Knowing Him through His Story.
Lesson 40 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
In the Garden of Eden, God promised to send a Deliverer. Through Hebrew prophets, God gave hundreds of promises concerning this Deliverer, who would one day conquer Satan, sin and death forever. In the temple, the smoke from sacrifices ascended day after day, year after year, generation after generation, giving the Hebrew people a constant reminder of humankind’s need for the Deliverer. But when would He come? How would He come? By now, some must have wondered if He would come at all.
– The HOPE, Chapter 7
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
Today’s lesson marks the midway point in the story of The HOPE. Thus far we have considered many Biblical truths and events. Just as God intended, this has set the stage for what is to come. Looking back we have dealt with:
Why the Bible can be trusted as God’s revelation to man (Lessons 3 and 4)
What the Bible says about God – Who He is and what He is like (Lesson 6)
What the Bible says about man – created in image of God but separated from God by sin (Lessons 9 and 10)
God’s purpose for man – to love God and to be loved by God (Lesson 13)
The nature of sin and its effect upon man and his relationship to God (Lessons 18 and 19)
What the Bible says about Satan and the war he wages against God and man (Lesson 14)
God’s promise to send a Deliverer Who will conquer Satan, sin, and death forever (Lesson 20)
How the nations of our world came to be (Lesson 25)
How God called out a man, Abraham, through whom He promised to bless all nations (Lesson 26)
How God’s promise was kept alive through Abraham’s descendants (Lesson 31)
How from Abraham’s descendants God formed the Hebrew people, through whom He would send the Deliverer and fulfill His promise to bless all nations (Lesson 32)
All of these events and truths are recorded in the first five books of the Bible. These five books (known by the Hebrew people as the Torah) were carefully compiled and painstakingly preserved prior to the time period covered in our current lesson (approximately 400 B.C. to 1 A.D.). See Lesson 3 to review Hebrew methods of guarding the accuracy of copies of the Bible. Continue reading →
Where are you in the cycle?
Lesson 39 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
For over a thousand years, the Hebrew people attempted to live as God had commanded them. But many times they drifted away from God, sometimes even following false gods. When they did not turn back to God, He would discipline them, often by sending a foreign nation to invade their land and rule over them. The Hebrew people would then acknowledge their unfaithfulness, and call to God for deliverance. God would then raise up a leader to free the people from their oppressors. And the people would renew their commitment to live according to the ways of God. From blessing to bondage to blessing to bondage, over and over, again and again, the Hebrew people had been called to show the world what God was like. But because of the sin that infected the world, they could not walk in the ways of God without falling.
– The HOPE, Chapter 7
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
As we delve into this lesson, it is important to keep in mind that The HOPE is a summary overview of the Bible. An 80 minute video could not possibly cover the entire Bible. The HOPE excerpt above describes what happened over a period of more than a thousand years. During this time numerous kings and prophets made their mark on Hebrew history. Their stories are recorded in many books of the Bible. However, if you had to describe this period of time in one paragraph, the excerpt above would be an accurate one.
This excerpt describes a cycle that was repeated often in the history of the Hebrew people. One writer has described this cycle as follows:
from faith to obedience
from obedience to blessing
from blessing to abundance
from abundance to selfishness
from selfishness to judgment
from judgment to bondage
from bondage to brokenness
from brokenness to faith …1
After the Hebrew people saw the miracles of God in their Exodus from Egypt, they had the faith to obey God. They were quick to commit to whatever God asked of them. God promised to bless them when they obeyed, which He did. In fact they were blessed to abundance. And so the cycle began, and continued for centuries.
This cause and effect progression is not only descriptive of the Hebrew people; it can apply to any nation or individual in relationship with God. Notice that there is a differentiation between blessing and abundance. Abundance usually means having more than we need. From God’s perspective, having more than we need brings the responsibility to use our surplus to glorify God by blessing others. To do anything less is selfishness. In the case of the Hebrew people, judgment followed selfishness. There is a verse in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:6) which tells us that God disciplines those whom He loves. God’s judgment of the Hebrew people was motivated by His love for them. His judgment often resulted in bondage to another nation, which brought them to a place of brokenness and an awareness of their need for God! Continue reading →
A mirror can reveal a dirty face, but can’t clean the face.
