Jacob’s Ladder In the book of Genesis, Jacob dreams of a ladder set up on the earth with its top reaching the heavens. Upon this ladder, the angels of God ascended and descended, whilst at the very top the Lord stood proclaiming: "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac... and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen 28:13-14). On waking up, Jacob erected a pillar and called the name of that place Bethel, meaning the house of God and the gateway of heaven (Gen 28:17). This [...]

The Tower of Babel   The Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel refers to a people who spoke one language and were like minded. Following the flood, God had promised Noah that he would protect his descendants. They moved east to a valley called Shinar south of Babylon. There, they decided to build a city with a tower that would reach the heavens! This tower would show their strength to the whole world and protect them so they would never be scattered over the face of the earth. They put more faith in the tower than in God's [...]

Job the Long-Suffering   Job was a blameless man who “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). So righteous was he, that there was “none like him on the earth” (Job 1:8).  But Satan argued that Job was faithful only because God had blessed him with much wealth and health and ten children. Thus God allowed Job to be tested and in a single day he looses all of his children, his servants and his livestock. Yet instead of cursing God (which is what Satan wanted), he fell down upon the ground and worshiped God saying, “Naked I came from [...]

Liberation of the Israelites from Egypt – the Passover The Passover, one of the most important festivals in Judaism, is the commemoration of the liberation of Israel from Egypt after 430 years of slavery.  However the Passover (‘Pascha’ in Greek) is also the root of the Christian celebration of Easter. What is it that links our celebration of Christ’s Resurrection with this Jewish festival? The initiation of the Passover is described in the 12th chapter of Exodus, where Pharaoh refuses to grant freedom to Israel, even after Moses announces to him that the tenth and most terrible plague is about [...]