Thus says the Lord,“As the new wine is found in the cluster,And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’So I will act on behalf of My servantsIn order not to destroy all of them.Isaiah 65:8 I am so fascinated by the fruits of the Bible, especially grapes. It was the Nazirites that first drewContinue reading “Valley of the Cluster”
Category Archives: Genesis
The Cupbearer’s Memory
In Hebrew Bible times, the cupbearer to the king was an office of extraordinary responsibility and prestige. A cupbearer served wine to the king, but his job was much more as it involved tasting the wine before the king drank, for quality but also in case of poison. An office of oppositions. There are twoContinue reading “The Cupbearer’s Memory”
Breath like Apples
In Genesis 4, Cain, tiller of the earth, offers fruit to the LORD and murders his brother Abel. This act comes hot on the heels of Adam and Eve’s lost paradise, where Satan too had offered fruit to God’s people and ushered in a reign of death across the earth. Just as He had doneContinue reading “Breath like Apples”
His Desire is for Me
If ever we talk about Genesis 3:16, then we must also go on to where it leads, to Song of Songs 7:10. I am my beloved’s,And his desire is for me. There are many places of comfort in the Bible. But increasingly, my women friends and I are hanging out in the Bible’s Holy ofContinue reading “His Desire is for Me”
Five or Six Times: The Death of Elisha
I have that feeling again, of being on the edge of something immensely profound. It’s hard to describe, like a lamp lit in the corner of my mind. Each encounter like this blows me back in my seat. I have to sit a minute and catch my mental breath. In 2 Kings 13, God recountsContinue reading “Five or Six Times: The Death of Elisha”
Faces in the Bible: The Assassination of Ben-hadad
Being in self-isolation has got me thinking about faces. And as I like to do, I will begin a short series studying faces in the Bible with an enigmatic story, about Elisha and Hazael in 2 Kings 8:7-15. Why this one? Because this short story not only involves faces but takes us right back toContinue reading “Faces in the Bible: The Assassination of Ben-hadad”
Daughter, take courage.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Six times He spoke, separating light from darkness and water from land, calling into life all vegetation, plants and trees. He made the two great lights, the stars also, and placed them in the expanse of heaven. He formed all fish, the great sea monsters,Continue reading “Daughter, take courage.”
Ishmael, a Wild Donkey of a Man
In Genesis 12, Abram betrays his wife Sarai and sows the seeds for the tragic story of Ishmael. Lacking faith in God’s protection, he tells Sarai to pretend she is his sister and sends her into Pharoah’s house as a concubine (v. 15). In exchange for trafficking his wife, Abram accepts Pharoah’s reward of “maleContinue reading “Ishmael, a Wild Donkey of a Man”
Hagar: God’s Perfect Promise, not His imperfect people
Few Bible stories test my commitment to reading the Bible as redemptive history like the story of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 16 and 21. Or, more accurately, Abram’s rape of Hagar, which Sarai instigates. These are horrifying texts of terror. I read them, but I really don’t want to. Ugh I really don’t likeContinue reading “Hagar: God’s Perfect Promise, not His imperfect people”
High Places
Repetition is God’s signposting. Sometimes it takes me a while to spot a pattern, but then God brings it up again. And again. And again. I’ve said it before, but this textual maneuver means God wants us to do the work of asking Him to reveal what He is saying. And IF I’ve been payingContinue reading “High Places”
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