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Writing to Hebrews, James does not present a balanced approach to wealth. Rather he simply condemns its unjust accumulation and use. Since God uses wealth to motivate us, Proverbs presents both sides of wealth. James' advice on healing mirrors that of the Great Commission.

In the world as we know it, there are great spiritual forces contending for human worship and dominance. In this, the world is a battleground. On side is YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. On the other side is everything else. While the forces on the other side may offer many temptations, their goal is ultimately our destruction. God, on the other hand, loves us and wants us to live and flourish. Further, the census in the wilderness, is taken by name. He cares for each of us as individuals known to Him by name.

During the time before His crucifixion, Y'shua spent considerable effort contending with the Pharisees about their interpretation of God's law as given by Moses. In these encounters, there are several key phrases: "You have heard it said..." and "It is written..." What to these phrases signify and what does that mean to us today?

Every six years God promises a bumper crop so Israel will let the land have a sabbath in the seventh year. Obeying this command requires no faith - the farmer can see the sixth year bounty. If he plants on the seventh year, he is taking more than God is offering. Such ill-gotten wealth creates all sorts of societal problems.

James talks about pride in the context of wealth, slander and boasting. Those who live for their wealth will find no peace and that wealth finally desserts them. Those who slander others will find themselves shunned. Those who boast of their plans may find that God has other plans for them.

In Scripture there are three distinct voices: the king, the priest and the prophet. The king speaks of the wisdom people have learned over the centuries of human existence. The priest speaks of the things that have been revealed to man by God. The prophet speaks for God when a society has drifted away from God's plan. Y'shua embodies all three roles and speaks with each of the three voices at different times. It is important to determine which voice He is using in each situation. Without that understanding one may misinterpret what He is saying.

The tongue is both hidden and visible. It serves as the gateway for the things of the heart to be revealed. When governed by wisdom, it promotes societal well being. When the heart is wicked or foolish, it can cause great harm.

Leviticus is the center of the Torah and, since it describes how God is to be approached and worshiped, it is the most important of the books in the TANAK. In Leviticus 19 and 20 God defines how Israel is to behave as a holy people in the presence of a holy God. This behavior is to the benefit of the nation. They will be blessed if they follow God's instructions. More important, however, is that Israel's holiness is important to God's purposes. When they follow His laws, they become ambassadors of His goodness.

David's reign comes to an end. Bathsheba short circuits Adonijah's attempt to succeed his father and David anoints Solomon. David also alerts his son to a list of people to either watch or execute because they will be a threat to his reign.

James writes of unrighteous partiality based on perceived wealth. In God's eyes, a faithful poor person is preferred over an unrighteous wealthy one. He then goes on to speak of the proper attitude toward works., basically saying that a profession of faith that does not translate into good works is in vain.

In the sermon on the plain, Y'shua is speaking to His disciples and explaining what He expects of them. He describes His own character as the Lamb and tells them to emulate that. He also tells them that whatever standard they use with others will be applied to them and that, if they are successful, they will have a great reward.

Toward the end of his life David decided to number the men in his kingdom. Joab thought that was a bad idea but was overruled. God was displeased with David's hubris and sent a plague upon Israel. This incident lead to the purchase of a threshing floor that would become the site of the Temple.

Attributed to the brother of Y'shua, James focuses on practical application of the Word of God to a believer's life. In chapter 1, he starts with a paraphrase of Proverbs 2 - how to seek God's wisdom - and finishes with an admonition that the believer should put God's Word into practice or risk becoming futile in his religion.

During the dedication of the Tabernacle, Nadab and Abihu died when they brought unauthorized fire before the Lord. Despite an abundance of speculation as to their motivation, that is not what is important here. Rather, the problem is that they tried to introduce something common into holy space. That was not permitted.

After putting down the rebellion of his son, David had the task of restoring and reuniting the kingdom. In this process he acted with his usual political skill. He refrained from acting in anger and taking vengeance upon those who sided with Absalom.

Peter closes out his letter with an exhortation not to be led astray by scoffers who mock the belief that Christ will return and establish His reign of righteousness. He assures his readers that, just as God destroyed the previous creation with a flood, He will destroy the present one by fire and create a new heaven and earth.

At Passover we remember and celebrate the birth of God's firstborn; when the Hebrews went out through the bloody door, Israel was born. Today there are powerful forces seeking to eradicate Judaism and Christianity from the world and replace it with Islam or some secular form of collectivism. Instead of uniting to resist, Christians are fragmented and arguing. One of the wedge issues splitting us is the question of who are the Jews and what is Israel.

Bathsheba's grandfather, Ahithophel, advised Absalom to pursue David immediately. When that advice was not followed, the rebellion was essentially lost. Although David prevailed, the death of his son was devastating. Especially since he knew that the whole thing was his own fault.

