Sermon and Worship Resources

Judges 16:23-31

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... closely resembles the Lord’s response recorded in Judges 10:6–14, which stands at the center of the book of Judges. The fact that the author chose to place Samson’s story—with these parallels—as the last of the judges’ indicates his desire to communicate a similar message. His message was directed against an Israel who had abandoned the Lord as their king and thus had become like any other nation, weak, enslaved—and ultimately dead. We can reasonably place this in the context of Judah’s ...

4602. David Makes Solomon King

1 Kings 1:28-53

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... to govern. Here is a very beautiful girl. The David of old had not shown himself to be impervious to such women’s charms (1 Sam. 25, especially v. 3; 2 Sam. 11, especially v. 2). He had been known to take great trouble to possess a woman he desired. Yet now, with Abishag in bed beside him and fully available to him, we are told that the king had no intimate relations with her. The king is, to coin a phrase, “past it”; he is impotent, and Adonijah sees his chance to gain power. That is the significance ...

4603. Jehoash King of Israel

2 Kings 13:10-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that more is not explicitly made in the NT of the Jesus-Elisha connection. Yet it may be that it is precisely because both Joshua and Elisha are successors to more famous men that this kind of thinking was inhibited. There would have been a natural desire within the church to avoid the suggestion that Jesus was John’s successor in any sense that detracted from his pre-eminence—particularly since this was apparently a live issue in some quarters (note the careful way in which John 1:1–42 addresses the ...

4604. Jeroboam II King of Israel

2 Kings 14:23-29

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that we find in 2 Kgs. 14:26 (ʿnh, “to suffer”; yrh, “to teach”; cf. Lam. 3:25–39 for the idea that God instructs people through divinely-imposed suffering). Has the choice of mōreh in 2 Kgs. 14:26 perhaps been dictated by a desire to suggest that Israel has benefited from its experience? 14:27 The LORD had not said . . . : To blot out the name of Israel from under heaven would be to destroy it utterly (Deut. 9:14), making forgiveness and restoration impossible (Deut. 29:20). This is something ...

4605. Azariah King of Judah

2 Kings 15:1-7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that we find in 2 Kgs. 14:26 (ʿnh, “to suffer”; yrh, “to teach”; cf. Lam. 3:25–39 for the idea that God instructs people through divinely-imposed suffering). Has the choice of mōreh in 2 Kgs. 14:26 perhaps been dictated by a desire to suggest that Israel has benefited from its experience? 14:27 The LORD had not said . . . : To blot out the name of Israel from under heaven would be to destroy it utterly (Deut. 9:14), making forgiveness and restoration impossible (Deut. 29:20). This is something ...

4606. Shallum King of Israel

2 Kings 15:13-16

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... into “the land” Pul (another name for the Tiglath-Pileser of v. 29) has come. Comparison with 15:29 might suggest that it is only the reclaimed territories to the north of Israel proper that the first part of verse 19 has in view. Menahem nevertheless desires to have Pul as a friend rather than an enemy, particularly in view of the apparently unstable internal situation in Israel (he needed to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom, v. 19). He pays, therefore, to turn an enemy into a friend, just as Asa ...

4607. Menahem King of Israel

2 Kings 15:17-22

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... into “the land” Pul (another name for the Tiglath-Pileser of v. 29) has come. Comparison with 15:29 might suggest that it is only the reclaimed territories to the north of Israel proper that the first part of verse 19 has in view. Menahem nevertheless desires to have Pul as a friend rather than an enemy, particularly in view of the apparently unstable internal situation in Israel (he needed to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom, v. 19). He pays, therefore, to turn an enemy into a friend, just as Asa ...

4608. Pekahiah King of Israel

2 Kings 15:23-26

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... into “the land” Pul (another name for the Tiglath-Pileser of v. 29) has come. Comparison with 15:29 might suggest that it is only the reclaimed territories to the north of Israel proper that the first part of verse 19 has in view. Menahem nevertheless desires to have Pul as a friend rather than an enemy, particularly in view of the apparently unstable internal situation in Israel (he needed to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom, v. 19). He pays, therefore, to turn an enemy into a friend, just as Asa ...

