Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands, sensation, sense, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding, love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment, emotional state, compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, brotherly love, sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride, opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view, atmosphere, ambience, aura, air, mood, climate, character, overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour, aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination, sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful

Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 3426 to 3450 of 4340 results

3426. From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... 11 end with a segmented entry, and the purpose of these two genealogies is to establish Abraham’s lineage back through Noah to Adam. In the second part of Genesis genealogies continue to appear at strategic points, functioning as connectors between characters and events separated by generations. They locate a person or an episode within the context of God’s creation and the lineage of the generations. According to Genesis, the earth was populated from one family that multiplied into clans, tribes, and ...

3427. God’s Covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:1-17

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... and to himself in four definitive statements. First, God blessed them, commanding them to be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. Next, humans had mastery over the animals. Now all animals would have fear and dread before humans.The character of human relationship to animals shifted from one of commonality to one of apprehensive distance.Then, in addition to the diet of green plants, God granted humans permission to eat everything that lives and moves. To this provision God attached a strong ...

3428. From Shem to Abram

Genesis 11:10-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ), and in obedience he “went” (12:4). 11:27–28 This is the account (toledoth)of Terah. Even though Terah plays no role in the following episodes, the narrator of Genesis traditionally introduces a major section with the genealogy of the main character, beginning with that person’s father. This account also contains essential information for understanding what follows. The mention of the death of Haran, Lot’s father, prepares the reader to understand why Abram takes Lot under his care (12:4). 11:29 ...

3429. Abram in Egypt

Genesis 12:10-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... defined as incestuous in the law (Lev. 18:9, 11)? In answer to this last problem, God had not revealed to Abram the standards of the covenant. Moreover, Abram’s failures, including this one, remind us that Abram was a real person, not a perfect, ideal character such as is found in heroic tales. At times he displayed great courage and acted in bold faith; at other times he succumbed to fear and acted in a weak, self-serving manner. While his failures warn us against stumbling, his journey informs us that a ...

3430. Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... in the Arabah. His experiences in Egypt might have awakened in him a desire to live in a lush, affluent urban environment. Some traits of his personality, evidenced in his decision to refrain from showing more honor to his uncle, cast a shadow over his character and prepare the reader for the troubles Lot is to face. The narrator points ahead to Lot’s fate by mentioning Zoar, the city to which Lot flees in escaping from the conflagration of Sodom (19:18–23). A summary statement records the separation ...

3431. God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... covenants found in the OT are similar to those from the ancient Near East, but there are some variations. Since the text reports the covenant ceremony rather than giving details of the covenant, it provides only the information necessary for understanding the character of this agreement between Yahweh and Abram. It includes the identification of the initiator, a brief statement of God’s history with Abram, blessing in terms of the gift of land, and a description of the ratifying ceremony. The text implies ...

3432. Abraham and Abimelech

Genesis 20:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... wife. Lack of the fear of God in a society means that the people act without high regard for human rights, especially for the weak and foreigners. But Abimelech proved to be one who was willing to listen to God. So Abraham had misjudged the character of this ruler. Next, Abraham claimed on technical grounds that he had not lied, because Sarah was his sister through a common father. Since the intent of a statement bears greater moral weight than its factual accuracy, Abraham’s self-defense was very weak ...

3433. Jacob Meets Esau

Genesis 33:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Reunion of Jacob and Esau: At last Jacob meets Esau face to face. The character of their meeting catches the audience off guard. 33:1–3 Finally Jacob saw his brother Esau coming with his four hundred men. Wounded from the wrestling bout, he was powerless before Esau’s entourage. To welcome Esau, Jacob had arranged his family, placing the mothers with their children and ...

