23 Bible Stories with Deeper Meanings (that will blow your mind)

How well do you think you know the Bible? We're all familiar with stories like the parting of the Red Sea and David versus Goliath—symbols like the crown of thorns and the crucifix. But what if I told you that there's more to these biblical concepts than you thought? The Bible's no doubt a powerful book, but this video is for those who want to go deeper. Because if God really did inspire this book, it must be filled with incredible connections us humans don't often pick up on. Did you know that the crown of thorns is connected

to the Garden of Eden? Or that Jesus' baptism is connected to the Exodus story? Today, I've compiled 23 deeper meanings in common Bible stories that will deepen your understanding of the Scriptures and leave you praising God for how awesome His writing is. If you learned something today, consider subscribing. And if you'd like to support what we do here, consider joining the Patreon or the YouTube members. In a book where epically large stories are reduced to a mere handful of verses, it seems strange that the biggest chapter in the book of Genesis is about a servant

looking for a bride. Before looking into it, I wondered how this random servant landed a main character role in a monstrous 67-verse chapter. But after I studied it, I realized that this was no ordinary chapter, and this was no ordinary servant. To set the stage, Abraham is called to sacrifice his son Isaac a few chapters earlier. In that story, Abraham plays the role of God the Father, and Isaac represents Jesus, the Son. I always thought the metaphor ended there, but I found out that it keeps going. Isaac doesn't appear again in the story until it's

time for him to take a wife. If Isaac represents Jesus, his absence in the story symbolizes his ascension into heaven, and he'll only reappear when it's time to take his bride, the Christians of Earth. Now, you may be thinking, "Well, that's cool and all—a little deeper meaning of Jesus and his bride," but the main character in this chapter isn't Isaac or Abraham, and it isn't even Rebecca, the bride. It's this unnamed servant. This mysterious servant is introduced in Genesis 15:2. Because Abraham had no children at that point, he appointed Eleazar to inherit his estate after

he died. Interestingly enough, in chapter 24, Eleazar is referred to as Abraham's servant, essentially an extension of Abraham himself. He's responsible for uniting Isaac (or Jesus) with Rebecca, his bride (or the Church). And his name literally means "God of help." If we understand Eleazar as the Holy Spirit in chapter 24, an enormous treasure trove of deeper meanings emerges from the pages. When he left Abraham, he came with camels loaded with all kinds of good things. He was commanded not to bring back the bride unless she was willing. The servant deeply cared about his master's mission

being carried out. But the parallel I love the most is in verse 25. Before this verse, he had prayed that if a woman offered to water his camels, that would be the sign that she's the bride for Isaac. But before he celebrates the success, he has one final question to ask the bride: "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" In other words, the question the Holy Spirit asks a potential Christian is, "Is there room in your heart for me?" Then and only then does the servant rejoice

that his mission was successful when he was welcomed into the home of the bride. One of the more controversial passages involving Jesus is recorded in John 8. A woman is dragged before Jesus by the Pharisees, interrupting His teaching. They declared that she'd been caught in adultery and tried to trap Him with a question. They were hoping that Jesus would slip up, giving them a basis to accuse Him, but instead, He crouches down and starts drawing in the sand. What exactly He draws in the sand isn't revealed in the passage, and there's been much mystery surrounding

Jesus' strange response here. Of course, we all remember His profound reply: "Let any one of you who is without sin cast the first stone," causing them all to leave one by one. There are a few theories as to what Jesus wrote in the dirt. Some say He was writing one of the laws of Moses that the Pharisees had actually broken—specifically that both the man and the woman should be brought together for punishment, not just the woman. Others say that He may have been writing the names of the Jewish leaders in the sand, hearkening back to

a priestly tradition in the temple where they'd write down the names of the guilty in the sand as a pronouncement of judgment. But I want to offer an answer today—not about what Jesus drew, but why Jesus drew. One of John's primary objectives in writing his gospel was to convince the reader that Jesus is God. So when Jesus uses His finger to draw in the dirt, it's meant to remind the reader of a time in the Old Testament when someone drew using their finger in stone. Moses received the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone inscribed by

the finger of God. So when Jesus mimics His Father by using His finger to draw, not only does He prove to everyone that He is God, but that the very law His enemies used to trap Him was created by Jesus thousands of years before the Pharisees were even born. As Christians, we're commanded to remember Jesus' death for us—how He was beaten, whipped, and torn apart. But amidst His bloody body, there's a symbol of hope. And believe it or not, it's the crown of thorns. Jesus was given the crown of thorns... as a mockery by the

Romans, but I believe it was hammered into his head for a deeper reason. See, in Genesis 3, we get the first mention of thorns in the entire Bible. They're introduced as a curse on creation as a result of the fall. It seems like humanity will have to battle against thorns just to grow food and survive. Each time a thorn bush was pulled out, the pricks and jabs inflicted would remind the farmer of the reality that they lived in a cursed world. Even Paul describes creation as being frustrated and even groaning in agony because of the

curse put on it. But by wearing this crown of thorns, symbolizing the curse placed on the world, Jesus demonstrates his ability to break the curse and free not only humanity from the shackles of sin, but the entire creation from its [Music] grasp. Psalm 23 is one of the most famous psalms in the book for a few simple reasons. It's short, memorable, and encouraging. But today, I want to bring out a deeper meaning I found while watching this video by our brother Alan Par. He mentioned something about verse 4. In the psalm, David describes a sprawling

