Bart Byl on 2 Kings 6:1-7.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

A prophet-in-training loses his axe-head in the river, and the prophet Elisha tosses in a stick and the iron object bobs up to the surface. A charming story: but does it have something to say to the Jewish people buried in the middle of the Babylonian empire? And might this story point us to the Son of God who leapt into the river to rescue his lost people?

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Bart Byl on 1 Kings 19:1-18.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

The prophet Elijah, discouraged by Israel’s shallow repentance and fleeing for his life, makes his way to Mount Sinai. There God tells him to wait for him to pass by. Elijah experiences a tempest, an earthquake, and a fire, but God is not in any of these fearsome phenomena. Finally, the prophet hears a still, small voice — and recognising that God is present at least, he emerges from his cave.

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Bart Byl on 2 Samuel 15:1-18, 23, 30; 16:5-13.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

After Saul’s death, David comes to the throne of Israel. God makes a series of stunning promises to David, culminating in an oath that someday a greater Son of David will sit on the throne and establish God’s reign on earth. But David grows complacent and commits adultery and murder, unleashing ripples of destruction in his life, his family, and his kingdom. When his son Absalom rebels, David and his faithful few flee Jerusalem. The weeping king crosses the Mount of Olives, silently bearing the jeers and curses of Shimei — a haunting picture of the true Son of David, who bears the curse and sin of his people. 

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Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

The people of Israel are demanding a king, so they can be like the other nations, even though they’re protected and provided for by God as their king. But God tells Samuel to anoint Saul, a man who stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Saul is the kind of king the people want — the epitome of human strength — but his personal failings bring Israel to disaster. But God has already prepared a new king, David, a man after his own heart.

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Bart Byl on Luke 1:26–38.

The archangel Gabriel appears to a teenage girl in a forgotten village with a startling announcement: you will bear the long-promised Messiah of Israel. And in her virgin womb the highly-favoured Mary, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, knit together the humanity of our Lord. Mary was a human being like us, subject to sin and death and in need of a Saviour. But she was set apart as the holy space for the one beyond all space. She is the Burning Bush, the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant. And every generation will call her blessed, because she gave the world our Saviour.

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Bart Byl on Ruth 1.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

The charming book of Ruth could almost be described as a romantic comedy. As Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth move back to Bethlehem, and Ruth encounter the godly landowner Boaz, the story moves from famine to fullness, from death to life, and from despair to joy. The book is thus the gospel in miniature, for Christ himself is our kinsman redeemer, bound to us by blood and covenant, who in his kindness rescues us from slavery, ruin, and hopelessness.

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Bart Byl on Judges 16.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

The book of Judges is set in some of the darkest times in Israel, a time of devastation and anarchy. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes, and the judges God sent to deliver Israel from their enemies weren’t much better than the people they were sent to save. The last and most disappointing of the judges was Samson, a man of incredible promise and gifting who wasted his gifts on his selfish impulses. The whole book looks forward in longing to a good, strong king who would save the whole nation.

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Bart Byl on Joshua 5:10-6:5.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

Home. We all want to put deep roots down somewhere, and feel like we fit into the landscape. To be “implaced” is to enjoy one of the highest creaturely blessings God can give us. That was the gift God gave Israel when he gave them the Promised Land. In Joshua the twelve tribes conquer and distribute the land—but are also warned that holding on to it depends on remaining faithful to God. No one should make the easy assumption that God is always on our side. The real question is, are we on his?

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Bart Byl on Deuteronomy 6:4-25.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

This is Moses’ last sermon to Israel before he dies and they cross over into the Promised Land. He exhorts them to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and strength, and to demonstrate their commitment with a life of extensive obedience. There will be dangers: they might forget God because of affluence, or abandon God because of idolatry, or doubt God because of hardship. God’s people are prone to wander … but that God always remains faithful.

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Bart Byl on Numbers 20:1-13.

Series: Christ in the Old Testament

Trapped in the wilderness for 40 years, the nation of Israel can’t stop complaining. When they attack Moses because they don’t have water, he finally loses it. But he not only ignored God’s instructions, he failed to represent the grace and patient of Israel’s LORD. Because his people’s determination to rebel is outmatched only by God’s determination to bless. And the rock that Moses strikes pours forth water to quench the people’s thirst.

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