Free Daily Bible Study Podcast

Judges 3 | Acts 7 | Jeremiah 16 | Mark 2

In Judges 3:4, we read that Yahweh allowed Canaanites and Philistines to remain in the land “for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” This does not mean that Yahweh didn’t know which direction Israel would go (we will look at two factors that tell us this). In fact, this passage has much to say to help us understand better the significance of Yahweh’s tests for those of us living today.

First, Yahweh had made no effort to keep Israel’s inevitable failure a secret. Yahweh had told Moses that, after Moses would die, “this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them” (Deut. 31:16). Joshua had even told the entire nation of Israel when he flatly told the people, “You are not able to the serve the LORD, for he is a holy God” (Josh. 24:19). From what we have read so far, the results of Israel’s tests are a foregone conclusion.

Second, God makes it clear that his reasons for testing Israel are multifaceted and not a blind experiment. In Judges 3:2, Yahweh explains another purpose behind testing Israel: “It was in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.” Yahweh knows his exact purposes in these tests.

But if it isn’t that Yahweh needed to learn that Israel would not be able to obey his commandments, then what was the point of testing Israel at all? Why not simply wipe away the Canaanites and the Philistines so that Israel could get on with enjoying the Promised Land? In fact, these tests came in order to teach Israel that they were incapable of obeying Yahweh. The law was given, the Apostle Paul explains, to teach us our depravity: “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). That word “guardian” (paidagogos) is the word from which we get our word pedagogy, a word referring to the practice of teaching.

These failures taught Israel that their hearts were hard, that they were not capable of obeying Yahweh, and that they needed a king who could make them righteous in spite of themselves.

In fact, the law continues to teach us that we also stand in need of a king who can make us righteous. But hear now the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ came to be tested in our place so that we might be rewarded on the basis of his performance, since he was cursed on the basis of our failure.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 2 | Acts 6 | Jeremiah 15 | Mark 1

Judges 2:16–23 explicitly describes the pattern that we will encounter again and again through this book: Israel will sin, and, as a result, Yahweh will hand his people over to judgment. But, when the people cry out to Yahweh to rescue them, Yahweh will raise up a judge for them, since he is “moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them” (Judg. 2:18). Yahweh will give victory to the judge, and the judge will reform the worship of Israel for the duration of his life. But then, when the judge dies, Israel will sink deeper into sin than they had before the ministry of the judge. From that point, the pattern will start over again, but Israel will begin the cycle from a worse condition than in the previous iteration.

We find the starting point for this spiral descent, then, with the elders who had served alongside Joshua. For as long as that generation lived, the people of Israel did not worship false gods (Judg. 2:5–10). Instead, the sin of their generation was their failure to obey Yahweh fully by driving the inhabitants of Canaan out of the land, as we looked at in Judges 1. But when those elders died, severing the last remaining connection back to Joshua (and back to Moses before him), Israel does whatever is right in their own eyes—and specifically, they begin to serve the Baals and the Ashtaroth (Judg. 2:11–15). This provokes Yahweh to anger, and he turns Israel over to be defeated and oppressed by their enemies, starting the cycle all over again. Thus begins the tragic story of the book of Judges.

But as we discussed yesterday, this whole story underscores Israel’s desperate need for a shepherd. Most of the judges that we will read about in this book were prophets, but none were priests who had ultimate responsibility for governing Israel’s religious life, and none were kings who had ultimate responsibility for governing Israel’s civil life.1 The judges had been appointed by Moses only to assist with the work of shepherding God’s people (Ex. 18). In other words, judges were never meant to be the exclusive leaders of God’s people.

Yahweh’s people need a shepherd—and that is as true today as it was then. In the new covenant, Jesus has come as our ultimate prophet, priest, and king, but when Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave leaders as gifts to his people to assist him in his ministry (Eph. 4:7–12). In other words, Jesus gave us pastors and elders to serve as undershepherds, caring for the flock of God until the chief shepherd appears again (1 Pet. 5:1–5).

Today, there is a king in Israel who, through his elders, shepherds us to ensure that we do what is right in God’s sight, rather than in our own.