landscape of lush green pastures, full of quiet streams of water flowing throughout. This is a place where the sheep lie down and rest under the power and love of their shepherd. The end of verse 4 reads, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." We gloss over this detail, but the rod and staff had two distinct purposes. Almost every time a rod is mentioned in scripture, it's described as a weapon to be used against wickedness. The rod in this psalm would have been used by the

shepherd to ward off attacks from predators looking to hunt the sheep. It was a rod of protection from the devil's schemes. Staffs were also wielded by the leaders of Israel—from Jacob to Moses and Aaron. Moses's staff is mentioned before every single plague that was pronounced on Egypt and was famously used to part the Red Sea. The staff is a picture of not only power but also guidance. Shepherds would use a staff with a hook on the end to redirect sheep who are going astray. Our great shepherd not only protects us from the evil we often

can't even see, but he also redirects our paths when we go astray, keeping us in his safety forever and protecting us from ourselves. There's no verse more universally hated by the single Christian community than 2 Corinthians 6:14. Trust me, I've been there. You're looking for a romantic partner and you fall for a charming colleague at work or a beautiful classmate at school. It's not long before you find out that they're not a Christian. So, you start praying without ceasing, hoping that God would grant them repentance and save them—all for the glory of God, right? But

understanding the context of this verse offers not just the what, but the why behind it. "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" is the phrase used by Paul—a phrase that doesn't exactly make sense to a modern reader like us. Back then, farmers would saddle two oxen with what's called a yoke. It was a long wooden beam that looped around the oxen's heads and rested on their shoulders. The yoke would be attached to a plow or cart that the oxen would carry. If one ox was smaller or weaker than the other, the weaker ox couldn't keep

up, causing the team to walk around in circles or stop functioning entirely. This image illustrates for us some important points about the Christian life. There's work to be done in partnership. God wants us connecting in a team to accomplish his will. It's good to have a partner. God saw that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, so he created Eve for him. Having an unequal partner can not only disrupt your work; they can take you on a completely different path, leading you far away from where God is leading. These three points are true of

business partners as well as marriage relationships. At the start, it's smooth sailing. But when challenges arise, your opposing worldviews will start to clash. In order to salvage the relationship, one partner must be willing to compromise their worldview and submit to the other. Tragically, it is more often than not the Christian who compromises, leaving their gracious creator behind to justify adopting a profitable financial pursuit or a hedonistic relationship of sin. This is the fastest way believers are falling away from the faith. So I beg you, my friend, reach out for help, and God will set you

free from the temptation of being yoked to a non-believer. Now, we're all familiar with the famous story of David and Goliath. But what if I told you that David actually joined Goliath's team shortly after defeating him? Why would he switch sides? And what happened while he was in the enemy's territory? The answers to these questions span over five huge chapters of the Bible and completely took me by surprise. After the climactic victory over Goliath and the Philistines, David entered Saul's service full-time and won many victories under his kingship. But Saul became jealous of David and

his influence, so he conspired to kill him. As a result, David was forced to flee. He first visited Nob, where the priest there gave David Goliath's sword to use for himself. Then, he arrived in none other than Gath, the very home of the giant he once slayed. The news of David's arrival spread like wildfire, and his song was repeated to Achish, the king. So, David acted like a madman, ensuring that the king would find no threat in him whatsoever. He clawed at the walls and drooled. In his beard, pretending to be insane. And the king

was so disgusted with David that he expelled him from the land. Now, that's a pretty funny story, but it's only the start. In fact, David returns to Gath after being chased by Saul. And this time, something fascinating happens. He and his 600 men flee to Akish, the king of Gath, and are given Ziglag, a portion of the Philistine territory for them to settle. While there, David actually came up with a really smart strategy to win the king's favor. He would go out on raids and return with plunder for the king, claiming that he was raiding

the nations of Judah. But in reality, he was actually raiding the enemies of Israel and claiming the plunder to be from his own people. Because of this, Akish was convinced that David would never be accepted by his own people again, thanks to his pillaging, and made David his bodyguard for life. David had deceived Akish so well that when it came time to face the Israelites, Akish positioned David and his 600 men at the rear of his army, acting as his personal bodyguard. And naturally, the Philistine soldiers had an issue with this and demanded that David

and his men return to Ziglag, or else betray the king during combat. The king eventually relented, and David was returned to Ziklag. He actually has some pretty significant stories in Gath. But what can we learn from this one in particular? Well, firstly, it's incredible that David not only takes Goliath's sword into his home city but essentially replaces Goliath in his service to the Philistines. It's hilariously ironic that the hero who defeated the Philistine giant became the second coming of the Philistine giant through God's sovereignty. But more importantly, I think, is the fact that God's plans

continue to be carried out through his people despite Saul's appalling attitude and unfaithfulness. Sometimes God uses even our enemies to accomplish his will for us. There's a famous chapter in the book of Isaiah that accurately predicts the suffering of the Messiah 700 years before it actually happened. It predicts the invention of the crucifix, the nature of Christ's suffering, and even his appearance. But there's another prophecy hidden in this iconic chapter that we often skim over. Isaiah 53:9 says, "He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death." Now, we can

