The more I read the Old Testament closely, the more I love Paul. The more I’m like hey Paul, I see you and I get you. And that’s pretty amazing because ignorant and unstable people have at times made me want to hate Paul (2 Peter 3:15-18). I’ve had some real LOL moments with PaulContinue reading “As a Bride Adorns Herself”
Tag Archives: Women in the Bible
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”
No Glory from Men
So then let no one boast in men. 1 Cor. 3:21 One of the reasons I have been writing about the proportional play of the Bible is that I am broken-hearted and furious about the state of the Christian church and its treatment of women and other vulnerable members. And even that is an understatement ofContinue reading “No Glory from Men”
Names and No Names
Bible readers have at times wrestled with anxious thoughts about the presence of so many unnamed people in the Bible. Why is Noah named but not his wife? Why doesn’t God give us the name of the Levite’s concubine? Who are the widows in the books of Kings? What is the name of the womanContinue reading “Names and No Names”
Naomi and the Shunammite Woman
It’s easy to forget the rest and relief of Ruth when you’re knee-deep in all of the violence and betrayal in the books of Samuel and Kings. Reading these books is like traveling through an immense desert, surviving spring to spring. And yet, 2 Kings offers us Ruth again, just when we need it. Or,Continue reading “Naomi and the Shunammite Woman”
Women, Men, and the Principle of Proportion
When it comes to the Bible, bigger and more prominent is not always better. For example, it’s a mistake to think that because women don’t appear as often as men in the Old Testament, they are less important in God’s story of redemption. I heard a Biblical Studies scholar say disdainfully some years ago thatContinue reading “Women, Men, and the Principle of Proportion”
Naaman and Gehazi
The story of the servant girl and Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is particularly important to me. A few years ago, my mentor and friend Bill Dennison wrote a sermon* about this story when I was feeling altogether LOW. When I needed Bill in my life, God brought me Bill. And Bill taught me howContinue reading “Naaman and Gehazi”
The Short Time of Satan
If you want to see and know and stay close to Jesus Christ, then you must also learn to identify the anti-Christ, the faker, that fool, that father of lies. I cut my teeth spotting the anti-Christ on the story of Abimelech, king of brambles. And truly, when it comes to the Bible, the devilContinue reading “The Short Time of Satan”
As the Women Go …
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4: 2-3 Now that I’veContinue reading “As the Women Go …”
The Boy(s) with Two Names
In Genesis 35, a boy with two names is born. He is a boy we don’t often talk about. His brother Joseph gets most of the attention, with his coat of many colours and the saga that is his story. Well, you know. But what of this other boy? In the account beginning in GenesisContinue reading “The Boy(s) with Two Names”
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