Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | October 29, 2013
There is one reality where it is easy to deny God’s existence, where answers are not solutions, just numbing sounds to a soul wanting to be numb. Some questions can only be answered and accepted outside of and before “then and there;” outside of the hospital, before the accident; outside of the pain; before the […]
PHall | October 28, 2013
God would rather do great things through us than have us do great things for God. Can we get so fixated on doing great things, even out of deep humility, that we lose God’s focus? Can we become so confused by our pride that we want to do great things instead of God’s simple ones? […]
PHall | October 25, 2013
Sometimes what’s not in the story is the real story. Today’s event is a repeat of a repeat of a repeat. Contrasting it to one where the theme is not repeated shows what’s missing is what’s important. Once again “David inquired of the LORD” (2 Samuel 5.19). “Should I go to war against the Philistines? […]
PHall | October 18, 2013
Prayer is supposed to solve problems. Talking to God and getting advice from God is not supposed to cause pain, suffering, and division. But this time it does. Once again “David inquired of the LORD” (2 Samuel 2:1). Saul, along with three sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, are dead. The sons are killed in war […]
PHall | December 30, 2012
Biblical courage has at least three characteristics: 1) God Given – not self-derived; 2) God Strengthened – there when needed; 3) God Controlled – does not produce pride, instead it produces humility.
PHall | July 5, 2012
It is always a challenge to teach certain Bible stories to children. How do you teach the lesson of David and Bathsheba, for example? Here are some general guidelines: 1) Tell the story as the Bible does; 2) Don’t explain some details unless asked; 3) Explain only in limited form until asked for more details; […]
PHall | October 5, 2011
There is a simple and obvious way to organize the book of 1 Kings. There are 22 chapters. The first 11 are the reign of Solomon, and the rest describe the divided kingdom. Such a division is natural and orderly. However, there is another way, and that is to compare 1 Kings to 2 Samuel’s […]
PHall | September 11, 2011
As we continually focus on the three time periods of the stories within 2 Samuel (when it happened, when written, and when read), let us in this section focus on when 2 Samuel 11-12 is written so we can see the main emphasis of the writer. We do this by noticing his chiastic structure which […]
PHall | July 26, 2011
Did you ever notice that what David did to Uriah (2 Sam.11.14-17), Saul tried to do to him? (1 Sam.18.25). Makes me wonder how common this practice was among kings. Death by proxy.
PHall | March 18, 2011
Grace is written on every page of the Bible. But blood is not. Grace is written in ways that blood does not need. The very breath we take is grace. God’s word breathed out through the Holy Spirit is grace. The breath Jesus exhaled declaring “it is finished” is grace. And God’s waiting breath, waiting […]