Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 Peter 4:12-19

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... destiny of believers. The words mean that the believer must not expect the road to ultimate full salvation to be uneventfully smooth and easy. Spiritual adversaries will see to that, quite apart from the common ills to which anyone living in this world may be subject. But if it is far from roses all the way for the godly, the quotation goes on with the rhetorical question “what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” What indeed! The outlook for one who acts contemptuously toward God (such is the ...

577. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... s feeling for Jesus: “This is my beloved (agapētos) Son” (Matt. 3:17; KJV, RSV). Jude did not set out to compose this particular letter. He had wanted to write (graphein: present infinitive, which could suggest “in a leisurely manner”) on the general subject of the salvation we share. That “common salvation” (KJV, RSV) was one that belonged to all believers equally. It included sharing the same Christ (Acts 4:12), the same grace (Eph. 2:8), the same justification with God (Rom. 3:22), and the ...

578. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... cried out” (zaʿaq) as a legal appeal to God for how they were being wronged. Their “cry for help” was a cry for liberation from their bondage. Their “groaning” (neʾaqah) was that of a wounded person (see Ezek. 30:24). “God” is the subject of the last four verbs. God “heard.” God remembered. God looked. God knew (NIV was concerned about them). These four verbs answer the four kinds of cries and groans of the people. “God heard” their groaning, and therefore was about to intervene. God ...

579. Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... ). It is significant that the two words occur together here, since the identity of the “Lord God” is a primary subject of this text. The double designation of the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition appears first in Genesis 2–3 ... ; 20:5; 23:24–25, 33; 24:1; 34:14). The worship of, or serving, the Lord is the culmination of the exodus event (ch. 15) and the subject of the second half of the book (chs. 20–40). It is no surprise that it was part of the answer to Moses’ first and most basic objection ...

580. Signs for Moses

Exodus 4:1-17

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... signs was a symbol of Egypt’s lack of power before the Lord. The staff and serpent were both symbols of authority. The serpent appeared on the front of the pharaoh’s headdress, symbolizing his cobra-goddess protection and his power over the lives of his subjects. Leprosy in Scripture was considered a punishment for arrogance before God (Num. 12; 2 Kgs. 5:22–27; 2 Chr. 26:16–21). The Nile was a primary source and symbol of Egypt’s prosperity, the source of its export grain harvest. The use of the ...

581. The Plague on Livestock

Exodus 9:1-7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the same as the root in “Let my people go” (shalakh). This time the pharaoh’s “heart was hard” (NIV “was unyielding”), indicating his customary intransigence. In the next plague, the Lord would begin to take an active role in the hardening, becoming the subject of the verb (v. 12). Additional Notes 9:3 The mention of “camels” is thought to be anachronistic since they were introduced to Egypt under Persian rule in the 6th century B.C. 9:6 “All the livestock of the Egyptians died.” The ...

582. Personal Injuries

Exodus 21:12-36

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... for the loss of his time” and for any expense involved with his healing. Verses 23–27 imply and address the second possibility, that the victim remained bedridden. In that case the perpetrator would have been guilty (responsible to a greater degree) and subject to the lex talionis (see §25 and v. 26). Rabbinic law provided that the one who injured the other was liable for five kinds of restitution: for the injury, for pain, for medical expense, for lost income, and for mental anguish and humiliation ...

583. Sabbath Regulations

Exodus 35:1-3

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... 31 was the Sabbath, and the Sabbath command is now the first word after the golden calf crisis (35:1–3). The middle portions of both Exodus 31 and 35 list the components of the tabernacle 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 ...

584. Ehud

Judges 3:12-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... lay more or less to the northeast and southwest of Moab, respectively. Together they were able to enter Israelite territory to the west of the Jordan River and take possession of the City of Palms (Jericho). There is irony in the notice that the Israelites were subject to Eglon (v. 14). The Hebrew verb (’bd) carries the nuance of “to serve”; they did not want to serve the Lord (cf. 2:19), so they ended up serving Eglon, who, we can assume, was a much harder taskmaster. 3:15–19 This severe crisis ...