Lesson 38 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
…by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
– Romans 3:20
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
In the last two lessons we considered the Law that God gave to the Hebrew people. God promised that if the Hebrew people obeyed the Law they would be blessed, but if they disobeyed the Law they would be punished. We also saw that God, knowing the Hebrew people would not be able to fully and consistently keep the Law, provided a way to cover their sin through the offering of sacrifices.
But there is yet another important aspect of the Law we must consider. Many people have the idea that the Law was given as a means for man to be right with God. But the Bible is clear (Romans 3:20) that no person can gain right standing (be justified) with God by keeping the Law. Think about it. If we could keep the Law perfectly (although we can’t), we would still be infected with the sin which was passed down to every person through Adam (see Lesson 18). Sin separates man from God. Even if you had never sinned, the sin in you would still separate you from God.
As we study the Bible, we learn that the Law is like a mirror – for both God and man. In the Law we see a true reflection of God’s character. That reflection reveals that God is holy and righteous. But in the Law, we also see a true image of ourselves. Our inability to keep the Law reveals our inadequacy, for the Law clearly reveals that we do not measure up to God’s standard of holiness and righteousness. Something in us prevents us from measuring up, and according to Romans 3:20, that something is sin.
A mirror can be helpful to show you if your face needs washing. But it cannot be used to wash your face. No one in their right mind would take a mirror and rub it on their face to remove dirt. That requires a cleansing agent such as soap. So it is with the Law. The Law reveals sin, but it is not a cleansing agent. It cannot cleanse us from sin, but it can show us our need to be cleansed. It can create a sense of need for the promised Deliverer, the only One who can take away sin! Continue reading →
The sacrifices covered sin, but did not take it away.
Lesson 37 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.
– Exodus 25:9
And each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it; and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.
– Exodus 29:36
And I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. And I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. And I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.
– Exodus 29:43–45
Now God knew that because of the sin that had infected humankind, the people would not be able to keep these laws. So God told Moses how to build a sacred place where His presence would dwell among them, and the people could bring animals to be slain as offerings for sin. The blood of the animals would be as a covering so that God would not look upon their sin. But while these sacrifices covered sin, they did not take away the sin.
– The HOPE, Chapter 7
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
When God gave the Hebrew people the Law, He knew that, because of the sin that had infected humankind (Lesson 18), they would not be able to keep the Law. It might appear to have been a cruel thing for God to give the Hebrew people a standard He knew they could not live up to. But let’s look a little deeper. Man’s greatest need is to have a healthy relationship with God. Because the Law represents the character of God, man cannot side–step the Law and be right with God. The Law represents who God is. Just as God is holy, righteous and good…so also is the Law (Romans 7:16). Man must be rightly related to the Law if he is to be rightly related with God.
Being full of grace, mercy, and wisdom, God provided the Hebrew people with a way to maintain their right relationship with Him even though they would inevitably break the Law. As it is said in The HOPE, So God told Moses how to build a sacred place where His presence would dwell among them, and the people could bring animals to be slain as offerings for sin. The blood of the animals would be as a covering so that God would not look upon their sin. God’s instructions for this sacred place of sacrifice, known as the tabernacle, are detailed in Exodus 25-27. God’s instructions for the offerings to be given there are detailed in Exodus 29-30.
In Exodus 29:36 we read that this offering was for “atonement.”1 The word “atonement” comes from the Hebrew word “kaphar”2 which literally means “to cover.” (This was the same word that was used when God told Noah to “cover” the ark with pitch.) When offerings were said to be an atonement for sin, they were in a sense “covering” the sin. Now it would be foolish to think that God, the One who sees and knows all things, is blind to sin, as if He could not see through an offering. It would be more accurate to say that God honored the offering by choosing not to look upon the sin or judge the sin…at least for a period of time. Continue reading →
The Law – A Reflection of God’s Holy character.
