Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3101 to 3125 of 5000 results

Job 1:1-5

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... man was so blessed that the narrator sums up his stature with unrivaled superlatives: He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 1:4–5 A single example of his almost compulsive caution and scrupulous attention to religious detail illustrates Job’s piety. Job’s sons and daughters engage in a continuing round of feasting, to which Job responds with concern and religious care. The word for feasts, mishte, comes from the root shatah, “drink.” Together with the emphasis on the sisters ...

3102. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... 33:11). The last image of the dream in verse 21 is that of a tent completely destroyed when the cords (perhaps better “tent pegs”) are pulled up. Having had a tent almost blown away on the edges of a tornado, I find this picture very illustrative of destruction and dispersal of a life. Wisdom (khokmah) is an important word in Job and this is its first appearance in the book. As the book employs the term throughout, it means something like “gaining understanding of the purpose of life and how to attain ...

3103. Job's Reply to Eliphaz

Job 6:1–7:21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... anticipation or tense waiting. For Job, who expects only more pain until death releases him, all anticipation of the future is gone. Hope dissipates in the face of the numbing sameness of each day. 7:7–8 The wordplay is more complex than a translation can illustrate: loʾ tashub ʿeni lirʾot tob (v. 7b) parallels loʾ teshureni ʿen roʾi (v. 8a). The balance of the similar negated verbs, the repetition of forms of ʿen, “eye/eyes,” and the verb rʾh, “see,” link these two lines firmly together.

3104. Bildad

Job 8:1-22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... his point. The Hebrew is pretty rough going at times, with lots of uncommon words and unusual constructions. Bildad draws three observations from nature regarding the fragility of life. He begins (vv. 11–12) and ends (vv. 16–19) with plant imagery illustrating how easy it is for robust, seemingly healthy plants to lose their strength, wither, and disappear. In between, a central aphorism drives the main point home—like the intricate weavings of the spider’s web, life is fragile and easily torn. 8 ...

3105. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... measures the tendency of human beings to trust in their own strength and wealth and finds it wanting. Human power and riches are worthless (lit., “empty; vain”) and do not reward human trust. The more literal rendering of this verse illustrates the wordplay and repetition: “Let him not trust in vanity [Heb. shaw] that leads astray, for vanity [Heb. shawʾ] will be his exchange.” A series of agricultural metaphors describe the wicked as offering evidence of fruitfulness that is ultimately shown ...

3106. Bildad's Second Speech to Job

Job 18:1-21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... subsections, but in my opinion no particular division is more persuasive than another. The discussions of Clines, Job 1–20, pp. 407–8, and Whybray, Job, pp. 89–91, however, are particularly helpful. 18:1 The heat of Bildad’s reply illustrates the friends’ growing frustration (and perhaps desperation!) at Job’s refusal to accede to their arguments. Unable to persuade him to acknowledge their superior wisdom or even to submit to the wisdom of the ages, Bildad lashes out and turns from persuasion ...

3107. Eliphaz's Third Speech to Job

Job 22:1-30

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... , or Atum) surveys the world from the heights of heaven and notes what humans are about. The rather unique Hymn to the Aton written by the reformist (or heretic—depending on which side you were on!) Pharaoh, Akh-en-aten, has some clear parallels with Ps. 104 and illustrates the same theme of the sun as heavenly observer of human activity (ANET, pp. 369–71). 22:18 The phrase counsel of the wicked is the same as that employed in Ps. 1:1 to describe the righteous one “who does not walk in the counsel of ...

3108. Job's Third Reply to Eliphaz

Job 23:1--24:25

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... by hiring out as agricultural laborers—perhaps even working on the lands they had lost to the oppressive wicked. Lacking clothes . . . naked. It seems unlikely that significant groups of impoverished persons were reduced to absolute nakedness. This hyperbolic language, however, illustrates the plight of the poor and emphasizes the callous disregard of the wicked. The law commands creditors to return garments taken as pledges of repayment of debt to their owners at night so they can keep warm (e.g., Exod ...

