Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4876 to 4900 of 4958 results

4876. Judah’s Plea

Genesis 44:1-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... would form patterns that were omens. The brothers maintain their innocence. Why do such a stupid thing, they ask? This incident reminds us of Rachel’s theft of her father’s gods. Laban hunted Jacob down and accused him of being a thief. Jacob protested, claiming innocence, and even pronounced a curse on any person who did take them. Imagine the brothers’ horror when the silver cup is found in Benjamin’s sack. Until this point, the brothers do not have a clue that all this has been staged by Joseph ...

4877. Joseph’s Reassurance

Genesis 50:15-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Now, however, the brothers feel that Joseph will retaliate since their father is out of the way. Nowhere is it recorded that Jacob gave to his other sons the directives that verse 16 claims he did. Either the brothers are fabricating this, or they are recalling a legitimate word that did not make it into the biblical record. To that degree the brothers’ quotation of their father’s words is unverifiable (as is Absalom’s referencing his own earlier words in 2 Sam. 15: ...

4878. Moses’s Call and Commissioning

Ex 3:1-22, 4:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... signifies punishment for disobedience. Finally, if the people do not believe the first two signs, Moses is to pour Nile water onto dry ground and see it become blood, a preview of the first plague. Unconvinced, Moses returns to his own perceived inadequacy, claiming that he is “slow of speech and tongue” (4:10). While this appears to contradict Stephen’s witness in Acts that Moses was “powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22), Moses has been out of the Egyptian court for forty years. Stephen ...

4879. Song of Victory

Exodus 15:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... but the events are rehearsed again in Psalms 78 and 106. Both Moses and Miriam teach the song to the Israelites. The first part addresses the events that have already occurred, hailing God as the majestic warrior whose mighty acts completely nullify the claims of Pharaoh to be divine. This song celebrates victory over a powerful and evil enemy in graphic images. The right hand of Yahweh has shattered the enemy; his burning anger consumes them as fire would chaff. The bombastic words of Pharaoh are followed ...

4880. The Sin Offering

Lev 4:1–5:13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... sin—that is, to remove the guilt from the sinner, so that the person can be forgiven (Lev. 4:26). The priest accomplishes expiation, but only God can forgive. Until he forgives, full reconciliation is not complete. When Jesus forgave like this, he claimed divinity (Mark 2:5–7). Leviticus 5:1–13 continues the instructions for the purification offering of ordinary people that began in 4:27. Here sins remedied are not inadvertent but hidden, in that they involve deliberate neglect or forgetfulness (5:1 ...

4881. Holiness of Light and Bread

Leviticus 24:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... or basic food before him to acknowledge their dependence upon him as their ongoing Creator and Provider in residence (cf. Ps. 145:15–16; Dan. 5:23). Light and bread are powerful symbols of the Lord’s care for the Israelites. In the New Testament, Christ claims to fulfill these roles for all people by calling himself “the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5), “the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48), and “the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51). He provides not merely for the ...

4882. Organization of Sanctuary Personnel

Num 3:1–4:49

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... they redeem and replace the firstborn males of the other tribes (3:44). The second census of the Levites numbers mature males at the prime of life from thirty to fifty years of age, preliminary to organizing them as the sanctuary workforce (chap. 4). The Lord claimed the firstborn males when he saved them from destruction of the firstborn in Egypt, but they are to be redeemed rather than sacrificed as firstborn animals are (Exod. 12:29; 13:2, 12–15; 22:29; 34:20; Num. 8:17). Instead of using the firstborn ...

4883. Exploring Canaan

Num 13:1-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and fulfill his promise. The other scouts jump in to counter Caleb. Determined to discourage their people, the negative scouts stoop to contradicting themselves and distorting the truth. They now give a bad report of the land they have earlier praised, claiming that it “devours its inhabitants” (13:32 NASB). Whatever they mean by this, it does not make sense that nations living in such a land would flourish (including growing to great stature) and therefore pose a major threat to invaders from outside ...

