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Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 4376 to 4400 of 4977 results

4376. Ruth Meets Boaz

Ruth 2:1-23

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... Tekoa, the Shunammite, and the Syrophoenician woman (1 Sam. 25:23, 41; 2 Sam. 14:4; 2 Kgs. 4:37; Mark 7:25; Eph. 5:25–28). With the question, Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner? the narrator resolutely keeps our attention focused on two themes. The first is favor. Ruth wants to know (as do we) why Boaz lavishes upon her such undeserved favor. The narrator uses here the same word used by the narrator of Judges in describing the “favor” (khen) sought by Israel’s ...

4377. Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... s father (Judg. 19:2–10) and the old Gibeahite (19:16–26). Each of these father figures tries to do what is best for his children yet fails miserably. The goals of the Levite’s father-in-law, for example, are hazy. Does he want to keep his daughter home indefinitely? Is it his intention to persuade his son-in-law to stay in Bethlehem? Does he know something about the bad reputation of the Gibeahites? And what about his methods? Is he trying, like other biblical characters, to wear down his houseguest ...

4378. The Israelites Confess their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-37

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... answer to prayer. In particular, hope took the shape of a full restoration of the gift of the land promised in verse 8 and initially presented to Israel in verses 22–25. Grace would then happily come around full circle. With spiritual audacity God is addressed as one who keeps his covenant of love, the love of verse 17 that refused to let loved ones go and the covenant of verse 8 that promised the land. Yet sin could not be swept under the rug: we did wrong (v. 33) and our sins were to blame (v. 37). In ...

4379. The King's Edict in Behalf of the Jews

Esther 8:1-17

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... edict that allows the Jews to protect themselves in 8:9–16. Mordecai is honored in the capital in 8:15 as Haman had been in 3:1. Gentiles will “become Jews” in 8:17, signaling new safety and value in that identity, in contrast to the choice to keep it secret in 2:10, 20. 8:1–2 The reversals under way are both symbolic and substantial. Haman’s execution is the first of many concrete measures that will bring security and honor to the Jews. The second comes later that day when King Xerxes gave Queen ...

4380. Purim Celebrated

Esther 9:20-32

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... traps they set for others (Pss. 33:10; 94:11; Prov. 19:21). As already noted, this is not simply an empirical observation but a principle of a divinely ordered history. The Jews accepted Mordecai’s letter and the Jews took it upon themselves to keep the new custom in the way prescribed and at the time appointed (v. 27). Verse 27 emphasizes the seriousness of this self-imposed commitment. The Jews and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year. Verse 28 ...

4381. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 21:1-31

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... 22 Synthetic. See also 20:18; Eccl. 9:14–15. The saying fits the ideal of the sages: wisdom is valued above strength. 21:23 Synthetic, with juxtaposition of participles. Control of the tongue is essential for wisdom (cf. 13:3; 18:21). There is a neat play on keeps/guards (Hb. šōmēr) and the rhyme ending (-o), his tongue (Hb. ûl e šônô) and himself (Hb. napšô). 21:24 Synthetic. Verse 24a provides a kind of definition of the scoffer. But hubris is not the only characteristic (cf. 1:3; 9:7–8; 13:1 ...

4382. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 22:1-16

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... main verbs occur also in 13:6. See Additional Notes. 22:13 Synthetic. The humor in this saying lies in the fact that lions did not roam the streets in Israel. The point is that the sluggard will go to any extreme to come up with an excuse to keep from working (cf. 26:13). 22:14 Synthetic. In this section of the book the “strange woman” (NIV, adulteress) occurs only here and in 23:27, in contrast to the frequent references in chapters 1–9. Her seductive speech is singled out (see ch. 7 and also 2:16 ...

4383. Day of Disaster

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... is called the hope of Israel, the one who can lead Israel from death to life. Those who turn their back on Yahweh, however, will be put to shame, the same verb found in verse 18 where Jeremiah asks God to put to shame his persecutors and to keep him from shame. The destruction of the traitors is described as being written in the dust, which is an apt end for those who turn away from Yahweh, who is described as the spring of living water. Even the record of their passing is transitory as letters formed ...