After having instructed his readers on the way to godliness, Peter switches to warning them about false prophets and teachers. These, he says, will preach sensuality which will be attractive to those who are unaware or are so inclined. Those who follow such teachers will wind up worse off than if they had never know Christ.

When Job is suffering, his three friends keep accusing him of hidden sin for which he is being punished. His response is that they have the platitudes correct but that is not his situation and those platitudes don't apply. With the rise of AI people are turning to chatbots for answers to all sorts of questions. It is inevitable that some of those questions will be spiritual. The very grave danger is that such people will see the bot as an intermediary between themselves and God. That is precisely the sin that Israel committed in the wilderness with the Golden Calf.

After his adultery with Bathsheba, God cursed David saying that evil would come upon him from his own family. David's son Absalom would be the vehicle for the outworking of that curse.

1 Peter closes with an exhortation to good behavior especially in the face of worldly persecution. 2 Peter opens with the description of a process or algorithm for increasing ones fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God.

Leviticus is the central book of the Torah and as such is arguably the most important. This is where God tells humanity how He wants to be approached and how we safely can interact with Him. The book begins with sacrifice. Contrary to the perception of many, most of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle had nothing to do with sin. Those that did concern sin only covered unintentional sins. As such they do not conflict with the work of Christ in any way.

David's firstborn son, Amnon, raped his half sister Tamar. Tamar's brother Absalom secretly planned vengeance. As prophesied by Nathan, this began a string of tragedies within David's family.

Peter exhorts his readers to good conduct, first in the family, then in the exile community and finally in society at large. This is to serve several purposes. First, because it is pleasing to God. Then that it will strengthen the family and the exiles. A bad example will also hinder the spread of the Gospel. Finally, it is the best defense against persecution. Although persecution may come, it is best not to deserve it.

Christians today do not typically observe Shabbat, believing that everything changed after the Resurrection. Some, citing Colossians 2, assert that it was nailed to the cross along with the rest of the law. Is this correct? If not, does it really matter?

There is more to the story of David and Bathsheba than you were probably taught in Sunday school. This is a complex story of court politics which will have ramifications for the remainder of David's reign.

A popular web site had an article accusing Messianics of being 'Judaizers' and heretics. The article asserted that one did not have to become a Jew to enter the Kingdom of God - which is absolutely true. It also said that the Torah had been abrogated by the Messiah - which is absolutely false. That assertion is based on a misreading of Colossians 2.

In making the Golden Calf, Israel violated one of God's clearest boundaries. Only Moses' intervention prevented their immediate destruction. The human impulses that led Israel to worship idols have not gone away; they are still very much active. The vehicle has changed but the underlying urge to get a "better deal" than God says is proper has not changed. Going to an illicit spiritual relationship may provide short term satisfaction, but the end is misery and death.

Having gotten Israel united, David proceeded to subdue the surrounding nations. At his height David's realm extended from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River. With the exceptions of the Philistine enclave on the southern coast and Phoenicians in Tyre and Sidon Israel held sway over the entire extent of God's promise to Abraham.

Peter assures his readers that they have not been cast off by Christ and that they will be living stones in the edifice of which Christ is the cornerstone. In this he urges them to be good citizens of the places where they are exiles; both for their own good and as a witness for the Gospel.

In Exodus, Israel is told to crush olives to make oil for the light. In life adversity, being crushed, is never to be desired even though it happens to everyone in varying degrees. When the heroes of the Bible, Job, Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, Y'shua, Paul are crushed, they respond by bringing light into the world. The question they ask when faced with adversity is not, "Why me?" Rather it is "What do I do now?"

After the assassination of Ishbosheth David was able to unite all Israel under his reign and move his throne to Jerusalem. When he tried to bring the Ark into Jerusalem, he did not follow God's instructions as given in the Torah. This error cost Uzzah his life.

Peter is writing to Hebrew exiles north of Israel in the Black Sea region. He assures them that they have an inheritance that for now is in Heaven but will be possessed at the coming of Christ. He also says that the trials that they are currently experiencing are to prove their faith.

In Luke 3, when baptizing in the wilderness, John addressed those coming to him as a brood of vipers; especially those who had no intention of repenting of their sins. Religious ritual without the intention of a behavior change is futile. True repentance is measured by the fruit that it produces.

With Saul's death, David was free to begin the process of becoming king. He made a number of deft political moves that first got him installed as king over Judah ruling from Hebron. In the north, Abner had installed Ish-botheth as king to replace his father Saul. Ish-bosheth, however, was not nearly so astute as was David. He alienated Abner, and so began David's moves to consolidate the nation under his reign.