4884. The People Rebel

Numbers 14:1-45

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Canaan (14:20–35). The ten faithless scouts, who are especially culpable, immediately die from a plague as “first fruits” of death in the wilderness (14:36–38). In response to the divine sentence, the Israelites admit their sin and claim readiness to obey God by entering Canaan, which now seems like a better option. But they have already definitively proven their pathological lack of faith, without which God cannot give them the land. Their opportunity has passed. Nevertheless, they presumptuously ...

4885. Rebellion of Korah and Aftermath

Numbers 16:1-50

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the people there. In response to their sizzling challenge (16:12–14), he proposes another deadly counterchallenge: if God makes the ground swallow them and all that belongs to them, the Israelites will know that they have despised the Lord when they claimed that he had not sent Moses. This immediately happens. Having reached for higher status, they are lowered into the nether region (16:25–34). Then divine fire consumes the two hundred and fifty unauthorized men who are offering incense (16:35; perhaps ...

4886. Balaam's Donkey

Num 22:21–24:25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... them as their king in the midst of a royal war camp to protect them, including from occult attacks. He has brought them out of Egypt and is their strength in battle. This is a warning not to oppose them. After two failed attempts, Balaam sees his opportunity to claim Balak’s reward slipping away. So the third time he does not go off by himself to seek the Lord, as he has before, but simply gazes toward Israel and intends to pronounce a curse without God’s interference (24:1–2; cf. 23:3–5, 15–16 ...

4887. Apostasy with the Baal of Peor

Numbers 25:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Balaam and Balak have parted ways (Num. 24:25), apparently for good. But Balaam returns to advise Balak (and undoubtedly claim a reward) to defeat the Israelites through another strategy (Num. 31:8, 16), which is recounted in chapter 25. Balaam understands that the Israelites’ blessing is conditional on their faithfulness to the Lord. If they can be enticed to worship another deity, the Lord will cease to protect them. To ...

4888. Loving God with All Our Might

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to “fear God.” These verses do not suggest any type of entitlement, as if the promise is that if we always fear and obey God we will always receive anything we want. We do not trade in spiritual capital for material prosperity in some kind of name-it-and-claim-it economy. Instead, it is our privilege to honor so great a Lord. The famous Shema passage of verse 4 (in Hebrew, shema, “hear,” is the first word in the verse) is one that is on the lips of orthodox Jews morning and night, and one they wish ...

4889. Detestable Practices

Deut 18:9-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... telling are warned against in nine verbs in verses 9–11. The first three pagan practices pretend to foretell the future: (1) making one’s son or daughter pass through fire, (2) divination, and (3) sorcery. Another class of three false practices claims to influence or change the future: (4) interpreting omens, (5) engaging in witchcraft, and (6) casting spells. The third class of false prophecy pretends to communicate with the dead or spirits: (7) serving as a medium, (8) consulting with familiar spirits ...

4890. The Gibeonite Deception

Joshua 9:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... dry and moldy food (9:4–5). They are even careful enough to mention only Israel’s earlier victories under Moses instead of the more recent victories over Jericho and Ai, so as not to arouse suspicion that they actually live closer than they have claimed (9:10). The Israelites, without inquiring directly of the Lord, fall for the ruse and make a treaty with the Gibeonites, and the leaders of the assembly ratify it by oath. Three days after the treaty, however, the Israelites hear that the Gibeonites are ...

4891. Ehud

Judges 3:12-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , Ehud is able to smuggle his sword into the palace by strapping it to his right thigh, where no one would normally expect a weapon to be carried. After presenting the tribute, Ehud pretends to leave with his entourage, only to turn back near Gilgal with claims of a secret message for Eglon. The meaning of the word translated “stone images” in 3:19, 26 is uncertain, but it likely refers to the engraved boundary stones that mark national borders. If so, the fact that Ehud turns back alone at the border ...

4892. Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

1 Sam 11:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , except that seven thousand men fled from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh Gilead. From this lost piece we learn that Nahash has previously reconquered area in the Transjordan that belonged to Ammon before the Israelite tribes or Reuben and Gad laid claim to it. In order to preclude recrimination, he mutilates the men so that they will not be able to effectively lead future campaigns against him. During the fighting, seven thousand (or seven “companies” of) Reubenite and Gadite warriors flee north to ...

