Latest Commentaries

God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah and promises she will birth a son. Abraham laughed that a man 100 and his wife 90 years old could have a child.

God gives further instructions about circumcision; Male babies who are 8 days old, even servants either born or bought must be circumcised. Anyone who is not circumcised has broken God’s covenant.

God commands Abraham that every male who keeps the covenant must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant.

God promises that many nations and kings will come from Abraham’s descendants. God’s covenant is never-ending, and He promises to give the land of Canaan as a perpetual possession to Abraham’s descendants. God also indicates that His covenant extends to Abraham’s descendants after him. This would include the benefit of the rewards already granted as well as the conditional promise to bless them when they live faithfully. 

God changes Abram’s name to Abraham because he will be the father of many nations.

When Abram was 99 years old, God established a covenant with him to bless him greatly if he walked blameless. God expanded His covenant to add this mutual condition, where Abram would receive blessings if he walked in righteousness. 

Exodus 15:22-27 is the first account of a larger section of Exodus describing the three-month journey (19:1) from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai (15:22-18:27). This passage contains the Israelites’ first encounter with life in the wilderness. After three days of traveling in an area that had no water, they came to a place called Marah that had water, but it was undrinkable. The people became angry and confronted Moses about this problem. Moses in turn cried out to the LORD who miraculously provided sweet drinking water for all the people. This problem, which was a test from the LORD, resulted in a statute that required the people to depend on the LORD for their needs. Failure to believe that the LORD could and would provide for all their needs would result in physical suffering through disease.

The song that was sung by the men in verses 1-18 is followed by a reminder of the reason for the song and the celebration by Miriam and the women in Exodus 15:19-21.

In the third part of the song, the singers celebrate the result of their deliverance. This was not something that got swept under the rug. The surrounding nations heard all about it. God is honored, and the surrounding nations now fear Him. God’s sovereign rule is acknowledged.

In the second part of the song, Exodus 15:4-13, the singers proclaim why they needed to lift up praises to the LORD for His great deliverance.

Moses and the Israelites sang a song of praise to God.

Exodus 13:17-22 describes the beginning of the journey from Egypt to the Red Sea. It stresses that the LORD led them with a pillar of cloud or fire. He chose a route to the Red Sea for a specific purpose. The point is also made that Moses made sure that Joseph’s bones were carried with them.

Exodus 13:11-16 contains the LORD’s instructions dealing with the firstborn.

The Lord gives commands regarding the annual festival of Unleavened Bread and Passover.

The Lord commands Israel to set apart the firstborn of all people and animals to His service.

Exodus 14:15-31 contains one of the most well-known stories of the Bible — the crossing of the Red Sea. It starts with the LORD giving instructions that prepare the Israelites for the crossing (15-18). Then, in verses 19-20, the angel of the LORD, appearing as a cloud, moved to a position protecting the Israelites from the Egyptians. Verses 21-25 relate the dividing of the Red Sea waters and the crossing of the Israelites on dry land. Once across, the LORD caused the Red Sea to fall upon the pursuing Egyptians, killing the best of Pharaoh’s army (26-29). The last part of this section (30-31) is a summary of this wonderful deliverance by the LORD and the response of the grateful Israelites.

Pharaoh and his assistants changed their minds about setting free the Israelites. So he prepared his best troops and chariots to pursue them and bring them back to Egypt. They catch up with them at the place where the LORD told the Israelites to camp. When the Israelites saw them, they became terrified and complained bitterly to Moses because he had led them to a place where there was no way of escape for them. Moses told them not to fear, for the LORD was about to do a mighty work.

In Exodus 14:1-4, the LORD told Moses to change direction and camp at a certain place beside the sea. He warned that Pharaoh will come after them to bring them back and enslave them once more. But it was really preparation for another mighty act of the LORD to show both the Egyptians and the Israelites that He is the sovereign Ruler of all.

Ruth bore a son named Obed, who would become the grandfather of king David.

Boaz completed the transaction in front of witnesses and acquired the land and Ruth as his wife.