Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 301 to 325 of 357 results

301. Ingratitude and Judgment

Num 11:1-35

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... speaks to Moses at the tent (v. 17), not to the seventy.6 11:18 Consecrate yourselves. This anticipates God’s manifesting himself by a miracle. 11:18–20 you will eat it . . . until . . . you loathe it. In poetic justice they will come to loathe this coveted meat more than they have loathed manna (cf. v. 6). 11:21 six hundred thousand men. This rounds to the nearest hundred thousand the census number of 603,550 (Num. 1:46) plus 22,000 Levites (Num. 3:39). On the large numbers, see “Additional ...

302. Priesthood Confirmed and Its Mediation Duties Specified

Num 17:1–8:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... that only Aaron’s tribe (symbolized by the rod that has blossomed) can thrive in God’s presence (Num. 17:1–11), the risks become clear. The Israelites now see how dangerous it is to dwell in the presence of the holy God. So they go from coveting the Aaronites’ exclusive access to God to the opposite extreme of being afraid of God’s presence and crying, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!” (Num. 17:12). The holiness of God elsewhere in the Bible evokes, if not terror, at least ...

303. “Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave”: Power Poisons the Conscience

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... as easily as Joab. Using David’s words, the narrator informs us that David’s deeds “displeased” the Lord (Hebrew, “The thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord”). Theological Insights David violates the seventh (adultery) and tenth (coveting another man’s wife) commandments and then, in his attempt to cover his tracks, breaks the sixth (murder) and eighth (theft) as well (Exod. 20:13–15, 17; Deut. 5:17–19, 21).5 His actions create a theological tension in the developing ...

304. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in business (19:35–36; cf. 19:11). Much of the legislation in chapter 19 reiterates or is related to principles of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:3–17). The first nine commandments are clearly represented, and the principle of the tenth (against coveting; Exod. 20:17) is implied behind laws against stealing, exploiting, and seeking to profit by another’s death. Notice that whereas Exodus 20:16 is against harming someone by giving testimony (in court), the biblical law against lying in general is in ...

305. Loving God with All Our Might

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to express our love and devotion to him (6:13). Moses contrasts slavery in Egypt (6:21) to service to God (6:13). Israel’s deliverance from bondage is to set her free to confess and serve a wonderful Lord. Idolatry, which is a form of covetousness, must be avoided, for God is a jealous God (see commentary on 5:9). Rejected are all forms of worthless service, which include hedonism (the god of enjoyment), social approval (the god of how I am regarded), overweaning ambition (the god of what I must achieve ...

306. Gideon's Ephod and Death

Judges 8:22-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... cf. Judg. 12:9–11). To such an offer, Gideon dutifully declines, declaring piously that only the Lord should rule over them. His declaration notwithstanding, there are numerous indications that Gideon actually does harbor kingly ambitions. After all, he seems to covet royal paraphernalia and takes them for himself (8:21, 26). Some also understand his asking for gold earrings (8:24) as a request for tribute, which was the privilege of kings. This accumulation of wealth, together with having many wives and ...

307. Ruth’s Proposal

Ruth 3:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... together was never Naomi’s long-term plan for Ruth. Now that Boaz and Ruth have providentially met, and given that Boaz bears a legal family responsibility, Naomi attempts to secure a new home and identity for Ruth. She hopes to restore the coveted family name and reputation along with any inheritance. Naomi seizes the opportunity to inform Boaz of his responsibility by sending Ruth to communicate to him at the threshing floor. Ruth reaches out to Boaz at the threshing floor ( 3:6–9 ) · In submission ...

308. Trouble from the North

Jeremiah 4:5-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... accusation (5:14–31); warning (6:1–9); further warning (6:10–20); and second announcement (6:22–30). The announcement is about the invader. God’s accusation attacks Judah’s lack of moral integrity, spiritual dullness and social injustice, and widespread covetousness and corruption. Laced within announcements, accusations, and warnings are expressions of the prophet’s great sorrow and appeals by God to a people to wash their hearts and to walk in the old paths. Urgency is the note in 4:5–18 ...

