Sorrow and Hope

Commentary

Prophets, Consequences, Widows and God

As I read through the Bible this year, I am seeking to better understand God and His character. What does He love? What does He hate? What is important to Him? How does He respond? As you read Isaiah, keep these questions in mind. Jesus (Yeshua) told us to love God with all our heart,

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The Yoke of the Kingdom

Have you ever experienced plowing behind a team of oxen? While living in Africa for many years, I was blessed to get plenty of practice in this ancient farming method. At first it seems like a great deal of hard work. The tendency is to try using your own strength to keep the blade of

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Ezra and Restoration: The Land, the People and the Bible 

The book of Ezra resounds with the crucial concept and powerful truth of restoration. The Hebrew word for “restore” is shuv, which means to return to a prior state, restore to a former condition or turn back. It may entail the actual physical action of turning or refer to spiritually turning from evil to God.

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The Ten Lost Tribes

Who Are the Jewish People? One way of robbing modern-day Israel is to deny that it is the true Israel of the Bible. Called Replacement Theology, this theory transfers all the promises made to Israel in the Tanakh (OT) to the Church, claiming that the Church displaces Israel in the economy of God. How strange

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Joshua and Deborah: A Tale of Two Heroes

True heroes are hard to come by nowadays. We often tend to elevate sports figures, media personalities or Hollywood stars to hero status, just because they’re beautiful, famous or particularly good at something. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hero as “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities” and “one who shows great courage.” If

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Are the Saudis Trading ‘Palestine’ for Israel?

The State of Palestine without Jerusalem. It was bold. It was shocking. And it reportedly was suggested by the Saudis. The Kingdom that is home to the two holiest sites in Islam and even calls its king the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” was apparently willing to drop the demand that the Dome of

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From North Korea with Hate–Nuclear Program Threatens Israel Too

  North Korea tested a nuclear weapon on September 3rd that literally shook the region. The United States Geological Survey, a government entity that measures earthquakes, reported on their website a “possible explosion” measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale. They reported the rumble was felt by persons in China, Russia and Japan. And symbolically, the

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The Arabs Who Stand with Israel

When terror strikes, international leaders and world bodies are known to come alongside the city, nation or people torn apart by hate-driven violence. For the victims, they pledge sympathy and solidarity; for the perpetrators, scorn and fury. The Temple Mount terror attack on Friday morning, 14 July, was no different. As the people of Israel

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Malicious Opportunity, Iran Using Syrian War to Expand Empire

Iran and Syria have long been allies in the fight against Israel and the West, with Iran generally the more powerful benefactor in the relationship. But the civil war in Syria—and Iran’s military involvement there—has given Iran the opportunity to not just help their ally, but to use them as a testing ground for a

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To Deal or Not to Deal, the Trump Question for Israel

A quiet chuckle and a smile from Donald Trump stood out during his first face-to-face press conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in February. Of course, laughter can be the joint expression of joy or a false effort to appear humored—and relationships between Israel and the United States have sometimes felt like just that dichotomy

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