In the book of Esther, God is never mentioned, named, or prayed to. But despite this fact, God is always working to turn the plans of the enemy upside down. God's people are enslaved to the Persian Empire and under threat from its genocidal Prime Minister, Haman. Israel's best hope is in the rela...

Galatians addresses the sensitive and complex issue of the role Old Testament Law plays in salvation, specifically regarding circumcision. Paul's main goal in his letter to the Galatians is to defend salvation by faith in Jesus, not by works of the Law. But in order to follow his argument and und...

Song of Songs tells a story about love, longing, passion, and waiting through a collection of songs about a bride and a groom. People often think this book is only about sexual intimacy or only a metaphor for our relationship with God. The beauty of this song, and why it is the called the greates...

The book of Judges is a book of saviors and of judgments. Israel's leaders were supposed to save Israel from their sinful enemies in the Promised Land. But as the book goes on Israel's saviors, and Israel herself, get worse and worse. Ultimately, these saviors are ironic judgments. They are Israe...

The Gospel of John shows us many of Jesus' signs. These signs are meant to point us to who Jesus is so that we might believe. Whether it is turning water to wine or turning over tables in the Temple, everything John shows Jesus doing is meant to help us believe that Jesus is the Son of God who di...

2 Corinthians shows how God's strength is made perfect in weakness. This is seen most clearly in Paul's dealings with the so-called "Super Apostles" that had taken over leadership of the church he planted in Corinth. The Super Apostles boasted in their abilities, connections, and power. But Paul ...

Deuteronomy tells the story of Israel's inability to obey God's Law. This disobedience leads to death, exile, and hopelessness. But since Jesus keeps the whole Law for us, we can be free from death and enter into eternal life with him. Beyond this, Jesus writes the Law on our hearts by his Spirit...

In 1 Corinthians, Paul applies the Gospel to the sin, conflicts, and problems within the church at Corinth. Many of these problems stemmed from the Greek's views about wisdom, which informed many of their moral and religious decisions. The Gospel of Jesus counteracts the world's wisdom because Je...

Numbers demonstrates what it looks like to get trapped in the cycle of sin. Whether it was Israel in the wilderness or us in the modern city, we all disobey and are headed toward punishment. Only Jesus can break the cycle of sin, intercede for us, and bring us out of the wilderness to himself.

Luke's Gospel emphasizes Jesus' care for the marginalized. Jesus' compassion for the poor, captive, oppressed, and blind fulfills scriptures about the final deliverance God will bring to all who are in need. But people couldn't see it. That is because they, like all of us, were spiritually blind....

The book of Ruth is a love story between Ruth and Naomi, but even more importantly it's a story about God's loyal love for his people. Ruth was written when there was no king in Israel, during the evil and chaotic time of the Judges. But in the middle of the chaos, God provides not only food and ...

God and Israel's relationship began like a marriage. God vowed to be faithful, and Israel promised to be lovingly his.

But Israel repeatedly broke her marriage vows. She sacrificed to false gods; she even killed her own children in their rituals. Jeremiah called Israel a whore for this idolatry....

Romans is one of the most famous, quoted, and dearly loved books in the whole Bible. This may be because it contains some of the clearest and strong statements of the Gospel we have in Scripture. But other parts of Romans, and how it all fits together, can be difficult to follow. That is because ...

The Book of Matthew shows us how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. Picturing the Old Testament like a treasure chest that contains old and new treasure, Matthew helps us see that there is a new treasure hidden in scripture, and it is Jesus.

What is the meaning of life? Ecclesiastes asks this and other difficult questions but is unique in the way it answers them. The author of Ecclesiastes aims to show us how vain life "under the sun" is, despite anyone's most lofty attempts to make it meaningful. The only solution Ecclesiastes offer...

Exodus helps us answer the question, "Who is God?" What we find is that God is the God who shows up and saves. This is most fully achieved in the person of Jesus, who showed up in human form to offer salvation.

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In the aftermath of Jesus' crucifixion, people were wondering how Jesus could have been the promised Messiah if he died on a cross. Mark answers this question by showing how everything Jesus did in his life prepares us for and informs us about his death. The Gospel of Mark seeks to answer the que...

The book of Acts details the birth and spread of the church. But there is something deeply significant in the way it is laid out and described. Acts shows the Gospel going to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. This growth, from the center out, is what was supposed to...

Joshua is about how we can live with God again. Israel's ancestral land has been taken over by the Canaanites. But God appoints Joshua to lead his people back onto their land and into battle. This meant the Canaanites' destruction by Joshua's sword, but ultimately Joshua points us to Jesus' destr...

Lamentations is like a eulogy. But instead of mourning a loved one's passing, this book laments over the death of Israel and her temple. The mourners admit they are responsible for Israel's demise and they grieve the possibility that they have been utterly rejected by God. But in the middle of th...

God wants to live with us. We see this truth in Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah are two books that tell one story—the story of Israel coming home. Israel had been exiled from their land and removed from God's presence in the temple because of their sins. But in Ezra and Nehemiah, God is brin...

Despite what it looks like, God is in control. The Book of Daniel gives us a unique insight into how God's rule relates to earthly governments, armies, and rulers. Even when it looks like the nations of this world surely must be working against the divine plan, Daniel shows us that God is still r...

The books of 1 & 2 Samuel narrate the beginning of Israel's monarchy with the rise and fall of King Saul and King David. The true King of Israel will humbly listen to God's word, and God's Kingdom will be established in humility, not pride. But both Saul and David fail to be this humble King and ...

God promised to protect Israel, but the kings of Israel drained their own people to buy weapons and protection from foreign lords instead. God is angry. The prophet Hosea calls this type of idolatrous foreign policy "adultery." So the book of Hosea asks an unsettling question: "What will God do w...