The Surprising Reason Chronicles is in the Bible

Why is the book of Chronicles in the Bible? It was written after the book of Kings and covers much of the same material, from the end of Saul’s reign until the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. Chronicles tacks on at the very end that Cyrus the Great of Persia allowed the exiles to return to...

The Human Cost of Tabernacle and Temple, Part 2

 In the last post I wrote about how Solomon’s temple as well as the palace complex, which were all part of one big building project—was built on injustice: the forced labor and heavy taxation of most Israelites except the rich nobles around Jerusalem; the accumulation of extreme wealth by Solomon and those...

The Human Costs of Tabernacle and Temple, Part 1

Exodus is a pretty good book, especially at the beginning and the end. There’s a baby hidden in the Nile, the burning bush, Moses trading tricks with Pharaoh’s sorcerers, the plagues, the Red Sea crossing, manna, and all sorts of other really good stuff. Then you get to chapter 20 and things slow down a...