Lesson 36 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
– Exodus 19:3-8
From Egypt, God led the Hebrew people to a mountain in a desert called Sinai. It was here God said that if the Hebrew people obeyed Him, then they would be blessed as His treasured possession, and they would represent Him to all the nations of the earth. The people said they would do whatever God asked. And so it was, with lightning and thunder, and smoke and fire, God descended upon the mountain. And Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. On tablets of stone, God wrote laws by which to live and be blessed. He gave them to Moses to give to the Hebrew people. It was a sacred trust, a holy calling. For these laws were the ways of God.
– The HOPE, Chapter 7
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
What an honor! What a responsibility! Through trials and miraculous triumphs, the Hebrew people had been set apart from all the nations of the earth to enter into a covenant with God. This covenant was centered around the Law that God gave to the Hebrew people through Moses on Mount Sinai. Known as the Ten Commandments, this Law is recorded for us in Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21. In this covenant God promised that if the Hebrew people obeyed His Law, then they would become His people and He would bless them. If they disobeyed His Law, then He would punish them.
The blessings and curses associated with this covenant are detailed in Deuteronomy 28. While this covenant is primarily defined in terms of the Hebrew people and their relationship to God, the ultimate significance of this covenant extends to the entire world. In the Exodus 19 passage quoted above, God promises that if the Hebrew people obey Him, then they will be to Him “a kingdom of priests.” Basically, a priest is an intermediary between God and man. A priest leads people to God and is God’s representative to people. Continue reading →
A life that glorifies God has God–sized challenges.
Lesson 35 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. And the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea…
– Exodus 14:21–23
…Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea…
– Exodus 14:26–27
…And when Israel [the Hebrew people] saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses. Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name…
– Exodus 14:31–15:3
Finally, the Pharaoh released the Hebrew nation. And the people went out of Egypt. But the Pharaoh had a change of heart. With his army, he pursued the Hebrew people to the edge of the sea. So God divided the sea for the Hebrew people to cross on dry land. And when the Egyptians pursued them, God caused the sea to return, drowning the whole army.
– The HOPE, Chapter 6
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
As if peering through the lens of a camera, let’s look at today’s lesson from two perspectives. First we’ll look at the close–up view, and then we’ll zoom out for a wide angle view.
From the close–up view you can almost feel the salt mist as the sea lies in front of you while the Egyptian army is closing in behind. You lived your whole life as a slave in Egypt. Then in an incredibly dramatic turn of events, the ruler of Egypt not only decides to let you go, but he sends you out with many valuable possessions. You’ve hardly left Egypt and thousands of people are crowding in on you and your family. Fear is on every face. Then, just when you think that all hope for freedom is gone, Moses lifts his staff and the sea in front of you parts! God has made a way where there was no way …not only a way of escape for your people, but also a way to destroy the threat of the mighty Egyptian army.
Now let’s zoom out and re–examine this same event in a wider context. Recall that in the first lesson of this chapter, we considered a dream in which God gave Abraham an amazing preview of what was to come:
Abraham’s descendants would be strangers in a land that is not their own.
They would be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
Ultimately God would judge the nation in which they are enslaved.
After God’s judgment, Abraham’s descendants would leave that nation with wealth.
Abraham’s own life would end in peace at an old age.
With today’s story, everything God told Abraham had come to pass. Those who had listened to (and believed) the story of Abraham that had been handed down from generation to generation must have been looking forward to this day. They were no less surprised when God parted the sea, but they may have been a little less anxious, knowing that God had promised to deliver them and that everything else God had promised up to that point had come to pass. Continue reading →
A picture of the promised Deliverer.
Lesson 34 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household…Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.’”
– Exodus 12:3, 5, 6
‘And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.’
– Exodus 12:13
Moses returned to Egypt. And with his brother, Aaron, Moses went before the Pharaoh. But the Pharaoh’s heart was hard toward the Hebrew people, and he refused to let them leave Egypt. So God sent a series of terrible plagues on Egypt. But none of the plagues touched the Hebrew people. After each plague, the Pharaoh still refused to let the people go. Then God commanded every Hebrew family to slay a lamb and place blood from the lamb over the door of their dwelling. And God sent death to every first–born in the land, except those who were in a dwelling with blood over the entrance. As with Adam and Eve in the garden, and Abraham and his son on the mountain, it was yet another picture of how a sacrificial substitute would someday deliver humankind from Satan, sin, and death.