4609. Pekah King of Israel

2 Kings 15:27-31

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... into “the land” Pul (another name for the Tiglath-Pileser of v. 29) has come. Comparison with 15:29 might suggest that it is only the reclaimed territories to the north of Israel proper that the first part of verse 19 has in view. Menahem nevertheless desires to have Pul as a friend rather than an enemy, particularly in view of the apparently unstable internal situation in Israel (he needed to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom, v. 19). He pays, therefore, to turn an enemy into a friend, just as Asa ...

4610. Jehoiakim King of Judah

2 Kings 23:36--24:7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fighting men: It is interesting to find the figure seven thousand occurring yet again, since that is the number of “the remnant” in 1 Kgs. 19:18 (cf. also the additional note to 1 Kgs. 20:15). One wonders whether its appearance has to do with a desire on the part of the authors to tell us (2 Kgs. 24:14 notwithstanding) that those days when Israel had a significant remnant are past. “Ten thousand” (24:14) is the number of soldiers left to Jehoahaz in the desperate days described in 13:1–7; there ...

4611. Jehoiachin King of Judah

2 Kings 24:8-17

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fighting men: It is interesting to find the figure seven thousand occurring yet again, since that is the number of “the remnant” in 1 Kgs. 19:18 (cf. also the additional note to 1 Kgs. 20:15). One wonders whether its appearance has to do with a desire on the part of the authors to tell us (2 Kgs. 24:14 notwithstanding) that those days when Israel had a significant remnant are past. “Ten thousand” (24:14) is the number of soldiers left to Jehoahaz in the desperate days described in 13:1–7; there ...

4612. Zedekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 24:18-20a

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fighting men: It is interesting to find the figure seven thousand occurring yet again, since that is the number of “the remnant” in 1 Kgs. 19:18 (cf. also the additional note to 1 Kgs. 20:15). One wonders whether its appearance has to do with a desire on the part of the authors to tell us (2 Kgs. 24:14 notwithstanding) that those days when Israel had a significant remnant are past. “Ten thousand” (24:14) is the number of soldiers left to Jehoahaz in the desperate days described in 13:1–7; there ...

4613. The Fall of Jerusalem

2 Kings 24:20b--25:26

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fighting men: It is interesting to find the figure seven thousand occurring yet again, since that is the number of “the remnant” in 1 Kgs. 19:18 (cf. also the additional note to 1 Kgs. 20:15). One wonders whether its appearance has to do with a desire on the part of the authors to tell us (2 Kgs. 24:14 notwithstanding) that those days when Israel had a significant remnant are past. “Ten thousand” (24:14) is the number of soldiers left to Jehoahaz in the desperate days described in 13:1–7; there ...

4614. David's Prayer

1 Chronicles 29:10-20

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... from your hand, and all of it belongs to you, and he expresses his joy about the freewill offerings of the people. With the second invocation of God’s name in 29:18 David presents a petition. He asks that the people will keep this desire in their hearts and will keep their hearts loyal to God. He furthermore asks for wholehearted devotion for his son Solomon . . . to keep the Lord’s commands, requirements and decrees. He also asks that his son will have the “devotion” to build the palatial structure ...

4615. Joash Repairs the Temple

2 Chronicles 24:1-16

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... ’s prosperity. The following verses (taken with some changes from 2 Kgs. 12:4–16) describe the restoration of the temple of the LORD at Joash’s command (2 Chron. 24:4, which differs from the source text). The initial attempt did not produce the desired response, and a long time lapsed (until the twenty-third year of the king’s reign, according to 2 Kgs. 12:6) before an alternative taxation system of voluntary gifts was put in place by Joash. The Chronicler mentions that, just before the new system ...

4616. The Wickedness of Joash

2 Chronicles 24:17-27

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... ’s prosperity. The following verses (taken with some changes from 2 Kgs. 12:4–16) describe the restoration of the temple of the LORD at Joash’s command (2 Chron. 24:4, which differs from the source text). The initial attempt did not produce the desired response, and a long time lapsed (until the twenty-third year of the king’s reign, according to 2 Kgs. 12:6) before an alternative taxation system of voluntary gifts was put in place by Joash. The Chronicler mentions that, just before the new system ...

