Daily Devotionals

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. — Proverbs 1:7

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” At first glance, the story of the Tower of Babel can be confusing. Why would God oppose unity? Isn’t He a God of creativity, cooperation, and progress? But the problem wasn’t the tower itself. The problem was what the tower stood for. — Genesis 11:4

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. — Genesis 9:13

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Today’s Bible verse comes at a turning point in the story of Noah’s Ark. The rain has fallen. The waters have risen. Destruction has already taken place. And then—quietly, powerfully—we are told that God remembered. — Genesis 8:1

Then Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” Today we begin a story that most of us have known since childhood—Noah’s Ark. And today’s Bible verse records God’s words to Noah: “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” In Hebrew, the word for “ark” is ֵּת ָב ה (tevah). This word is rare— so rare that it appears only twice in the entire Hebrew Bible. — Genesis 7:1

Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed… — Psalm 2:1-2

Every Friday, we turn to the Book of Proverbs for

The boy drags his finger down the line of names. One after another, they come—fathers and sons, years counted out like grains of sand. He shifts in his seat. He glances toward the door, where sunshine waits beyond the room. He sighs. Not too loud. But loud enough. “Do we have to read them all?” the boy asks. “Every single name?” His teacher leans over the Torah. “These are not just names. This is the story of Adam.” “Of Adam?” the boy asks. “Of all who came from him,” the teacher says. The boy’s eyes return to the very beginning, to the first words written there.

He wakes with the light. Not to wonder what the day will hold, but to its quiet unfolding. Eden breathes around him—ribbons of mist drift, leaves turn to the sun. Beside him, she rises like the morning itself. They do not wonder what to do or where to go. Their feet find the paths already worn into the earth. Their hands move as though remembering something older than thought—tending, gathering. The trees offer their fruit without hesitation. The rivers run where they are meant to run. Even the wind seems to know its course. They live as the stars live—set in their places by God, faithful in their turning. What they have is what God has given them. And over it all, His voice moves like the morning breeze—

The boy stands at the edge of the field. The soil has opened into long cracks, as if the earth cannot hold itself together. Dust wafts up at the slightest step, settling on his ankles, on the hem of his robe. Beyond him, the hills lie bleached, the grass whispers. Even the olive trees seem to be conserving what life remains in their thirsty leaves. The boy has heard the elders speak of the prayer—the prayer for rain. Their voices carry the weight of names: Abraham crossing a river to follow God, Isaac pouring out his heart in prayer like water, Jacob rolling a stone from a well of water, Moses striking stone until water pours forth. Water follows prayer, they said. So the boy looks upward… and begins.

Shalom, and welcome to a new year of Holy Land Moments Devotionals. This year, we’ll continue our time together studying the Psalms on Sundays and Proverbs on Fridays—two books that have brought comfort and wisdom to so many of us. But from Monday through Thursday, we’ll start a new journey through the entire Torah, from beginning to end, following the same weekly reading cycle the Jewish people have cherished for generations. Each day, we’ll open God’s Word together. We’ll step into the world of the Bible—or into moments where His people have felt His presence—and then reflect on a teaching rooted in Jewish tradition. It’s my prayer that this time will draw you closer to God, strengthen your faith, and remind you that His Word is alive and speaking to us still.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. As a mother of teens, one thing I try to teach my children is how to make good choices. And as I always tell them, one of the keys to making good decisions is to think long-term, rather than short- term. — Psalm 1:4