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'Where is the world outrage and international news coverage?' Palestinian rioters smashed and burned Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, Israel on Saturday, April 9, 2022. (Photo courtesy Samaria Regional Council) Just two weeks ago, while the attention of many in America was focused on skyrocketing inflation and the war in Ukraine, a vicious attack took place on the resting place of one of the most famous figures in the Bible. The tomb of Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob and great-grandson of Abraham who was betrayed by his brothers before rising to the No. 2 position in the world in Egypt,...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 16 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. 1 REMBRANDT "The Blinding of Samson" 2 Detail Source 3 "Samson's Blinding" 4 "Blind Samson" 5 GIOACCHINO ASSERETO "Philistines Gouging Out Samson's Eyes" 6 FRANZ HEINRICH LOUIS CORINTH "The Blinded Samson" Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. 7 CARL BLOCH "Samson and the...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E S CHAPTER 16 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 16 Samson fell in love with a woman whose name was Delilah. 1 ALEXANDRE CABANEL "Samson et Dalila" 2 JOSÉ ECHENAGUSIA ERRAZQUIN "Samson and Delilah" 3 CECIL B. DeMILLE "Samson and Delilah" 4 JAMES TISSOT "Samson and Delilah" 5 GUSTAVE DORÉ "Samson and Delilah" 6 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E S CHAPTER 16 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.” But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 15 Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves. 1 2 3 4 When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, because his wife was given to his friend.” So...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 14 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. 1 ALBRECHT DÜRER "Samson Killing the Lion" 2 GUSTAVE DORÉ "Samson Slays a Lion" 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 BERNARDO CASTELLO...

On the eve of Passover, on Good Friday, The New York Times published an opinion piece on God, the Bible and Passover. This would not be noteworthy except for the fact that the piece mocked all three. The two titles of the piece (one in the print edition and one for the Times' digital edition) will give you a good idea of the tenor of the piece: "Let's pass over God" and "In this time of war, I propose we give up God." The column was written by Shalom Auslander, a Jew who is bitter over his ultra-Orthodox upbringing in...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. Manoah had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. The boy is to be set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from...

On April 8, 1966, the pictureless front cover of Time Magazine asked a bold and direction question: “Is God Dead?” This was just two days before Easter Sunday, and in the decades that followed, it became increasingly common for anti-God, anti-Jesus, anti-Bible essays to be featured in various secular publications at this time of year. Now, in keeping with this anti-God attitude during this sacred season, an April 15 op-ed piece for the New York Times was headlined, “In This Time of War, I Propose We Give Up God.” How deeply sensitive for the Times to post this anti-God essay...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE 1 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source "Empty Tomb" 2 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby GARY SMITH "Empty Tomb" 3 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby JOSEPH JUVENAL "The Empty Tomb" 4 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source 5 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby NOEL COYPEL "The Resurrection of Christ" 6 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby PIETER LASTMAN "The Resurrection" 7 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby HAL FRENCK "Jesus Has Risen" 8 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby WAYNE PASCALL "Hallelujah, He is Risen" 9 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby CARL BLOCH "The Resurrection" 10 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby MATTHIAS GRUNEWALD "The Resurrection of Christ" 11 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Sourceby ANDREA...

In a social experiment by Mark Dice, random beachgoers in San Diego, California are asked if they’ll sign a petition to ban the Bible. Many of their reactions will shock you. This comes as a New York Times piece called on Good Friday for the elimination of the belief in God, claiming the Almighty is responsible for “war and violence.” Brain Force Ultra is back in stock at 40% off — get yours today!

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 7 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thou- sand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there.”...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 6 The LORD said, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help. The angel of the LORD came and sat down where Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. He said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us,...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E S CHAPTER 4 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and army. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J U D G E SCHAPTER 4 The Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan. The commander of his army was Sisera. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help. Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah, and the Israelites...

Thanks for joining our Palm Sunday Bible study. I am blessed to write about this profound event for the third year and will repeat an amusing personal story. Up until my early twenties, I thought Palm Sunday was about glorifying palm trees, and Good Friday was a Friday in spring that was "good." My theological excuse is that having been born and raised Jewish, no one ever told me the real meaning of both days, and I never bothered to ask. Now, my prior ignorance appears to be more the norm. With church attendance and Bible study declining, millions don't...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J O S H U A CHAPTER 10 Then the five kings of the Amorites joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it. The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua: “Do not abandon your servants. Save us!” So Joshua marched up with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE J O S H U A CHAPTER 5 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander...