanded Old Testament Israel to celebrate.
Introduction to the Jewish Feasts
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Blog
Latest Blog Posts from Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
What are the Sacraments?
What are the Sacraments? What’s the difference between the Protestant view of Sacraments and the Roman Catholic view? Rome has 7 sacraments, while Protestants have 2.
Coins in the Bible
What’s the difference between a shekel, a denarius, and a talent? They are all coins circulating at the time of the New Testament. But one was Jewish, one Greek, and one Roman. Here’s what they were worth in relation to each other.
Introduction to Covenants of the Bible
God made a series of special promises, which we call covenants. There are two kinds of covenants and 5 significant covenants in Scripture.
10 Holy Spirit: Baptism
While this topic is controversial, I think Scripture teaches that the baptism of the Holy Spirit has both an individual application (as applied to the apostles) and a universal application (as applied to all believers).
What was the Canaanite religion?
“Canaanite” refers to the group of polytheistic people living in the historical region of Israel and Palestine at the time of the Old Testament. Canaanite mythology centered around three primary exploits of Baal.
Psalms of Praise: Their form
75% of Psalms are 1 of three main types: lament, thanksgiving or praise. Here is the general form for praise psalms.
Psalms of Lament: Their form
75% of Psalms are 1 of three main types: lament, thanksgiving or praise. Here is the general form for lament psalms.
Psalms of Thanksgiving: Their form
75% of Psalms are 1 of three main types: lament, thanksgiving or praise. Here is the general form for Thanksgiving psalms.
09 Holy Spirit Unity: Romans 15:1-13
As Paul deals with the issue of the “weaker” brother, he makes an important point about unity and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in all believers. Unity is not something that can be imposed from the outside or the top down. Unity is a work of the Holy Spirit bringing individuals together through their shared faith.
John’s use of the Old Testament
The Apostle John’s use of the Old Testament in his gospel and his letters.
Luke’s use of the Old Testament
Luke’s use of the Old Testament in his gospel and Acts.
October 2020 Reflections
October was a big month for WitW! I finished a resource page for every book of the Bible; I finished the “quotations” pages, compiling all the places where Scripture quotes Scripture. We reached the culmination of the podcast series on the Holy Spirit (#8). And I need a bit less than 8,000 downloads to reach my goal of breaking 150,000.
Jude’s use of the Old Testament
Jude use of the Old Testament in his letter.
James’ use of the Old Testament
The New Testament is our divinely inspired commentary on the Old Testament. When studying a passage, it’s often helpful to see how other biblical authors understood it. Here is James’ use of the Old Testament in his letter.
08 Holy Spirit Pledge and Seal: Romans 5:1-5
As a new believer, I thought the Holy Spirit was like the “force” in Star Wars: something I had to access to find success. Paul has a different view in this passage. The Holy Spirit is the active love of God intervening to make us people who will persevere in faith.
Mark’s use of the Old Testament
The New Testament is our divinely inspired commentary on the Old Testament. When studying a passage, it’s often helpful to see how other biblical authors understood it. Here is Mark’s use of the Old Testament in his gospel.
Matthew’s use of the Old Testament
The New Testament is our divinely inspired commentary on the Old Testament. When studying a passage, it’s often helpful to see how other biblical authors understood it. Here are Matthew’s quotations and allusions to the Old Testament in his gospel.
Introduction to Ancient Egypt
The first third of the book of Exodus takes place in Egypt. The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 400 years and were steeped in Egyptian culture. The cultural and historical setting of Exodus is ancient Egypt. Here’s a brief introduction.
Introduction to the Intertestamental Period
The time between the end of the Old Testament (400BC from the prophet Malachi) to the preaching of John the Baptist (25 AD) is known as the “intertestamental” period. Here’s an overview of what happened.
07 Holy Spirit Pledge and Seal: Ephesians 1:13-23
Paul describes believers as sealed with the Holy Spirit. A seal fulfills a past promise and pledges a future inheritance. A King’s seal had a three-fold purpose: 1) to guarantee authenticity, 2) to name the rightful owner, and 3) to protect from being tampered with or harmed.
Who were the Pharisees?
The ancient historian Flavius Josephus identifies four rival religious philosophies among the Jews at the time of Jesus: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.
When did the Exodus happen?
When it comes to biblical history, you can divide scholars into minimalists and maximalists. Minimalists believe almost nothing in the Old Testament is historically accurate. Maximalists believe the Old Testament is a reasonably accurate historical document. Among the maximalists, there are two main competing theories about the date of the Exodus: early and late.
Introduction to the Northern Kingdom
After the death of King Solomon, two of his sons, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, fought for the throne. When Rehoboam harshly raised taxes on the people, the 10 northern tribes rebelled and installed Jeroboam as their king, creating the northern kingdom of Israel. The two southern tribes, Benjamin and Judah, remained with Rehoboam and became the kingdom of Judah.
Malachi Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Malachi.
06 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: A New Heart
Both the Old and New Testaments speak about the need for God to spiritually renew us and change our hearts. Both associate this spiritual renewal with the Spirit of God. But there is only one really clear Old Testament passage on this topic.
Zechariah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of
Haggai Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Haggai.
Nahum Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Nahum.
Introduction to the Southern Kingdom
After the death of King Solomon, two of his sons, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, fought for the throne. When Rehoboam harshly raised taxes on the people, the 10 northern tribes rebelled and installed Jeroboam as their king, creating the northern kingdom of Israel. The two southern tribes, Benjamin and Judah, remained with Rehoboam and became the kingdom of Judah.
05 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Prophets
Most of the Old Testament references to the Holy Spirit involve his work empowering the leaders of Israel to protect the nation. But a second way we see the Spirit of God working in the Old Testament is giving revelation to the prophets.
Bible Introductions
Introductions to Background, history, chronology and books of the Bible.
Zephaniah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Zephaniah.
Jonah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Jonah.
Obadiah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Obadiah.
04 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Judges & Kings
One of the main themes in the Old Testament regarding the Holy Spirit is that God empowers Israel’s leaders through His Spirit to bless the nation and keep His covenant promises.