This prophet had a good reputation, because he heard directly from the Lord, and on this occasion, God spoke to him before the queen arrived at his door. God even told the prophet that the wife of the king would pretend to be someone else (verse 5)!
Most of the cities across the world today have small communities of the people Paul was thinking about when he wrote this letter, and his passion was to see them put right with God, Does the church have the same passion today?
This verse is guaranteed to bring conflict in almost any conversation with non-believers today, and sadly many people who are believers too. The same sentiment is expressed at the beginning of the letter to the Romans, written by Paul. We will look at that tomorrow.
There are many people today who can share stories of God providing their land or their house, school or church. He is still in the business of providing for His people and helping us make the right decisions about every aspect of life.
These are strong words from Paul, a committed and enthusiastic Jew who had been proud of himself and his knowledge of the Old Testament and Jewish law in particular. So much so that he was there to witness the stoning of Stephen the first Christian martyr
Sexual immorality is everywhere in our world today, and is in itself a form of idolatry. People give in to wrong desires making idols of their own bodies in response to unhealthy desires. The enemy knows our weaknesses and is quick to take advantage.
The name Leviticus means the book of the Levites. Basically it was written as a rule book for the priests (Levites) to teach the people of God all they would need to know in order to live in their land of promise. He was preparing them for their future.
We know that Paul never married, and was not a parent in the real sense of the word, but he considered those he taught as his children. To Timothy, my true son in the faith is the way he begins his first letter to this young apprentice (1 Timothy 1:2).
Very few people have given their own offspring to set others free. But that is what our Sovereign Lord did for His people. Not just for us, but for all peoples of the world. There is certainly no other being who is as powerful and loving as The One who did that.
As we have already seen, very early in the history of Israel, God made it very clear that there were to be no idols found amongst His people, and that He was the only god they should serve. In fact He was, and still is the only one worth serving.