One of the most important questions to ask while studying a biblical text is: why is this written the way it’s written? In other words: why did the author say this and why did he say it like this and not like that? The reason this question is so important is because...
The vision in Daniel 8 has intrigued Bible students for centuries. Much has been written on the identity of the little horn and the meaning of the 2300 evening-mornings. While these issues are certainly important, I want to briefly draw attention to an aspect that to...
What makes the biblical texts so fascinating is – among other things – the fact that they are characterized by great intentionality. Every word and phrase is there for a reason and has been purposefully placed in a certain position in the text. This is true not only...
If Jesus was standing in front of you today and asked you the question: What do you want me to do for you? what would your answer be? In the gospel of Mark Jesus asks this very question twice and both questions are interestingly found in close proximity to each other...
You may have noticed that, in contrast to many modern authors, the biblical writers use words very economically. The biblical narratives, for example, do not contain exhaustive reports of the events they describe. Instead, the author has made a very deliberate...
Sometimes you can study a biblical text for a long time and still miss the significance of a certain detail. This happened to me regarding Jacob’s wrestling match in Gen 32. I had preached on this story for years. I thought I knew the story. Yet I never recognized the...