– The HOPE, Chapter 6
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
As we see from the Bible verses and The HOPE excerpts above, Moses returned to Egypt to deliver his people. But the ruler of Egypt refused to let them go, even after God sent a series of plagues which should have caused him to realize that God Himself was behind Moses’ request. After nine plagues which brought diseases, insects, reptiles and various natural disasters to Egypt (without affecting the Hebrew people),1 God told Moses to institute something that is celebrated in part by the Hebrew people to this very day. It is known as the Passover.
Through Moses, God instructed the Hebrew families to take an unblemished lamb into their households and to care for it for four days. That sweet innocent lamb must have become like a member of the household! After four days they were to kill the lamb and prepare it for a meal. God gave them specific instructions for preparation of the lamb, and what they should eat with it. Every element of the Passover meal was rich with special meaning. Numerous books have been written on this subject. (See “For Further Study”).
God also instructed the Hebrew people to place blood from the lamb over the doors of their houses. God said that He would send death to every first born in the land, passing over those dwelling in any house with blood over the door. And everything came to pass, just as God said. Continue reading →
When he thought he was finished, he was finally ready.
Lesson 33 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father–in–law … And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed …God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” …Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…”
– Exodus 3:1–8
Moses fled to the desert, and he lived there as a shepherd for forty years. Then one day, God appeared to Moses in a fire in the midst of a bush, yet the bush was not consumed. And God spoke to Moses from the bush. God told Moses to return to his people and lead them out of Egypt. God promised to be with him.
– The HOPE, Chapter 6
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
In the first lesson of Chapter 6, we learned of the very specific vision that God gave to Abraham. God told Abraham that:
His descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own.
They would be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
Then, in Lesson 32, we saw how God used Joseph to save his family (Abraham’s descendants) from the famine in their own land by allowing them to live in Egypt (a land that was not their own). In Egypt, Joseph’s family increased in number and was eventually enslaved and treated harshly by the ruler of Egypt. During this time they became known as the Hebrew people. At one point, the ruler of Egypt ordered the death of every son born into a Hebrew family. One Hebrew child was spared, however, when his mother placed him in a basket in the river that ran by the palace of the princess. The princess found the boy, took him in as her own and named him Moses.1 He was raised as a prince of Egypt…but he had been born a Hebrew, and he never forgot it.
One day when Moses was about 40 years old, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, so he killed the Egyptian. Fearing for his life, Moses fled into the wilderness. There he married a shepherd’s daughter and lived in that place for another 40 years. 2 It is at this point that our current lesson opens. The descendents of Abraham have been enslaved in a foreign land, just as God had said. And at 80 years of age Moses is about to encounter the covenant–making–God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Think about it, as a prince of Egypt Moses received everything that wealth and power could provide. Still he recognized the plight of his people (Exodus 2:11). With his influence, he might have helped his people like Joseph did. But when Moses killed the Egyptian, everyone turned against him, even his own people. With all of his potential seemingly squandered, Moses went into hiding in the wilderness. Continue reading →
A living example of Romans 8:28.
Lesson 32 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
– Genesis 50:20
Jacob had twelve sons, but there was one son named Joseph whom he loved very much. And Joseph’s brothers were very jealous of him. So they seized Joseph and threw him in a pit. Then they sold Joseph to some traders who were going to a land called Egypt. The brothers dipped Joseph’s clothing in blood, and told their father that Joseph had been eaten by a wild beast.
Joseph entered the land of Egypt as a slave. But in Egypt, God placed Joseph in the service of powerful people. And in time, Joseph was summoned to appear before the ruler of all Egypt, who was called the Pharaoh. Joseph was asked to interpret a dream. God gave Joseph the correct interpretation concerning a great famine that would come upon the earth. The Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph, and so it was that he placed Joseph in authority over the land of Egypt.
Now when the famine came over the earth, Joseph’s family suffered greatly in the land of Canaan. But in Egypt Joseph had filled the storehouses. And even though Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers, he still had a deep love for his family. Because of the position God had given Joseph, his entire family was permitted to come and live in Egypt, escaping starvation. And so it was that a people through whom God promised to bless the nations came to dwell in a land that was not their own.
