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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 4476 to 4500 of 4963 results

4476. I Have Come Into My Garden

Song of Songs 5:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... to her. The lack of follow-up of any sort may be the strongest indication that the passage narrates a dream or fear fantasy. And yet, since in this passage as in 3:1–4 there is no explicit statement that it is a dream, other possibilities remain. This section corresponds and contrasts with 3:1–4. Common elements in the two sections include an urban nighttime setting, one of the lovers seeking the other at the outset, the woman rising, and the woman looking for the man but not finding him. Both include ...

4477. Where Has Your Lover Gone

Song of Songs 6:1-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... the lovers went to a nut grove, hoping for a rendezvous with the other, who then replies, “I didn’t know” and makes an obscure reference to chariots. Verse 12 is the most difficult verse to translate in the entire book and its meaning must remain uncertain. 6:13 Some group (“we”) wants the woman, here called the Shulammite, to return (or do something again). If this verse belongs with the preceding verses, perhaps they call her to return because she has started for the orchards or because she is ...

4478. Not One is Upright

Jeremiah 5:1-31

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... but frequently in Isaiah [2:5, 6; 8:17; 10:20]). One would think this is a reference to the whole nation, since Jacob is another name for Israel. However, this reference is sharpened in the second colon by the naming of Judah, a reference to the remaining southern part of the kingdom. The ignorance of God’s people is described as unseeing eyes and unhearing ears. Interestingly the Psalms use this language to describe the idols (Ps. 115:6; 135:17). God then questions the people as to their lack of fear for ...

4479. Sin and Punishment

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... as the oracle envisions the onslaught of the enemy army. This is a foe from the north as is indicated by the reference to the snorting of the enemy horses from Dan, the tribe settled furthest north in the nation. The foe from the north remains unnamed (see §23 for identification of this force). The section ends with a final word from God himself. He announces that he will send snakes among his people. This is likely a metaphor for the human enemy that God will send among them, the Babylonians. Additional ...

4480. Keeping the Sabbath Holy

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... period (see Deut. 27–28). The blessing comes in the form of the continuance and prosperity of the people of Judah and their Davidic kings. In terms of the latter, we are reminded that David was promised that one of his descendants would remain on the throne forever. The blessing describes Judah and Jerusalem as it was meant to be, prosperous and coming to Jerusalem with their sacrifices to praise the LORD. However, the description of the consequences of disobedience is as horrifying as the picture of ...

4481. Jeremiah’s Complaint

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... 2 Kgs. 6:8–23 for the appearance of the God’s angelic army for the rescue of Elisha). 20:14–18 Most commentaries (Fretheim, Jeremiah, p. 296) include a discussion as to the formal status of vv. 14–18. They are a curse, but the question remains whether this curse is a prayer to God. Certainly within these verses there is no indication that God is invoked, but that the curse is part of a prayer seems obvious from the larger context (v. 8). Another general question concerning these passages has to do ...

4482. The Cup of God's Wrath

Jeremiah 25:15-38

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... to Babylon (Sheshach), which will at least initially be the one who will carry out the judgment against the other nations. No one escapes God’s judgment (vv. 17–26). Verses 27–29 record God’s demand that the nations drink the cup. The remaining part of the chapter (vv. 30–38) presents a series of oracles that do not explicitly mention the cup, but are to be understood as accompanying the ritual drinking. Though described like a symbolic action that would typically have been acted out by a ...

4483. Freedom for Slaves

Jeremiah 34:8-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... Leviticus code actually undermines the whole institution of the slavery of fellow Israelites by insisting that they be treated as a “hired worker” (Lev. 25:40), which would mean that they could pay off their debt by means of their work. While questions remain as to the harmonization of these slave laws, it is clear that Jeremiah’s generation were breaking the law by enslaving their fellow citizens longer than the law allowed. 34:18 To confirm the covenant to release the slaves between Zedekiah and the ...

4484. The Recabites

Jeremiah 35:1-19

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... lifestyle to which he has devoted his life. The only reason why they are even in Jerusalem (and not living in tents) is because of the siege, which may date this to 597 B.C. 35:12–19 Verses 1–11 describe the symbolic-act and in the remaining verses of the chapter (vv. 12–19), we learn of its prophetic significance. This message is not for the Recabites but rather for the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. It appears that this oracle came from a time when God through Jeremiah was still allowing ...

