The third book of the Torah or Pentateuch is Leviticus. The name of the book in English is from the Greek leuitikon, which associates the book with the priestly tribe of Levi. The Hebrew title for the book is arqyw, “And He called,” which is how the book begins (Leviticus 1:1).
Continue readingThe second book of the Torah or Pentateuch is Exodus. The name of the book in English is from the Greek exodov, which means “going out.” The Hebrew title for the book is twms, “Names,” derived from the opening phrase of the book, “Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt…” (Exodus 1:1).
Continue readingThe first five books of the Bible are called the Law or Torah (instruction). They are also known as the Pentateuch, which literally means “five volumes.” The first in this series of books is Genesis, a name which comes from the Septuagint (Greek) translation of Genesis 2:4, “This is the book of the generation (genesewv) of heaven and earth…” The word means “creation or generation.”1 The Hebrew name for the book is “Bereshit,” which is the opening word, “beginning.”
Continue readingby William J. Stewart
…Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.’ (Exodus 5:1-2)
Ignorant of the power of the God of Israel, and bound up in his own arrogance, Pharaoh refused to release the children of Israel. He was the king of Egypt, considered by all to be the god of the land. He was Pharaoh (phe’ rah—the sun). He owned all the land of Egypt, all the flocks and herds of Egypt, all the people of Egypt. Why he heed the feeble God of an enslaved people?
Continue readingby William J. Stewart
Attendance is one of those awkward topics to preach on. It is not that the Bible is unclean, nor that it is a difficult topic to speak on, but often, those who are needing to hear such a lesson are not in attendance. Let us consider today some things regarding the need to attend the assembly.
Continue readingby William J. Stewart
After sharing the Passover with His disciples (Luke 22:15) in which He instituted the Lord’s Supper, a memorial of His impending death at Calvary (Luke 22:19-20), Jesus and His disciples departed the upper room in Jerusalem and made their way to the Mount of Olives. On this short hike from the city to the garden (compare Matthew 26:30; Luke 22:39) Jesus revealed to the eleven, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night” (Mark 14:27). This had to be a difficult thing to hear since they had left all to walk with Jesus. In fact, just before saying this, He acknowledged, “…you are those who have continued with Me in My trials” (Luke 22:28). But soon their devotion would fail.
Continue readingby William J. Stewart
Three months after leaving Egypt, the Hebrews came to Mount Sinai, where God would give His Law to them. He spoke to all the people from the top of Mount Sinai, revealing His covenant with Israel. Then He called Moses to come up the mount so He might give him the tablets of stone on which the Law would be written (Exodus 24:12). The next several chapters reveal details of the Law of Moses.
Continue readingby William J. Stewart
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a huge gold statue of himself. Throughout the land, a proclamation was made, that all people should fall down and worship the image when they heard the symphony of music. The warning was given,
Continue reading…whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3:6).
William J. Stewart
After He was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Jewish authorities, the Lord was ridiculed and tortured throughout the night. When the morning came, they took Him to Pilate, expecting the governor to put Jesus to death. Pilate was not as accommodating as the Jewish leaders expected; in fact, he declared, “I find no fault in Him” (John 18:38; 19:4, 6).
Pilate asked His accusers what He had done but they would not respond. They simply said:
Continue readingIf He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you. (John 18:30)
William J. Stewart
A visitor to our web site asked:
The Sabbath was given at creation Genesis 2:2-3 before God gave Moses the 10 commandments so why don’t the church keep the Sabbath?
Was the Sabbath really given at creation? Notice:
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