Resolve

July 11, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

The Babylonians came tearing through Israel. They conquered cities, pulled apart families, and took over the land. Eventually they made it to Israel’s pride and joy: Jerusalem. The king of Babylon, the mighty Nebuchadnezzar, led a full-scale assault of the city. He laid siege to it, hoping to intimidate and starve its inhabitants into submission.

Eventually, the king of Judah, a guy named Jehoiakim, gave up. He relented and opened the city to the invaders. The Babylonians always took the best things back with them. They raided Jerusalem, sacked the city, and looted its goods. They even walked into the temple of Israel’s God and took some of the golden vessels. Having gathered the most valuable items around, the king headed back to Babylon.

But Nebuchadnezzar left someone behind: Ashpenaz.

I Cannot Do It

May 29, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

I love the Old Testament story of Joseph. Joseph's story is in Genesis 37-50, and it's a fascinating read of family, jealousy, hardship, forgiveness, and God's will. But there is one moment right in the middle of the story that has always intrigued me. Do you ever read something in Scripture and think, "That's not what I would do?" This is one of those moments.

In order to drop into the middle of Joseph's story, we've have to understand what has happened up to that point. Joseph was the son of his father's favorite wife, so naturally, he was the favorite son. If you have siblings, you've probably heard your parents say that they love you all the same. This wasn't really the case in Joseph's family. Joseph was the favorite, and everybody knew it.

Surprise

May 08, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

As a kid, I loved the story of Jericho because we got to yell in church. Usually, we would build a wall with those cardboard bricks and march around it, pretending to be Israelites. If you were really lucky, you were selected to act as the wrath of God and knock down the wall!

We may remember this story with nostalgia, but I don't think we really think much about how crazy it was. God gave Israel quite the battle plan. There wasn't supposed to be any fighting at all. After the people marched around the city and shouted a great shout, the walls would come a'tumblin down.