assume that the first line is referring to the criminals who were crucified on his left and right. But the next part doesn't ring any bells until we look at the burial of Jesus. Because this was a particularly important Sabbath, the body was given to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish council, a good man who was waiting for the kingdom of God. He took Jesus' body, and after wrapping it, laid it in his very own tomb, newly cut and never used before. So, it seems Isaiah was once again on the money when he prophesied

that Jesus would be with the rich in his death. But that's not all. In John's account, another character is included in Jesus' burial story. It's none other than Nicodemus, the man who heard the incredible words of John 3:16 from Jesus himself. The text says that Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing in at around 34 kilos or 75 lb. That's the equivalent of $30,000 dinari, roughly 83 years of work, estimated today to be around $1.4 million. Nevertheless, Nicodemus and Joseph combined to offer Jesus a burial that could only be fit for a king,

all while fulfilling a lesser-known prophecy in Isaiah 53. If you've seen this video, you'll recognize this guy. And if you haven't, you should definitely check it out. Anyway, this is Satan, the main perspective character of the film. But something I didn't put in the film is this very interesting interaction between Satan and God at the fall of mankind. God is searching for Adam and Eve, calling for them in the garden. Adam fears God because of his nakedness, and God asks if he's eaten from the fruit of the garden. Let's pause right there because this is

actually a really fascinating response from God to man's first sin. Of course, God knew that Adam had sinned before starting this conversation. But instead of smiting him then and there and starting over, he questions him. And the question is very significant. I'll tell you why in just a moment. But Adam blames Eve and God. Then God moves on to the woman, who proceeds to blame the serpent. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Instead of asking the serpent a question, God immediately curses him. But notice how God deals differently with the man and the devil.

To man, he leaves with a question, giving him an opportunity to repent. Whereas the devil had no such luxury. Because of Jesus' humanity, he was the perfect bridge between God and man, enabling us to attain the mercies he offers. However, the devil and his angels don't get a second chance; they are destined for destruction, whether they like it or not. Here we get the first glimpse of God's incredible mercy that is readily available to us to access today. Each time we sin, God seeks us out with a question, and it's up to us how we're

going to answer him. All four of the gospel accounts start with strong allusions to the Old Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all quote or allude to different parts of the ancient scriptures, and it's fascinating. By the way, if you're interested in me explaining the Old Testament connections at the start of each gospel, comment down below. But today, I wanted to share something about the mother of Jesus, Mary. In Luke's gospel, there are some unusual verses about Mary, specifically when she visits her relative Elizabeth. That I could never make sense of. Little did I know

that almost every word was a clue connecting Mary with something very significant in King David's time: the mysterious object known as the Ark of the Covenant. Now, you may already see the connection between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. But after you follow me along here, your mind will be absolutely blown because the evidence is way too much to ignore. The first thing we have to pay attention to is Gabriel's announcement to Mary. He states that she'll conceive the man to inherit David's throne. Straight away, the connection between David and Jesus is made. This

is an important foundation to build upon to make this deeper meaning work. The second significant thing that Gabriel says is his answer to Mary's confusion. Gabriel says, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Now, that word "overshadow" is used only one time in the first five books of the Bible, and it's in a very interesting place. When the tabernacle was completed in Exodus, Moses is prevented from entering the tent of meeting because the cloud overshadowed it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. It's

used to describe the manifestation of the divine presence. But that's not all. The section of the tent that was overshadowed was called the Holy of Holies, the location of the Ark of the Covenant. In other words, the ark was filled with the manifest presence of God among His people, as was Mary, the vessel for the ultimate divine manifestation of God to truly dwell with us in human form. But there's more. When we look at Mary's visit to Elizabeth, the coincidences start to stack up. Mary leaves Nazareth in Galilee and makes the journey to a town

in the hill country of Judah. In the account of the ark, the text says that it was transported from the Philistines to Judah and kept there specifically on a hill. The ark didn't reach Jerusalem straight away. Instead, it was brought into the home of Obed-Edom, a Levite. In comparison, Mary's visit to the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of whom were priests and therefore from the tribe of Levi. But wait, it gets better. When Mary meets with Elizabeth, John the Baptist, who was in her womb, leapt for joy. The same English word is used to

describe David's reaction to the ark entering the city. Now, if John's parents were both priests, that means that he was a priest too. So, you could say that Mary and her unborn son were greeted by a leaping priest. But David wasn't a priest; he was a king. Well, check this out: wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might. On this particular day, for some reason, David was wearing a linen ephod, a special garment worn only by priests. In 1 Chronicles 15, it's added that he was also clothed in a

robe of fine linen, another item of clothing worn by ministers in the sanctuary. It seems that for this brief occasion, David assumed the role of a priest. Both David and Elizabeth ask a similar question: "Why has this happened to me?" And then there's the duration of their stay. The ark stayed in the house of Obed-Edom for three months. The same Greek word is used to describe Mary's stay, which also happened to be three months. And finally, the conclusive praise in both stories has remarkable parallels. Both refer to Israel as God's servant and hearken back to

the covenant made with Abraham, a covenant that would stand forever. So, after all that, there may be a connection between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. But why does it matter? Well, the ark represented God's dwelling among His people; it indicated God living on earth. However, the ark was merely a representation of what was to be fulfilled in Mary, where the full presence of God would be manifested in human flesh and bones, walking, talking, eating, and sleeping with us, and who would ultimately be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. The opening