4384. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... through this entire section that the extreme suffering of the man is the result of God’s actions. It is God that has driven him away, presumably from his presence and literally from Jerusalem. The passage uses language that is reminiscent of Proverbs. In Proverbs, the rod is used to keep a son on the straight path that leads to life (10:13; 22:8; 23:13, 14; 29:15), but here God uses the rod to drive the man off the well-lit straight path and onto the dark path that leads to death. The well-lit path is for ...

4385. Remember, O Lord, What Has Happened to Us

Lamentations 5:1-22

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... areas, but a strong city provided the security for people to work in its vicinity. With the destruction of the city government, all bets are off and these nomadic elements could prey on those who go out to work the fields. The city’s ruined walls no longer keep them out. 5:10 The fall of the city has affected the health of the people as well. Hygiene and sanitation would not function as usual; disease could spread. Thus, the people grow feverish. A lack of food is specifically named as a cause of the bad ...

4386. Jonah Flees from the Lord

Jonah 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... to escape it. The captain summons Jonah to pray to your god and then calls Jonah’s god “the God” (MT; the NIV reads simply “he”). The sailors have already prayed to their various gods with no saving result. Perhaps the unknown God of Jonah will hear and keep them all from perishing. The captain hopes to locate at least one god who has power to say to the storm “Peace, be still!” (cf. Mark 4:39 RSV) and thus rescue them all from perishing. But of course the captain does not know that Jonah, in ...

4387. Deliverance and Destruction

Micah 5:5-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... deliverance and establishes peace, a military government made up of Israelite leaders will be set up over the threatening foes to keep them in check, verse 5d–6b. As in Romans 13, government is the instrument to maintain civil order by lawful force. The ... Messiah alone wins the victory over the assaulting foe; Israel’s leaders then keep the continual threats of the foe in check. Additional Notes 5:5 Instead of we will raise against him, the verb’s ...

4388. Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... in turmoil goes together with settling down (the usual meaning of the verb nuakh, translated wait patiently) to wait for this moment of judgment to arrive. Once again, it would be an exaggeration to say that at last the questioning, indignant prophet is silenced; he keeps talking. But his talk has a different tone. The vision of Yahweh’s coming has not silenced him, but it has alarmed him and encouraged him. The world is in turmoil; Habakkuk is now consumed by turmoil of his own at the prospect of what ...

4389. A Call to Build the House of the Lord

Haggai 1:1-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the narrative in Ezra 3:7 presupposes the need to import such timber from Lebanon, and, indeed, the narrative reports how the people acquired it. Perhaps it was there and available in 520 (unless this was what people had used to panel or roof their houses, in keeping with the usual pattern). Further, the people are already in the mountains, so it is odd to tell them to go up there; and the word “mountain” is actually singular. So it is more likely that Haggai is urging people to go up the mountain upon ...

4390. A Call to Return to the Lord

Zechariah 1:1-6

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... the glory of the Lord to the temple in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek. 43:1–5). Malachi 3:7 makes the same invitation with the promise, “Return to me, and I will return to you.” The context indicates that the people’s return consists in keeping God’s statutes, from which they had “turned aside.” Bringing the required tithes to the storehouse is an example of this return. The agricultural blessings God promised to the people who return are the blessings that follow God’s turning to them (Mal. 3:10 ...

4391. The Man Among Myrtle Trees

Zechariah 1:7-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... the heavenly perspective of the Lord’s universal reign. Thus, the vision reports serve a pastoral purpose to keep hope and faithfulness alive in any circumstances. They provide a new spiritual discipline involving sight, memory, and imagination. ... of the book of Zechariah, however, the nations that are at ease are the Persian and subsequent empires that were able to keep the peace and feel secure by imposing their oppressive rule on subject peoples. 1:16–17 Therefore introduces a surprising turn. Instead ...

