This article tackles the troubling Old Testament conquest passages (Jericho in Joshua 6, the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15, and Midian in Numbers 31) that critics often cite as evidence that the Bible’s God is immoral, and he argues that Christians should face these texts directly rather than dodge them. He proposes a framework that reads them through ancient Near Eastern war-writing conventions (where “wipe them out” language often functions as standard hyperbole), the likely scale and nature of “cities” as small fortified centers rather than modern population hubs, and the Bible’s own stated rationale of moral judgment after long patience rather than ethnic hatred or random violence. He points to internal textual signals (Joshua’s sweeping victory summaries alongside surviving enemies in later verses and in Judges), emphasizes mercy within the narratives (Rahab and the Gibeonites as outsiders who are spared), and situates the commands within a larger biblical storyline where Israel is also judged when it mirrors the same corruption. Duncan then addresses the hardest objections, especially the fate of children, by surveying major Christian approaches (including hope beyond this life and distinctions between God’s authority over life and human limits), while insisting the conquest is a unique, non-repeatable moment and not a model for Christians today, who are called in the New Testament to enemy-love and non-coercive witness. He closes by urging readers to hold these texts together with the life and death of Jesus, arguing that the Christian claim about God’s character is ultimately read through the gospel and the resurrection rather than through conquest narratives in isolation.

We explore Deuteronomy 21:18-21, the controversial Old Testament law about stoning rebellious children, by placing it in the context of ancient Near Eastern family law where fathers held absolute, unchecked power of life and death over their children. Through detailed examination of Roman patria potestas, Greek infant exposure, Babylonian property laws, and Canaanite child sacrifice, the episode argues that what appears to modern readers as divine cruelty was actually history's first child protection law, revolutionary in requiring both parents' agreement, public trial before elders, community participation in any execution, and multiple safeguards designed to make the penalty nearly impossible to carry out while serving as a powerful deterrent. The analysis demonstrates that every protection in the law (parental unity requirement, elder oversight, community accountability, high evidentiary standards) was designed to prevent rather than facilitate execution, moving ancient society away from arbitrary paternal violence toward due process and communal justice, and ultimately pointing forward to Christ: the perfectly obedient Son who died so that rebellious children could receive life instead of the death they deserved.

In 'Shav: Name Power', Pastor Austin W. Duncan examines the third commandment from Exodus 20:7, exploring the deep meaning of God's name. Drawing from linguistic, historical, and biblical contexts, the sermon illustrates how God's name embodies His character, authority, and invitation to relationship. Austin warns against both obvious and subtle misuses of God's name, from casual exclamations to manipulative prayer practices. He challenges listeners to move beyond mere avoidance of misuse to actively hallowing God's name in daily life. The message emphasizes how our treatment of God's name reflects our relationship with Him, culminating in the ultimate revelation of God's name in Jesus Christ. Balancing scholarly insight with practical application, this sermon invites believers to a deeper reverence for and intimacy with the God who has graciously revealed His name to us.

In 'Shav: Name Power', Pastor Austin W. Duncan examines the third commandment from Exodus 20:7, exploring the deep meaning of God's name. Drawing from linguistic, historical, and biblical contexts, the sermon illustrates how God's name embodies His character, authority, and invitation to relationship. Austin warns against both obvious and subtle misuses of God's name, from casual exclamations to manipulative prayer practices. He challenges listeners to move beyond mere avoidance of misuse to actively hallowing God's name in daily life. The message emphasizes how our treatment of God's name reflects our relationship with Him, culminating in the ultimate revelation of God's name in Jesus Christ. Balancing scholarly insight with practical application, this sermon invites believers to a deeper reverence for and intimacy with the God who has graciously revealed His name to us.

In 'Shav: Name Power', Pastor Austin W. Duncan examines the third commandment from Exodus 20:7, exploring the deep meaning of God's name. Drawing from linguistic, historical, and biblical contexts, the sermon illustrates how God's name embodies His character, authority, and invitation to relationship. Austin warns against both obvious and subtle misuses of God's name, from casual exclamations to manipulative prayer practices. He challenges listeners to move beyond mere avoidance of misuse to actively hallowing God's name in daily life. The message emphasizes how our treatment of God's name reflects our relationship with Him, culminating in the ultimate revelation of God's name in Jesus Christ. Balancing scholarly insight with practical application, this sermon invites believers to a deeper reverence for and intimacy with the God who has graciously revealed His name to us.

Stand in any Christian wedding and you'll hear Genesis quoted: 'The two shall become one flesh.' Every defense of biblical marriage faces the same challenge: If God designed marriage for one man and one woman, why did He allow His chosen leaders to practice polygamy? Critics call it hypocrisy. Skeptics call it contradiction. Today, we're discovering why what looks like biblical inconsistency actually reveals something profound about God's perfect plan.

Skeptics love this question: 'If Adam and Eve were the first humans, who did their son Cain marry?' They think they've found the Bible's fatal flaw. Some Christians stumble to explain it. Others avoid it entirely. Seminary students dread it. But here's what's fascinating: this supposed 'gotcha' question actually reveals something remarkable about how we read Scripture - and why reading it correctly changes everything.