of Genesis is unforgettable. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But did you know that there's actually proof that Jesus' name is mentioned in this first verse? And it actually appears in the very first word. Well, for us, it's technically the first three words, but in the original Hebrew, the words "in the beginning" are combined into one: "bereshit." And hidden in this word is the first mention of the promised Messiah in the entire Bible. I've saved this one for last because this connection is absolutely unbelievable. In Proverbs 8, we hear from a

character called Wisdom, personifying the wisdom of God. Wisdom describes itself as doing all sorts of things in this chapter, but verse 22 is literally translated, "The Lord possessed me, the beginning of His way." In 1 Corinthians 1:24, Paul reveals that this mysterious character called Wisdom was actually Jesus Christ all along. Are you ready for this? In Proverbs 8:22, Jesus is claiming the Hebrew word "reshit" as a title, the exact same word used in the first word of the Bible: "bereshit." So, in the first word of the Old Testament, Christ appears, meaning that the first verse

of the Bible could read, "In Christ, God created the heavens and the earth." Jesus' death is the most important and profound act of love in all of history. But as we know, many strange things happened as Christ was being crucified. Did you know that Jesus' death coincides with a very special event in Jewish history? Not only to the day, but even to the very hour. A paper by Humphreys and Waddington used astronomical calculations to reconstruct the Jewish calendar. Don't worry, that... Went over my head, too. And I found that Jesus' death was on a day

called Nissan 14—not the car brand, but the Jewish calendar month. This happened to be when the Passover festival would take place, a period to remember the time when the Jews were saved from the angel of death by painting their door frames with blood. The angel of death passed over their houses painted in red and stopped to slaughter the unpainted houses of the Egyptians. But the Jews didn't use any ordinary blood to save them from that day. God specifically requested the blood of a lamb, unblemished, male, and one year old. The Passover festival lasted from Nissan

15 to 22. So get this: the day on which the unblemished lambs were sacrificed was none other than Nissan 14, the day before Passover. Not only were the unblemished lambs sacrificed the very same day as Jesus' death, but it happened almost at the same moment. The unblemished lambs were sacrificed in unison at twilight, the moment the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. In the same way, John's gospel suggests that Jesus died in the late afternoon, leaving very little space between these events. In other words, Jesus died at the same time as the unblemished lambs—a timing impossible

to ignore in light of what Jesus accomplished, being the final and ultimate lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. So that when the final Passover of judgment occurs, we too can be saved not by the blood of lambs, but by the blood of Christ. Well, it turns out the wise men who visited Jesus as a child may have been even wiser than we first thought. Initially, the gifts they presented seemed unfit for a baby boy—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Certainly valuable and worth a bit of money, but not helpful in raising a baby.

Well, what if I told you that these gifts actually represent three individuals and give huge clues as to who Jesus would become when he grew up? The wise men were magi from the East—Persia, to be specific. They were often highly regarded, and some worked in politics and governance for the throne. Some of the magi may have even been king-makers, men responsible for electing a new king. This is significant in their visit to the newborn king, Jesus—no doubt. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, the magi worshiped Christ and offered him gifts. The first of the gifts is an

easy one to guess. In fact, the wise men kind of gave it away in their opening lines. Gold has always been a gift fit for a king. When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, she brought lots of gold and precious stones. So the first person represented is a king. The next gift may seem unfamiliar to us, but it certainly wasn't unfamiliar to the ancient Jews. In the worship of Yahweh, Moses was commanded to burn incense daily. This incense consisted of the ingredients listed here and was considered to be a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Frankincense represented Jesus' role as our great high priest. It foreshadows how he would someday enter the temple and offer the ultimate sacrifice for sins—greater than any incense or animal. And similarly to a priest, he lives to intercede for us at the right hand of God, bridging the gap between God and man. So the second person represented is a high priest. The final gift is the most unusual. Myrrh was definitely not something given to baby boys. It's used in the Old Testament as a tool of worship in the temple by priests, but was more commonly used

as an embalming oil to prevent the dead from decomposing. Myrrh finds its way into the crucifixion narrative, not once, but twice. The first time is when Jesus is offered a drink of wine mixed with myrrh. If you want to learn more about this and other deeper meanings around Jesus' death, I'd suggest watching this video. The second is during his burial, where Nicodemus invested a ridiculous $1.4 million into the anointing of Christ's body. And for more information on that story, I'd suggest watching this video. Myrrh tells us something sobering about Jesus: he was a baby born

to die. The gift he received at the beginning of his life was returned to him in the end. Myrrh represents the third and final individual—the savior. All three roles were perfectly fulfilled in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. All four of the New Testament gospels either quote, allude to, or echo something from the Old Testament. And since you guys asked for it, today I'll be sharing those connections. Hooray! Matthew may be the most obvious of the four because it opens with a genealogy, a theme incredibly common throughout the Old Testament that also lists many significant characters.

