How the Rewards of Sin Bring Us Closer to God
Sin is horrible. It drives us away from God, pushing us into a reality that seems devoid of life, love, and hope. This state of despair envelopes the most precious aspects of our lives. Marriage, the source of our greatest joy, can become...
The Exile as a Sign of God’s Everlasting Love for Israel
There are two passages in the Torah that contain a short list of promised blessings should the Children of Israel adhere to the commandments, and a longer list of curses should they not. The first is found in Leviticus chapter 26 and the...
Are We Really Required to Give an Eye for an Eye?
Leviticus seems to tell the Children of Israel that when someone hurts his fellow he should be punished in kind. Understood literally, the verses seem to say that we must implement reciprocal justice; paying another back measure for...
Free Will and Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart
God sent Moses to demand that Pharaoh release the Hebrews from bondage, threatening that should the Egyptian king refuse, the country would suffer. So it seems incredibly unjust that God would harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 9:12),...