4392. Clean Garments for the High Priest

Zechariah 3:1-10

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... :6–7 His sins forgiven, and garbed in a new uniform, Joshua is ready to receive his commission from God. First, he must walk in my ways as God expected every Israelite to do (Deut. 5:33; 10:12; 30:16). The second condition, keep my requirements, means to perform the service due to the Lord. This is a technical term in Leviticus, Numbers, and Ezekiel for the duties assigned exclusively to the priests and Levites. The descendants of Aaron alone were responsible for the sanctuary, altar, and offerings, “so ...

4393. The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... an example of “profaning the name of your God.” Other sins that profane the Lord’s name are punishable by death. They include idolatry (Ezek. 20:39), sacrificing one’s children to Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:3), and reneging on one’s oath to keep the covenant law (Jer. 34:16). Zechariah and his audience would have been aware of written communications from the king that traveled swiftly from the capital via the Persian “pony express” (see Esth. 3:13–15; 8:10, 14). The edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and ...

4394. Judgment on Israel's Enemies

Zechariah 9:1-8

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... 7:14 and Ezekiel 33:28. The desolation of divine judgment on the land had left it empty of people, of anyone “who crosses over and returns.” God’s protective presence, encamped in Jerusalem, will keep invaders out of the secured borders of the land. The Lord speaks the final line, “for now I am keeping watch.” The Hebrew repeats the word “eyes,” literally “indeed now I see with my eyes,” forming an inclusio with verse 1. The people’s eyes are toward the Lord, and the Lord’s eyes are ...

4395. A Room with Locked Doors

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... ) Most of us realize that fear of flying is irrational. Statistically, flying is one of the safest ways to travel. But still, for some of us, it is a helpless feeling being thousands of feet in the air, dependent on a couple of motors to keep us there. One of sport’s best known personalities was notorious for being afraid to fly. Does anyone remember the name John Madden? Madden is a big, tough, former football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland ...

4396. No More Tears

Sermon

King Duncan

... may mean the death of your budget as it has always stood. But there are too many churches more concerned about a cushion than a cross, more concerned about making the gospel something easy, retranslating the gospel to read, ‘Go ye into all the world and keep your blood pressure down, and lo, I will make you a well-adjusted personality.’ That isn’t God’s church. Don’t forget that Bethlehem was just 18 miles from Calvary. You’ve got to go by Calvary.” Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the U.S ...

4397. A Peaceful Mind

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... 8:28). We may not see it now but we believe that things will get better. The thing about hopelessness is that is makes us helpless because we see no way out. Abiding in Christ’s peace reminds us that there is hope, and so we can keep moving forward and refuse to give up. In South Dakota the community of Spencer was once devastated by a tornado. Six people were killed. Many buildings were destroyed including St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. The day after the tornado a group from St. Matthew’s walked with ...

4398. I Am the Only One Left Who Cares!

1 Kings 19:9-18

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... some water and let it seep through my hand, the drops of water don't seem very strong. But suppose I let one tiny drop after another keep falling on one spot, how strong is it? Did you know that it could wear a hole in a mighty rock, drop by drop, over a ... who forgot two important lessons: You can win great victories if like the drop of water falling on a rock you hang in there and keep trying. Don't give up. The other lesson he forgot is that you can also be victorious if you find other people to help you ...

4399. The Other Side of Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... this Christmas. Love from my family and from people in our church. The love I saw in the faces of people as they sang their favorite Christmas carols. I'm not going to pack that away and wait until Christmas next year to bring it back out. I plan on keeping that love in my heart all year long and I hope you will do. After all, love is what Christmas is all about. And love is what Jesus is all about. If Jesus is in our heart, then his love is in our heart and we ...

4400. Jesus and Those Who “Believed”

John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47, John 8:48-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... who obey his teaching (v. 51; cf. vv. 31–32). It is like reopening an old wound. Once more Jesus’ claim is rejected by means of an appeal to Abraham (v. 52; cf. v. 33). For Jesus to pretend to give life so that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death is to put himself ahead of even Abraham and the prophets (vv. 52–53). Life and death are here conceived in purely physical terms, as if Jesus is promising exemption from physical death. Without pausing to correct the misunderstanding, Jesus ...

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