A Thorn Between The Roses Esther Jonah And Ruth

Queen. Preacher. Pagan. As characters with Biblical biographies, these three Esther, Jonah, and Ruth stand alone. Although many other lives are narrated throughout the Bible, only the life stories of these three are recounted in books named for them. Esther became a queen because she was beautiful. After the pagan king fired the previous queen , he went looking for a replacement. Physical beauty was the sole criterion, and Esther the Jewess was selected. Her story of humility, fear, prayer, courage, and obedience never mentions the name of God. Jonah, a Jewish prophet, experienced an ongoing tug-of-war with God. His angry, whining, argumentative personality overshadows the Ninevites acceptance of the God he eventually introduced them to. Ruth was not Jewish. She was a Moabite. But Naomis son had married her, and after they were both widowed and Naomi decided to return to her home in Bethlehem, Ruth insisted on accompanying her. Ruth adapted to Jewish laws and customs, believed in the God of Naomi, and worked diligently to keep them both alive. God uses us also, in spite of our gifts and our foibles, our looks and our dispositions, our fears and our circumstances, to accomplish His sovereign will.

Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.

365 Gospel-Centered Devotions for the Whole Year Mornings can be tough. Sometimes, a hearty breakfast and strong cup of coffee just aren’t enough. Offering more than a rush of caffeine, best-selling author Paul David Tripp wants to energize you with the most potent encouragement imaginable: the gospel. Forget “behavior modification” or feel-good aphorisms. Tripp knows that what we really need is an encounter with the living God. Then we’ll be prepared to trust in God’s goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory each and every day.

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.