Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3276 to 3300 of 4943 results

3276. Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 4:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... their weapons in their hands even while they carry building materials. Nehemiah also prepares for mobilizing the defense at specific points if necessary (4:20). He asks the people from outside Jerusalem to stay in the city during the night while the crisis continues. Unfortunately opposition to God’s work today also requires precautions, delays, and increased resources (cf. Eph. 6:10–18), along with the same faith that we see in Nehemiah, who reminds the people that “our God will fight for us” (4:20 ...

3277. Resolution: The Wall Completed; Community Consolidation Begun

Nehemiah 6:15-7:3

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the project, they have reason to fear. “In those days” means “throughout that period” (6:17), not only the present moment. It no doubt is included here to emphasize God’s power in what has been accomplished and also that the opposition may continue and will require continued diligence on the part of the community. This will not be easy, for Tobiah has influence on some of the important people in the community as well as on the priests. Tobiah’s name and that of his son Jehohanan (“The Lord has ...

3278. Ezra Reads the Law

Neh 7:73b–8:18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in joy (8:10). As Nehemiah says, “This day is sacred”; times of revival are always sacred times for God’s people. Although what happens here should happen in every worship service, throughout history God has also greatly used these special times of revival. Chapter 8 emphasizes the need to continue the renewal. All the families are eager to “give attention to the words of the Law” (8:13). This leads to a renewed celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (8:14–17) and ...

3279. The Israelites Confess their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... with theology. First the Lord (Yahweh) is recognized as the only God. He created everything and is worshiped by all the “multitudes of heaven” (9:6). The prayer emphasizes God’s grace in choosing Abraham, in making Israel his covenant people. God continues to shower on them his love and mercy through all their history: in miraculously redeeming them from bondage in Egypt, in leading them through the desert and providing their needs, and in giving them his revelation through Moses. The prayer has a ...

3280. Priests and Levites

Nehemiah 12:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... cf. Ephesians 4), even though throughout Ezra-Nehemiah he is careful to emphasize the whole people rather than one or two great leaders. Twenty-two names are given in 12:1–7. Nearly all are seen again in 12:12–21 to show the continuity of the priestly houses. Fifteen of those who signed the special “binding” covenant in Nehemiah 10:2–8 had these family names, although there are some spelling differences. Since originally there were twenty-four priestly divisions (1 Chron. 24:7–19), and the same ...

3281. The Jews Triumph over Their Enemies

Esther 9:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... slaughter of Persian women and children, the excessive number of people who are killed, and Esther’s request to continue the killing for a second day when apparently the Jews have already killed “all their enemies with the sword” (9:5). ... Some have suggested that Esther’s request to continue the slaughter and to have Haman’s sons impaled reveals her vindictive and bloodthirsty nature. Others have justified her behavior by ...

3282. Job's Reply to Zophar

Job 12:1--14:22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (12:7–10). In parody Job parrots their style and counsel, even using second-person singular deixis (“you” singular), which the friends use when they speak to Job. Job parodies their argument: even simpleminded animals know that God is judging you, Job. Job continues his platitudes by reciting what appears to be a well-known proverb (12:11). Elihu too will quote this saying (34:3), which also appears in similar form in Sirach 36:24. As the palate (NIV “tongue”) discriminates between what is tasty ...

3283. Job's Second Reply to Bildad

Job 19:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to grieve, humiliate, and abuse Job. The friends’ abuse, however, is matched by God himself (19:7–12). Job, again using figurative images of assault (cf. 16:7–17), utters a lament of God’s mistreatment of him. As Job continues his lamentation, the shift from figurative language now arguably to nonfigurative lays out another level of pathos (19:13–20). He is literally without family, friends, and household. He is in reality repulsive to look at. Once an elder commanding respect through the East ...

