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.
Here’s advice from an expert on how not to burn out your retreat speaker.
As a ministry leader, you often do surveys. But what questions should ask? Which questions solicit the best input? After 30 years in ministry — and countless surveys! — these are the questions I’ve found most helpful.
Commentaries can kick-start your thinking when you hit a dead end but should not be a substitute for your own work. Here’s my two rules of thumb.
Multi-volume encyclopedias are good sources for historical and biblical themes. But background information does not impose meaning.
Lexicons & dictionaries can reveal what might be “lost in translation” but they also tempt us to fall into the trap of “I learned a fact about a word and I must use it.”
A concordance is an organized list of all the biblical texts which contain a given word. Concordances allow you to broaden your understanding of how a word is used and its range of meanings. There are 3 types: analytical, exhaustive and complete.
You’ll be surprised at how the information on a map can open your study. Consider how knowing that the road to Jericho was 17-miles changes the parable of the good Samaritan
Do I choose God or does God choose me? Once a believer, always a believer? You may never have thought these questions through. Or you may be inconsistent in living like they are true (or false). Either way, how you answer some basic theological questions makes a world of difference in daily life.
Do I choose God or does God choose me? Once a believer, always a believer? You may never have thought these questions through. Or you may be inconsistent in living like they are true (or false). Either way, how you answer some basic theological questions makes a world of difference in daily life.
Background, historical and cultural information to help you study the bible.
Introductions to background, history, chronology and books of the Bible.