I know I'm guilty of skimming over these lists, but Matthew wants us to read his gospel through the lens of these figures. When he mentions people like Abraham, Ruth, David, and Rahab, we ought to recall the promises made to those characters and notice their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Mark opens his gospel with a direct reference to Isaiah 40:3-5 and follows up by introducing John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Christ's arrival. He hearkens back to Isaiah, the most precise of all messianic prophets, to demonstrate that Jesus is the Son of God

and his kingdom has finally arrived on earth. Luke 1 is massive and has many connections to different parts of the Old Testament, but draws many links specifically to the story of Abraham. The birth of Jesus is connected to the birth of Isaac, and many of the characters are similar to Abraham in different ways. Luke closely mirrors Abraham's story throughout his characters to remind us of the covenant made that would be fulfilled in Christ's coming. John has an iconic opening, taking strong inspiration from Genesis 1:1. His goal in the first 18 verses is to demonstrate that

Jesus is the Son of God, and in Him is life. In fact, He has always had life since the very beginning. The theme of light and darkness is replicated by John as an allusion to Exodus 33, where God could not show His face to Moses. In John, however, Jesus comes as the one to reveal the true nature and identity of the God once veiled from us in the Old Testament, proving that Christ is God Himself. Before the birth of Jesus, a decree was announced, forcing Mary and Joseph to return to their hometown, Bethlehem. I must

admit this is a part of the story I often skim over. But there are very interesting connections between this decree and another famous biblical decree that change how we understand the nativity story. In the year 583 BC, the Jews had suffered for decades under the occupation of the Babylonians. But when Babylon was conquered, the Persian king Cyrus made a decree that caused great rejoicing amongst the exiled slaves. The Jews were free to return to their home country and rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Now, these two biblical decrees may seem insignificant or even unrelated. What I

have to reveal may change your mind. The parallel stories are recorded in Ezra and Luke. First, we see that both decrees were issued by rulers of the current world empire, Persia and Rome, respectively. They both involve movements of a large number of people. In fact, both decrees encapsulate the world in its totality, it seems. Then there's an unusual coincidence in the wording of these particular sentences. There are three identical Greek words used to describe the locations that were being traveled through, the broader goal in both cases being Judah itself. Both texts make strong reference to

Bethlehem, being the first of 15 towns mentioned from verse 21, and of course being the location of the birth of Christ. But there's more. The concept of registration is also present in both stories, most notably in Nehemiah 7:5, where it seems that all the returned exiles were registered. This is similar to Luke's account of the nations being registered in their hometown. But I've saved the best connection for last. In Ezra 5:2, two characters come together to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. They are Zerubbabel and Joshua. They're certainly not the characters we learn about

in Sunday school, and I'm not talking about Joshua from the book of Joshua either, but they are incredibly significant in this parallel. Zerubbabel was a descendant of David, an ancestor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Joshua is a name that can also be read as Yeshua in Greek or Jesus. Joshua was a man who served as a priestly figure. In Luke 2, we read of the birth of the royal Son of David given the name Jesus, combining the two post-exilic figures into one person—a king and a priest. Not to mention that in the list of

names recorded in Ezra 2 of the returned exiles, the only name mentioned four times, by far the most, is Joshua or Yeshua, translated to be Jesus. The Ezra passage not only has a prominent focus on Bethlehem, the town of David, and Zerubbabel, the son of David, but even the name Jesus appears more than any other, rising to our attention as well. In light of the divine scriptures, it seems Luke wasn't simply alluding back to Ezra, but Ezra was in fact preempting what was to come. The passage in Ezra gave deliberate prominence to terms relating to

the name, lineage, and birthplace of the Messiah. We all recall the moment of the Holy Spirit's powerful arrival in Acts 2, where the walls shook, strong winds blew, and the disciples began speaking in foreign languages they'd never learned. But did you know that there's a similar story in Genesis, namely the construction of the city and tower of Babel? The parallels here are quite remarkable. Starting with the condition of the people, after the flood, a great-grandson was born to Noah named Nimrod. He was a mighty man and founded a number of prominent cities, the first of

which was named Babel. Babel was a glorious city, the climax of human progression and civilization. They became so proud of their construction that they set their sights on something greater. They planned to build a tower to reach the heavens. But notice the reason why: they wanted to make a name for themselves, but they also wanted to stay together, for they feared that they would be scattered across the world otherwise. God had commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply to fill the whole earth. Instead, the Babelites were insistent on staying together and becoming more

and more secure in their city. The tower was built from a heart of defiance to God. In contrast, the disciples of Jesus were commanded to remain in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit's arrival for the express purpose of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. Instead of disobeying God's commands, they remained in Jerusalem for 10 days and received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But look carefully at what happens as a result. In Babel, the people's language is confused, and God scatters them throughout all the earth, moving forward His command to the first humans. The

world was united in sin and was scattered for righteousness. In the same way, the world in Acts was divided by sin until it was reunited by the Holy Spirit for righteousness. Where God first confused all the languages of man, He then united them back through the life-changing message of the gospel of Christ so that it could once again go out and be spread to the ends of the earth. Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath, how... A young shepherd boy with a single stone changed history. But what if I told you that there's another

version of this story hidden in the Bible? And what if I told you that it wasn't actually David who killed Goliath, but someone else? In 2 Samuel 21:19, we find something strange. The verse reads, "Elhanan, the son of Jerhoam, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gitite." Wait, what? But what about David? And to make things even stranger, 1 Chronicles 20:5 mentions a different story. It says Elhanan struck down Lami, the brother of Goliath. So now Goliath has a brother who was killed by this guy named Elhanan. We have two different stories that seem to contradict