4893. The Lord Rejects Saul as King

1 Samuel 15:1-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 15) but where he will now lose the kingship. When Samuel meets him, Saul greets him warmly, but Samuel quickly dispenses with the niceties and instead responds by asking why the sheep and cattle have been spared. Saul tries to shift the blame to the soldiers, claiming that the animals were saved so that they might be sacrificed to the Lord. Even if the army had a spiritual purpose in mind, Samuel asserts that it was wrong to spare the animals. Saul protests vigorously, arguing that he did in fact carry out ...

4894. David’s Struggles with Saul

1 Samuel 18:1-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... increase. When David killed Goliath, he won the right to marry Saul’s daughter, Merab (18:17–30). Saul, however, adds further military responsibility as a condition of marriage (18:17). As the oldest daughter, Merab would have given her husband an important claim in the matter of succession to the throne. David politely refuses her hand, a decision for which we are not given any reason. In any event, when Saul’s other daughter, Michal, is offered to David, he agrees to the marriage in spite ...

4895. David, Nabal, Abigail

1 Samuel 25:1-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... gives David the freedom to take her as his wife. From David’s standpoint, marriage to the widow of a prominent citizen of Judah will help him politically, and a new wife is compensation for the loss of Michal, whom Saul has given to another man to weaken David’s claim to the throne. David never accepts Saul’s imposed divorce, however, and later takes Michal back as his wife (2 Sam. 3:13–16).

4896. David Destroys the Amalekites

1 Samuel 30:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Should the two hundred men who could not keep up with the others receive an equal share of the goods? As a wise and fair leader David insists that all the shares be the same, for the victory was the work of the Lord and none of the men can claim credit for it. The same God who handed over Goliath to David has handed over the Amalekites. Because the plunder is so abundant David also sends presents to the elders in a number of the towns of Judah. Those towns are mostly to the south of Hebron, where David and ...

4897. David Hears of Saul's Death

2 Samuel 1:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ’s return to Ziklag, he learns the outcome of the battle (1:1–16). An Amalekite who has escaped from the scene describes how he himself put Saul out of his misery. His account differs from that of 1 Samuel 31. Most likely the Amalekite claims credit for killing Saul with the hope of getting a reward from David. He undoubtedly reached Saul before the Philistines did, saw his dead body, and took the crown as plunder. Having confirmed the death of Saul and Jonathan, David and his men tear their clothes ...

4898. Abner Goes Over to David

2 Samuel 3:6-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , but only if Saul’s daughter Michal is returned to him. During David’s years as a fugitive, Saul forced Michal to divorce David, but David has continued to regard her as his wife. His marriage to Saul’s daughter would have measurably strengthened his claim to succeed Saul as king, particularly in the eyes of the northern ten tribes. In the decision-making process, the role of the elders is an important one. As the heads of families and tribes, the elders have a voice in the selection and retention ...

4899. Joab Murders Abner

2 Sam 3:22–4:12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... two brothers connect their assassination with the Lord’s vengeance “against Saul and his offspring” (4:8). To their surprise, David does not rejoice at the news of Ish-Bosheth’s death but instead orders that the murderers themselves be put to death. Once again David claims no responsibility for the elimination of any rival—whether Saul or Abner or Ish-Bosheth. In each case he is angry and dismayed. The bodies of the assassins are hung near the pool in Hebron as a warning to all and as a sign that ...

4900. Amnon and Tamar

2 Samuel 13:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is an unlawful relationship: while Leviticus 18:9 and 20:17 forbid sexual relations with one’s sister (half sister or not), taking a “wifster” (wife-sister) was commonplace if not encouraged, particularly in royal families. (This ensured, for instance, that any claims to the throne were kept within the family.) This episode probably reflects a power play by Amnon, perhaps to keep another pretender to the throne in line; in other words, Tamar is simply a tragic tool for getting at Absalom. Taking the ...

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