Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3051 to 3075 of 3926 results

3051. Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... other things, the elders believed (in God), were the leadership for the Passover feast, stood with Moses when he struck the rock for water, ate two meals with Moses in the Lord’s presence, and agreed to the covenant at Sinai. The elders were with Moses in support from the beginning. God told him here in verse 18, the elders of Israel will listen to you. God gave Moses seven points for the elders. (1) Go, assemble the elders of Israel and tell them that the Lord appeared to you. Moses “saw” as well as ...

3052. The Plague on the Firstborn

Exodus 11:1-10

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... of this instruction prepares the people and the reader for the dramatic changes about to take place in the narrative’s events. The people would make a hurried exit. Two interpretations of this command are possible in the biblical context, neither of which supports the socalled “plundering of the Egyptians.” First, asking for silver and gold was consistent with the Lord’s requirements, given later at Sinai, for the respectful release of a debt slave. The Lord insisted that a person bound by debt as a ...

3053. Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... traveled down the Wadi Tumilat to tell el-Maskhuta.) The translation “desert” is misleading, since midbar means seasonal pastureland where no one lives permanently. This definition makes better sense of the text because while a desert does not support livestock, they apparently found food for their flocks when they entered this midbar. The translation armed for battle is peculiar since the Hebrew word means merely “in groups of fifty” (khamushim). This could indicate a “military” formation for ...

3054. The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... 21:27) or the “scroll of remembrance” (Mal. 3:16–18). 33:3 The essential conversations concerning the Lord’s decisions are in vv. 3, 12–19 and 34:5–10. They form the structure and themes that the other sections of the text support. 33:4–5 They “stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb” (Sinai). The tradition took the removal of ornaments to mean a perpetual ban on ornamental “jewelry.” For the rabbis, the initial removal was a sign of repentance. The perpetual ban demonstrated their ...

3055. Circumcision at Gilgal

Joshua 5:1-12

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... (Phoenicians in the LXX). Amorites inhabit the highlands west of the Jordan, and Canaanites live in cities of the coastal plains. The demoralizing of the enemy provides another sign that God has given the land to Joshua and the people. Still, God’s support and victory in battle demand that the tribes prepare liturgically and religiously for battle. 5:2–9 Circumcision, the primary sign of the people of God and prerequisite for participating in the Passover (Exod. 12:44–49), is the first ritual for ...

3056. Northern Kings Defeated

Joshua 11:1-23

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... the Waters of Merom: The waters of Merom have been identified with the village of Meirom on the eastern slopes of Jebel Jarmaz in upper Galilee. Several seasons of excavation have prompted Meyers to suggest that they are separate locations. Historical and geographic evidence supports Aharoni’s and A. Rainey’s identification of the Waters of Merom with Tell el-Khureibeh, which is just over three km south of Marun er-Ras. Meron is mentioned in the campaign annals of Thutmose III (1504–1450 B.C.E.) and ...

3057. Division of the Land East of the Jordan

Joshua 13:8-33

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... as impartial worship leaders, and they can carry out this function better without territory to defend or land to tie them to one region of the nation. Levites do not depend on land for making a living; they receive their livelihood from worshipers who support them with sacrifices and offerings. Joshua then turns to the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. The area designated by Moses for the clans of Reuben details the geography of the region and then mentions towns on the plateau and the entire realm of ...

3058. Division of the Land West of the Jordan

Joshua 14:1-5

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... about the boundary and city lists of Joshua 14–21. First, the lists represent ideal allotments for the tribes. One does not need to place the lists into a context in which Israel controlled the land of Canaan. Next, the tribal allotments receive divine support by the casting of lots (Hb. goral). The painted rocks or bones declare to the people the will of God and thus give divine approval to each inheritance. In addition, nearly three hundred toponyms enumerated in Joshua 14–21 cannot be identified with ...