one another. So what's the answer? Who truly killed Goliath? Here's a comparison of the verses in Hebrew. I want you to pay close attention to these words here. Notice how the end of the word "Bethlehemite" contains the name "Lami" in it. Notice also the next word in the verse. 2 Samuel has "et," and 1 Chronicles has "ai." Have a look at their Hebrew spelling. Pretty similar, right? Scholars believe there could have been a scribal error in one of these passages that has led to the confusion of who killed Goliath. So, to get to the bottom

of this, we need to figure out which of these three options is true. Number one: Lami was the real name of the Philistine giant, meaning that the word "Bethlehemite" crept into the text later. Number two: Elhanan was really a Bethlehemite, meaning that the name "Lami" crept into the text later. Or both are true: Elhanan was a Bethlehemite, and Lami was the name of the giant. We find a clue a few chapters on in 2 Samuel 23, where, listed among David's mighty men, is Elhanan, where he's confirmed to be from Bethlehem. The name never appears again

in the Hebrew Bible. This was definitely the guy. This, combined with some evidence about the language of the Philistines around the time and the similarities of the words, suggests that the name "Lami" may have actually snuck into the chronicler's text, meaning that Elhanan may have actually killed Goliath, not Lami. But there are still a few problems with this idea. Here's what I think is the most likely explanation. The two tiny words I mentioned before, "et" and "ai," have almost identical spelling in Hebrew, though carrying very different meanings. I suspect that the scribe copying 2 Samuel

misread the "ai" and instead wrote "et," missing the important detail of "brother of" in the sentence. This may have also happened in the copying of "Beth" in "Bethlehem," considering how close these two words are in sound. If that's the case, we lose the name Lami but gain clarity on what exactly happened here. The unnamed brother of Goliath was slain by Elhanan, the Bethlehemite. This isn't unusual either, as another giant is slain in the very next verses who is likewise not given a name. Tweaking the chart like this may help us to visualize the solution better.

But thankfully, we need not change anything, as we have all the pieces required to answer this contradiction in these two verses alone. This, to me, offers a strong answer to a difficult challenge, confirming that David most certainly did slay Goliath in the famous story we all know and love. There's a moment in the Gospels where Jesus acts very out of character. He enters the temple and is seen flipping tables, freeing doves, and driving merchants away with a whip. I always thought Jesus did this because those people were desecrating the holy temple by profiting off one

another. But there's actually a deeper reason why Jesus was so angry, and it's not what you'd expect. The temple of old looked something like this. In the center was the holiest of holies, the place where God's presence dwelled. Then there were several Jewish courts for priests and Jews to come and worship and offer sacrifices. And on the outside were the Gentile courts where the Gentiles could do the same. Now, of all the places to crack the whip, Jesus did it here in the Gentiles' court. But why? If it was a matter of holiness, surely he

would have headed into the holier areas to cleanse them first. Well, Gentiles would come from all around the world to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. And at times like Passover, this was especially busy. Knowing this, cunning merchants opted to set up shop in the Gentile courts and sell products that would assist in their worship. Money changers sat at tables to exchange the many foreign currencies for the special temple currency, and others sold lambs and spices for the sacrifices themselves. Josephus, a famous historian, recorded that at one Passover, 255,000 lambs were sold and sacrificed in

a single Passover week. This is the scene that Jesus walks into, and he is furious. Not just on behalf of the temple itself, but primarily on behalf of the Gentiles. See, the Gentiles were restricted to these courts alone. Here they would sacrifice and worship God, but because of all the commotion and capitalism, they couldn't do that. Jesus stood up for the Gentiles because he knew that someday they would be grafted into the promise Israel had received through the Old Testament fathers, that one day they too would be forgiven and granted access to the full presence

of God in the Holy of Holies. Most of you will know that of the 12 tribes of Israel, one of the tribes called the Levites was given a special role amongst God's people. They were tasked with carrying out the worship to God on behalf of the people, serving as priests. But my question has always been, why did the Levites, of all people, win the priesthood? I assumed it was given to them when Joshua led the people into the… the earth. God was giving humanity a warning, a grace period of sorts. He was allowing 120 years

for people to repent and turn back to Him before the impending judgment. This frames the passage in a new light, emphasizing God's desire for repentance and relationship rather than merely a cap on lifespan. This period served as a final chance for humanity to choose righteousness over wickedness. It’s a powerful reminder of God's mercy, even in the face of rampant sin. In summary, the story of the Levites, the name of Jesus, and the context of the Nephilim serve to highlight God’s unchanging character—His holiness, His justice, and His overwhelming grace. Each narrative reveals layers of divine intention,

guiding us to a deeper understanding of His plan for redemption and the importance of remaining faithful to Him in all things. Punish the wickedness of humanity. Here's a really useful table by Answers in Genesis tracking Noah and the construction of the ark. This proves that the timing lines up perfectly, and exactly 120 years after he said it would happen, it happened. Let us not fall for the same trap as the men of God did, as we now know how much God hates us abandoning Him for non-believers and what the ultimate punishment will be. Jesus never

used His godly powers to get attention or to show off. We know that all of His miracles pointed to something deeper than the physical. So why do we have a record of Jesus walking on water? A very flashy superhuman ability that generations of kids have tried and failed to replicate at their local swimming pools. At first glance, this miracle doesn't seem to reveal any profound spiritual truth. But it turns out that we've been missing a crucial Old Testament connection for all these years that hides the reason why Jesus performed such a flashy sign. That is

