God rebukes those who believe that they can use him as a fortune-teller, especially those who call themselves elders, without even respecting him enough to worship and praise him as their God.

In Ezekiel’s next vision, he is shown a useless vine. The wood of this vine is good for nothing if it does not bear fruit, unlike other woods from which many things are made for our use and benefit. This image is comparable to the image of Israel a...

In extensive detail, Israel is compared with the bride of God. Yet she has been repeatedly unfaithful, and played the prostitute to many other nations. This chapter is written in a language very similar to the bride/harlot comparison in the book of H...

This vision is a message concerning Jewish royalty and the world powers of Ezekiel's time. It is first presented as a riddle or parable of two great eagles, a cedar tree and a vine. The exiles with Ezekiel are given some time to make sense of it...

David was an Israelite hero. Here, though, we see how someone who had risen very high could fall into terrible sin. The 'man after God's own heart' was guilty of adultery, deceit and murder. Given that Bathsheba probably had very littl...

David had committed the perfect crime. As we know from any number of Hollywood movies, though, there's always a catch. In this case, the catch was the prophet Nathan. He tells David a parable. The poor man is Uriah; the pet lamb is Bathsheba; Da...

This story is one of the Bible's 'texts of terror' that portray acts of extreme violence against women. Tamar is raped and then rejected by her half-brother Amnon, who is then murdered by his brother Absalom in revenge.

Absalom is in exile after killing Amnon; David won't bring him back, but was 'filled with longing' for him. The woman who tells David the sad story of her two sons is aiming for the same result as the prophet Nathan (chapter 12), hopin...

David is still a fearsome opponent. Absalom has the services of his turncoat counsellor, Ahithophel, but David has a mole in the enemy camp – Hushai. In scenes of low cunning and high drama, Hushai succeeds in overturning Ahithophel's advice a...

Having the Bible available on our phones or laptops is normal for most of us, and it's incredibly useful – it's always available, we can cut and paste text, compare translations and find verses easily.

Absalom's rebellion comes to its dramatic conclusion. He is out-fought by David's army and defeated. Joab, David's commander, perhaps fearful that the king's affection for his son would compromise his effectiveness, persuades him ...

David is not yet secure on his throne, and risks alienating his supporters by his grief over Absalom. Joab, his key ally, is forced to rebuke him (verses 5–8). The loyalty of the northern tribes, who would rebel against David's grandson and be...

Some Bible stories are extremely difficult for us today, reflecting as they do an understanding of God that we cannot share. In this story, God sends a famine on Israel because of the guilt of the house of Saul for his treatment of the Gibeonites.

On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with a king taking a census. A prudent monarch needs to know how many soldiers and taxpayers he has. In this story, the element of sinfulness isn't explained. The writer ascribes what happens to God&...

The Song of Miriam is an outpouring of praise to God for his great act of salvation in bringing the people out of Egypt. After this high, however, there comes another low – three days of wandering through a waterless wilderness.

Romans is Paul's most purely 'theological' letter. He had not yet visited the church there, though he knows several of its members. The letter seems to have been written to outline what he believes as a way of introducing himself. It&#...

Paul writes from the heart, not just the head. In this section, though he has tried so far to be diplomatic with the Corinthians, his irritation gets the better of him and he descends into sarcasm (verse 10). In their party strife the Corinthians are...

The 'Song of Deborah' is a celebration in verse of the great victory won by Deborah, Barak and Jael over Israel's enemies. Most scholars think it's the earliest Hebrew poetry in existence, dating perhaps from the twelfth century BC.

This chapter relates Paul's first appearance before the Roman governor, Felix. Accused by the lawyer Tertullus (verse 1) of riot and defiling the Temple, he defends himself clearly and factually: he is simply not guilty, he says.

The Romans were in many ways a horrifyingly brutal people, but they were, much of the time at least, committed to the rule of law. A new governor, Festus, has inherited the problem of Paul from his predecessor Felix; again, the Jewish leaders were ba...