Sermon and Worship Resources

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 4426 to 4450 of 4963 results

4426. The Song of Moses and Miriam

Exodus 15:1-21

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... same Lord who mastered the causes of chaos at creation, in the Exodus from Egypt, and in the return from Babylon. The objective gospel is a consistent witness in Scripture: “The LORD will reign for ever and ever.” The question of trust or lack of trust in this Lord ever remains.

4427. Water from the Rock

Exodus 17:1-7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... standing with him before the people. Consolidating his base of support, they become witnesses to the provision of water. In the midst of providing, protecting, and creating a new people, the Lord’s risk was that some would not believe. The people remained free to reject God’s lordship. In this text, they are dismissive and inordinately forgetful of the Lord’s past mighty acts of salvation. Their attitude commonly causes one of two strong reactions among readers. The first is to judge their ingratitude ...

4428. Jethro Visits Moses

Exodus 18:1-27

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... God’s justice was all on his shoulders. He needed Jethro to explain that “good law” in a community must be accompanied by a good legal system of administration. Jethro proposed five steps for consideration and approval. First, Moses should remain as the people’s advocate (NIV “representative”) before God. This he did later, with great effect, in Exodus 32–34. Secondly, he should Teach (“enlighten,” “warn”) them the decrees and laws. Moses had been teaching individuals, case by case (v ...

4429. Hebrew Servants

Exodus 21:2-11

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... to go free as menservants do.” She was not “freed” in the seventh year because the basis of her protection was her legal status as a wife. The four contingent cases indicate that she had been “sold” with the status of a wife/concubine and must remain married. “If she does not please,” her family might redeem her; the master could not secondarily sell her to strangers. “If he selects her for his son,” she has the rights of a daughter. “If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the ...

4430. Protection of Property

Exodus 22:1-15

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... by an unknown third party. Then the second party was liable for the value of the animal since he was responsible for its safekeeping (v. 12). The rabbis assumed that the first party had paid the second party for his services. If, however, he could produce the remains of death by a wild animal he was not liable, since this kind of protection was beyond what was required. The tenth case (vv. 14–15) addresses liability in the case of an animal borrowed for use in plowing or hauling. If it is injured or dies ...

4431. The Tabernacle

Exodus 26:1-37

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... : five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. The sixth panel provided four extra cubits. The extra material of the longer and wider tarpaulin provided a weather shield by folding the end double above the entrance (v. 9b). What remained was to hang down at the rear on the ground (v. 12). The two woven goat hair sections were joined together in the same way as the inner linen tent, with fifty loops. The clasps were bronze instead of gold and were hidden from view, since ...

4432. Bazalel and Oholiab

Exodus 31:12-18

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... (vv. 14–15) accompanied the commandment. The Sabbath was holy to the LORD (16:23; 20:11; 31:15), therefore it should be holy to God’s people (20:8; 31:14; 35:2). Even after the destruction of the temple, Sabbath-keeping remained the distinguishing mark and anchoring identity for God’s people. The Lord said it was a lasting covenant between “me and the Israelites forever”—that is, grounded in the creation itself (v. 17). Here the Lord finishes giving Moses the instructions for the tabernacle ...

4433. Sabbath Regulations

Exodus 35:1-3

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... to be built (31:7–11; 35:10–19). The first subject in Exodus 31 was Bezalel, “filled with the Spirit of God,” which is the conclusion to Exodus 35 (vv. 30–35). The Lord’s forgiveness had taken them back, to begin again. The remaining chapters of Exodus (36–40) will describe, again in detail, the building of the tabernacle. The first time these details occur in the text, the Lord was giving Moses instructions (chs. 25–31). Here, the text describes the people accomplishing the task in joy and ...

4434. The Altar of Burnt Offering (II)

Exodus 38:1-7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the tabernacle has generated discussion about the perspective of the final editor of Exodus (P). The issue is similar to the problem of 600,000 men (about 2 million people) walking through the Sinai (see comment on 12:37). While the burden of proof remains with the critic of the text, the numbers do reflect the time of Solomon. The quantity of these metals in comparison to quantities used in ancient Egypt are, in themselves, “not unrealistic” according to Durham (based on the research of A. Lucas on the ...

4435. The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal

Joshua 8:30-35

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... what is required for a covenant with the Lord. Covenant renewal completes the narrative on crossing the Jordan and initial victories. At Mount Ebal, the community reflects on and reaffirms its covenant relationship with the Lord and prepares for possessing the remaining land. The ceremony at Mount Ebal reminds tribal members of covenant requirements for the people of God. How long this agreement will survive depends on the people’s faithfulness. In this sense, the ceremony at Mount Ebal closes the early ...

4436. The Gibconite Deception

Joshua 9:1-27

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... Gibeonites serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the place the LORD would choose. And that is what they are to this day (9:27). The location of “the altar . . . the Lord will choose” remains ambiguous. Later readers will assume that the place is the temple in Jerusalem, but that point is not stated here. God still has the freedom to appear wherever appropriate. No one location can claim to possess God. In any case, the Gibeonites continue to serve ...

4437. Southern Cities Conquered

Joshua 10:29-43

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... king, the army, and the population of each city (no survivors were left; lit. no remnant). Third, Joshua captures the region in one campaign because the Lord, the God of Israel, fights for Israel. Notice that the summaries do not mention the destruction of either Jerusalem or Gezer. Both fortresses remain in place. The region has come under the general control of the tribal forces by these raids.

4438. List of Defeated Kings

Joshua 12:1-24

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... of leadership and praises the fighting of the people as keys to defeating enemy leaders. Readers should not minimize human aspects of the campaign by stressing the divine warrior role of God. At the same time, celebrating victories that come to a believer remains a wonderful way to praise God. Christians will increase in their appreciation of God by listing blessings they have received in the way Joshua lists victories in chapter 12. Additional Note 12:7 These are the kings of the land that Joshua and ...