the famous story of Moses parting the Red Sea. And once connected, something incredible is revealed about the subject we thought we knew but perhaps misunderstood. So, in order to connect these two stories, let's take a look at these two verses first. Both are addressing God, the great I AM. That name's going to be very important later on, so keep that in mind. The Greek translation of this verse in Job is as follows: He walks upon the sea as upon firm ground. The exact same Greek words are used to describe Jesus walking on the water. An

interesting parallel, but that's only the beginning. Have a close look at the end of verse 11. It describes God passing by. Interesting that in Mark's account, it said Jesus wished to pass by them while walking on the lake. But this isn't the first time the phrase is used; it's actually used twice in the Old Testament. The first was Moses, where the Lord passed by him on Mount Sinai. The phrase "passed by" is used twice here and matches the phrase in Mark perfectly. The second is Elijah, where this divine encounter is repeated. The phrase is yet

again used, and all this happens on the very mountain in which it occurred previously. So, when I look now at the Gospels, we see Jesus treading on the waves, as spoken of by Job, passing by His disciples in the same manner that God passed by Moses and Elijah. But this, although awesome, isn't the connection we're looking for. We want to know how Jesus walking on water is connected to Moses parting the Red Sea and what lies at the core of their connection. Well, prepare yourselves, because what I'm about to tell you is near impossible to

ignore. Both the parting of the Red Sea and the walking on water events took place at night, and the exact time they took place will be important in just a moment. The disciples on the boat reacted to their teacher walking on water as you and I probably would: they were afraid and cried out. But Jesus responded with the words, "It is I. Do not be afraid." Here we have three statements exchanged in the story. These two statements also appear in the parting of the Red Sea. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians pursuing them, they feared

and cried out. But Moses assured them, "Do not be afraid." And this phrase is literally translated to "I AM," the name God gave Himself in Exodus 3. But the real point of all this is that the Israelites feared for their lives because they had an obstacle blocking their escape—the Red Sea. In the Gospels, we read that Jesus stretched out His hand to rescue Peter. This action is very prominent in the Red Sea account, appearing twice when the waters were parted and joined back together again by Moses. Though, we find out the truth later on that

it was actually God who stretched out His hand to open and close the Red Sea. Remember when I said the time was important? Well, the gospel events took place in the fourth watch of the night. The Red Sea story, however, took place during the morning watch. But here's what's interesting: there are only four watches of the night, meaning that the fourth watch contained the sunrise, also known as the morning watch. In other words, these two events happened within hours of each other, likely just before sunrise. But here's where the stories take different paths. The conclusion

of the gospel story sees Jesus calm the storm and immediately transport the disciples to their promised location. But in the Red Sea account, the Israelites are set to roam the wilderness for 40 years. This comparison says something about Jesus: how the wait for God's people is finished in the coming of Christ. So now that the connections have been made, we can finally discover the secret these stories reveal together. And I wonder if you guys can guess it. The Red Sea depicts death on one hand and life on the other. The Israelites leave their life of

slavery and are released into a new life through God's power. And the motif of water in all this can lead us to no other conclusion but the Christian practice of baptism. Many passages represent deep water as a symbol of death, connecting them with forces of evil and chaos. To walk on water, then, signifies having dominion over the power of death, which Jesus demonstrates. We see Peter here desiring to walk on water with Jesus. But digging deeper, we see a man's desire to overcome death itself. Peter represents us all. He figuratively goes down under the water,

symbolizing death in a very real and dangerous environment. And like in the Red Sea account, God stretches out His hand. and rescues Peter. As he did with the Israelites fleeing from the Egyptians, as the Egyptians died in the Red Sea, so our old nature of sin needs to die also. It is this connection that adds incredible depth to the command to all believers to be baptized in Christ's name, dying to sin and living for Christ in Christ. This brings us to another baptism that is very important in the Bible. And of all the deeper meanings

I've ever covered on this channel, I believe this story you're about to hear is the most unbelievable connection of them all. It's about the baptism and testing of Jesus, of which the baptism holds significant importance. But before we can talk about the baptism part, we need to understand a deeper meaning in the temptation of Jesus. We're told in Scripture that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. We're also told that He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights during this period of time. It's an interesting story, but

what if I told you that something incredibly similar to this had happened before, and it was right in front of our eyes? In Numbers 13, we're told 12 scouts were sent into the land of Canaan, but they weren't willing to enter it due to some fearsome giants that lived there. Thanks to their lack of faith, God said that He would punish Israel by sending them into the wilderness for 40 years—one year for each day that they scouted the land. But the purpose of this was twofold. The first was to punish them for their lack of

faith, of course. But the second was to test them to see what was in their hearts. Who else was tested in the wilderness? It seems like God is disciplining Israel here as He would His own Son. In fact, the Bible calls Israel God's firstborn son. So, the spiritual son of God was tested for 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus, the actual Son of God, was tested for 40 days in the wilderness. The parallels are striking. But wait, because there's something strange going on during Jesus' temptation. When Satan tempts Jesus, we know that Christ quotes three