309. Not One is Upright

Jeremiah 5:1-31, Jeremiah 6:1-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... enemy will make a thorough search, like a grape gatherer reaching into the vine branches, for the last fugitive. With language heightened in intensity, additional reasons are given for the invasion (6:10–20): disinterest in God’s message; covetousness; corrupt religious leaders who fail to be radical but instead do easy counseling, assuring peace and well-being; callousness about evil; intentional disobedience; and rejection of God’s word. Sacrifices continue with rare incense from Sheba in Arabia and ...

310. Addressing Rulers and Governments

Jeremiah 21:1-14, Jeremiah 22:1-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and most extended critique is directed at the despot Jehoiakim, who ruled 609–597 (22:13–23; see 2 Kings 23:34–24:6). Midway through his eleven-year reign he became a vassal of the Babylonians. Jeremiah attacks Jehoiakim’s ostentation and covetousness in connection with a new palace built, as archaeologists in the 1960s have suggested, at Ramat Rachel. A woe statement (22:13; cf. 22:18, where “woe” is translated “alas”), while common in Jeremiah (23:1; 48:1), is more frequent in Isaiah ...

311. Man's Plans and God's

Micah 2:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... are those who stay up at night contemplating how to work evil and then rise early to perform their wicked deeds. Their specific evil that Micah pinpoints is the amassing of real estate at the expense of other people. The land-grabbers both covet (breaking the tenth commandment) and seize (breaking the eighth commandment) land belonging to others. This sin is particularly grievous since the land was given to the Israelites by the Lord, so that each family might possess some. Thus, certain laws were in effect ...

312. Adoption: Removing the Barriers

Ephesians 2:11-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is its theme, so now the words “adoption” and “inheritance” do not appear in this text, but those themes predominate. One of the deepest yearnings of the human soul is to belong. We instinctively draw circles that include ourselves and exclude others, giving us coveted membership in a group others wish they belonged to. There can be no “inner ring,” in C. S. Lewis’s terms, unless there are despised outsiders. The Jewish nation, God’s “inner ring” in their own view, drew the circle at the ...

313. Law and Grace

1 Timothy 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ; not just those who engage in sex outside marriage but males who have sex with males; not just thieves but “man-stealers” (either the NIV’s “slave traders” or the NASB’s generic “kidnappers”). Instead of the concluding “you shall not covet” (which covers the heart), Paul closes with a sweeping “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1:10). The law reveals the sickness of the soul; sound doctrine promotes the health of the soul. Gospel-centered teaching points us to “the ...

314. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... application in the light of Jesus’ own setting and ministry. Additional Notes 20:2 Denarius: The dēnarion was a worker’s average daily wage. Cf. Pliny 33.3; Tacitus Ann. 1.17. 20:15 The “evil eye” (cf. AV) was a common expression in later Judaism that denoted a covetous eye filled with envy (cf. Mark 7:22: TDNT, vol. 6, p. 555).

315. God’s Faithfulness

Romans 3:1-8

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... a quotation, “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge” (v. 4). This comes from Psalm 51:4, where David acknowledges his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba and confesses that God is true and just in his judgment of David’s covetousness, adultery, and murder. David has been a liar, but in his lie he has known God’s truth. 3:5–8 Paul has now dealt with the first objection to his gospel, namely, that there is no value in being a Jew. He is most emphatic that there ...

316. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... sin, as Paul will argue in chapter 7. Transgression, parabasis, hints at this, for a transgression is a willful overstepping or violation of a commandment. Paul suggests that the prohibition of something actually produces a desire for it. In prohibiting theft, adultery, covetousness and so forth, the law subtly creates a desire for the things it condemns. For this reason the law brings wrath. This idea, of course, is not nearly so foreign as it may seem. “Reverse psychology” and the “created desire ...