3434. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to a man again (2 Sam. 15:16; 16:22; 20:3; Sarna, Genesis, p. 244). When Jacob learned of the incident he took no definitive action, similar to his response to the rape of Dinah (ch. 34). His containing his anger bears additional witness that his character had indeed been changed at Peniel. He no longer resorted to trickery to retaliate against those who had offended him. That Reuben’s act deeply offended him, however, is discovered in his last testament (49:3–4; 1 Chron. 5:1). 35:22b–26 At the close ...

3435. Joseph’s Dreams

Genesis 37:1-11

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Seir (36:6–8). Whereas Abraham and Isaac had only stayed or sojourned (gur) in the land of Canaan (35:27), Jacob settled down (yashab). 37:2 The toledoth of Jacob introduces the Joseph narrative. Typically, reference to the father of the main character heads a new section (cf. 2:4a). This wording also reinforces that the following material concerns Jacob’s whole family, not just Joseph, and permits the drama about Judah to be an integral part of this narrative. A brief report about Joseph characterizes ...

3436. Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... The text is enigmatic in saying that Yahweh put Er to death. The statement that God killed someone is very unusual. This language probably means that Er suffered a tragic death, either for having done something quite wicked or for having an incorrigible character. Another possibility is that the text describes his having met a tragic, inexplicable fate. The standards of levirate marriage required that a man raise up a line of a near relative who had died without children through that one’s widow (Deut. 25 ...

3437. Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

Genesis 42:1-38

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... as he found his money in his sack. Since they must have opened their sacks on the journey back to Canaan, it is doubtful that this is when they made this discovery. A solution to this apparent discrepancy, proposed by Sarna (Genesis, p. 296), fits the character of Jacob’s sons. Not wanting to explain the return of their money, they staged this discovery in Jacob’s presence so that he would be as surprised as they were. Sternberg, however, thinks that Jacob’s fear was rooted in his suspicion that the ...

3438. The Second Journey to Egypt

Genesis 43:1-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ’s youth. Taking advantage of the moment, Joseph heaped shame on them by asking why they had dared to do such a wrong in light of his ability to find things out by divination. The atmosphere was ripe for his discovering the true character of his brothers and the sincerity of their acceptance of Benjamin. Would they heap blame for their present precarious fate on another son of Rachel? Or would they defend Benjamin, thereby giving convincing proof that they had changed? Having separated Benjamin from his ...

3439. Manasseh and Ephraim

Genesis 48:1-22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... blessing. Jacob looked to the day when his descendants would occupy the land God had given him. Emphasizing God’s great faithfulness, Jacob did not refer to himself or brag about his own achievements. His attitude and faith witness to the transformation of his character from finagler to one who placed his trust in God. In recounting how he had been blessed, Jacob was asserting his authority for passing on that blessing to his sons before he died. 48:5–7 Jacob then formally recognized Joseph’s two sons ...

3440. Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-28

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... name Israel will become the name of the nation that will develop from his children, delivers his last testament, focusing on the destinies of his twelve sons. Since God has appeared to Jacob from time to time, he has the authority to describe the character of each tribe in regard to its future settlement in the promised land. This testament is a complex piece, for it is the composite of three genres: deathbed blessing, farewell address (Josh. 23), and tribal poem (Deut. 33; Sarna, Genesis, p. 331). It makes ...

3441. The Death of Jacob

Gen 49:29–50:14

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , to bury him in the cave of Machpelah (47:27–31; 48:21–22), identified by its purchase from Ephron the Hittite and by its occupants, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah. At the end of Genesis this registry functions as a review of the main characters. Jacob breathed his last and was gathered to his people (25:8, 17; 35:29). 50:1–3 Joseph solemnly mourned his father’s death. He threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Afterward Joseph ordered Egyptian physicians . . . to ...

3442. Clean and Unclean Foods

Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... for word, of 7:6 (see commentary there), so our interpretation of the material here needs to be linked to chapter 7’s emphasis on Israel’s distinctiveness from the nations based on their status as Yahweh’s elect people and on Yahweh’s own character and action. It is this that ruled out pagan practices associated with death (v. 1), and it is this that also governed the food distinctions that follow—as is further shown by the bracketing reference to holiness in verse 21. 14:3 This introduction to ...