Scripture verses to resist the challenge. But all three verses happen to be in the same few chapters of the book of Deuteronomy. It seems too close to be a coincidence. Satan first tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread. But Jesus quotes a very specific verse in Deuteronomy that, in context, is talking about the Israelites' failure to resist this very temptation in the wilderness, where the Israelites grumbled about their lack of food in the desert. Jesus resists the temptation under even harder circumstances. In the second temptation, Satan quotes Scripture of his own. But Jesus again responds

with a verse from Deuteronomy: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." Again, this verse is an explicit reference to the time recorded in Exodus 17, where the Israelites are described as having tested the Lord. In the third temptation, Satan tempts Christ to worship him—something I've discussed in previous videos. But what's important to illustrate here is that Jesus rebukes Satan, referencing Deuteronomy for a third time. This time it reminds us of the golden calf, one of the lowest moments in Israel's journey through the desert. In Matthew, the order of the temptations makes this

impossible to ignore. First, Jesus was tempted by Satan with hunger, just like the testing of Israel in Exodus 16. Then, He was challenged to put the Lord to the test, just like in Exodus 17. And finally, He was tempted with idolatry, just like Israel was tempted in Exodus 32. But where Israel, God's spiritual son, failed, Jesus, God's divine Son, succeeded. At every point where God's people failed, Jesus succeeded, cementing that Jesus overcame all the temptations that caused Israel and ultimately mankind to fall. Now that we understand all that, we can finally unlock the secret to

this baptism. When the Israelites left Egypt via the Red Sea, they're described as having been baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. The word "wind" is used in the sea's parting. "Ruach" is the Hebrew word, but it's also the word for "spirit." Isaiah seems to support this idea that the Holy Spirit was an important presence at the parting of the sea and the escape from Egypt. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit came down upon Him in the form of a dove. Is it any coincidence that after Israel's baptism through the Red Sea,

the Spirit led them into the wilderness where they were tempted for 40 years? And when Jesus was given the Spirit after His baptism, He was led into the wilderness where He was tempted for 40 days. To make matters even cooler, the Exodus narrative features the Jordan River prominently at the end—the very river that Jesus was baptized into. To me, these connections prove God had Jesus planned from the very beginning, and the signs in Scripture that all point towards Him are too incredible to ignore. Let me take you to one of the most misunderstood passages in

the whole Bible—a place where Jesus is rude and racist to a woman. This passage has caused problems for a long time. But in order to truly understand it, we need to look at this woman's famous ancestor. In the time of Joshua, God's people ran into a problem. The problem was called Jericho, a fortified city that served as a barrier between God's people and their conquest of the promised land. To scout this city, Joshua sent two spies, and a Canaanite woman named Rahab accepted them into her home. In return for hiding and protecting them, she requested

protection for herself, proclaiming faith in the God of Israel. This Canaanite prostitute... A woman would be spared when the Israelites destroyed Jericho, and eventually, she would be integrated into the nation of Israel, becoming an ancestor of Jesus himself. That's the first connection, but it won't make sense until we look at First Kings, where Elijah has some bad news for the king of Israel. King Ahab was incredibly evil, and Elijah told him that there would be no rain in the land except at his word, declaring the start of a severe famine. So, following directions from the

Lord, Elijah eventually made his way to Zarephath. It was here that he met a Gentile woman preparing to eat her last meal before death. The devastating famine had all but destroyed her. Elijah assures her that if she makes him a meal first, her meager supply of flour and oil would not run out. Despite her miserable circumstance, she believed that God would provide for her, and she made Elijah his meal. And it was just as Elijah said: the jar of flour never fully depleted, and the jug of oil never ran out. But the woman had another

problem. We're told that her son fell ill and grew worse and worse until he eventually died. Elijah intervenes, and his prophetic word brings the boy back to life. So, how are these stories connected? And what does it reveal about the most controversial phrase Jesus ever said? The passage in question is Mark 7. We're told that Jesus is laying low when a Gentile woman manages to find him and persistently begs him to help her. After begging Jesus to heal her daughter, he tells her that he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. She pleads

with him some more, and Jesus said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." What? Where is Jesus' compassion? And why is he calling her a dog of all things? Though after reading through these two stories, I think we can find some clarity. Firstly, it's good to know what Jesus meant by "dog." The Greek word "kunā" means rabid wild dog, commonly used as an insult. But in this example, Jesus uses the word "kunarion," which was more like a house pet or puppy. Secondly, Tyre shared its geographical region with

Zarephath, the location where Elijah met the impoverished woman. Thirdly, Mark refers to the woman as "Syrophoenician," since she was living in the region of Syrophoenicia. But Matthew calls her a "Canaanite," which is notably the only use of the word "Canaanite" in the entire New Testament. With this information in mind, the Old Testament connections become clear. Like Rahab, this woman was a Canaanite. She would have been considered an enemy of Israel to be wiped out. But like Rahab, she had faith in the true God, and God's mercy was shown to her, resulting in her salvation. With

Rahab, she was spared in the sacking of Jericho and was made part of God's people. With the Syrophoenician woman, she was told the same thing, since as a pet resides in the house of its master, she wasn't being insulted by Jesus; she was actually being told she's in the house of God already. And like the widow in Elijah's story, she believed in the providence of God. Her statement saying, "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table," showed she believed that there was more than enough of God's provision to go around. And

just like that widow, she had a child that was healed through a powerful prophetic word, an indication that Jesus had come as the culmination of the prophets. So, tying this story into these two shows God's heart towards the Gentile nations. He had always planned to integrate them into his kingdom from the very beginning. Rahab the widow and the Syrophoenician were outsiders, but they were outsiders God always planned to bring into relationship with him. And thanks to Jesus, that was made crystal clear to the Jews and the rest of the world.