July 18, 2026

Last time we met this man whom the Bible calls a “mighty hunter,” a powerful leader who is credited with the building of Babel and Nineveh, two cities widely recognized for their ancient antagonism toward the Jewish people.

Nimrod has been variously depicted, identified or described as an Egyptian king, an idolater, Sargon the Great, a chained giant in Dante’s Divine Comedy, an ancient god of war and hunting, Gilgamesh (the hero of a famous Babylonian epic), and the leader of the Tower of Babel rebellion (which the historian Josephus interestingly ties to Nimrod’s insistence that they build a tower so high that no future flood could possibly engulf them).

Although the Bible never directly states that Nimrod instigated the rebellion at Babel, it is nevertheless the common assumption of most Christian, Jewish and Muslim sources. Some early Jewish sources equate “Amraphel king of Shinar” (Gen. 14:1) with Nimrod, thus securing his reputation as an enemy of Abraham, and in modern slang “nimrod” has become synonymous with a fool. What a colorful history surrounding this one man!

In the Qur’an 21:69, readers are introduced to a king, often identified in Islamic tradition as Nimrod, who debates with Abraham about the power of God and who is then seized by the people and thrown into a fiery furnace. God commands the fire to be cool and safe for him, “O fire, be coolness and peace upon Abraham,” and in some Islamic traditions, Abraham walks out alive, an uncanny parallel to the biblical accounts of divine rescue in the book of Daniel.

One of the strongest lingering connections to Nimrod is Mount Nemrut in southeastern Turkey, sometimes called the eighth wonder of the world. Nemrut is, of course, a variant spelling of Nimrod, and atop this mountain archaeologists have uncovered the tomb and shrine of King Antiochus I of Commagene who reigned in the first century B.C. According to a longstanding local tradition Nimrod once hunted on the slopes of this mountain, a contention that finds roots in the biblical account of the flood wherein Nimrod’s grandfather Ham and great-grandfather Noah landed on this or on a nearby mountain.

In the end the identity of Nimrod remains rather slippery, but one truth remains sadly resolute—that there will always be men who foment rebellion against God. On the other hand, thank God for the godly men and women in your life who have directed you so faithfully to him. Who have not built towers of defiance. Who hunt only a close relationship with the Lord. For they are the mightiest of all!

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia (Answer at bottom of page)

Life in the Land:

Fun Facts about Israel’s Desert Fox

Late at night when I’m waiting to get sleepy, you can often find me watching black and white documentaries about World War 2. I know all the famous names associated with the war and even many of their colorful nicknames—e.g., General Eisenhower, “Ike”; Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “the British Bulldog”; and German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel who earned the nickname, “The Desert Fox,” for his brilliant military maneuvers in the deserts of North Africa.

The desert fox most commonly associated with Israel, however, is of the four-footed variety. Let me run through several fun facts about this fascinating creature, a top favorite of many Israeli photographers.

1. You might not recognize its technical name, Blanford’s fox (Vulpes cana), named for a nineteenth century British naturalist and geologist, William Thomas Blanford, who studied the desert fox extensively. It is one of Israel’s smallest wild canines, weighing a mere 2-3 pounds, hardly bigger than a house cat, and inspiring Nehemiah’s critics to mock his efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with these words, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

2. Like other loveable creatures, such as Dumbo and Yoda, the desert fox has very large ears that not only help it listen for small animals and insects scurrying among the rocks, but its ears also release body heat, acting like a natural air conditioner.

3. Like the ibex with which it shares a habitat, the desert fox can easily climb steep cliffs and maneuver along rocky ledges looking for food.

4. You can generally find the desert fox in the Judean Wilderness east of Jerusalem and in the Negev Desert south of Jerusalem.

5. The desert fox rarely needs to drink water because it receives most of the moisture it needs to survive from fruit, insects and small animals.

6. To avoid the direct sun of the desert it prefers to burrow or shelter behind rocks during the day, emerging to hunt only after sunset.

7. The desert fox enjoys a wide diet of insects, lizards, rodents, birds and fruit with a fondness for figs, dates, grapes and berries. Song of Solomon 2:15 even reads, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Aesop also wrote about a fox who hungered for a cluster of ripe grapes, but after finding them impossible to reach, simply walked away muttering, “They are probably sour anyway.”

8. The desert fox has a tail that is almost as long as its body, which helps it maintain balance while climbing and which it can use as a blanket to curl up in during cold desert nights.

9. In Israel the desert fox is a protected species, and though once thought to be close to extinction, it turns out that the desert fox was never endangered and simply preferred to remain hidden. Hikers spending many nights in the desert may never even see one.

-Daniel McCabe

Pneumatology—Our Sanctification, part 5

hat does it mean to be sanctified? When we’re saved, we are justified from sin, i.e., we are declared innocent of sin. Legally before God we are no longer guilty of sin because all of our sin—past, present and future—has been paid for by the blood of Christ. Yes, we still wrestle with the flesh. That’s why I emphasized past, present AND future sins, but at the point of salvation we’re justified.