3109. Entering the Lord’s House

Psalm 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... apparent to the original worshipers. The Hebrew verb skk is frequently used in connection with the cherubim, whose wings “cover” the ark of the covenant (Exod. 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs. 8:7; 1 Chron. 28:18; cf. Ezek. 28:14, 16). Psalm 91:4 illustrates how the symbol of the protective cherubim became a metaphor for Yahweh himself: his feathers “cover” the one who “takes refuge” (the same words as in 5:11) under his wings. Also like 91:4, Psalm 5 shifts to a military metaphor for God: you surround ...

3110. Acquittal for the Falsely Accused (Ps. 7)

Psalm 7:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... verses 10–13 imply that the Defender of the righteous (“my shield”) is also the Aggressor against the wicked (his sword and bow). Verses 14–16 then view retribution from another perspective: it is self-retribution. The birth and hunting images illustrate that the wicked will become their own victims. This standpoint emphasizes that justice is just—the punishment is in like measure to the crime. Together these two perspectives give us insight not only into retribution but also into the mystery of ...

3111. Delivering the Helpless from Social Oppression: Part I

Psalm 9:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... this light, my enemies may refer to any who have—in the recent or distant past—opposed the people of Zion, not to a particular group personally attacking the speaker. Similarly, the nations and the wicked mentioned in verses 15–16 may simply illustrate the premise, “the LORD is known by his justice,” and have no direct connection to the speaker’s immediate distress. (Cf. the confession of Deut. 26:5–10, where later generations identify themselves with earlier generations in God’s mighty acts ...

3112. Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... your heavenly Father is perfect,” 5:48), but that is the nature of all great ethical teaching. Although we may not reach the stars, they still serve us well as reliable navigational aids. 5:21–24 Verse 20 sets forth a basic principle that is illustrated in detail by the five “antitheses” (if the teaching on divorce in vv. 31–32 is considered a separate unit, there are six) that complete chapter 5. They are called antitheses because of the recurring formula You have heard … But I tell you (vv. 21 ...

3113. An Eye for an Eye

Matthew 5:38-42

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... sleep. Jesus counsels giving the aggressor not only the undergarment but the outer robe as well. Obviously this is not to be taken in a woodenly literal fashion. Jesus is not recommending that believers leave the courtroom naked! The third illustration of nonretaliation draws from the ancient practice of armies conscripting peasants to carry their gear. The Greek verb angareuō (“to force”) is of Persian origin (the angaros was a mounted courier always ready to deliver an official dispatch) and became ...

3114. Love for Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... (“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” 5:48), but that is the nature of all great ethical teaching. Although we may not reach the stars, they still serve us well as reliable navigational aids. 5:43–48 The final illustration of how Jesus’ teaching “brings the law to perfection” (Knox) is taken from Israel’s relationship to non-Jewish cultures. You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” The foundation of Jewish ethics was Leviticus 19 ...

3115. The Voice of the Lord in the Thunderstorm

Psalm 29:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... an expression of the voice of the LORD. It would not be consistent with the rest of the OT to assume Hebrews actually identified Yahweh’s voice with the thunder, any more than 84:10 identifies Yahweh as “a sun and shield.” These are poetic illustrations or symbols (i.e., implicit comparisons) helping us to gain a sense of what Yahweh’s majesty is like. The voice of the LORD proves superior to all that is vast, high, and seemingly unshakable. The LORD thunders over the mighty waters; the LORD breaks ...

3116. Images of War, the Hunt, False Accusation, and Wild Beasts

Psalm 35:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... The psalm’s second cycle contains only one petition and is dominated by laments concerning the foes. They begin with legal imagery, where the opponents are depicted as ruthless witnesses guilty of betrayal (they repay me evil for good). Their treachery is illustrated by the contrasting responses to each party’s time of need: when they were ill, . . . I went about mourning, but when I stumbled, they gathered and “tore” (lit.) me without ceasing, and gnashed their teeth at me. Here the imagery of the ...

3117. Deliverance from Godless Opponents

Psalm 54:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... vindication as requested in the opening verse. Additional Note 54:6 I will praise your name: This “name theology” is esp. characteristic of Deuteronomic literature (e.g., Deut. 12:5). The tensions with which this theology of God’s presence deals are perhaps best illustrated in Solomon’s prayers at the dedication of the temple. On the one hand, he refers to the temple as “a place for you to dwell forever” (1 Kgs. 8:13), but on the other he mentions “heaven, your dwelling place” (1 Kgs. 8 ...

