Thematic Bible: Political


Thematic Bible



and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. Verse ConceptsMercy, HumanForbidden AlliancesFellowship With WickedExterminationGod Without MercyThose God Gave Into Their Hands

Then Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Do you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the Lord’s wrath is on you. Verse ConceptsHatredForbidden Alliances

They set out to go down to Egypt
without asking My advice,
in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
Verse ConceptsForbidden AlliancesTrusting In Man, Warnings AgainstGod's Counsel


Ephraim chases the wind
and pursues the east wind.
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
Verse ConceptsAliancesFeedingFalse ConfidenceIdolatry, Objections ToTreatyWindForbidden AlliancesPursuing ViolenceOut Of The EastThe East Wind

You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you."

Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles. You are to never bow down to another god because the Lord, being jealous by nature, is a jealous God. read more.
"Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat of their sacrifice.

You are not to make a covenant with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? Verse ConceptsForbidden AlliancesAllegiancesDestruction Of Satan's WorksWhat Do You Do?

Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken up what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish. Verse ConceptsSeafaringForbidden AlliancesProphesying

For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep me from going the way of this people: Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance. Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified.

"So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth [of the harvest] of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Let them gather all the [excess] food during these good years that are coming, store the grain under Pharaoh's authority as food in the cities, and preserve [it]. read more.
The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine." The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find anyone like this, a man who has the spirit of God in him?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as intelligent and wise as you. You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you." Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt." Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck. He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and [servants] called out before him, "Abrek!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced outstanding harvests. Joseph gathered all the [excess] food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and placed it in the cities. He placed the food in every city from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance-like the sand of the sea-that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure. Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On, bore [them] to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, meaning, "God has made me forget all my hardship in my father's house." And the second son he named Ephraim, meaning, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. Extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you." Because the famine had spread across the whole country, Joseph opened up [all the storehouses] and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. The whole world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe all over the earth.

He had been very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. Together they presented themselves before him. They won over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, and through him they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country. Verse ConceptsChamberlainsPeople Providing FoodNamed People Angry With OthersPrivate Rooms

Because of the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall. "May the king live forever," she said. "Don't let your thoughts terrify you or your face be pale. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the diviners, mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers. Your own predecessor, the king, [did this] because Daniel, the one the king named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and perception, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems. Therefore, summon Daniel, and he will give the interpretation."

Many seek a ruler’s favor,
but a man receives justice from the Lord.
Verse ConceptsFalse ConfidenceCelebritiesPleasing MenSeeking The Favour Of GodMaking DecisionsFavor


Now Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked, "Do you come peacefully?" "Peacefully," he replied, and then asked, "May I talk with you?" "Go ahead," she answered. "You know the kingship was mine," he said. "All Israel expected me to be king, but then the kingship was turned over to my brother, for the Lord gave it to him. read more.
So now I have just one request of you; don't turn me down." She said to him, "Go on." He replied, "Please speak to King Solomon since he won't turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife." "Very well," Bathsheba replied. "I will speak to the king for you."

He ordered his attendant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite woman." So he called her and she stood before him. Then he said to Gehazi, "Say to her, 'Look, you've gone to all this trouble for us. What can [we] do for you? Can [we] speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?' " She answered, "I am living among my own people."

During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's [letters] came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah's good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons approached Him with her sons. She knelt down to ask Him for something. "What do you want?" He asked her. "Promise," she said to Him, "that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" "We are able," they said to Him. read more.
He told them, "You will indeed drink My cup. But to sit at My right and left is not Mine to give; instead, it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father." When the 10 [disciples] heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers.

Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. So Joab son of Zeruiah and David's soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool. Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have the young men get up and compete in front of us." "Let them get up," Joab replied. read more.
So they got up and were counted off-12 for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and 12 from David's soldiers. Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and [thrust] his sword into his opponent's side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades. The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's soldiers. The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles. He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him. Abner glanced back and said, "Is that you, Asahel?" "Yes it is," Asahel replied. Abner said to him, "Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young soldiers, and take whatever you can get from him." But Asahel would not stop chasing him. Once again, Abner warned Asahel, "Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?" But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the end of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. When all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped, but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a single unit and took their stand on top of a hill. Then Abner called out to Joab: "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?" "As God lives," Joab replied, "if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn't have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning." Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim. When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, 19 of David's soldiers were missing, but they had killed 360 of the Benjaminites and Abner's men. Afterwards, they carried Asahel to his father's tomb in Bethlehem and buried him. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at dawn.

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David was long and drawn out, with David growing stronger and the house of Saul becoming weaker. Verse ConceptsDavid, Reign OfHousesWarfare, Examples OfWarfare, Nature OfWeakness, PhysicalStrong IndividualsWithout StrengthCivil WarWarBattle

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted. Verse ConceptsEyes, Figurative UseChaosSelfishnessAnarchyNo King

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted. Verse ConceptsAuthority, of human institutionsKingship, HumanSelfishnessAnarchyNo King

The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said. Verse ConceptsCivil LibertyExpensiveCitizensReligious Freedomserenity

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