Then, for the remainder of our lives all believers are progressively sanctified, i.e., we go through the process of becoming more holy by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to Romans 15:16, 1 Corinthians 6:11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3. There are many more verses that describe our progressive sanctification although from the point of my salvation until the end of my physical life here on earth I will never attain moral perfection. Paul writes about this in Romans 7. I do what I don’t want to do. I don’t do what I want to do. I will never become morally perfect until I stand before Jesus one day and am glorified. So I am justified at the point of salvation, sanctified throughout the rest of my life in an upward progression, and finally glorified at the end, meaning that I am actually totally free from sin and the possibility of ever sinning again.

Progressive sanctification means that I am becoming more like Christ the longer that I live. It’s an upward trajectory. Certainly I’m going to experience some ups and some downs in this life since I continue to wrestle with the flesh, but generally the arrow is pointing upward. Some days I will struggle and sadly I will fall into temptation. I might not feel very holy some days, but it is a lifelong process wherein the Holy Spirit strives with us to bring us to look more like Christ, and the longer I’m a believer I should be able to look back on my life and see that God really has helped me a lot, having made me look more like Christ even in my conduct. For example, I’m able to resist more temptations than I used to. I don’t struggle with a particular sin anymore though perhaps there is another sin with which I may struggle the rest of my life. But even there I’m making progress as the Spirit works in me.

Again, sanctification begins at the point of salvation, according to Romans 6:22. It continues in a positive direction. It achieves salvation for those chosen by God, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 1 Peter 1:2. There are some who believe that you can achieve moral perfection in this life, that you can get to a stage of complete sanctification in your life, that you can arrive at a point before you die where you’re totally free from sin and from its influences. However, I don’t think you can ever get to that point until you’re glorified.

-Adam Keim

How Joseph Foreshadows Jesus, part 2

he similarities between Old Testament Joseph and Jesus are striking to me. In his classic work, “Gleanings in Genesis,” A. W. Pink lists 101 ways that Joseph’s life foreshadowed the life of Jesus, the Messiah. In this 3-part series I’ve been sharing the first 60, broken into three groups of 20. If you’d like to read them all, you can find his work at www.archive.org. The following list is my careful summary of his work; many of the verses are mine. Have you ever noticed any of these similarities?

41. Joseph’s predictions came true (Gen. 40:20-22).

Jesus’ predictions came true (John 14:29).

42. Joseph desired to be remembered by the butler (Gen. 40:14).

Jesus desired to be remembered by his disciples (Luke 22:19).

43. Joseph was delivered from prison in due time (Gen. 41:14).

Jesus rose from the grave after three days (Acts 2:24).

44. Joseph was delivered from prison by God (Gen. 45:7-9).

Jesus was raised from the grave by God (Acts 2:32).

45. Joseph is seen as the revealer of the secrets of God (Gen. 41:16, 28, 38).

Jesus is seen as the Revealer of the secrets of God (John 8:28; 12:49; 17:8).

46. Joseph warned of a coming danger and urged his hearers to make suitable provisions to meet it (Gen. 41:31-36).

Jesus warned of a future judgment and urged the Jews to hear and believe his words in order to escape it (John 5:24).

47. Joseph provided wonderful counsel (Gen. 41:33-36).

Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6; Col. 2:3).

48. Joseph’s counsel commended itself to Pharaoh and his officers (Gen. 41:37-39).

Jesus’ teaching astounded those who heard him (Matt. 7:28-29; 13:54; John 7:46).

49. Joseph is exalted to a position of authority over Egypt (Gen. 41:39-41).

Jesus is exalted to a position of authority over all (1 Peter 3:22).

50. Joseph shared the throne of Pharaoh (Gen. 41:40).

Jesus shares the throne of his Father (Rev. 3:21).

51. Joseph was exalted for serving the people of Egypt (Gen. 41:40).

Jesus was exalted for serving all mankind (Phil. 2:7).

52. Joseph was arrayed for his position (Gen. 41:42).

Jesus is arrayed for his position (Heb. 2:9; Rev. 1:13).

53. Joseph’s authority and glory was recognized by the people who bowed their knee (Gen. 41:43).

Jesus’ authority and glory are recognized by the people who bow their knee (Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:10).

54. Joseph received a new name from Pharaoh (Gen. 41:45).

Jesus received a new name from God (Phil. 2:9-11).

55. Joseph was given a wife (Gen. 41:45).

Jesus was given a wife (Rev. 21:9).

56. Joseph’s marriage was arranged by Pharaoh (Gen. 41:45).

Jesus’ marriage was arranged by his Father (Matt. 22:2).

57. Joseph was thirty years old when he began his life’s work (Gen. 41:46).

Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry (Luke 3:23).

58. Joseph left the presence of Pharaoh to begin his life’s work (Gen. 41:46).

Jesus left the presence of his Father to begin his public ministry (Luke 3:21-23).

59. Joseph traveled throughout the land of Egypt in Pharaoh’s service (Gen. 41:45).

Jesus traveled throughout Galilee in the King’s service (Matt. 4:23).

60. Joseph’s exaltation was followed by a season of plenty (Gen. 41:47-49).

Jesus’ exaltation was followed by a season of grace (Eph. 2:4-7).

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. France