1 James Bannerman, The Church of Christ: A Treatise on the Nature, Powers, Ordinances, Discipline, and Government of the Christian Church, new ed., (Edinburgh, UK: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2015), 131.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 1 | Acts 5 | Jeremiah 14 | Matthew 28

The positive beginning to the book of Judges is entirely misleading. Joshua’s death leaves Israel without a clear leader for the first time since Yahweh called Moses to shepherd Israel. The question, then, is this: Will Israel continue to follow Yahweh or not? And at first, things seem to go well. In Judges 1:1, we find the people of Israel inquiring of Yahweh to ask about how they should proceed with their battle plans. Then, in Judges 1:2–26, Yahweh gives Judah, Simeon, and Joseph clear marching orders, and they all obey. So far, so good.

But from chapter 1, verse 27 on, the book of Judges recounts Israel’s slow descent into some of the darkest days in their history, a descent that begins initially with small acts of disobedience. To begin, Israel merely fails to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan completely. In some cases, the Israelites capture the Canaanites and put them to forced labor (Judg. 1:28, 30, 33, 35), and in other cases, they simply allow the Canaanites to continue living in their midst (Judg. 1:29, 31–32).

Part of the reason for Israel’s disobedience stems from an unwillingness to obey Yahweh fully. These stories sounds a lot like the one we will read later in 1 Samuel 15, when King Saul wants to keep the livestock of the Amalekites and to spare the life of their king, Agag, rather than devoting everything to total destruction as Yahweh had commanded. Because of Saul’s disobedience, Yahweh tears the kingdom of Israel away from him (1 Sam. 15:28).

But as we continue to read, we will discover a larger theme throughout the book of Judges, which is that Israel desperately needs a leader. Toward the end of the book, a verse emerges twice to crystalize this idea, once in Judges 17:6 and again at the end of the book in 21:25: “In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Additionally, the phrase “there was no king in Israel” shows up another two times, in Judges 18:1 and 19:1.

The book of Judges teaches, then, that God’s people are lost sheep who need a shepherd. The stories of Israel’s weakness without a leader set up the story of the coming of Israel’s great shepherd king, David, in 1 Samuel. In David, God would put a man after his own heart on the throne of Israel, not only to lead his people in conquest against their enemies, but also to lead them in seeking Yahweh. Ultimately, Yahweh would raise up from David’s line our great shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, to reign as Israel’s king forever.

But that’s getting a bit ahead of the story. In the coming chapters of Judges, things will get much worse before they get better.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 24 | Acts 4 | Jeremiah 13 | Matthew 27

In Joshua 24, we find God burying another one of his mighty workmen, Joshua. But before Joshua goes to his grave, he renews Israel’s covenant with Yahweh. We should not miss that the covenant renewal process begins, once again, with the story of Yahweh’s grace toward Israel in Joshua 24:1–13. Just as in Deuteronomy 1–3, and then again in Deuteronomy 29 when Moses renewed the covenant in the land of Moab, the story of Yahweh’s redemption precedes Israel’s recommitment to obey Yahweh’s law. In this way, Yahweh continually reminds his people that grace came first, not law. We do not obey the law so that God will love us; we can only seek to obey God’s law when we recognize that God has already demonstrated his love toward us.

Then, once Joshua works through the full story of Yahweh’s mercy toward his people, he demands that the people choose which God (or gods) they will serve. He pleads with them to put away the false gods that their fathers served and serve only Yahweh. Leading by example one final time, Joshua announces, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). Thankfully, the Israelites swear to serve only Yahweh, “for he is our God” (Josh. 24:18).

Joshua’s response, however, might catch us off guard. He rejects their words, saying, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins” (Josh. 24:19). There is truth to this—as we will see in the book of Judges, Israel will quickly slip into lasting patterns of rebellion and apostasy.

Still, Joshua doesn’t reject Israel’s commitment altogether. Instead, he simply holds them to their word by renewing the covenant there in Shechem (Josh. 24:25), writing the words of God’s law on a giant stone set up as a witness against Israel if they should ever rebel against Yahweh (Josh. 24:26–27).

This was as much as Joshua could do at this point in salvation history, but it was not enough. God’s people would not be changed through words written externally, on stone, under the old covenant. Indeed, we cannot be transformed unless God writes his words internally, on our hearts, through the new covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit.

If you are in Christ, you are able to serve Yahweh, even though he is a holy and jealous God—not because you are righteous, but because God himself has begun to write his covenant on your heart, transforming you from the inside out. This good work will not be completed until the day of Jesus Christ, but make no mistake—God will be faithful to complete the work that he has begun in you (Phil. 1:6).