3284. Time and Eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... .e., 7 × 2 × 2 = 28). The fourteen pairs of terms employ merism, a figure of speech that designates a sphere by means of polar opposites (e.g., Gen. 1:1 “the heavens and the earth” = the cosmos; Ps. 1:2 “day and night” = continually). Although some interpreters claim that the author has made no attempt to order the activities progressively or in terms of their importance, J. A. Loader has identified an alternating pattern of values that is quite attractive. By labeling the actions within each pair ...

3285. Recognize that Bad Days Can Bring about Good

Ecclesiastes 7:1--8:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... both fates (7:16b, 17b, rather than NIV’s “avoid all extremes”). Proverbially speaking (7:19), acting wisely in such a situation offers a person more protection than a city council, as will be illustrated more fully in 9:13–18. 7:20–24 · The following verses continue to develop the theme by conceding that no one is completely righteous (7:20–22) or wise (7:23–24). Accordingly, how righteous does one have to be before claiming to be treated unjustly by God? There is no one who never sins (7:20 ...

3286. How Beautiful are You

Song of Songs 4:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... take full satisfaction in her love all night. Here the king foists his desire for the same on the maiden. The two imperatives in verse 8 mark the transition from descriptive song (4:1–7) to a song of admiration (4:9–11) as Solomon continues to woo the maiden. Geographically the Shulammite has been brought to Jerusalem from her home in the northern hill country. Now the king urges that she break from her past socially and emotionally by accepting his proposal for love and marriage. She has ravished his ...

3287. Where has Your Lover Gone

Song of Songs 6:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... figuratively about herself, the response still carries little meaning for the location of the absent lover. Perhaps the mutual pledge of loyalty (6:3) offers a solution: the bond of love between the two is so strong that in spite of his physical absence the lover continues to “browse among the lilies” of his garden in the mind and heart of the maiden. 6:4–10 · If the descriptive song in 7:1–9 is ascribed to the shepherd lover, then 6:4–9 is Solomon’s final speech in the poem and represents ...

3288. Ephraim

Isaiah 28:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... narrow blanket, will not work. The Lord will do a work, not to save, as he did at Mount Perazim in David’s day (2 Sam. 5:20–25), but to destroy. The decree has gone forth from the Lord Almighty. The wise farmer does not plow continuously but organizes his operation so as to have a time and place for plowing, sowing, and harvesting (28:23–29). Even in the process of harvesting, the farmer knows exactly which tools will obtain the desired harvest. So it is with God. He sovereignly and wisely administers ...

3289. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 42:1-9, Isaiah 42:10-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... by extending the covenant to the Gentiles. The messianic nature of Israel is to so affect the earth that all nations will be blessed through her and will join with her in expressing their faith in Yahweh. Yahweh’s jealousy for his glory ensures his continued presence with his people. He will open the eyes of the blind, free the prisoners, and do whatever is necessary to establish his kingdom on earth, in fulfillment of his word to the patriarchs (Gen. 12:1–3) and through the prophets. The restoration of ...

3290. Restoration of Israel

Isaiah 49:1-7, Isaiah 49:8-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as to the nations. Yahweh’s word will not return to him void, so the servant is guaranteed that his prophetic mission will be successful. The servant responds by looking at his own condition. He realizes that he has not been successful and asks why he must continue to labor. God’s response is that he will shortly reward the servant with success. The tribes of Jacob will be restored as a part of God’s mission, that they might be a “light” to the nations. Who is the “servant”? According to 41:8 ...

3291. Sin and Obedience

Isaiah 50:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... charge against him. Over against the victorious outworking of God’s plans are the unbelievers, who will perish. The response to the ministry of this servant may be one of faith or further obstinacy (50:10–11). He calls for a wise response rather than a continuation in folly and dark ways. If people continue to insist on walking by their own light, the judgment of God will overtake them, and there will be no escape. These verses also form an appropriate transition from chapters 49–50 to 51:1–52:12.