3118. Jesus Questioned about Fasting

Matthew 9:14-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... feel this reveals the point of view of the early church (Filson, p. 140; Green, p. 104). The argument is only as strong as one’s conviction that Jesus would not have been able at this point in his ministry to predict his own demise. Two illustrations from everyday life point up the essential discontinuity between the old forms of worship in Judaism and the new spirit of the messianic age. No one takes a piece of un-shrunk (Gk. agnaphos) cloth to patch a hole in an old garment, because upon washing ...

3119. A God Who Judges Unjust Judges

Psalm 58:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... was customary in the surrounding cultures. 58:10–11 A closing confession of trust signals how the righteous will be glad at God’s justice. Certainly verse 10 employs an ancient cultural image of warfare that we cannot endorse (2 Sam. 11:1a illustrates this cultural assumption), but we must recall that God’s judgment of the wicked marks the end of the injustice, violence, and lies mentioned at the psalm’s beginning. Moreover, these righteous are themselves the victims of the injustices (when they are ...

3120. The Pilgrim’s Thirst for God in a Dry and Weary Land

Psalm 63:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... will be stopped (v. 12). Thus, we must not assume Psalm 63 was designed for special needs of individuals. Whatever were the particular circumstances of this psalm’s performance, the speaker’s participation in God’s worship will have widespread effects. Verses 9–10 illustrate with a concrete image the protection God grants his own, as sung in verses 7–8. According to the imagery of the psalm, life and death are determined by the satisfying of one’s thirst (v. 1) and hunger (v. 5) at the sanctuary ...

3121. Woe On Unrepentant Cities

Matthew 11:20-24

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... ) occurs frequently in Matthew (esp. in chap. 23). Although it warns of final judgment, it is an expression of grief rather than anticipated vengeance. Korazin is unknown apart from its mention here and in a single Talmudic reference (b. Menahoth 85a), an illustration of how much of Jesus’ activity is unrecorded in the New Testament (cf. John 21:25). It is identified with the ruins at Khirbet Kerazeh about two and a half miles north-northwest of Capernaum. A later tradition that the Antichrist would come ...

3122. From the Miry Depths

Psalm 69:1-36

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... 22). Like Psalm 22, this one appears to have served a dual function. In the preexilic period verses 1–30 (or so) may have functioned as a prayer for an individual. The zeal for reforming “your house” and the persecution that comes as a result is well illustrated in Jeremiah’s life (esp. 7:1–29 // 15:15–18; 26:1–24; 38:6). In the exilic period God’s people may have used the prayer as a vehicle to express their lament, where the people were personified as the speaking “I” (the reference to ...

3123. The Destruction of the Temple and the Eruption of Chaos

Psalm 74:1-23

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... God about his apparent attitudes of rejection and anger, both of which appear self-defeating and contrary to his investment in his people. The question Why? throws the problem back to its source. As the image of the sheep of your pasture illustrates the illogic of a shepherd’s anger consuming his own sheep, so the petition to remember reminds him of the long-term (of old) investment he has made in this “congregation,” whom he purchased and redeemed (lit. “bought back”—an economic metaphor ...

3124. It Is God Who Brings Down and Exalts

Psalm 75:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... is apparent in the alternation between the opening “we give thanks” and the closing “I will sing praise” (v. 9). At issue is Yahweh’s judgment and who may “lift up one’s horn” (vv. 4–5, 10, a metaphor of one’s power and rank, illustrated esp. in 92:10). 75:1 Instead of reading we give thanks, however, we should probably translate, “we have given thanks” (within the Psalms, only here does this verb appear as a Hb. perfect). A liturgical context helps to make sense of this reference to ...

3125. A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

Psalm 102:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... .” 102:24b–28 God’s permanence is demonstrated by first looking back to the past when the earth and the heavens were created and then by looking to the distant future. Here God’s permanence transcends even that of creation, as illustrated by the analogy of clothing. The closing reference that the children of your servants will live (lit. “tent”) in your presence probably alludes to God’s people “tenting” before the temple during pilgrimage festivals (see on 15:1; 65:4). This image ...

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