Although mostly famous for the prophet being swallowed by a fish, Jonah is about the tension between justice and mercy. Jonah wants strict justice for Nineveh and fears that God will change His mind and extend them mercy. That, indeed, is what happens and so Jonah asks God to take his life. God explains things to him through the vehicle of a tree and a worm.

Unbelievers often mock Scripture because of the instructions about how to manage slavery. Slavery has always existed and continues to exist world wide today. For example prisoners in the county jail are forced to mop the floors, wash the dishes, collect trash along the roads, etc. They are, in fact, slaves for the duration of their sentence. What God gives in Torah are rules to prevent unnecessarily harsh conditions for those who are enslaved.

Before his final battle with the Philistines, Saul had lost all contact with God. In desperation, he consulted a necromancer who channeled the ghost of Samuel who predicted Saul's defeat and death. David meanwhile was rejected when he tried to join the Philistine army fighting against Israel. This was quite providential because he would have had a very difficult time uniting Israel under his reign had he sided with their enemies.

In defending his ministry, Paul mentions a thorn in his flesh that God has not seen fit to remove. This was almost surely the 'super apostles' who have been leading astray the gentiles that Paul has brought into the Kingdom. He also says he intends to visit Corinth again and hopes that he will not have to use the authority given to him by Christ to chasten the Corinthians.

There is a liberal mantra that you cannot legislate morality. That is precisely what God did do at Sinai. What He did not do was force a heart change in the Israelite people. The Torah codified God's vision of a moral society. That vision has not wavered, Christ did not change it. Just like the Pharisees, the church today has drifted away from God's design as presented in the Torah. We can expect pretty much the same results.

While evading Saul, David and his men lived by raiding. In this he spared Israelites and even offered them protection from rival tribes. This forms the background for his marriage to Abigail. When her husband, the fool, refused to let David and his men share in a feast, David vowed to kill him and his men to avenge the insult. Abigail's quick action forestalled that event and when Nabal died, David married her. After David again spared Saul, he had had enough dodging and moved his operations out of Judah and into Philistia.

There seem to have been two question raised about Paul's qualifications and ministry. The first concerned the difference between Paul's letters and his demeanor in person. This might be cause to wonder if it was really Paul who had written the letters. The second concerned his qualifications. This may mean that the problem in Corinth was similar to that in Galatia where Messianic Pharisees were attempting to impose Talmudic rules on the gentiles.

Water figures prominently in Exodus and, indeed in the whole Bible. Beginning with crossing the Red Sea where the nation Israel is born and Egypt dies, the story goes to bitter water, then twelve springs then water from the rock and finally to Moses striking the rock and being denied entry into the Land. God uses water both to bring forth life and to destroy. In Exodus water is used to outline the entire plan of salvation for the whole world.

Saul's paranoia was so severe that his own people could see it. He accused the priests of conspiring with David against him and ordered them killed. The Israelites would not do it, so it fell to an Edomite. David had to constantly stay on the move in southern Judah to avoid being trapped and killed by Saul. Yet for all that, when presented with the opportunity to kill Saul as he was relieving himself in a cave, David did not raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. If he could stay alive, that decision would pay dividends when David united the nation after Saul's death.

Paul encourages the Corinthians' generosity in setting aside an offering of grain to be sent to relieve a famine in Jerusalem. In that process he takes great pains to let them know that there will be impartial witnesses accompanying the shipment.

In 1873 Horatio Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of himself to England. Their ship was struck by another and his daughters were all killed. As he crossed the Atlantic himself, he wrote the words to the hymn. This a masterpiece of beauty and sound, sturdy theology. The lessons are very apt for today's climate in the west.

As David continued to succeed in all that he did, Saul became increasingly paranoid and unstable. What began as throwing a spear at David on impulse changed into an official condemnation and edict that David be murdered. In this, Saul's own children sided with David and helped him escape. Thus began David's time in exile and the wilderness.

Paul speaks of the day to come when we will shed our earthly tent and enter a heavenly building. It is there that all of God's promises to those who trust in His Son will be fulfilled. In the mean while, we live through the trials inherent in the earthly tent, working to spread the news of His Kingdom and confident that eternal life awaits.

The Egyptian magicians are able to duplicate the first two of God's plagues, water into blood and frogs. When they are unable to produce gnats, they proclaimed that "This is the finger of God". This prefigures a nineteenth century intellectual hubris that only the things that science could not explain need be attributed to God. God responded to the Egyptians with satire - so also with the nineteenth century. (Idea from Rabbi Sacks.)

The story of David's victory over the giant Goliath is well known to every Sunday school student. What is not so widely known is that, in addition to his spiritual advantage, David also had the tactical advantage.