– The HOPE, Chapter 6
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
Many Bible students believe that Joseph’s life foreshadows God’s promised Deliverer, who we will soon study in upcoming chapters of The HOPE. In fact, the similarities between Joseph and the promised Deliverer are truly amazing.
Consider that both Joseph and the promised Deliverer …1
were sent by their fathers to their brothers – Joseph’s brothers hated him and sought to kill him, and the Deliverer’s own kinsmen rejected Him and sought to kill Him (see Genesis 37:13, John 7:3, Luke 20:47).
As we study the lives of Joseph and the promised Deliverer, we see another similarity, one that allowed all the similarities listed above to be manifested. Both Joseph and the promised Deliverer were submitted to a purpose that was not their own doing. They understood that their lives were part of a greater plan, and they co–operated with that plan. In John 6:38, the words of the promised Deliverer are recorded, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
In Joseph we recognize the evidence of a purposeful divine influence guiding the events of his life. Like a leaf that has fallen into a great river, Joseph’s life was moved by the powerful flow of a divine current. And with each event that came into his life (even the difficult ones), Joseph submitted to that flow rather than resisting it. God used Joseph’s life to accomplish exactly what He had planned beforehand, bringing good to Joseph and to others, and glory to Himself.
ASK & REFLECT
From Joseph’s life, what can we learn about God and about our relationship with Him?
Why do you think God would orchestrate Joseph’s life to have so many similarities with the life of God’s promised Deliverer?
God creates every person with a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). In retrospect it is not difficult for us to recognize the purpose of Joseph’s life, but what about Joseph himself? Do you think that Joseph always understood the purpose of his life, or the reason for the events that came into his life?
DECIDE & DO
You may not yet know the purpose of your life or the things that come into your life, but you can know the One who gives purpose to your life. And like Joseph, in every circumstance you can submit to the flow of His divine current in your life.
Do you know God like Joseph knew Him? Are you confident of His guiding presence? If not, then go immediately to the Knowing God section at the end of this study guide.
Has God brought a difficult circumstance into your life? If so, follow the example of Joseph. See it as an opportunity for God to work in and through you, bringing good to you and others and glory to Himself. For “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
1Some of this listing was suggested by “Parallels between Joseph and Jesus,” Life Application Study Bible: New International Version. (Tyndale House Publishers, 1997).
He walked out what God had already shown him.
Lesson 31 from The HOPE Study Guide
INTRODUCTION
And God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions. And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.”
– Genesis 15 : 13-15
God promised to bless Abraham, and through Him to bless all the nations of the earth. God made the same kind of promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and to Isaac’s son, Jacob.
– The HOPE, Chapter 6
OBSERVE & CONSIDER
In Lessons 26–30 we studied Abraham and some of the events surrounding his life. As you recall, God called Abraham and promised to bless him that he might be a blessing to all the nations. Before moving forward, consider these things about God’s promised blessing:
Though the blessing came through Abraham, it is for everyone who is willing, by faith, to receive it.
The Bible calls this promise of blessing a covenant.1 When God makes such a covenant,2 it is an irrevocable promise to do what He has said. God will do what must be done to bring it to pass.
God, who is eternal, all knowing, and all powerful,3 isn’t trying to figure out how to bring it to pass. He already has every detail planned. This will become increasingly more evident over the next few lessons.
As we continue on in The HOPE, we see that God made the same “kind” of promise to Abraham’s son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. By the word “kind,” The HOPE is allowing for the fact that while God may have worded it differently, it was basically the same promise being passed down through Abraham’s descendants. They are, in a sense, entering in to God’s promise to Abraham.
Now as we have noted, the fulfillment of this promise has been planned in detail by God. To understand this better, let’s go back to Genesis 15. Here we read that God declared Abraham righteous (Lesson 27). Also in this chapter, we read that God, after causing a deep sleep to come over Abraham, gave him a detailed vision of what was to come – not just in his lifetime, but for the next several hundred years! Continue reading →
devos from the hill 