# Bible Profiles (Page 6)

Congregations are like people, the moment they forget their roots is the moment that they lose their way. The church at Philippi knew their beginnings and remembered the man that Jesus sent to make it happen (Acts 16). When Paul was imprisoned in Rome the Philippian church dispatched Epaphroditus with a gift to meet Paul’s needs (Phil.4:18). Not only did Epaphroditus bring a gift, he was a gift. Paul understood and appreciated the immense value of this brother. He praised…

Well, not everything. But he would have been if he could have been.Though he did rack up a few personal and family firsts: *First to practice polygamy by taking two wives, Adah and Zillah.*Thus, the first to break God’s marriage laws (Gen.2:24). *Adah’s firstborn, Jabal, became the first large scale tent-dwelling farmers. *And his brother, first runner-up, Jubal, was the first to rise a family of instrumentalists. *Zillah’s firstborn, Tubal-cain, was the first to make iron instruments. *And Naamah…she was…

Someone asked me if I believe in karma. I said, “No, because I believe in Jesus.” He explained, “You know, when bad things all seem to happen at once.’ Of course, all these mixed up ideas are oft pondered perceptions, but things that I have lived long enough to dismiss.Shimei is one of those ‘bad things’ who turned up at just the wrong time. King David was fleeing Jerusalem (2Sam.16), because his son Absalom had taken over the kingdom. Along…

Just as Jesus would not countenance doubt among his disciples, Paul would not countenance division in the churches. His words were characteristically strong on the subject and he named names.In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul speaks to two hard working sisters in the Lord who are not getting on. Their stature in the congregation was such that Paul saw fit to write down what everyone knew but no one seemed able to do anything about; their disharmony was affecting the church.His first…

It was Terry Brown who helped me to see the humour in this event. His laughter rings in the air to this day as I remember his gleeful retelling of the story of the hapless exorcists of Ephesus (Acts 19). These seven sons of a Jewish chief priest decided to try something new in their demon extrication routine. The apostle Paul had been in Ephesus for more than two years and the name of the Lord Jesus was bearing fruit.…

In 2 Kings 1 we find Elijah’s encounter with King Ahaziah and his three Captains of Fifty. Ahaziah was crippled by recent injures and sent men to consult a pagan god. Elijah intercepted his messengers and sent them back with a question and a judgement: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you…

Did you ever consider that the Philippian Jailer owes the circumstances of his conversion (in part) to an unnamed slave-girl? This young lady, tragically under the influence of a demon, followed Paul and Silas around as they preached the gospel in Philippi. Why they tolerated this state of affairs we don’t know.What we do know is that the demon, at least on this occasion, spoke the truth: “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to…

Herod Agrippa was true to type. This grandson of the murderous Herod the Great arrested Christians and killed the apostle James (Acts 12). Seeing that his cruel act had pleased the Jewish leaders, he had the apostle Peter arrested also. Peter too was going to die at his political hand. However, God sent an angel to rescue Peter, and consequently Peter’s 16-man squad of guards were executed by Herod for negligence (Acts 12:19). I would guess that Herod knew, even…

As far as magicians in the Bible go, Elymas isn’t the first name that comes to mind. Simon the sorcerer was the first to plunge himself into infamy. Peter severely rebuked him for offering money for the ability to pass on the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18). Elymas also received condemnation. Paul and Barnabas had come to the Island of Cyprus at the beginning of the First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:4-12). On their arrival in the town of…

Why Barak, a mighty commander of Israel’s army, wouldn’t go to war without Deborah, one can only speculate. But his insistence that Deborah come along resulted in a prophecy that guaranteed that the glory of the battle would go to a woman, not to him. Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, was subsequently defeated by Barak, but the glory, which could rightly be claimed by Deborah, went to another woman, also. Her name was Jael, the wife of Heber the…