In seasons of drought, there are strict limits on the use of water. Even then, extreme scarcity of water in affluent countries is non-existent. This is not the case for the Middle East in ancient times. For the Hebrew people, water was a blessing from God, especially manifest during the years of wandering in the desert when miracle-water from the rock flowed.

The great autumn festival of Tabernacles celebrates all these years of wandering. On the last day of this feast, the priest would walk about the altar with water freshly drawn. Today rabbis pray for rain at the close of this
festival.

Picture the Temple with Jesus standing amid the crowd as the ritual of water takes place. He has overturned the money tables in chapter 2 at the Passover Festival. Now he breaks in upon the singing crowd with the ear-piercing cry of verse 38. “Let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

John 7:37-39

Visit STUDY THIS on the upper right side of any passage from BibleGateway.
I especially recommend the free resource in Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Lectionary,

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Shavuot, the Hebrew name for Pentecost, was originally a spring harvest in Israel. The first wheat was ripe about fifty days after the first barley harvest. The crop of barley was brought to the Temple the day after Passover began. The people were then instructed to count fifty days or seven weeks from one harvest to the other.

As time passed, the festival became one to celebrate the revelation of God on Sinai, the true harvest of God’s life that to the human family. The very meaning of the word Torah is to rain or flow down. The Torah Reading is the giving of the Ten Commandments, God’s revelation and teaching flowing down the mountain.

There is a tradition of taking a long nap the afternoon before the beginning of Shavuot, which begins at sundown. This is to be ready to participate in an all night vigil that many Jewish communities observe. One mystical work praises those who stay up all night in expectation of receiving the Torah.

The Christian expression of this revelation is the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the first disciples—the flowing down of God’s Spirit upon us.

Exodus 19:1—20:26

The Saturday passages follow the reading list that Jewish people use in their synagogue worship throughout the world. They are taken from
“The Torah,” the first five books of the Bible from Genesis to Deuteronomy that are read each year beginning with autumn.

For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.

The Jewish leaders resist Jesus and argue with him.  What a tragedy—pushing Jesus right out of their lives. Arguments are like mental battles going on in the head‘ they get in the way of faith which comes from the heart. 

When I say, “I believe this,” the statement comes from the mind.  When I say, “I believe IN,” then  my heart and soul are invovled.  

The Lord Jesus is with you; no one can snatch you away from his hands.  What powerful protection Jesus gives!

 John 10:22-42

I recommend reading Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this passage. You’ll see his commentary on the whole Bible as a free option under STUDY THIS alongside the beginning of the reading in the link provided in Bible Gateway.
For an engaging biography of this extraordinary person, I suggest that you visit the article about him in Wikipedia.
Click here.

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
This year in the seasons of Lent and Easter we read selections from the Gospel of John. 

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.