3443. Passover

Deuteronomy 16:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... . The richness of Israel’s faith was that it could take the natural and culturally universal celebration of the bounty of nature, as expressed through seasonal feasts and rituals, and tie them to their own redemptive history. Their feasts thus retained their character as cyclical markers of the agricultural year, while avoiding the excesses of the fertility cults. Yahweh was to be worshipped as the saving God of their history and also as the providing God of their land, the giver of all fertility, the ...

3444. Cities of Refuge (II)

Deuteronomy 19:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... decidedly dampen any frivolous “taking the neighbor to court,” with all the undesirable social side effects of uncontrolled litigation. The severity of this law reflects the wayjustice in Israel was a matter of the utmost seriousness. Yahweh, by his character as well as his action, demanded commitment to social and judicial justice among the people who claimed his name. The most essential components of that justice were the impartiality of judges and the integrity of witnesses; hence the presence of ...

3445. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 19:35f., the law is based on the fundamental identification of Yahweh as the God of the exodus. These theological sanctions remind us of the OT’s scale of values, in which the same strong word (“abomination to Yahweh”—insulting to his character) could be used as much about commercial malpractice as about idolatry, sexual perversions, and pagan cults. The reason is that it is precisely such cheating and sharp dealing in the world of trade and commerce that lies behind so much of the exploitation ...

3446. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... reminds the king of what he has sworn and so ensures that Adonijah is dependent for his life upon Solomon’s own oath. The story is constructed quite deliberately so as to make these connections between the mothers and their sons clear and to invest the characters with a sense of predestination. See further M. Garsiel, “Puns upon Names as a Literary Device in 1 Kings 1–2,” Bib 72 (1991), pp. 379–86. 1:42 A worthy man: The Hb. is ʾîš ḥayil, which can be taken as referring to moral worth. The ...

3447. David’s Charge to Solomon

1 Kings 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fails to collect the men of Judah in time to pursue the rebel Sheba (2 Sam. 20:4–5) are even less clear. Is he simply incompetent, or is his delay deliberate? And is Joab really to blame, in view of what he knows of David’s character, if he interprets David’s implicitly critical words as signalling his desire that Amasa should disappear? He had, after all, built a career on having people killed for David’s benefit, whether at his express command or not (2 Sam. 18:14–15), and there is certainly ...

3448. Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Kings 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the early and “good” Solomon), we must first read 1 Kings 3:1–3. And these are verses that provide us with a number of further grounds for questioning the notion that Solomon is presented in the early chapters of Kings as an unambiguously virtuous character. “The kingdom” is “firmly established.” What is the first thing that the new king does, after the dubious acts of 2:13–46? He makes an alliance with Pharaoh by marrying his daughter (3:1)—another dubious act! Egypt is, of course, a name ...

3449. Solomon's Officials and Governors

1 Kings 4:1-19

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... of the banished Abiathar to the royal court and the nullification Zadok’s consequent promotion. Both Zadok and Abiathar now stand as equals once again—though with Zadok’s son in charge. Benaiah (v. 4) we have also met already. The other characters are, however, entirely new to us. Elihoreph and Ahijah (v. 3) hold the office of secretaries in this new adminstration. Precisely what their function was is unclear: did they have a general managerial responsibility, or was their task a more limited one ...

3450. The Temple’s Furnishings

1 Kings 7:13-51

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The Temple’s Furnishings: After the important digression of 7:1–12 we return now to the temple, to hear how that project was completed and the “house of the LORD” made ready for his occupation in chapter 8. The narrative introduces a new character, whom the NIV calls Huram (vv. 13, 40, 45), but whom the MT calls by the same name as the king of chapter 5 (“Hiram”). He is brought from Tyre by Solomon to make the temple furnishings that are to be fashioned from bronze (vv. 15–47). Solomon ...

Showing results