Scripture: "One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, 'Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!' That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red). Jacob said, 'Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.'...
Scripture: "And Samuel told him, ;When you started out in this, you were nothing—and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel. Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, ‘Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban....
Scripture: "James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. 'Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.' 'What is it? I’ll see what I can do.' 'Arrange it,' they said, 'so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us...
Scripture: "Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water with it. The river divided and the two men walked through on dry land. When they reached the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, 'What can I do for you before I’m taken from you? Ask anything.' Elisha said,...
Scripture: "David said to Solomon, 'I wanted in the worst way to build a sanctuary to honor my God. But God prevented me, saying, ‘You’ve killed too many people, fought too many wars. You are not the one to honor me by building a sanctuary—you’ve been responsible for too much killing, too much...
Scripture: "The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in...
Scripture: "The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: 'You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy...
Scripture: "The king acted immediately, assembling all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then the king proceeded to The Temple of God, bringing everyone in his train—priests and prophets and people ranging from the famous to the unknown. Then he read out publicly everything written in the Book of the Covenant...
Scripture: "In this way, King Hezekiah handled the distribution throughout all Judah, doing what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God...
Scripture: “'Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that’s what I had in mind for you.' But I said, 'Hold it, Master God! Look at me. I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!'...
Scripture: "But they, our ancestors, were arrogant; bullheaded, they wouldn’t obey your commands. They turned a deaf ear, they refuse to remember the miracles you had done for them; they turned stubborn, got it into their head to return to their Egyptian slavery. And you, a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, incredibly patient, with tons of...
Scripture: "'Come on,' said the Philistine. 'I’ll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I’ll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice.' David answered, 'You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom...