I love revisiting the Sunday School classics as an adult and discovering how rich they are in meaning and interesting details. The fall of Jericho did not disappoint! Fun Facts: • Yes, “the walls came a-tumblin’ down,” but Jericho was rebuilt many times. Located in the West Bank, it’s a contender for the world’s oldest city (11,000 years)! • Joshua declared a curse on anyone who rebuilds Jericho, which was fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34 with Hiel of Bethel. • The archaeological s

“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man, and she swiftly made him a sandwich.” (Genesis 2:22) …This isn't far off from how some people interpret "helper". But was is the real meaning? In Genesis, God calls His creation “good” seven different times before He identifies something that was “not good”… Adam was all alone. So God made “a helper suitable for him”. That one little word has been misinterpreted, misused,

Are we doing Communion right? How did the Lord’s Supper go from this… ...to this? The night before His death, Jesus and His disciples shared a massive multi-course Passover feast. We’re talking wine, flatbread, roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and sides like lentil stew, eggs, fruit, nuts, and olives. After the meal, Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine, declaring them to be His body and blood. He told them to repeat the act in His memory. For a century or two afterward, the e

Moses may have been ethnically Hebrew, but he was educated by their enemy, likely had an Egyptian accent, and probably more than a few Egyptian “quirks”. Moses belonged nowhere. He went from infant Hebrew slave to being raised as Egyptian royalty. From prince to a shepherd in a foreign land. And from “slow of speech and tongue” to a leader of millions of distrusting Israelites. …But God didn’t waste a single chapter of his life, and each stage was the perfect preparation to f

What’s up with the crazy-long lifespans in the Bible? What are we to think when we read that Adam lived to 930, Noah to 950, and Methuselah (the record-holder) to 969? How would that even work? Did they Benjamin Button their way through childhood (30-year-old toddlers)? ...Probably not. But let’s look at some common interpretations… The traditional view is that the pre-Flood world was a very different era, and people actually lived that long. In this view, God originally crea

The biblical story of David killing a lion is only two verses long, but it always captivated me, and stirred up so many questions in my head. What kind of lions lived in ancient Israel? Was it a male lion? How does one kill a lion with their hands? Does it feel good to kill a lion? Why haven’t I killed a lion? These important questions led me to do some light research… I quickly found the conventional talking points of the story… The wilderness was the young shepherd’s traini

You were probably taught that the little boy was a generous and willing participant in the feeding of the five thousand. That’s what is taught in Sunday School, and I think there's a high probably that's what happened... but it’s not in the bible. If you read all four accounts of the story, and consider the historical context, another plausible narrative is that the disciples found him, commandeered his lunch, and then brought it to Jesus. Children had no social status, and i

Why do angels in the Bible always lead with "Do not be afraid"? Aren't they all chubby naked harp-playing babies with wings? Not quite. Biblical angels are multidimensional horror shows that defy human comprehension. Common reactions include extreme trembling, losing all strength, and falling facedown “like dead men” (Matthew 28:4). And those are just the messenger angels, who have an appearance “like that of a man” (well… a man with a “face like lightning” and “eyes like bla

The story of the three wise men – as interpreted by eight year olds everywhere.

The more you understand the bible, the more you notice something fishy about the Jonah story. Both Jesus and Jonah were sent on a mission to preach a message of repentance and salvation to the lost. Jesus obeyed. Jonah ran the other way (shellfishly). Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep on their boat during a whale of a storm, and had to be woken up. Both Jesus and Jonah faced the storm to save others. Jesus simply spoke to the storm. Jonah went a little overboard and sacrificed

👀 Two million Israelites crossing through walls of water must have been a sight to behold. When we think there is no way, God makes a way. Exodus 14:13,14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

I figure John the Baptist must have been the greatest preacher of all time after Jesus. I picture him climbing out of a bush to preach, snacking on locusts dipped in honey, dressed in a camel-hair toga. And yet people came from all over the whole region to hear him preach and be baptized by him. If you saw this man preaching on the sidewalk, would you guard your wallet and avoid eye contact? Or would you stop and listen? Matthew 3: 4-6 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair

Which position do you take on dinosaurs and the Flood?

Matthew 7:3-5 “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”