4485. Jeremiah in Prison

Jeremiah 37:1-21

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... amenable to Babylon. As we read on in the story, we recognize that the time is actually quite late in Zedekiah’s reign. The Babylonian army already has Zedekiah’s Jerusalem under siege (v. 5, the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem). Zedekiah had not remained loyal to Babylon, but revolted at a time he thought he might successfully pull away from their control (2 Kgs. 24:18–25:26). From Jeremiah and God’s perspective, matters had not changed a bit in the transition from Jehoiakim to Zedekiah ...

4486. Gedaliah Assassinated

Jeremiah 40:7--41:15

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... not described, but may be implied by the fact that Ishmael had only eight men with him when he escaped (earlier he was said to have ten men with him). The text simply says that those who were kidnapped came over to Johanan. Ishmael and his remaining men fled to the Ammonites, whose king had sponsored their activities. Additional Notes 41:1 The fact that the events of the chapter take place in the seventh month is particularly significant for the episode narrated in 41:4–9. After all, a number of important ...

4487. Flight to Egypt

Jeremiah 41:16--43:13

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... about what to do next. They know they are in a very difficult position. Thanks to Ishmael’s actions they know that Nebuchadnezzar will come soon to restore order in his new province, and he might not care to distinguish the culprits from those who remained loyal. That thought would lead them to flee Judah to Egypt; indeed, they were already en route (41:17). However, to leave Judah would be a dangerous proposition. Thus, they come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray to the LORD for guidance. Their prayer ...

4488. A Message About the Philistines

Jeremiah 47:1-7

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... their head in mourning, referring to a ritual of mourning that may also evoke the idea of Babylon shaving them as captives. And Ashkelon will be silenced. A noisy city is silenced in only one way, by killing its inhabitants. Finally, in verse 5b the remaining Philistines are called the remnant on the plain, since they were located in the flat land before the rolling hills of the Shephelah and the hill country of Judah proper. The Lord asks them how long will they cut themselves. Such cutting is an ancient ...

4489. A Message About Moab

Jeremiah 48:1-47

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... from Numbers, Jeremiah is reminding readers of an earlier Israelite defeat of this city, though the city at that time (at the end of the wilderness wanderings) was under the control of Sihon the Amorite who had taken the city from the Moabites. The point remains the same. Those who resist the Lord will pay with their lives. The fire is pictured as going out from Heshbon because that city is on the northern boundary of Moab, where the attack of the Babylonian army likely started before moving south. The fire ...

4490. A Message About Edom

Jeremiah 49:7-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... But God is going to be even more complete in his ravaging of Edom. The ravaging of Edom is likened to the stripping bare of a person. Edom will be completely bare after God is through with it. Many will perish, but the last line hints that some will remain. Indeed, the remnant will be made up of the most vulnerable, the orphans and widows, who are traditionally under God’s care. 49:12–13 The oracle now switches to the well known metaphor of the cup of wrath (see especially 25:15–38; 48:26–28). Edom ...

4491. Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

Hosea 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the watchman to sound his trumpet of alarm (cf. 5:8). But that which should be announced is the reason for Israel’s situation. The God of the Bible most often reveals himself by means of his actions within human history. But that revelation remains opaque until a prophetic interpreter explains its meaning. Always God’s revelatory actions must be made clear by God’s word, which either precedes or follows them. For example, the Babylonian exile of Judah in 587 BC could have been understood as just one ...

4492. The Lord's Anger Against Israel

Hosea 13:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... ben Imla’s reign, around 724 BC. Thus, they have probably been set in their present place by a disciple/redactor of the prophet’s work. Shalmaneser V is on the throne of Assyria, soon to be replaced by Sargon II, who will conquer the last remains of the northern kingdom. It is clear that Ephraim’s attempts to free itself from the Assyrian yoke by turning to Egypt are futile. Ephraim’s doom is certain. The redactor, however, has joined verses 1–3 with verses 4–8 by an introductory waw—probably ...