3292. A Marriage about to Break Up

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... must now be marshaled (2:20–28). While some Hebrew manuscripts read, “I broke your yoke,” it is preferable, given the line of argument, to follow those ancient manuscripts that read, “For of old you broke your yoke” (2:20). The yoke continues the figure of a partnership, a binding relationship. The Canaanite god Baal was worshiped on hilltops and in the shelter of large, spreading trees—a practice noted in Hosea 4:13 and forbidden in Deuteronomy 12:2. Figures of speech follow in profusion ...

3293. Restoration of Isarel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... an oathlike statement (30:23–24), so also here (31:35–37). The creation is an expression of the “Lord of Hosts” (NIV “Lord Almighty, ” 31:35). The decrees in 31:36 are the laws that govern the natural elements of the universe. Israel’s continuous existence as a people is guaranteed by the natural ordering of the universe. The repeated announcement of a return of the exiles to the homeland and the rebuilding of a city climax in the specifics of 31:38–40. The place-names specify the extent of ...

3294. Fourth Vision - Joshua Cleansed

Zechariah 3:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is reminded that God has chosen Jerusalem and will not be deterred from carrying through with his sovereign electing love. (2) The burning stick taken out of a fire refers to Israel’s recent deliverance from Babylon as well as to God’s continued preservation of his people. Verse 3 describes both Joshua’s unworthiness to stand before God and God’s cleansing of Joshua, making him fit to come into God’s presence and effectively stopping Satan’s objections. Note that Joshua is dressed in filthy ...

3295. The Observance of Fasts

Zechariah 7:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... worship without a true change of heart. As the people ignored God’s wishes in prosperous times (7:7), so they ignore his wishes now, not mourning for their sin but for their loss. The people are concerned about fasting—whether or not it should be continued. God’s concern is that they should truly listen to him for a change. What he says in these verses he has said many times in the past. His specific admonitions all relate to the essence of the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev ...

3296. The Honor of God

Malachi 1:6-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... blind, lame, or sickly. The prophet returns to the analogy with which he began by asking whether they present sickly animals as gifts to the governor, their political master. They must repent and ask God to restore his favor. However, if they continue their practices, the priests may as well close the temple down and extinguish the fires on the altar. The Lord looks for heartfelt honor, not mere formalism. Certainly, Yahweh’s kingship extends from east to west, because his name is great among the ...

3297. John Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a “conversionist” baptism, then his message is an implicit indictment of Jewish disloyalty to God and so a call to return to covenant faithfulness. The latter comes through clearly in John’s emphasis on repentance (3:2, 6, 11). Matthew highlights John’s continuity with the Old Testament story of God’s covenant with Israel by means of an Old Testament fulfillment quotation (3:3) and by demonstrating John’s connection to the Old Testament prophet Elijah (3:4). By quoting Isaiah 40:3 in relation to ...

3298. Jesus’s Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the focus on the preparation of Jesus for his public ministry. On the level of Matthew’s communication with the reader, he continues to emphasize Jesus’s identity as God’s obedient Son—Jesus as Israel’s representative. God’s Spirit has descended on Jesus at his baptism. Now the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert, where he will be tempted by the devil (also referred to here as the tempter and Satan). ...

3299. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Matthew 10:1-42

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... even arrested by Gentile leaders (10:17–18). They are not to worry about their defense, since Jesus promises that “the Spirit of [their] Father” will speak through them (10:19–20). Jesus calls them to stand firm in the face of betrayal and hatred, continuing their town-to-town ministry, since the coming of the Son of Man will precede the completion of their preaching (10:21–23). Jesus’s words, “You will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (10:23), have ...

3300. The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19–20; with the trinitarian formula distinguishing this baptism from John’s baptism in Matthew 3). Disciples are to be taught “to obey everything [Jesus has] commanded,” continuing Matthew’s pervasive theme of obedience (cf. 5:20; 7:15–27; 19:17–19; bearing-fruit motif). The promise of Jesus’s presence with his disciples (28:20) grounds this commission to make disciples. Though they are authorized to go out in mission ...

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