Therefore, as for you and your house, serve the Lord.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 23 | Acts 3 | Jeremiah 12 | Matthew 26

Joshua’s leadership of Israel seems to have passed surprisingly quickly. Where we followed Moses through four long books of the Pentateuch, from Exodus through Deuteronomy, we find the ministry of Joshua winding down here in Joshua 23. In this final charge to Israel, Joshua reminds us about the true nature of spiritual leadership.

Now, even though the book of Joshua takes up much less text than what we saw of Moses’s ministry, remember that Joshua served Israel for a long time. Joshua 23:1 tells us that much time had passed before Joshua gives this final charge to Israel. Additionally, we should also keep in mind that Joshua had been Moses’s right-hand man from as early as Exodus 17, when Israel had just barely crossed the Red Sea into the wilderness, when he led Israel into battle against Amalek (Ex. 17:9–26). Joshua’s leadership has not been the meteoric rise of an immature believer, but the enduring faithfulness of a lifelong saint.

Still, even though Joshua has seen many victories during the course of his life, he is under no illusion about the ultimate source of Israel’s protection: Yahweh himself has been fighting for Israel (Josh. 23:3). Joshua reminds the people of Israel of this point in order to urge them to continue being strong and courageous to obey Yahweh. Specifically, Joshua charges Israel to continue walking in Yahweh’s law: “Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left…” (Josh. 23:6).

Joshua’s evaluation of his own life and ministry is instructive. He doesn’t boast about the success of his own leadership or battle prowess, but he also doesn’t advise Israel to pursue peace at any cost in order to avoid the warfare that he himself has seen during the course of his life. Instead, Joshua preaches to Israel once again about the necessity of keeping Yahweh’s covenant. In some ways, Joshua 23 is something like Joshua’s miniature version of Deuteronomy. Joshua even reminds Israel in Joshua 23:9–16 of the blessings and the curses that Moses had described in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

Spiritual leadership means first and foremost that we point people’s focus away from ourselves and toward our covenant-keeping God. It means avoiding a cult of personality completely but instead reminding the people whom God has entrusted to our leadership that it is God who has graciously given us his Son. Therefore, he insists we walk in faith and obedience before him. Spiritual leadership means, in the words of John the Baptist, that we must decrease and that Jesus must increase (John 3:30).

As we live—and to whatever extent God entrusts to us the leadership of others—let us strive to exalt our covenant Lord, Jesus Christ, and not ourselves.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 22 | Acts 2 | Jeremiah 11 | Matthew 25

At the end of Joshua 21, we read an assurance that all of Yahweh’s promises had finally been fulfilled: “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Josh. 21:45). This remarkable summary of Israel’s conquest carries two important implications.

First, this passage teaches that, technically speaking, the covenant promises Yahweh had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning the land of Canaan are here fulfilled in totality. Yahweh has officially made Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky (Deut. 10:22) and has given them the land of Canaan. From this point on, then, Israel would keep or lose the land based upon their own obedience.

Second, now that the Israelites have finished their conquest in the land, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh are finally permitted to return to their inheritances east of the Jordan. From here, we read that the eastern tribes built for themselves an altar of witness in Joshua 22:10–34—a story where both sides come off looking very good.

For the part of the ten tribes of Israel, they are admirably incensed when they mistakenly believe that the eastern tribes have already slipped into false worship by creating a false altar (Josh. 22:19). Rather than becoming defensive about the misunderstanding, the eastern tribes patiently plead their case, calling Yahweh himself as their witness (Josh. 22:22–23). The two eastern tribes had built the altar as a witness to their children after them that they did indeed have a portion with the other tribes who dwelt west of the Jordan (Josh. 22:24–29). Neither side acted from ego or pride but out of jealousy for the glory of Yahweh. They were willing to go to war if necessary (Josh. 22:12), but they rejoiced and blessed God when they discovered the truth (Josh. 22:31–34).

This is a model for the zeal that Christians ought to have for the peace and purity of the church. Sometimes, Christians fail to promote the peace of the church by fighting for the sake of fighting, making mountains out of mere altars of witness, and refusing to listen carefully to our brothers and sisters in Christ. But other times, Christians fail to protect the purity of the church by tolerating sin in our midst or backing away from controversy out of a desire for peace at any cost.

