Old Testament

Secret Sin to Devastating Downfall

/ Bob

After the resounding victory at Jericho the City of Ai seemed like an easy win. Joshua sent out his reconnaissance team and they came back with a report of easy pickings so Joshua sent a much smaller force to take Ai. However, Joshua was unaware that Israel had violated God’s command of total destruction of Jericho. It was only one soldier who did the deed, but the entire camp suffered the consequences.

God demands total destruction when it comes to the sin in our lives. We tend to play fast and loose with the sin in our lives. With a wink and a nudge we excuse those little insignificant sins that we think are basically harmless. But God ain’t playing that game. We must address the sin that separates from our Lord. We must address it and exterminate it. Only total destruction is acceptable.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, October 26, 2025. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is How Great Is Our God: Passing the Faith Along. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/how-great-is-our-god-old-testament-digital-study-guide/. Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Shuppim & Huppim

/ Bob

I was reading through 1 Chronicles this morning as part of my daily Bible reading. In this particular section – Chapter 7 – we find one of the countless lists of names. I actually enjoy reading through the genealogies, primarily to look for names that I recognize so that I can see from whence they came. I also enjoy the times when the scripture highlights something particular concerning one of the people mentioned like when Ephraim’s daughter, Sheerah, built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. Fascinating!

However, today I was struck by the fact that we are absolutely boring when it comes to naming our children. My name is Bob. Just Bob. Three letters and two of them are the same. In 1 Chronicles 7:12 we find the names Shuppim and Huppim. I am in hopes that someone reading this will name their twin boys Shuppim and Huppim when the time comes for naming their precious bundles of joy. You may find it cruel but I dare say that, much like the boy named Sue, they will grow up strong and able to deal with anything that comes their way.

I can hear Ma Kettle now – calling Shuppim and Huppim to come in for supper. Try it. You’ll like the way it sounds.