Expository Articles – Page 2

26 Oct

The Blow That Crushed The Serpent’s Head – Genesis 3:15

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Jeremy Diestelkamp | Toronto, Ontario

During the Passover week about 2000 years ago, in a place just outside of Jerusalem, hung a man who was nailed to a cross: Jesus. The Romans frequently reserved this method of execution for criminals who committed the worst types of offenses. What criminal offense had Jesus been convicted of? Nothing! Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, declared Jesus innocent on multiple occasions but had him crucified anyway due to his fear of a riot (John 19:1-16). Read More →

06 Jul

The Divine Nature : 2 Peter 1:3-7

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Chadwick Brewer | Richmond, Virginia

Peter’s preamble is poignant and powerful. Everything that follows is predicated on God’s divine power granting us all thing that pertain to life and godliness (v. 3). It is God who moves first to establish a relationship with man. It is not man that starts to build that relationship. In fact, man cannot. Read More →

06 Apr

From Defeat to Victory : Psalm 22

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

A Cry of Defeat

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)

These words are a cry of despair, disappointment, and defeat. There appears to be no end in sight. “Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning” is how the first verse concludes. Psalm 22 is considered a psalm of David. He portrays the faithful servant of God enduring pain and humiliation because of his enemies. It is no wonder Jesus quoted the opening words while He was on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Read More →

04 Jan

The Suffering Servant

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Alex Hale | Cabot, Arkansas

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is perhaps the most well-known passage in the entire book. This prophecy serves as the fourth and final servant song within the book (cf. 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-9). Isaiah inserts references to “the servant of the LORD” throughout chapters 40-55. While it is true that this servant is called Israel (49:3), he should be viewed as distinct from the people as a whole. To put it another way, the servant Isaiah speaks about is the representative of the whole. The servant is charged with two primary tasks: to bring salvation to Israel and serve as a light to the Gentiles (49:6). In chapters 50-52, Isaiah presents this servant as the true hope of Israel. Read More →

30 Oct

The Lord’s Will Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Jeremy Woodman | Kingston, Ontario

“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8, NKJV)

The preceding quote from the prophet Micah is one of the most elegant quotes in the entire Bible. Like the prophet himself, it directs and delivers plain truth to a generation that had entangled themselves with sin and complicated their lives with ritualistic religion. The lessons apply to our generation as well as his.

To fully appreciate Micah’s statement, we have to look at it in its historical context. Read More →

07 Jul

Effective Fervent Prayer

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario

There are several occasions in Scripture where Old Testament people and events are used to provide lessons about faith in the New Testament. For example, the circumstances in Elijah’s life as recorded in 1 Kings 17-18 are the backdrop for a great lesson prayer in James 5.

In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah foretold a drought which would come. However, James tells us he prayed for the drought (James 5:17). Why would he pray for a drought? It was a punishment upon the people of Israel for their sins (1 Kings 16:33; Deuteronomy 28:22, 24). It should have persuaded them to repent. Three and a half years later, we read of Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. God was faithful, giving his prophet victory over the false prophets of Baal. As a result, the people’s hearts turned back to the Lord (1 Kings 18:37-40). Thus, it was time for Elijah to pray for the rains to return. Notice from 1 Kings 18… Read More →

07 Apr

God’s Mercy To The Unrighteous : “Therefore, repent and live”

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

Introduction
The prophecies of Ezekiel are some of the most fascinating in the Old Testament. He wrote during the exile of Judah to Babylon. He was a contemporary of Daniel, yet Ezekiel’s primary message was to Judah themselves, explaining why God was punishing them.

One of the most discouraging, yet vivid scenes, in the book of Ezekiel, is found in chapter 10. Ezekiel describes God’s glory as leaving the temple. The temple had served as a sign to Israel that God was with them. The temple was where sacrifices were made, and the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement were held. The Most Holy Place was in the midst of the temple. God could not literally be held within the temple, He was far too great to be confined to one location like that, but the temple was a symbol of God’s care, grace, and covenant with Israel. Read More →

07 Jan

Seeing Exodus In Revelation

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

Interest in the book of Revelation has heightened over the past several decades, perhaps popularized by the authors of the Left Behind series. They and many other writers present the symbols in Revelation as literal, futuristic, cataclysmic events, leading up to the second coming of Christ. There are a lot of conspiracy-type theories and approaches to the book of Revelation. Many people think they have unearthed “the” single key to help unlock all of the book’s hidden and secret meanings. Media (TV, movies, news) sensationalize the book of Revelation. It is beyond the scope of this article to deal with all the erroneous approaches to the book – suffice it to say we need to teach the book of Revelation. Read More →

01 Oct

Balaam – The Prophet For Profit

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario

In Numbers 21, we follow the children of Israel as they make their approach towards the promised land. The writer gives a lengthy list of sites where they camped. Their journey was not without event. Passing through the Negev, they were attacked by the king of Arad (21:1). Coming to the territory of Sihon the Amorite, Israel asked permission to pass through on the King’s Highway. Not only did he refuse to allow passage, but he fought against them (21:21-23). And finally, coming to Bashan, they were attacked by Og and his forces (21:33). As troubling as all this could have been, the Lord gave His people victory over every enemy who rose against them (21:3, 24, 35). These events serve as the backdrop to the story of Balaam. Read More →

02 Jul

The Kingdom and Its King

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

Isaiah prophesied about 700 years before the time of Christ and is one of the most influential prophets of the Old Testament. Many of his prophecies warn rebellious Israel of impending judgment, admonish them to repent of iniquity, and point to the hope of the restoration of the kingdom of God. Some of the more memorable prophecies of the Messiah are found in the book of Isaiah. For example, the prediction that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a Son is found in Isaiah 7:14. Another prominent prophecy is found in Isaiah 9:6-7:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this,” (New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update) Read More →