Deuteronomy 4-6; Proverbs 25:15-28

Thursday's Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 4-6; Proverbs 25:15-28

The Greatest Commandment

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. —Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Today In Jewish History | 25 Adar

This date marks the death of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia in 561 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar built the most powerful nation in the world by ruthlessly attacking and annexing neighboring countries. He is sometimes called "Nebuchadnezzar the Great," but he is reviled by Jews for having destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and exiling the Jews from Israel. The biblical Book of Daniel tells how Nebuchadnezzar erected a large idol for public worship; three Jews refused to take part and Nebuchadnezzar ordered them cast into a roaring furnace. (They miraculously emerged unscathed.) Nebuchadnezzar was a megalomaniac who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; in testimony to his grandeur, each brick was inscribed with his name. Amazingly, in our time, Saddam Hussein pronounced himself as the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, and dreamed of restoring the Babylonian empire to its former size and glory. Saddam commissioned archaeologists to restore the ancient Hanging Gardens, and each new brick was inscribed with Saddam's name. The Book of Daniel (4:30) describes the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar: "He loses his sanity and lives in the wild like an animal."... (Nebuchadnezzar later regained his sanity and returned to rule.) —Aish.com

Today is also known as The Ides of March, the day when Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate. For more information visit History.com. (But turn down the volume of your speakers.)

March 15, 1517 | Infamous Indulgence Led to Protestant Reformation

Pope Leo could have spared the church a lot of grief if he had paid more attention to this verse:

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. —Deuteronomy 4:2