Sermons and Biblical Studies

82. Why Did 'the Wicked Kings of Judah Let Their Sons Pass through Fire? It was a heathen form of worship to Molech, Mil-corn or Chemosh, which the Israelites had borrowed or adapted from the Moabites and Amnonites. Human sacrifices were made in high places to Molech. The chief interpreters Jarchi, Kimchi and Maimonides wrote … Continue reading “082 – Why Did 'the Wicked Kings of Judah Let Their Sons Pass through Fire?”

81. Is the Book of Job a Real History or a Dramatic Allegory? Job is believed to have been a real personage'97a type of the earliest patriarchs, a man of high intelligence and great faith. The story is cast in dramatic form. Professor S. S. Curry, of Yale and Harvard Divinity Schools, thus outlines it: … Continue reading “081 – Is the Book of Job a Real History or a Dramatic Allegory?”

80. Are the Speeches of Job's Friends to Be Regarded as Inspired? This question is answered authoritatively in the book itself (see Job_42:7), where God is represented as saying, "My wrath is kindled against thee and thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right." One gets a clearer … Continue reading “080 – Are the Speeches of Job's Friends to Be Regarded as Inspired?”

79. Did God "Blot Out" the Day on Which Job Was Born? This question is doubtless prompted by the ancient tradition or superstition that we have less days in February than any other month, as Job was born in February. This of course is a fallacy. There was no February in the time of Job, … Continue reading “079 – Did God "Blot Out" the Day on Which Job Was Born?”

78. Did God Give Job into the Hands of Satan to Be Tempted? "Tempted" is scarcely the word to use in that case. Job was tried or tested. The question was what his motive was in serving God. Satan with his natural doubt about any one having pure motives, asserted that Job served God only … Continue reading “078 – Did God Give Job into the Hands of Satan to Be Tempted?”

77. Who Was Job? According to leading commentators, Job was a personage of distinction, wealth and influence who lived in the north of Arabia Deserta, near the Euphrates, some 1800 B. C. His life was patriarchal, his language the Hebrew of that early day, when it was interspersed with Syriac and Arabic. He lived before … Continue reading “077 – Who Was Job?”

76. Why Was the Temple Built in Jerusalem? In 2Sa_24:16-25 we learn how the threshing floor of Araunah came to be chosen for the site of an altar of commemoration and sacrifice. Moreover, Scripture and Jewish tradition unite in pointing to that threshing floor as the spot upon which Abraham prepared to offer Isaac (although … Continue reading “076 – Why Was the Temple Built in Jerusalem?”

75. How Often Was Jerusalem Destroyed? The Holy City has been captured and recaptured many times by contending forces. In several of the sieges it has been partially ruined, but in at least four it has been practically destroyed, the first about 1400 B. C, when captured by the tribes of Judah and Simeon ; … Continue reading “075 – How Often Was Jerusalem Destroyed?”

74. Will the Jews Be Restored to Palestine at Christ's Second Coming? Students of prophecy are not agreed on the subject. The majority infer, from various passages, that they will be restored before the coming of Christ in the1 second stage of that coming. The first stage is thought to be in the air to … Continue reading “074 – Will the Jews Be Restored to Palestine at Christ's Second Coming?”

73. Why Do the Jews Face the East When Praying? In Jerusalem, the Jews always turned their faces toward the "holy hill" of the temple while praying (see Dan_6:10; 2Ch_6:34). The Samaritans, on the contrary, faced Mt. Gerizim. In the court of the temple, the Jews in prayer faced the temple itself (see 1Ki_8:38) to … Continue reading “073 – Why Do the Jews Face the East When Praying?”