4617. Josiah Celebrates the Passover

2 Chronicles 35:1-19

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... Samuel, the Chronicler goes beyond the celebrations in the days of Hezekiah (Passover) and Solomon (Feast of Unleavened Bread). Why Samuel? Dillard’s opinion should be considered here: “This shift of wording from the parallel account may reflect the Chronicler’s desire to introduce a Levitical prophet into the narrative once again (1 Chron. 6:25–28; cf. 1 Sam 1:1)” (R. B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles [WBC 15; Waco: Word Books, 1987], p. 291). Samuel is indeed an important character in the Chronicles ...

4618. The Death of Josiah

2 Chronicles 35:20--36:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... Samuel, the Chronicler goes beyond the celebrations in the days of Hezekiah (Passover) and Solomon (Feast of Unleavened Bread). Why Samuel? Dillard’s opinion should be considered here: “This shift of wording from the parallel account may reflect the Chronicler’s desire to introduce a Levitical prophet into the narrative once again (1 Chron. 6:25–28; cf. 1 Sam 1:1)” (R. B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles [WBC 15; Waco: Word Books, 1987], p. 291). Samuel is indeed an important character in the Chronicles ...

4619. Rebuilding the Temple

Ezra 3:7-13

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... 29:12. In fact, the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day at the weeklong festival follows Numbers 29:12–38. Again, there is a focus on the scriptural quality of the celebration (in accordance with what is written). In line with this desire to be faithful to Scripture, the narrator enumerates in verse 5 the gamut of festival sacrifices covered in Numbers 28:1–29:11. His purpose is to emphasize that the event marked the start of the rhythm of worship in conformity with the Torah. The ...

4620. King Artaxerxes' Letter to Ezra

Ezra 7:11-28

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... , up to specified generous limits. The inserted letter corresponds with Ezra’s delivery of the royal instructions as described in 8:36; presumably he was given copies addressed to particular officials. Scrupulous regard for local religious traditions was motivated by a desire to propitiate the Judean God, whose power over the Persian royal family could be demonstrated both positively, via prayer (6:10), and negatively, as seen in the curse invoked in 6:12. Besides direct funding, temple staff were to be ...

4621. Those Guilty of Intermarriage

Ezra 10:18-44

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... be a modification of earlier capital punishment, expressed in terms of being “cut off from the community of Israel” (Exod. 12:19; compare Ezek. 13:9). Literally, the term used here is “be separated,” in a negative sense. The term recurs in the desirable sense, “separate oneself,” in 9:1; 10:11. The penalty for not attending the assembly convened for such separation was to be separated from membership of the community, like the foreign wives and the children of mixed marriages (compare the use of ...

4622. Jeremiah's Complaint

Jeremiah 12:1-4, Jeremiah 12:5-17, Jeremiah 11:18-23

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... was an unpopular person because while other prophets were claiming that God would bring peace, Jeremiah was saying that defeat was inevitable and the result of the people’s sin (see Jer. 27–28). Jeremiah 18, 26, and 36 provide other accounts of the people’s desire to get rid of this prophet of doom. 11:18–23 At first it is a bit unclear as to the identity of those plotting agains Jeremiah. The text refers simply to their plot and the fact that God showed Jeremiah what they were doing. However ...

4623. Amos and Amaziah

Amos 7:10-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... visions in verses 1–6 form an apologetic for the prophet’s ministry, as did 3:3–8. By telling of his intercessions on behalf of his sinful compatriots, intercessions that have twice turned aside the wrath of God, Amos shows that he has had no desire to see the death of his people. Like so many of the prophets both before and after him, he has vigorously exercised the prophetic function of interceding for the good of his nation. We do not often realize that the prophets of the OT not only proclaimed ...

4624. Something is About to Happen!

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... promises but never delivers. If you think I am talking about religion, you are mistaken. Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. Despite the shortcomings of the church in communicating it, Christ is not concerned about you following rules; Christ desires for you to be whole by experiencing a love relationship with him. A Christian Cruise? There is a great old story about a group of Christians on a cruise together. On this cruise just about every Christian denomination was represented. Clearly ...

4625. Wimps or Water Walkers

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... s church. The elders of the church warned Preacher Cartwright not to offend the President. You see, at that time, the President could seriously influence a religious denomination--not that this could happen today. Anyway, the elders of the church had no desire to have President Jackson angry at them. So, they insisted that Cartwright must not offend the President. They were wasting their time. When Cartwright got up to speak, the first words out of his mouth were these: “I understand that President Andrew ...