A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (Proverbs 18:14 ESV). The book of Proverbs taught that a healthy inner spirit could sustain a person through bodily illness, but when the spirit itself was broken, it asked who could bear such a burden. The implied answer to this rhetorical question
“I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’” (Psalm 2:7–8 ESV). David declared God’s royal decree concerning His anointed King. While these words originally
“Then he said, ‘What is that monument that I see?’ And the men of the city told him, ‘It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.’” (2 Kings 23:17 ESV). The book of Kings reminded readers that
“And I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake” (2 Kings 20:6 ESV). The book of 2 Kings recorded God’s gracious response to
“Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.’” (2 Kings 19:20 ESV). This verse is the turning point of the narrative. Until this moment, the spotlight had rested on the overwhelming power of
“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28 ESV). As Paul concluded his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, he first urged them to pay careful attention to
“He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 147:19–20 ESV). The psalmist concluded his hymn of praise by celebrating God’s greatest gift to Israel. While all nations witnessed God’s power in creation
“You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times” (2 Kings 13:19 ESV). 2 Kings 13:14–19 is one of the more puzzling episodes in the life of Elisha. After telling King
“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4 ESV). David wrote this psalm of praise as a testimony to the greatness and enduring worth of the LORD. He spoke to the covenant community of Israel, who had been shaped by centuries of God’s faithful intervention in their
“Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31 ESV). Luke recorded Paul’s message to the philosophers and citizens of Athens as he proclaimed the