3059. Allotment for Judah

Joshua 15:1-63

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... allotment materials in Joshua (see maps 31–32, B. J. Beitzel, The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands [Chicago: Moody, 1985], pp. 100–101). 15:63 Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem: Minimal evidence remains in Jerusalem supporting the Jebusite occupation. Excavations in the City of David (Hill Ophel) reveal stone terraces erected on the steep eastern slope above the Gihon Spring as foundations for buildings of the Jebusite city but no significant data about Jebusite culture or ...

3060. Allotment for Ephriam and Manasseh

Joshua 16:1--17:18

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... ’s clan/ tribe to sustain the name of their father. Two interesting comments can be made. The leaders had to be reminded that the daughters could inherit the claim of their father as had been the law since Moses. Unfortunately, men do not automatically support the rights of women when land is being divided—even legal precedents do not make men that sensitive. In addition, the women assert their own case. There is nothing wrong with women asking for what rightfully belongs to them; in fact, the Bible ...

3061. Towns for the Levites

Joshua 21:1-45

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

Levitical Cities: 21:1–40 Finally, the tribes assume responsibility for supporting the religious leaders of Israel. At Shiloh the heads of the families of Levites request cities to live in and land for their cattle. The Levites possess no land of their own (13:14 [33 MT]; 18:7; Deut. 10:8–9). The descendents of Aaaron receive nine cities in ...

3062. Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders

Joshua 23:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... , and you will take possession their land, as the LORD your God promised you (23:3–5). God and Joshua earlier helped the tribes through battles and the dividing of the land. Therefore they owe an enormous debt of gratitude to God and Joshua. God’s support will continue long after Joshua has died. 23:6–11 God’s gracious deeds build the confidence of the people for their future challenges. Joshua returns to the words of Joshua 1, spoken before the tribes began to take the west bank of the Jordan. He ...

3063. Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites

Judges 1:1-36

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... 1:27–28 But Manasseh did not drive . . . them out completely: Boling (Judges, p. 60) points out that the city-states not conquered by Manasseh were all strategic centers that controlled “important commercial and military traffic.” Furthermore, archaeological discoveries support the account in Judges, indicating that these city-states did not become Israelite until the time of the united monarchy under David. Gezer did not become Israelite until the time of Solomon, when the Egyptian pharaoh gave it to ...

3064. A Levite and His Concubine

Judges 19:1-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... means “the men of the city.” Moreover, the appositional phrase bene beliyya’al (translated as “wicked men” in v. 22) parallels the phrase bene yemini (“men of Benjamin,” v. 16), which clearly refers to all the men of the city. My translation is also supported by later developments in the story, where it is assumed that it was all the men (20:12–13). So we can have sex with him: Some translators have been unwilling to render this phrase in all its candor, and thus we find such readings as ...

3065. The Family of Abraham

1 Chronicles 1:28

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... be transgressed on occasion, with divine blessing, and resulting in divine blessing” (A. Labahn and E. Ben Zvi, “Observations on Women in the Genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1–9,” Bib 84 [2003], pp. 457–78, at p. 478). This interpretation would support the observation that the Chronicler took an inclusivist stance. However, Labahn and Ben Zvi fail to give a satisfying explanation for why the Chronicler omitted Sarah and Hagar. 1:32 Labahn and Ben Zvi interpret the Chronicler’s inclusion of the ...

3066. Israel's Sons

1 Chronicles 2:1-55

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... was made after the example of Chronicles, or that they both incorporated a preexisting genealogy. A comparison with the genealogy in Ruth 4 also shows two interesting additions and a variant spelling for Salmon (Hebrew Salma, taken as Salmon by the NIV, with support from the Septuagint). Nahshon is described in 1 Chronicles 2:10 as the leader of the people of Judah. The Chronicler probably added the comment on account of Numbers 1:16, which lists Nahshon, the son of Amminadab (mentioned in Num. 1:7), among ...

