Tommy Mann

  There are some lines or phrases in the Bible that do not make sense to us on the surface. When we come across some of these seemingly random phrases, the issue may be that something was lost in translation. A good example of this is Amos 8:1-2:   This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.”   Why did God give the prophet a vision of a basket of summer fruit, and then not mention it again? Did I miss something?    If we were reading Hebrew, not only would it make sense, it would be kind of funny. There is a play on words here, specifically, word sounds. The Hebrew word for fruit is pronounced like  ka-yis,  and the word for end is pronounced  kes.  The basket of summer fruit is no longer random. It was an object lesson to drive home the poi...

  God gave Moses precise instructions on how to construct the tabernacle, and He equipped certain people with the skills to complete the task. Then He called for all the people to have some skin in the game, so the tabernacle would be furnished by each tribe bringing contributions. In Exodus 35:4-5 we read, “Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ‘This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze.’” Each family was encouraged to do what they could so that the whole camp could benefit from a place of worship. We should still follow that model today. In a 2013 article in  Relevant  titled “What Would Happen if the Church Tithed,” the author found that only 2.5% of Christians per capita give to the church, and that if all professing believers would give their 10% there would be an additional $165 billion, or enough ...

  In the last letter Paul ever wrote he mentioned three people that we know almost nothing about. At the end of the book’s opening chapter we read of Phygelus, Hermogenes, and Onesiphorus. The former two were fierce opponents of the apostle, while the latter was a dear friend.   In 1:16-17 he wrote, “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me.” Onesiphorus refreshed Paul. That verb is only used this one time in all of Scripture, and it means to relieve. The Amplified Bible translates the phrase this way: “he often braced me like fresh air.”  What an amazing word picture! Who doesn’t love to take in fresh air, especially after being cooped up inside for an extended period of time? Paul knew about being cooped up; he wrote these words from a prison cell, after all.  We don’t know what exactly Onesiphorus did for Paul, aside fr...

  In Isaiah 40 there is an interesting conversation between the prophet and someone else (possibly an angel). It says:   A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (v.6-8).   At the beginning of the chapter Isaiah is told to speak a message of comfort to God’s people, which was not typically part of the prophet’s job description. Condemnation and correction, yes; but comfort? Never. But in this instance God wanted to make sure His people knew He still loved them even after calamity came.    Isaiah did not seem to be in the mood to deliver the message. It’s as if he says, “Why should I? They haven’t listened to me all these years, and now I am supposed to comfort them?”    Isaiah was in his...

  The United States Constitution is referred to as a living document because it can be amended. Some people use the phrase living document to say the Constitution adapts with society, so that we broaden or narrow the meaning of old language based on current events or understanding.    I’m not here to weigh in on just how living the U.S. Constitution may be. I have my beliefs, but this isn’t the place for them. Instead, I want to weigh in on another, much more important, living document.    The author of Hebrews wrote, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (4:12).”    If the Constitution is living because it can be amended, then the Bible is absolutely NOT living in that sense. If the Constitution is living because it adapts to a changing society, then the Bible is absolutely NOT living i...

“We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them.” Those words served as a poor prophecy. They were part of an editorial written in the  Harrisburg Patriot and Union,  and they were in regards to Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address.    Imagine: one of the most iconic speeches in American history—possibly world history—being dismissed as silly remarks, destined to be covered by the veil of oblivion. That newspaper is still in existence today, although under a different name. Their 1863 prediction was so egregious that in 2024 the paper actually issued a retraction…161 years after it was written!   The writer of that piece demonstrated an arrogance that adds humor to his grave miscalculation. As much as we might snicker at his words today, it makes me think of the people now who are just as arrogant—and just as wrong—in their assertion that Jesus will be...

  The anonymous writer of Psalm 119 asked and answered this question in v.9: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word.”   Guarding does not mean haphazardly. Think about a soldier on guard duty; he must be vigilant or else many people can suffer. The King James Version renders this verse as, “By taking heed” according to God’s Word. Guarding, or taking heed, is a thoughtful, intentional process.    It is kind of like following a map. These days I rely on my GPS, but there was a time when we had to unfold a paper map and plot out our course like we were Louis and Clark. I hate getting lost, so I used to make sure I had solid directions before I went somewhere for the first time. One time I had to go into Fort Worth, and I wrote down each step for the journey, but I had an old map. Roads had been updated, but the map didn’t reflect it. I learned that no matter how carefully I followed the map, the wrong map will not get me where I n...

  Over several chapters in the book of Genesis we see some ironic repetitions. There is an old saying that tells us, “What goes around comes around,” meaning that a person’s actions usually have consequences for that person. Consider how things “come full circle” for these people:   Abraham lies to Abimelech, telling him Sarah is his sister rather than his wife. Abraham’s son Isaac lies to (possibly the same) Abimelech, telling him Rebekah is his sister rather than his wife.    Jacob deceived his father Isaac in order to get a blessing. Jacob was deceived by his uncle Laban, who gave him Leah instead of Rachel.   Rachel sent Bilhah to Jacob to make Leah jealous. Leah sent Zilpah to Jacob to make Rachel jealous.    Jacob used a coat and a slaughtered animal to trick his father into believing he was Esau.  Jacob’s sons used a coat and a slaughtered animal to trick him into believing Joseph was dead.     There is so much childishness i...

The Old Testament, specifically in books like Exodus and Deuteronomy, contains numerous laws that might seem pointless to us today. What can we glean by reading these ancient commands given to the Jews? Please allow me to offer one important truth.  The Jews were not the only ancient people to have laws. For example, the Law Code of Hammurabi, established in 1726 BC, states that if a man commits murder, his daughter can be executed in his stead. The Laws of Eshunna (circa 1800 BC) says that if a man kills someone’s female slave, he must make restitution by giving the slave owner two new female slaves. These law codes make it quite clear that men were of far greater value than women, and slaves were property. When we compare those Babylonian and Akkadian law codes with the law of God in the Old Testament, we see a completely different picture. Far from the modern claims that the Bible is chauvinistic, the Scriptures stand in stark contrast to the nations around them. Consider Deuter...