Daily reflections

The parts of the Bible that seem to involve God commanding the Israelites to exterminate their enemies are often difficult for us. They require us to be thoughtful about how we read them, and Christians have not always been...

One of the great Welsh hymns that's fed the souls of Christians down the years is 'Guide me, O thou great Redeemer'. It takes the image of God leading the believer through the wilderness, a 'pilgrim through this barren land...

It can be very hard for us to read some of the Old Testament stories of violence and conquest with their overtones of genocide and ethnic cleansing. We need to remind ourselves constantly that Deuteronomy was written a long...

Some parts of Deuteronomy can be hard going, if we're honest. Others, like these verses, are inspirational. What does God require of us? That we worship and obey him, and love and serve him with all our hearts (verses 12–13...

God has rescued the people from Egypt and guided them through the wilderness to the Promised Land, but there's a problem: the Israelites' descendants wouldn't have direct experience of God's saving work (verse 2). They would...

The book of Isaiah is full of foreshadowings of Jesus. Chapter 40 marks the beginning of a new section which may have been written by a different author; most scholars don't think the book was written by one person, though...

In this chapter the prophet rejoices in the assurance of God's salvation. There are descriptions of the way he empowers and nourishes his people, in vivid poetical language. He will make them like a 'threshing board' (verse...

Isaiah 42 contains one of the book's four 'servant songs', which speak of the 'servant of the Lord'. In Isaiah's mind, the 'servant' was Israel, chosen by God to fulfil his purposes in the world as they lived faithfully according...

In this chapter we read moving expressions of God's care for his people. 'Do not be afraid – I will save you,' he says; 'I have called you by name — you are mine' (verse 1). In vivid images, the prophet brings God's protection...