317. Zophar's Second Speech to Job

Job 20:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... of the wicked cannot deliver from this addictive craving for evil, it is more likely that it is what he desires (and endlessly consumes!) that offers no satisfaction or escape. The Hebrew khamud is a passive participle describing “that which is coveted, desired,” and only by extension becomes one’s “treasure.” Exhaustive consumption in search of satisfaction is ultimately frustrated when there is at last nothing more to consume, and yet the craving still abides deep within. Perhaps linking more ...

318. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... from the context, that is, the “things (or persons) just mentioned” (BDB, p. 482). The thing referred to in the context is wealth. In other words, all the wealth of this king will stir up the kingdom of Greece. This means that the king of Greece will covet the wealth of Persia and go after it. It feels awkward, but it does make sense of the Hebrew and is the most natural way to read it. Most English translations are similar to the NIV, reading ʾet as “against” and taking hakkol, “the whole,” as ...

319. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... judge your neighbor fairly” (Lev. 19:15). If, as the Old Testament claims, God is an impartial judge and if they claim to judge according to his standards, how dare they act unjustly, prejudicing their decision in favor of the rich man because they covet his wealth and power? While looking at the specific example James gives, however, one must not ignore the wider application. Would he be any happier if the poor person were cold-shouldered in a worship meeting? Would the poor person be any less wronged ...

320. Everything You Need to Know about Love

John 15:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... when I am with you or it might be simply my need to be loved. Most of us have a need for companionship. Need love is always born of emptiness. The person characterized by need love is always grasping to attain from others things or values which he or she covets. Lewis contends that many times when we humans say to another, “I love you,” what we are really meaning is, “I need you, I want you. You have a value that I very much desire to make my own, no matter what the consequence may be to you.” Now ...

321. A Cross-Shaped Life

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... : Honor God above all. Don't make an idol out of anything else. Don't misuse God's name. Reserve the Sabbath as a holy day. Honor your parents. Don't murder or commit adultery. Don't steal or speak falsely against someone else or covet what they have. These might sound like more than enough rules for living, but there were many more religious laws: about burnt offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, thankful offerings; about what to eat, what to wear, what to do after childbirth; many more do's ...

322. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Being Rich

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... he really had kept all of the commandments. Jesus certainly didn't argue with him on that point. He didn't go on to list the rest of the commandments: You shall have no other gods, no idols, no misusing of God's name; keep the Sabbath holy; don't covet. I wonder if Jesus had listed these instead, whether the young man would have been so quick to say, "Teacher, I have kept all of these"? But Jesus didn't go there. Instead, he looked at the young man, he loved him, and he said, "You lack one thing." The ...

323. I Am the True Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Brett Blair

... mentioned that time when the great Arturo Toscanini told her that hers was the greatest voice of the century. She could have mentioned that time when she sang before the Roosevelts and the King and Queen of England. She could have said winning it was winning a coveted award for the person who had done the most for her hometown of Philadelphia. There was also the time when she sang before a crowd of 75,000 on Easter Sunday beneath the Lincoln statue. Which of these high moments would she chose? None of them ...

324. Playing Golf at Midnight

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... athlete so, after the war, he took up golf. And he was astoundingly good at it. In short, Charley Boswell won the National Blind Golf Championship 16 times, once shooting a score of 81. In 1958 Charley went to Ft. Worth, Texas to receive the coveted Ben Hogan Award in honor of one of the greatest professional golfers in history. Mr. Hogan agreed to play a round of golf with Charley. Charley said, “Would you like to play for money?” Hogan said, “That wouldn’t be fair!” Charley said, “C’mon ...

325. Profit and Loss

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

I counted all my dollars while God counted crosses; counted gains while he counted losses, I counted my worth by the things gained in store, But He sized me up by the scars that I bore. I coveted honors and sought for degrees; He wept as He counted the hours on my knees. I never knew till one day by a grave How vain are the things that we spend life to save? I did not know till a friend went above That richest is he who is rich in God's love.

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