Author –

J. R. Charlesworth
Articles by this Author
Eastern custom has always been very different from our own European culture. Here a gentleman lifts his hat upon entering a home; in Israel he would remove his shoes. Similarly a typical Hebrew weddin…
The keynote is happiness! This emotion seems to impregnate all the recorded facts about Asher. The name itself, given to Zilpah’s second boy, means “happy”. The plural form of the word, ashere, begins…
In her barrenness, Rachel had threatened Jacob: “Give me children, or else I die”, Gen. 30. 1. She extended this demanding attitude to Jehovah, who acceded to her request for a second child, 30. 24, b…
Living as we do in an age when a notorious faction of society seems to be obsessed with the neurotic whims of militant adolescents, it is wise for us to review in the light of Holy Writ what ought to …
The name of each of Jacob’s sons was specially chosen in the light of circumstances. When Rachel saw this boy, she said: “God hath judged me (Heb. dananni)”, Gen. 30.6, and named him “Dan”. Over the y…
Leah claimed Gad (and Asher) in the same way as Rachel adopted Dan and Naphtali. Actually Gad was the son of Zilpah, Leah s maid, and was the seventh of what was ultimately to become a family of thirt…
The land of Palestine has been peopled since primeval times. Some settlements of great antiquity have been discovered by archaeologists whose conclusions, as one would expect, confirm the correctness …
The Old Testament records show how the land of Palestine was apportioned to the tribes of Israel, Josh. 13-17. The subsequent, chequered history of God’s earthly nation brought about many changes. Dur…
As Jacob’s workmen were busy harvesting the wheat crop, five-year-old Reuben played idly in the field. He noticed some attractive little cup-shaped white and purple flowers growing wild. Uprooting som…
"These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph…”, Gen. 37. 2. It is with this special father-son relationship that the biography of Rachel’s elder boy really begins. The story occupies a quarter of the b…
Strong in character, Leah’s fourth boy grew up to have influence with his brothers and his father. When he suggested that Joseph’s life should be spared, “his brethren hearkened unto him’, Gen. 37. 26…
Leah, in the hope that the birth of her third son would unite her more fully with her husband, called the child Levi, Gen. 29. 34, which means “closely joined” from the Hebrew root lavah. Jacob, on th…
Josephs two sons were born at a significant stage in his career. His marriage to Asenath was one outcome of the deprivation he had suffered; and it is helpful to observe that if he had not left his fa…
We shall consider (i) the gift of public ministry; (ii) the brethren who minister; and (iii) the ministry which they present. The Gift of Ministry is: Appointed by God, Eph. 4. 7-16. This truth, which…
Jacob moved in thought steadily from son to son as he gave each his parting blessing. The tenth he chose was Naphtali, leaving the legitimate offspring of Rachel until last. Naphtali’s mother was Bilh…
The second Epistles of the New Testament may be studied as bearing upon practical issues relating to Christian conduct in “the last days”. Each applies the doctrines enshrined in the corresponding fir…
Three brawny fishermen, whose differing characters have given colour and charm to their immortal names, have a message for us today. James, the unobtrusive elder son of Zebedee and Salome, might turn …
When Jacob called his sons around him, to give them his prophetic blessing, he naturally turned first to his oldest child. The Words of Jacob. “Reuben, thou art my first-born”, Gen. 49. 3. Leah surely…
Concerning multitudes of our fellow men and women, it may be truly said that “there is no fear of God before their eyes”, Rom. 3. 18. Irreverence is so blatant in almost every section of society that,…
At the birth of her second son, Leah’s hopes revived. She said: “Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated (lit. 'not loved’)* he hath therefore given me this son also”, Gen. 29. 33. She called the…
The Lord crystallized the truth concerning the authority of Pilate, the Roman Governor in Jerusalem, when He said, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above”…
The Israelites divided the year into twelve months, i Kings 4. 7, based upon the moon’s phases. Because their calendar was not related to the solar year, a thirteenth month, called Adar Sheni (Second …
Around us today are many critics of the truth of God. Atheists, humanists, modernists, spiritists and others all contribute in an attack upon the foundations of the Faith. Like Solomon, we realize tha…
"Synagogue" is a transliteration of a Greek word, used repeatedly in the Gospels and the Acts, to mean a place where people were led together with the main purpose of hearing an interpretation of the …
Reference to the State of Israel, in its history, as “The Twelve Tribes”, Gen. 49. 28, has become common parlance. In point of fact there are thirteen tribes. Eleven of Jacob’s sons headed one family …
The introduction of John’s Gospel is unique. This introduction, 1. 1-18, contains the whole treatise of John’s testimony in embryo. The prologue, vv. 1 -14, leads on to the witness of John the Baptist…
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