Clik here to view.
A Hospitality of Believers
How would you like to host a church in your home? A number of women in the early years of the church opened their homes for prayer, study, and worship, even when it was not easy to follow Jesus...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Woman to Remember
It was just days before the Passover, and the enemies of Jesus were busily plotting their treachery to bring about His death. Their concern was timing. Not during the approaching feast, they agreed, as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jewelry Speaks
For 3,300 years, King Tutankhamun secretly rested in the Valley of the Kings. In 1922 archeologists discovered his tomb and years later displayed his mummified body in a climate-controlled glass box....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Power of the Ring
Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. You...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wine and Beer in the Ancient Near East
Harvest celebration In ancient Israel the high point of grape harvesting was winemaking, “an activity which was carried out by the vinedresser and his family.”[1] The treading of grapes in the wine...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Naboth’s Vineyard
1And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth , saying, “Give me your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ahab’s Garden
So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite (I Kings 21:16). Ahab had a purpose in mind for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Thread of History
This week it is my pleasure to welcome guest blogger, Judy Rand. In thinking about future posts for WomenfromtheBook, the topic of embroidery was intriguing, and who better to consult than my friend,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birth and Salt
As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you, you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King
Setting the stage For over 500 years the nation of Israel chafed under the thumb of first one Gentile kingdom and then another—Babylon, Persia, the Greco Macedonians, and now Rome, with its absolute...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Part 2
The Journey to Bethlehem Mary packed as though she and Joseph were changing residences rather than making a round trip—that’s what astute travelers of her day did. Perhaps she had an idea or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Part 3
The End in Sight It was the last day of a long, tiring journey. Five or so miles further, and Joseph and Mary would be in Bethlehem. At last, a respite from all the jouncing and jarring over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Sidebar
One fact is glaringly missing in the story of the birth of Jesus—the specific date He was born. However that has not stopped the assigning of one over time. Below are a few links to the history of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Part 4
For unto us a Child is born , Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Part 5
Shepherds Fields Near Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Shepherds abiding in the fields The shepherds did what they had done for endless days and nights—too many to remember—for a lifetime, really....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pomegranates
Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen, and Levites in ancient Judah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue…and upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Mary and the Birth of the King: Conclusion
Herod’s troubles Herod spent his last decade in the grips of turmoil fueled by an ever-growing paranoia. While he had achieved a degree of peace in Judea (despite the financial rigors imposed on his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wheat
‘To everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food,’ and thus it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Levirate Law—in Confusion
The Sadducees confronted Jesus with a difficult question that appeared to be a theological puzzle. Actually the question was a red herring to engage Christ in a dispute the Sadducees and Pharisees had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Elusive Queen of Sheba
There is probably no more elusive or intriguing queen in the Bible than the queen of Sheba. Though fable and tradition have sprung up around her and endured for centuries, she left no physical traces....
View Article