In fact, Jesus does not give us the option of erring toward either side. On the one hand, Jesus prays that his people would be unified as one church (John 17:20–23), but on the other hand, Jesus prays that we would be sanctified in God’s truth (John 17:17).

To which side do you err? What would pursuing peace and purity mean in your situation?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 20–21 | Acts 1 | Jeremiah 10 | Matthew 24

In Joshua 20–21, we read about the dwelling places assigned to the tribe of Levi. Importantly, six of the forty-eight cities that the Levites would inhabit served as cities of refuge for the manslayer who had killed a person unintentionally: Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan (Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:1–13; Josh. 20:7–8, 21:41). But beyond the cities of refuge, these chapters illustrate two important theological principles. First, the Levites lived in cities from the inheritance given to the other Israelite tribes. These forty-eight cities were technically not the inheritance of the Levites but simply the dwelling places of the Levites. Second, the reason the Levites were not given an inheritance was that Yahweh had given the tribe of Levi an even greater heritage: the priesthood (Josh. 18:7).

There is a fascinating interplay of diverse gifts and callings here in the nation of Israel. On the one hand, the priests had been given direct access to Yahweh in their holy calling to minister inside the tabernacle. But on the other hand, the other tribes of Israel had to support the Levites out of their own inheritances by giving them cities and pasturelands in which they would dwell.

In the new covenant, we have only one priest who mediates between God and us—that is, our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:14). It is Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us in the throne room of God by pleading the merits of his own blood and righteousness (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). Through the priesthood of Jesus, we have direct access to the Father (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:18).

God has appointed pastors and elders not to mediate between us and God but to lead us spiritually in the church (Tit. 1:5–9; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:1–5). We are called to support our pastors financially to give them freedom from worldly cares and avocations as they minister to us (1 Cor. 9:8–11; 1 Tim. 5:17–18), but the New Testament makes it clear that they do not have greater access to God than anyone else.

All of us stand to inherit Christ together, but God has mercifully given us elders to serve as under-shepherds of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Therefore, obey the elders God has given you and submit to them, just as the Israelites were called to do with the priests whom Yahweh had appointed from the tribe of Levi.

But, rejoice in your greater privileges: unlike the non-Levitical Israelites, you have direct access to your heavenly Father in the holy places through your great high priest. Therefore, draw near to God through Jesus Christ in one Spirit (Eph. 2:18; Heb. 10:19–25).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 18–19 | Psalm 149–150 | Jeremiah 9 | Matthew 23

For the seven remaining tribes who had yet to receive their inheritance (Josh. 18:1–7), Joshua does not divide up the land unilaterally. Instead, Joshua puts the responsibility of claiming the rest of the land on the remaining seven tribes themselves. Oddly, it sounds as though those seven tribes were not eagerly waiting to receive their inheritance but perhaps had been apathetic about it. Joshua presses them, saying, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?” (Josh. 18:3).

So, Joshua commands those remaining tribes to send three men from each tribe to survey the land and to divide it for themselves into seven portions. Then, Joshua casts lots to assign those portions of the land to their respective tribes (Josh. 18:3–7). And finally, Joshua himself receives his special portion of the inheritance among the rest of his tribe of Ephraim for his faithful, courageous leadership of Israel these years (Josh. 19:49–50).

This subject of Israel’s inheritance can strike modern Christians as irrelevant to our own lives, since the New Testament shifts the focus away from real estate in the Middle East onto Jesus Christ himself. What, then, should we take away from these lengthy passages regarding Israel’s inheritance that we have been reading for the past few days?

First, we must understand that the Promised Land was always a shadow of Christ himself. In fact, the New Testament is full of discussions about the inheritance we stand to receive, since as the children of God we have been made “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Typologically, the Promised Land teaches us about what it means to inherit Christ.

But second, we should learn from the sluggishness of the remaining seven tribes. It is easy to forget about the eternal weight of glory when we become caught up in the busyness of our day-to-day tasks. Or, we can too easily set our hopes on other prizes in life—relationships, riches, significance, or power—which distract us from seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

One of the best ways to fix our hearts on Christ, then, is to survey him. Just as the Israelites surveyed the entire Promised Land to stake out their claim, let us survey the entire glory of Christ. Seek out the mountains of his righteousness (Ps. 36:6) and the lilies of his valleys (Song 2:1). Drink from his rivers of living waters (John 7:37–38), and relish the sweet honey of his word (Ps. 19:10). Study Christ. Know Christ. Delight in Christ.