4493. An Invasion of Locusts

Joel 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... could God allow such a thing to happen? Throughout the OT, the land is considered to belong to God (cf. Lev. 25, especially v. 23; Ps. 24:1). Even in Genesis 1:28, where it is said that human beings are to have dominion over (“subdue”) the earth, that dominion remains always secondary to God’s, because the whole earth belongs to God (cf. Deut. 10:14; 1 Chron. 29:10–13; Ps. 50:10–11; 60:7–8; 89:11; 95:4–7; Isa. 66:1). Out of grace, however, God conveys the land to Israel as a precious gift ...

4494. Rend Your Heart

Joel 2:12-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... has promised to be Israel’s God and he does not go back on his word. Instead, when Israel deserts God and its relation with him lies in shambles, God promises a new covenant, in which he will write his words on the people’s heart so that they will remain faithful to him (Jer. 31:31–34). And it is that new covenant that Jesus Christ offers to his disciples—and also to us—at the Last Supper (1 Cor. 11:25). God’s willingness to uphold his covenant relation with us is his ḥesed, and it is that ...

4495. God's Zeal for Salvation

Joel 2:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... s people, living in God’s land (v. 18), and God will use Israel in spite of itself. God will maintain his covenant with Israel in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The Lord will enter into communion with Israel, in spite of its desertion. The covenant remains unbroken. God is faithful to it. That is the message of this passage. As evidence of that covenant faithfulness, God will therefore restore the grain and the wine and the oil that will make it possible for Israel to enter into the communion of the ...

4496. The Nations Judged

Joel 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... poorest peasants were exiled and subsequently scattered among the neighboring nations. Some Jews returned to Judah after 538 BC, after the decree of Cyrus of Persia, the Babylonian Empire having been conquered by that ruler; but many Jews settled abroad and remained dispersed throughout the ancient Near East. All of the prophets preceding Joel considered the exiling of Israel to be punishment for its sin, but verse 2 here also understands Israel’s captivity as a sinful work of the foreign nations. Second ...

4497. Judgment of Israel's Neighbors

Amos 1:1-2:5

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... to complain about the silence of God. That is not the Israelites’ problem. Their difficulty is that their Lord has broken out in a wrathful roaring against them, a roaring that will leave them dead, with only a few fragments of their former life remaining (Amos 3:12). Many commentators have written that the effect of God’s roaring will be drought, with the plentiful forests, the rich vineyards, and the fruitful orchards of Mt. Carmel dried up, and the lush meadows of the lowlands withered and devoid of ...

4498. Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

Amos 7:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... has learned by this time that no forgiveness will be forthcoming. Rather, Amos simply begs, “cease” (RSV), stop! That is, halt the judgment! And God, in pity for this little people, heeds the prophet’s cry. (See the comments on 7:1–3 above.) 7:7–9 Evil cannot remain in God’s sight (cf. Hab. 1:13), and when the people do not repent, God’s cleansing judgment must wipe out the wrong (cf. Josh 7:6–15; Isa. 1:18–20; Jer. 8:4–13). Amos is therefore granted a third vision of the Lord standing ...

4499. Weeping and Mourning

Micah 1:8-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... s destruction spells disaster also for Judah and Jerusalem. Now this fourth oracle (vv. 10–16) takes up that latter thought and shows how it is so. Unfortunately, the text of this passage is rather badly damaged, sometimes demanding emendation, often remaining obscure in its meaning. Nevertheless, the overall portrayal of the disaster approaching Jerusalem from the west is vivid and overwhelming. 1:10–12 All of the eleven cities named in this passage, with the possible exception of Gath, are located in ...

4500. The Lord's Plan

Micah 4:6-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... by the foreign nations; they will be ruled over by their shepherding God. The work of this powerful nation will be depicted in the oracles that follow (4:13; 5:5–6, 7–9). The concept of a remnant in the OT was used by Amos to depict the pitiable remains of the people that would be left after Yahweh’s judgment on them (cf. Amos 3:12; 5:3; 6:9; 9:1), but it could also be a term used to promise Yahweh’s future salvation (Isa. 11:10–16; 28:5; 37:31–32), as it is here ...

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