3067. The Genealogy of Saul the Benjamite

1 Chronicles 8:1-40

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... of the sons of Israel. The significance of Judah lies in this being the tribe of King David. Levi is emphasized in order to focus on that tribe’s connection with the cult and the temple. Benjamin, however, is the other tribe that supported David in his kingship, and its geographical territory enclosed Jerusalem. As part of the genealogies of the northern tribes, a section on Benjamin was already present in 7:6–12, but there are significant differences between that genealogy and the one presented here ...

3068. The Genealogy of Saul

1 Chronicles 9:35-44

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... clearly between the kingship of Saul and that of David. Additional Note 9:41 The name Ahaz is normally supplied in translations at the end of this verse, although this name does not appear in the Hebrew text. On the basis of 1 Chron. 8:35 (supported by the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Peshitta versions of 9:41) we may assume that the name erroneously fell away in the process of textual transmission. See Klein, 1 Chronicles, p. 262; Knoppers, 1 Chronicles 10–29, p. 516. Summary of 1 Chron. 1:1—9:41 ...

3069. David’s Victories

1 Chronicles 18:1-13

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the two versions is probably due to the Chronicler making use of another Hebrew text here.) David and his army won the battle decisively, so much so that the Arameans made peace with David and became subject to him. They even withdrew their support for the Ammonites. With the Arameans already subjugated and with the Ammonites now without their coalition partner, it would not take long for David to also achieve military success against the latter. The Chronicler follows his source text’s narrative line in ...

3070. Opposition to the Rebuilding

Ezra 4:1-5

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... from colonists from various eastern regions of the empire. They had been deported by the next-to-last Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, who reigned in the middle of the seventh century. The epithets great and honorable give the impression that they supported the imperial cause and so acted in good faith in reporting the prospect of sedition in the neighboring province. They paint an alarmist picture, quite devoid of historical probability, in lurid hues from the palette of ethnic prejudice. A recent caravan ...

3071. Tattenai's Letter to Darius

Ezra 5:1-17

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... ʾ is used of material employed in the construction of a building, boat, and altar, and evidently refers to woodwork. Here it could refer to the horizontal beams of wood inserted in the stone walls, to the wooden linings of interior walls, or to rafters to support the roof (compare v. 8; 6:4; 1 Kgs. 6:15–16, 36). 5:4 The NIV footnote should read, “We said to them, ‘What are the names . . . building?’” The NIV corresponds to the Aramaic text except for the initial first plural verb. This oddity ...

3072. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... business. No Scrooge, he entertained well, out of his own (obviously deep) pocket. He did so out of consideration for the burdens of Persian taxation that the people carried (v. 4). There is a parallel here with Paul, who refused to exercise the apostolic right of financial support on a regular basis (1 Cor. 9:3–6, 12). 5:19 This is the first of the Remember petitions that appear as a refrain in Nehemiah’s memoirs. Here it is of a personal and positive nature, as in 13:22, rather than negative and ...

3073. The New Residents of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 11:1-36

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... NJB and NJPS; compare the NRSV and REB). 11:10 The related text in 1 Chr. 9:10 has two independent names for Jedaiah; the son of Joiarib, “Jedaiah; Jehoiarib,” which helps explain the NIV’s strange semicolon after Jedaiah here. The Chronicles text is supported by 12:6, 19, where Jehoiarib and Jedaiah are placed in the same generation, and by 1 Chr. 24:7, 17, where, together with Jakin, they are the names of three priestly divisions. The omission of son of would give a total of six priestly extended ...

3074. Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... Those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar” (1 Cor. 9:13). Here the editor assures us that proper arrangements were made for feeding priests and Levites on duty, as required by the Law. The community at large willingly supported the temple staff by giving the required dues because they were pleased with them or, more literally, “rejoiced over” them (NRSV). The joy of worship (v. 43) shifted to the joy of giving to maintain the infrastructure of worship. As a result, the temple ...

3075. Nehemiah's Final Reforms

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

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