The events described in chapter 27 are tragic. What is unfolded before us is the dissolution of a family. And this is not just another family. It is the family of Isaac, the patriarch, the son of Abraham and father of Jacob. Isaac was the child of promise conceived by Abraham and Sarah via the […]

The Lord’s Covenant of Grace runs like a thread through this passage, holding the whole of it together. God’s covenant with his people is a promise of his saving presence. Three times in this passage, the Lord’s presence with Isaac is confirmed. The first two confirmations came from the Lord himself who spoke to Isaac […]

The question, “What is the church’s mission,” is enormously important. How we understand the church’s mission will shape our message and our ministry. Fortunately, God has made the mission of the church quite clear. The mission is made abundantly clear in Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:16ff). Our Lord’s command to make disciples of all nations […]

At this point in Numbers, the first generation of Israel that fled Egypt during the Exodus had died and now the second generation was preparing to see the promise of the land fulfilled. And yet, because of their sin, Israel was once again experiencing God’s judgment. This passage is one of those that you can […]

It has been said that God did not need a family, he wanted one. The creation of Adam and Eve began the theme of household that can be traced from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout the generations God preserved for himself a people, a collective of believing households, who would be called the family of God. […]

James is not an easy letter to read. The Apostle has our number. He corrects, rebukes, and admonishes his readers by naming specifically some our favored sins. And yet there is also deep encouragement in the letter that we must not fail to learn from. The closing section is one example of this encouragement. And […]

Maranatha. Come, O Lord! This was a prayer – a cry, really – of the early church. Enduring great persecution and depravation had taught them to store their treasure in heaven rather than on earth. Their hearts had been trained by what they suffered to long for their everlasting home in the Lord’s blessed presence. […]

In this passage James takes up the mantel of the Old Testament prophets proclaiming harsh judgment on “the rich.” This passage is the climax of this letter’s theme on the rich. Throughout the book the rich are never referred to as brothers. We may rightly surmise that the rich are unbelieving landowners who oppress the […]

As we have already seen in the Letter of James, our speech is an index of our heart’s condition. Our Lord taught us, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Hateful speech betrays a hateful heart. Deceptive speech betrays a deceptive heart. Prideful speech betrays a prideful heart. James also […]