The Assyrian kingdom emerged as the dominant political and military power in the ancient Near East toward the end of the tenth century BC, shortly after the division of Israel into the northern kingdom, which retained the name of Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah. For the next three centuries,Continue Reading
THE HARSHEST criticism of Israel we’ve encountered so far is the focus of this week’s study. God calls the people of Judah a prostitute — except that prostitutes get paid.Continue Reading
THE HEARTBREAK of Jeremiah at the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem is evident in this week’s reading: My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart!Continue Reading
YOU’D THINK that prophets of Yahweh during the reign of good king Josiah would have been a little more upbeat. Not so much.Continue Reading
JOSIAH IS remembered as one of the best kings of the House of David. But even though his reforms brought Judah back to the Lord, the sins of his grandfather, Manasseh, had been so great that God only delayed His punishment on the kingdom of Judah until after Josiah’s death.Continue Reading
THE DESTRUCTION of Assyria and the prophetic implications of its destruction are the focus of this week’s study.Continue Reading
THE SCENE shifts from Isaiah’s prophecies of imminent invasion by Assyria to looking ahead to the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon. At the heart of it all is God’s plan to restore the fortunes of His people, Israel.Continue Reading
GOD CAN deliver us in the face of overwhelming odds. We discuss two examples from the book of Isaiah this week–the miraculous healing of Hezekiah, marked by the backwards movement of the sundial’s shadow, and the deliverance of Jerusalem from the unstoppable might of the Assyrian army.Continue Reading
This week, we read Hosea’s prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel, a final warning that was fulfilled when Assyria destroyed Samaria in 722 B.C.Continue Reading
HISTORY, PROPHECY, and a glimpse of a future war in heaven — what more could we pack into this week’s Bible study?Continue Reading