It had been 70 years since Israel had any exposure to the temple in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and to God. Eliyahu (Elijah) is starting from scratch with them. Eliyahu’s story is God’s message to Israel. It’s all tied together. Eliyahu’s interactions with Ahab and Yezebel (Jezebel) dominate the story but the purpose of these interactions were to teach the people of Israel about God.
We can see here how Israel has progressed in their knowledge of God and His law since Eliyahu started his ministry.
The territory of Sin — a place name, not the term for moral malady — that Israel transversed after leaving Mitsraim (Egypt) was a very large place. It’s in the area where Mt. Sinai is located.
Yet, Yisra’el did sin at Rephadim, so it was called Massah and Meribah. But God still gave the people water from the rock — “living water” preceded law at Sinai — and defeated Amalek.
We only know of the poor widow in Luke 21:4, because Yeshua made note of her in a “teachable moment” with His key students. Both Mark and Luke record Yeshua’s testimony of her as an example of a faithful giver. Her faithfulness was not in the amount of her gift in terms of monetary value but in terms of the percentage she gave in proportion to what she had. She did not give just 10 percent or a portion from surplus but everything.
She may have already spent all the rest of her means just to get to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) in the first place. But if those rich people had truly had a heart for the Torah, she would have come there in comfort, not in desperation and extreme poverty (Deut. 16:9–15; 24:19–20; 26:12–13).
Exodus 12–20 are the most fascinating chapters of Exodus to me — 10th plague on the first-born, Passover, departure from Mitsraim (Egypt), crossing the sea, details of the encampments, miracles of water and food, arrival at Sinai and the 10 Commandments. I hope you will see God’s pattern, the truth of this one and only “plan of salvation,” not only for the descendants of Israel but for all mankind.
Moses led Israel to the points that God, in the cloud, took them. Every location, all 40 of them, were chosen by God.
Whether the children of the Northern Tribes had forgotten God on accident or on purpose, the result has been the same: apostasy. Eliyahu (Elijah) had an uphill battle trying to reintroduce God to the children of Israel.
Ahab had a soft-spot for evil, both physical (Ben-Hadad) and spiritual (Yezebel). But as we read later on, Ahab started to learn that God is above him.
On the 15th day of the first month, the first day of what God established as Khag Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread), Israel left Mitzraim (Egypt). We’ll explore why the Bible talks more about the Matzot than Pesakh (Passover).
Pesakh commemorates God’s breaking the chains of Mitzraim that held Yisra’el there, and Matzot, God’s breaking the power of Mitzraim via the sea.
In the fourth encounter between Yeshua and the Temple leaders before His death on Passover then resurrection, Yeshua became the questioner (Luke 20:41-44). Quoting Psalm 110:1, Yeshua asked how the Messiah could be David’s son if David called Him “Lord” (Luke 20:41-44). In this study, we explore what Scripture has to say about the identity of Yeshua and YHWH (“the LORD”).