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As the Lord unleashed righteous judgment on Damascus and her citizens, her cities would be stripped bare. Israel, too, would have fields empty of gain and devoid of fruit on the tree (v. 6). The void of natural resources would expose the people’s idolatry, revealing their futility of trusting in man-made gods who provided the illusion of peace,...

In Isaiah 19, Egypt meets with disaster for a second time in her great history with Israel. Repeated references to the contamination and disappearance of the waters of the Nile River should remind us of the plagues the Lord unleashed on Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go (see Exodus 7–11). Now the Lord would make Judah a victor...

Schoolchildren in tornado-prone areas of the country are familiar with the tornado drill. When the alarm sounds, they are to file quickly out of the classroom, perhaps carrying large binders or hardcover books, and follow the teacher to a basement room or interior hallway.

Prostitution is called the world’s oldest profession. Just as the act of prostitution trades the value of sex, which should be treasured in a marriage relationship, for the cheapness of money, the image or metaphor of prostitution is used to describe a person or institution that cheapens its value and resources for financial gain. Both literally...

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, the character Nick describes the Saturday evening parties he sees at Gatsby’s home: “The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside. . . . The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow...

A recent study by members of the Yale University psychology department found that people disdain hypocrisy for a reason other than the stigma of failing to practice what one preaches. People hate hypocrisy because false moralizing seems to be signaling the hypocrite’s virtue. In any of our hypocritical beliefs or acts, we want others to see...

Martin Luther’s great Reformation hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” recognizes the powerful spiritual warfare faced by all believers. The enemy’s “craft and power are great,” says Luther. Yet this hymn also affirms that there is a God-given means to defeat the enemy.

The Lord’s people never need to fear the divine justice system. His justice on the earth rests in His character of holiness, and He has the power to enact His righteousness over creation.

“If you build it, he will come.” In the movie Field of Dreams, Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella kept hearing a voice in his head repeat this phrase. Kinsella understood the voice to be directing him to build a baseball diamond on his farm—a place where eventually his father comes in order for father and son to be reconciled. In the final scene...

Today’s passage recounts Joseph’s brothers plotting to kill him, throwing him in a pit, selling him into slavery, and finally deceiving their father about what had happened.