As our story opens, Israel is not at peace. In fact, they are being so oppressed they are hiding in caves. Little wonder that our hero, Gideon, voices that age-old…
Let’s put this in context. The Israelites has already experienced a miraculous escape through the Red Sea. They had already seen God turn bitter water sweet. Only a short time…
I cannot even begin to tell you how many times it’s happened to me. I attend a spiritual retreat, or a weekend of immersion in Scriptures, and come away on…
“He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the LORD [YHWH] your God [Elohim] and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep…
We all know the story. Abraham has finally, at the age of 100, had the son God promised to him so many years before. It had been a long, long…
The idea of a God who is all-seeing is common in Scripture, but the name El Roi is used only one time, and that by Hagar. Remember that Sarai tried…
Can you ever know enough about God? In his book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit, Francis Chan asks this provocative question: “Is it possible to get enough or even too much God? Is there a point when a person can be satisfied with the amount of intimacy, knowledge, and power of God he or she experiences?”[1] He responds to his own question by adding, “I don’t see how there can be, because doesn’t every encounter with God only cause us to thirst for Him more?”
What does the phrase El Olam mean? In Psalm 90:1-2, it says Lord [Adonai], you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you…
We learn of the name El Elyon in Genesis 14. The chapter opens with 9 kings engaging in battle—four against five. These are kings of city-states, meaning “each man was like the mayor of a great city, ruling over those within his walled city as well as those in the immediately surrounding area.”
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord [YHWH] appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” (Genesis 17:1-2)