By Sam E. Stone Judah had been conquered, Jerusalem burned, the temple demolished, and the people taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years of captivity there, they were allowed to return to their homeland. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel (the governor) and Joshua (the priest), work was begun to rebuild the temple. Despite a […]
By Sam E. Stone Only 38 verses long, Haggai is the second shortest book of the Old Testament (after Obadiah). It is filled with important teaching, however. In last week’s lesson, the prophet Haggai called the people back to their task of rebuilding the temple. They had ignored their responsibility for 16 years! His […]
By Sam E. Stone After returning from Babylonian exile, the Jews laid the foundations for the temple but then did no other construction work. After encountering opposition, the people were discouraged from continuing. Sixteen years passed, and the work was still unfinished. Haggai and Zechariah were two of the prophets who served in this […]
By Sam E. Stone Today we study Jesus’ answer to a question about the greatest commandment. In reply, he cites the two Old Testament passages that we will consider first in our lesson. Moses had been given the assignment to pass along God’s commands to those Israelites who left Egyptian bondage. Leviticus explained they […]
By Sam E. Stone While Jesus was teaching in Galilee some 50 miles away from them, the religious leaders in Jerusalem sent a delegation to question him. This demonstrates clearly that they regarded him as a threat to their position and influence with the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were very […]
