Bob Deffinbaugh comments: A slight shift in the events recorded in Esther would have doomed the Jews, except as Mordecai said, “help would come from someplace else.” Nevertheless, success in the small details mattered. As an Agagite, Haman may well have used his position against the Jews at the first provocation, whether it came from … More Web of providence, grace and mercy
Ezra was ashamed to ask King Artaxerxes for an escort because he previously had told him, The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him. (Ezra 8:22) Almost as if Ezra knew Romans 8:28 says, And we know that for those … More Trust in God’s Good Hand
Bob Deffinbaugh, in a commentary on 1 Samuel 21:1-22:4, “A Man Without a Country:” Many like to think of David as a real man. I believe our text portrays him as a real man. He does not always think or do the spiritual thing. He has a heart for God, but he also has feet of clay. David … More David’s Deliverance and David’s Psalms
John Piper, in the last sermon in a series on Ruth, “Ruth: The Best is Yet to Come” What one main thing does the author want us to take away from reading this story? Here’s what I would suggest as the main lesson: The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but … More Lesson from Ruth: God is plotting for your joy
J.C. Ryle on Mark 8:1-8- …with Christ nothing is impossible. The disciples said, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” They might well say so. Without the hand of Him who first made the world out of nothing, the thing could not be. But in the almighty hands … More J. C. Ryle: Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
J.C. Ryle comments on Matthew 10:26-31 at Grace Gems!: Those who try to do good must keep before their minds the providential care of God over them. Nothing can happen in this world without His permission. There is no such thing in reality as chance, accident, or luck. “The very hairs of their heads are … More J.C. Ryle: There is no such thing in reality as chance, accident, or luck.
Sin is sin. Betrayal is betrayal. Evil is evil. Joseph’s brothers’ evil intentions to kill him shaped his life forever. The consequences from their actions are part of his history. Joseph doesn’t excuse their behavior or act as if it never happened. BUT he sees God’s hand in his brothers’ treachery. He believes that God was working … More God’s sovereignty, purpose, providence and human responsibility
John Piper’s sermon, “The Sale of Joseph and the Son of God” concludes his way: The story of Joseph is the story of a righteous one who is sinned against and suffers so that tribe of Judah would be preserved and a Lion would come forth, and would prove to be a Lamb-like Lion, and … More Joseph: Dreams, Destruction and Deliverance
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger helps us understand Job 25-26: In Job 25, we have the very short and final speech from Bildad, along with Job’s response. After three increasingly heated exchanges, Job and his friends have clearly run out of steam. But like trains passing on parallel tracks, Job and Eliphaz have been speaking past each … More The mysteries of God’s providence and wisdom
And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him, and gave … More Grace for a King
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 