Jeffrey Earl
A Psalm of Love “The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; in many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions, her escort, in her train” (Psalm 45:13-14, RSV version unless otherwise noted). — Jeff Earl Introduction Psalm 45 begins with the instructions “To the Choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.” The Hebrew word Shoshannim is used instead of “Lilies” in the King James translation. This term may […]
Memorial “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, scriptures from RSV). — Jeff Earl For the Passover celebration, God instructed the Israelites to eat unleavened bread for seven days and to remove leaven from their homes. Why did they need to do this? […]
Six Occasions “And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year” (Exodus 13:9, 10, Scriptures from RSV, Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted). — Jeff Earl The Old Testament describes six specific accounts of […]
Thanks Under Duress “Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Jeremiah 33:11, scriptures from Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted). By Jeff Earl Jeremiah chapter 32 describes the siege of Jerusalem by the army of Babylon and Jeremiah’s prophecy that the city would be taken, and King Zedekiah captured and taken to Babylon. Jeremiah was directed by God to buy the field at Anathoth from his cousin, with the deed of […]
John Chapter 10 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness to me” (John10:25. Scriptures taken from the Revised Standard Version, RSV.) by Jeffrey Earl The Gospel of John Chapter 10 contains two main themes — “Jesus as the Good Shepherd” in verses 1 to 21, and “I and the Father are One” in verses 22 to Following the miracle of […]