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How Tall Was Goliath? 9 Feet or 6 Feet?
David killing Goliath with a sling is one of the most beloved and well-known Bible stories. In fact, sports announcers will still sometimes use the phrase, “It is a David versus Goliath story” to describe an underdog taking down the favorite. Those who grew up in church quickly became familiar with the story of the little boy David killing the mighty Philistine giant, Goliath. However, some of the details of the David vs. Goliath story need fleshing out. For one thing, it is likely that although he fought for the Philistines, Goliath was likely a descendant of Anak. Another issue is whether Goliath would qualify as a giant or not. This is actually a bit of a text-critical issue in the book of Samuel! Compare the following English translations. CSB Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall. NET Then a champion came out…
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3 Reasons Why Physical Church Attendance is Necessary
Attending church has been a long-held tradition for many people. But in a world filled with secularism and the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and community, many people are questioning the relevance and necessity of going to church. Sadly, I have even met many confessed Christians who do not go to church. Not long ago, I had a friend genuinely ask about why it was important to go to church, so I thought this would be a good motivation to give a concise biblical perspective on why going to church is not an optional exercise for the Christian. The idea of actually going to church has become more contested, in part, due to the whole COVID situation years ago in 2020 and 2021. Churches shut down in-person gatherings and livestreamed their services. People began questioning whether there was a benefit to going to church or not. Wouldn’t watching a…
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Should We Trust Our Bible Translations?
Should we trust our Bible translations? This question naturally belongs as part of our previous series on the King James Version. Some people claim that the King James Version is without any errors in it, thus being the authoritative, inerrant Word of God. However, as we demonstrated previously, there are mistakes in the translation of the KJV. This brings up the question, how can we trust other Bible translations (any of them) if there might be errors in them? This question not only applies to the KJV, but also to the newer Bible translations (NASB, ESV, NIV, etc.). In order to work through this question, it will be helpful to consider the following points. 1. God’s Word is Inerrant Only in the Original, not in Translations Because every word of Scripture was given through prophecy, and since prophecy is considered authoritative and accurately represents God (cf. Deut 18:22; 2 Pet…
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The Distant Starlight Problem and Genesis 1
A common objection to the young earth creation position is the distant starlight problem. This starlight problem is usually framed with the following information. First, starlight travels approximately 186,000 miles per second. Therefore, the distance starlight can travel in a year is approximately 6 trillion miles, and is referred to in astronomical measurements as a light year. Thanks to the Hubble Telescope, we are able to see many stars that are invisible to the naked eye. One such star, named Icarus, is 9 billion light-years from Earth. In simple terms, the above information means the light from Icarus took 9 billion years (traveling at 186k miles per second) to reach earth. That is a long distance and a long time! However, at the same time, this seems to be incongruent with a young earth creation position, which posits a young age for the earth (usually defined as 6-10k years old).…
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Was Elijah Afraid of Jezebel? A Closer Look at 1 Kings 19:3
One of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament is Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. On Mount Carmel, Elijah stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal. Then, in a stunning display of divine power, Yahweh answers by fire and proves that he alone is the true God. In the aftermath, Elijah commands that the prophets of Baal be executed (1 Kgs 18:40). After that, Yahweh sends rain on the land and ends the long drought. Ahab witnesses all of it. But when he returns to Jezreel, he reports everything to Jezebel, his Baal-worshiping wife. Jezebel responds with a death threat: she vows to make Elijah like the prophets of Baal by the next day. So what did Elijah do? That question matters because 1 Kings 19:3 is debated. Many English translations say Elijah became afraid and fled from Jezebel. That reading has led…
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Why Does God Call Ezekiel Son of Man So Much?
Anyone who reads the Gospels understands that one of Jesus’ favorite titles to use of himself is the son of man. Interestingly, the son of man moniker is used 79 times in the Gospels, and once in Acts (7:56), but in each case it is Jesus using the phrase of himself. Nobody calls Jesus the son of man, nor is anyone else called the son of man. Although there is debate about where the New Testament title son of man comes from, it almost certainly comes from the backdrop of Daniel 7:13-14, where “one like a son of man” comes before the Ancient of Days and is given dominion over the entire world with an everlasting kingdom. Daniel 7, which was understood as Messianic even before the time of Christ (cf. 4 Ezra 13), provides the vocabulary that Jesus could appropriate for himself, indicating He is the Messianic representative of…
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Did the Prophets Understand What They Said? (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Sometimes it is claimed that prophets in the Old Testament did not fully understand their own prophecies. This is often used as an argument for sensus plenior, which is the idea of finding a “fuller meaning” behind the text—a meaning which the original author may not have known. One of the key texts used to support the idea that the prophets did not fully understand their own prophecies is 1 Peter 1:10–12: 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you…
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Was the Passover Lamb Boiled or Not? A Hebrew Lesson for Skeptics
Many people constantly accuse the Bible of having contradictions within it. One such alleged contradiction concerns the command not to boil the Passover lamb. In Exodus 12:8-9, Israel is forbidden to eat any of the lamb raw or to boil it in water. Similarly, in Deuteronomy 16:5-7, Moses’ instructions on eating the Passover include the command to cook it and eat it. Although the apparent contradiction is not present in many English translations, the issue is that the Hebrew of Exodus 12:8-9 says not to “boil [מְבֻשָּׁל] in water,” while Deuteronomy 16:7 uses the same verb while saying, “boil [וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ] and eat.” In other words, Exodus 12 says NOT to boil, and Deuteronomy says to boil and eat. What do we do with that? Resolving the Alleged Contradiction To answer this issue, we need to clarify that the Hebrew verb used (בשׁל) does not inherently mean “to boil.” It means…
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Was Caleb the Kenizzite Born a Native Israelite?
Who was Caleb, the Son of Jephunneh? Although I think we often assume he was a naturally born Israelite, there may be evidence to suggest his family had joined Israel at some point. This might explain the unique references to the title, Kenizzite. Brief Background on Caleb, the Son of Jephunneh Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, is a captivating character in Scripture. Caleb is most well known for being one of the 12 spies who explored the land of Canaan after the Exodus (Num 13:1-16). Out of the 12 spies who entered Canaan, only Caleb and Joshua trusted in God’s power to deliver the land to Israel (Num 14:6-10). They were faithful to Yahweh, while the rest of the spies gave a discouraging report and the people wanted to return to Egypt (Num 14:4). Caleb is well known for a variety of other reasons as well. Because of Caleb’s devotion…
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What Songs Belong in Church? A Concise Guide on the Issue
Most Christians would agree that some songs don’t belong in gathered worship. The harder question is the one that actually divides us: where do we draw the line? On what basis do we draw that line? For some, if a song is labeled “Christian,” it’s automatically fair game on Sunday. Others would expand the standard to include “non-Christian” songs with Christian themes. (I still remember seeing a church sing “You Raise Me Up,” by Josh Groban, and being quite shocked). For others, only a narrowly defined style or sound is acceptable. So how do we evaluate worship music wisely, without drifting into anything-goes pragmatism on one side or some sort of legalism on the other? Are there any passages that talk about this issue directly? This is the first question to ask when working through any issue. Regarding this issue, Colossians 3:16 is very appropriate (cf. Eph 5:19). Let the…