How long will you put off going in to take possession of Jesus Christ himself, whom Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has graciously given to you?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 16–17 | Psalm 148 | Jeremiah 8 | Matthew 22

In Joshua 16–17, the apportionment of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel continues. In Joshua 15, Judah had received their inheritance, and now in Joshua 16–17, we read about the inheritance of the two half-tribes descended from Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. While all of the other tribes are named after the direct descendants of Jacob, the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim are named after Jacob’s grandchildren. As you may recall, Jacob had adopted Joseph’s two sons as his own in order for Manasseh and Ephraim to each receive an entire portion of Jacob’s inheritance, rather than dividing Joseph’s single portion of Jacob’s inheritance (Gen. 48:5–7).

This story is behind the question of the two tribes of Joseph in Joshua 17:14: “Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, ‘Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the LORD has blessed me?’” If we don’t know the backstory, we might read this and think the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim were simply being greedy and selfish, going behind the backs of the other tribes to ask for a special blessing. But in fact, the tribes of Joseph were asking for the double blessing they had originally been promised by Jacob himself.

Joshua’s response, however, is fascinating. Rather than simply giving the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh another, conquered portion of the land, Joshua points them to the land they have already been given and urges them to clear the forests in the hill country of Ephraim and to drive out the remaining Canaanites from those regions (Josh. 17:15, 18). But sadly, the tribes of Joseph do not finish the conquest and instead allow Canaanites to continue living in their land (Josh. 16:10, 17:12).

Brothers and sisters, through this story, Jesus calls us to complete the conquest. He has inherited all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), but he must reign in order to put every enemy under his feet (1 Cor. 15:24–28). Toward this end, he has established his church on the earth to be the place where his reign and rule flourishes. In his church, Jesus is building his kingdom—a kingdom against which the gates of hell cannot prevail (Matt. 16:18).

But Jesus calls for the patient endurance of his saints (Rev. 14:12). Let us press on in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, armed with the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10–20), doing the work that our heavenly Father has called us to do as Jesus builds his kingdom on earth. Do not leave the conquest unfinished, but press on until the day that Jesus Christ appears with his army of saints to bring the war to its end.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 14–15 | Psalm 146–147 | Jeremiah 7 | Matthew 21

The allotment of the inheritance in the land west of the Jordan begins, rightfully, with Caleb. Caleb and Joshua had been the only two spies to enter the Promised Land and return with a good report. At that point, forty-five years ago when Caleb had been only forty years old (Josh. 14:7, 10), Caleb pleaded with the people to enter into the land. Because of Caleb’s whole-hearted obedience to Yahweh, he receives the land of Hebron (Josh. 14:13–15).

Now, Caleb is from the tribe of Judah, and after he receives his own inheritance, the rest of the tribe of Judah receives the first apportionment of the land before all the other tribes. Since the tribe of Judah plays an incredibly important role in the whole story of the Bible—so much so that our Lord Jesus descends from this tribe—it is valuable at this point to review some of Judah’s history.

The man Judah, after whom the tribe was named, had been an absolute scoundrel. In Genesis 38, he had hired Tamar, his daughter-in-law, the widow of his dead sons, as a prostitute because he did not recognize her. But as Judah matured—and as God apparently worked on his heart—he eventually offered himself as a substitute in Egypt to protect his younger brother from being held prisoner (Gen. 44:18–34). Then, on his deathbed, Judah’s father, Jacob, had prophesied that the scepter—that is, the kingship—would never depart from Judah (Gen. 49:10).

In the book of Numbers, Judah is the first tribe named in the arrangement of the camp, with the choicest location in the camp, on the side of the entrance of the tabernacle (Num. 2:3). Then, when Israel broke camp, Judah set out first to lead the other tribes (Num. 10:14). All of this is setting up the story for the rise of David, a son of Judah, who would become the great king from whose family the scepter would never depart (2 Chron. 7:18).

So, when the Apostle John weeps in despair during a vision of the throne room in heaven at the thought that the world might never be put to right since no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could be found to open the scroll, one of the elders reminds him of the story, saying, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Rev. 5:5).

Brothers and sisters, our hope is found neither in Judah nor Caleb, nor even David, but rather in the greater Son of the tribe of Judah who conquered all the powers of hell and the curse of sin and death through his own life, death, and resurrection. Therefore, weep no more.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.