4439. Towns for the Levites

Joshua 21:1-45

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... the rest, war would be a thing of the past. Now the people can focus on making a living and putting down roots. God makes good on promises sworn to obedient people. The statement closing this part of the book seems idealistic when it is compared to statements that land remains unconquered. Yet God’s rest comes by facing challenges. Christians as well overcome obstacles to enjoy God’s rest. Faithful believers can rely on the promises and power of God, for in those promises believers find rest.

4440. The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

Joshua 24:1-27

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... ], will not forgive [repeatedly] your rebellion and your sins. Joshua also reminds the people that God punishes with the same intensity that God does good. Serving God is dangerous unless the people are determined to do good as God does. The people remain determined and reply, No! We will serve the LORD (24:21). The dialogue effectively brings the level of commitment needed to establish a relationship with God. Finally Joshua says that the people are witnesses to this commitment by what they have said ...

4441. Buried in the Promised Land

Joshua 24:28-33

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... shows that leaders can act decisively, prepare well, be unprepared, make mistakes, be manipulated, and compromise outside of God’s will. As a leader Joshua does not model the ideals of leadership throughout the book. He combines success with disappointment. Though Joshua leads with mixed results, he remains faithful to God and serves his people. Consequently, the success of Joshua teaches that leaders ultimately can succeed with guidance from God and loyalty and respect from their subordinates.

4442. Ehud

Judges 3:12-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... pun is intended (i.e., he was rotund or roly-poly). 3:13 They took possession of the City of Palms: Jericho was the closest city and elsewhere called the City of Palms (Deut. 34:3), but problematic is Josh. 6:21–26, which indicates that Jericho remained a ruin (cf. 1 Kgs. 16:34). Soggin (Judges, p. 54) suggests that the designation “City of Palms” “can easily be explained by the desire of the redactors not to create tensions between the note and the traditional theory according to which the city was ...

4443. The Birth of Samson

Judges 13:1-25

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... turn. Rather than hearing about how God raised up Judge X, we are instead led to the Danite town of Zorah, where we are introduced to an Israelite man, Manoah, and immediately informed about a personal crisis: He had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. It may appear strange that at such a time of national crisis, the author should take off on a caveat about one family’s problem. But it is not strange in Hebrew narrative; merely juxtaposing the personal problem with the statement of the national ...

4444. Samson’s Marriage

Judges 14:1-20

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... was a swarm of bees and honey. Samson scraped the honey out with his hand, ate some along the way, and then gave some to his parents, who also ate it (cf. Gen 3:6). Samson did not tell his parents about the source of the treat. They remained ignorant of his violation, by contact with a carcass, of his Nazirite status. 14:10–18 The incident with the honey set the stage for the next events, the transition to which is again signaled by the verb “to go down.” The text unmistakably implies that in yet ...

4445. A Levite and His Concubine

Judges 19:1-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... the Levite sent them (the parts), the Hebrew clearly says “her.” Referring to the pile of parts as “her” forces us to recognize that she was a human being and that no act of violence, no matter how atrocious, could take that away from her. The woman remained a whole (“her”) even as her body was ruthlessly chopped into pieces. The first step to social chaos is to dehumanize, and the first step to shalom is to humanize. At the risk of taking the point too far, could we say that this little (part ...

4446. Wives for the Benjamites

Judges 21:1-25

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... the first time nor the last time people would cry out to God with the question Why? In Israel’s case, we know the answer that they could not seem to see. Deception and confusion go hand in hand with chaos. 21:5–9 Significantly, God remained silent. But no matter, the Israelites came up with their own solution. They remembered a second oath—literally “the great big oath” (Hb.)—they had vowed before the war: anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death ...

4447. Boaz Marries Ruth

Ruth 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... Just King: Monarchical Judicial Authority in Ancient Israel [Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1979], pp. 51–61) summarizes the differing roles of judge and elder. G. A. London (“Homage to the Elders,” BA 50 [1987], pp. 70–74) argues, from an examination of animal remains in Early Bronze IV tombs at Jebel Qa’aqir (near Hebron), that elders sometimes receive special burial honors. For a look at how elders function in nonurban cultures generally, see the classic study of J. G. Peristiany, ed., Honour and Shame ...

4448. Israel's Sons

1 Chronicles 2:1-55

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... them for this duty. Whether the Ethan and Heman mentioned in 2:6 are the same persons as those mentioned later in the Levite genealogy cannot be determined. However, since these names are used very rarely in the Hebrew Bible, the similarity remains conspicuous. By adopting these names in the Judahite genealogy, the Chronicler could have intended to connect the Levites with the Judahites (from whose lineage David would come). This would have given some status to these cultic staff and would confirm our ...

4449. Simeon

1 Chronicles 4:24-43

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... have clear indications of who were regarded as Hamites (see the commentary on 1:8–16), it is not clear here to which group(s) and time period the Chronicler refers. The Meunites appear again in 2 Chronicles 20:1 and 26:7, but their identity remains a mystery. What is important about this campaign is that the attackers found a land that was spacious, peaceful and quiet. This seems to be a foreshadowing of a theme that is prominent in Chronicles as a whole, namely, the ideal of having quietness, rest, and ...

4450. Reuben

1 Chronicles 5:1-10

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... of this genealogy (with its associated narrative information) implies that Joel belongs to the Reubenites. However, this link is never made explicit. The only connection is that Beerah is called a leader of the Reubenites in 5:6. First Chronicles 5:4–10 remains detached from the surrounding genealogies, and no parallels can be found in the Hebrew Bible for the names included here. First Chronicles 5:9 indicates the geographical area occupied by this group of people: up to the edge of the desert that ...

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