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In this passage, Moses speaks of a previous generation, one that wasted in the wilderness, but he speaks to this next generation as if they were complicit actors in the previous drama of 38 years prior. Moses recounts how at that time, the Israelites departed from Horeb, traveling through the great and terrifying wilderness of Paran, intent on reaching the hill country of the Amorites, according to God’s command to pick up and leave. At Kadesh-barnea, Moses addressed the people, encouraging them with God’s Word. He gave them a series of divine commands that they were to obey with urgency:…

Moses continued his address to the “2nd” generation, reminding them how he painfully realized early on in the wilderness that the size of the people was more than he could bear and properly lead. He recognized that God had indeed blessed them by multiplying the people of Israel numerically, and he prayed that God would continue to do so. But knowing that the weight of governing millions of people was far beyond his human capability, he had requested the tribes to put forward their own men who were recognized as experienced men with understanding and wisdom that Moses would appoint…

After providing an overview to the significantly important book of Deuteronomy, we began our lengthy study in this book by covering the first 8 verses. It was in the Arabah in the 40th year, on the 1st day of the 11th month that Moses spoke the word of the LORD to the people of Israel, reminding the “new” generation how God had commanded their parents to enter into Canaan and conquer the land promised to them. They were to go in and take possession of the land God had sworn by oath to their patriarchal fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.…

After being in Rome for 3 days, Paul requested the Jewish religious leaders to come to his place of personal confinement. They obliged, and he explained to them all that had occurred in leading him to appeal to Caesar, which is what brought him to Rome. But Paul’s primary reason in asking these men to come was to declare to them in detail about the hope of Israel, and how Israel’s messianic and resurrection hopes center in the risen, exalted Jesus the Christ. The Jewish leaders explained that they had not received any Sanhedrin letters condemning Paul, nor had any…

After the initial shock of being shipwrecked at Malta passed, the chief man on the island, Publius, welcomed the beleaguered men and showed warm, “ancient” hospitality to these men. While the men found great refreshment in the kindness of their host, Paul visited Publius’ father who was bedridden with fever and dysentery. Countering the people’s belief that he was a god, Paul put his hands on this diseased man and prayed aloud to God, indicating he was not a god but rather dependent as a commissioned representative of God. In the power of Jesus, the man was wonderfully healed. Upon…

The day that the sailors prayed for finally came, but they did not recognize where they were when they saw the land. However, they did see a bay with a beach and tried to navigate the ship in that direction to run it ashore. In their efforts to “thread the needle,” they struck a reef, which immediately rendered the ship immovable. With the ship unable to move, the pounding surf began to destroy the ship from the stern side. Given this dilemma, the Roman soldiers determined their best course of action would be to kill all the prisoners as they…

Paul’s recommendation to stay in Fair Havens was not accepted, and the ship put out to sea, hoping to reach Phoenix to spend the winter there. And at first, the weather seemed to be on their side. It seemed that perhaps Paul had been wrong. But the weather suddenly turned violent, and the relatively short trip to Phoenix would become a 400+ mile trip as a northeaster tsunami-like storm came upon them, driving them west. The wind was so powerful that they were simply along for the ride, trying their best to keep the ship from being destroyed and to…

Following the court proceedings with Festus and King Agrippa, the plan was put into place to officially transport Paul to Italy to appear before Caesar. Paul, paired up with other prisoners under the authority of the centurion Julius, was accompanied again by Luke on this trip. They embarked on a ship of Adramyttium, now accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian man. By the next day, they reached Sidon, where Julius showed humane treatment to Paul, allowing him to disembark to visit with and be refreshed by friends in that area. They then left Sidon sailing under the lee of Cyprus due…

Having shared his conversion and divine commission with King Agrippa and the rest of the royal court, Paul then turned to what he did after his encounter with Christ in the heavenly vision on the way to Damascus. Paul made it clear that there was no way he could not disobey Christ who had set him apart to proclaim His message, and this Paul did in Damascus, Jerusalem, Judea, and also to the Gentiles, urging his hearers to repent, turn to God, and to then perform deeds that showcased their repentant hearts. For this, the Jews seized and tried to…

Having been brought before the royally attired King Agrippa and Bernice, Agrippa beckoned Paul to speak. Paul began to address King Agrippa, expressing thankfulness that King Agrippa was an expert of sorts with Jewish customs and matters. He then explained how strictly he had been brought as a devout Pharisee, to which many other Jews could testify (if they were being truthful). Paul focused then on the main point of contention between him and the Pharisees, which was the hope of resurrection life. This they knew and believed in, for who could doubt that God could bring life to that…