585. The Song of Deborah

Judges 5:1-31

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... , common in oral epic, to a cursing of Meroz, who apparently failed to come to the battle; kings came (v. 19), but Meroz came not. 5:24–27 Cursing turns to blessing as the subject turns to Jael, most blessed of women. She definitely showed up for the battle, though in her own way. The author presents a carefully crafted, stylized interpretation of the events that transpired in her tent. He eliminates several elements included in the narrative, such as all of the direct dialogue ...

586. David’s Victories

1 Chronicles 18:1-13

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... Yehud from its neighbors. First Chronicles 18:2 shows an interesting example of the Chronicler’s omission. Whereas the source text in 2 Samuel 8:2 tells of David’s very ruthless killing of some “Moabites,” the Chronicler mentions only that they became subject to him and brought tribute. The reason for the omission remains a mystery, but one may assume that once again this information did not fit the Chronicler’s purpose. His aim was to present a quick overview of victories and not to go into ...

587. Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return

Ezra 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... There was therefore ample material to substantiate the narrative’s appeal to prophetic prediction. The edict of Cyrus is not represented as a directive to the Judean exiles. It is grandly painted on an imperial canvas as information for all the royal subjects (you, v. 3). The whole world must know of this wonderful news. In fact, only the Babylonian Jews are mentioned as returning in the ensuing narrative, definitely not the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel living elsewhere in the empire. The ...

588. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... of the Persian military presence in the west in the middle of the fifth century meant higher taxation than before. 5:5 For the connotation of the Heb. term for “flesh” in flesh and blood, compare Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1. We have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery was imminent rather than actual in most cases. The Heb. construction here means that they were on the point of doing so (Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, pp. 231, 238; compare NJB “we shall have to sell . . .”). For debt slavery, see ...

589. Queen Vashti Deposed

Esther 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... only to enjoy the banquet as a form of royal provision. A description of the first Persian king could easily apply to Xerxes: “And although [the empire] was of such magnitude, it was governed by the single will of Cyrus; and he honored his subjects and cared for them as if they were his own children; and they, on their part, reverenced Cyrus as a father” (Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8.1). As patron, the king established the conventions for drinking. According to his determination, everyone was to drink in his ...

590. Mordecai Honored

Esther 6:1-14

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... Esther had prepared (v. 14). Once more Haman is hurried (as in 5:5a; 6:10) to an activity that puts him further out of control and makes him more vulnerable to the queen’s plans. Esther has moved from passive object to active subject; Haman is moving from active subject to passive object. Additional Notes 6:1 That night the king could not sleep: The motif of sleep fleeing a king is also found in Dan. 6:18. The reversal of fortunes for the Jewish protagonist also comes with the break of dawn in that ...

591. Further Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 3:1-35

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... the Hiphil in the same general sense in 4:21, and the Niphal participle, nālôz (perverse) occurs in 3:32. 3:35 The grammar of v. 35b is not clear. The verse is chiastic, shame and honor are opposed to each other. The NIV understands God as the subject and inserts to before shame in order to derive its translation, but this is doubtful. Lit. the text seems to say: “but fools hold up (Hb. mērîm, each one?) shame.” The ...

592. Warning Against Adultery

Proverbs 5:1-23

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... the strangeness of these verses here and associates them with the interruptive character of 6:1–19, into which they lead. In 6:20, the text returns to the topic of women. On verse 22, see Additional Notes. Additional Notes 5:6 The Hb. is ambiguous. The subjects of the verbs can be either “you” or “she.” The sense of the NIV seems to be the indifference, even the ignorance, of the adulteress (an emendation of Hb. pen to lōʾ), but it is not likely that she is unaware that her paths are crooked ...

593. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 11:1-31

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... ungodly will certainly be punished (since v. 31a indicates that even the righteous receive punishment). Additional Notes 11:1 The NIV translates by “abhors” or “detests” the Hb. “abomination,” which seems to be derived from cultic usage; cf. 11:20. In both lines, subjects and predicates are simply juxtaposed. 11:2 There is alliteration in the Hb. v. 2a: bāʾ-zādôn wayyābōʾ qālôn that is almost impossible to produce in English. The REB has, “When pride comes in, in comes contempt.” 11 ...

594. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 12:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... one who rewards. 12:16 The MT is, lit. “the fool, on the (very) day, his anger becomes known.” 12:19 The verse is cleverly constructed by the use of chiasm and the repetition of Hb. ʿad (“until”). 12:25 Despite the disagreements in gender between subject and verb in v. 25a, and between the suffixes of the verbs and the antecedent (lēb is masculine), there can be no doubt about the sense of the entire verse. 12:26 V. 26a cannot really be translated. Perhaps the MT says: “A just person explores ...

595. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 16:1-33

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... forgiveness will be granted. Many commentators understand the two lines to be in synonymous parallelism, with the NIV and NJPS. 16:7 Synthetic. The point is that conduct pleasing to God will bring peace—even with one’s enemies (e.g., Gen. 26:27–29). The subject of the verb in 7b could be either the human being (urged by McKane, Proverbs) or God. It is more likely the latter, although secondary causes are not to be ruled out. 16:8 A “better” saying that is practically identical with 15:16 (see also ...

596. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 17:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... 17:14 The form is juxtapositional and unusual (there is no like in the MT). The sense of the NIV is correct, but it glosses over difficulties in the text; see Additional Notes. The point is: stop a quarrel at the very beginning. 17:15 Subjects and predicates are in juxtaposition; 15a is a chiastic casus pendens, taken up in 15b. For the repetition of roots and sounds, see McCreesh, Sound, pp. 142–43. Toy (Proverbs) attempts to catch the assonance of the Hebrew text: “whoever rights the wrong and wrongs ...

597. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 18:1-24

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... In 20:5, “deep waters” seems to be used in a favorable sense. It is also possible to understand words as the subject, followed by three predicates (cf. NJPS), since there is no connective between a and b. See the Additional Notes. 18:5 ... read the Hiphil yābîʾû, with the LXX. 18:11 Hb. maśkît seems to mean “image,” and then imagination. 18:13 The style is unusual; the subject is in v. 13a, a casus pendens, that is then taken up in v. 13b by the pronoun. 18:16 Hb. mattān, or gift, is in effect a ...

598. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... is in a sense the greatest folly (and even the “wise” should be aware of it! cf. v. 16a; 28:11a). The blindness of such a person is simply incorrigible. The evaluation in verse 12b may have been a frequent one (cf. 29:20). 26:13 The sluggard is the subject of verses 13–16 (cf. also 6:6–11; 24:30–34). The point of this verse is that he will use any excuse, however impossible, to avoid doing anything (cf. 22:13). For a detailed treatment of verses 13–16, see Van Leeuwen, Context, pp. 107–10. 26 ...

599. Obey the King

Ecclesiastes 8:2-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... with 7:1–6). Verses 2–11 deal with power, first the specific instance of royal power (8:2–6), and then the more generalized situation of humans having power over one another (8:7–11). The royal image is of an absolute ruler who cannot be questioned. The subject’s wisest course of action is to live in such a way that the king will not do one harm. In spite of the visible lack of retribution, Qohelet acknowledges that it will be well with those who fear God and not with the wicked (8:12–13). The ...

600. Drought, Famine, Sword

Jeremiah 14:1--15:21

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... 4). 14:1–10 The passage begins (v. 1) with a typical introduction (see Jer. 7:1; 10:1; 11:1, 46:1; 47:1; 49:34, etc. [though the syntax is slightly different in some of these]) to a prophetic oracle (word of the LORD) and identifies the subject of the oracle as a drought. The oracle proper is in verses 2–6. We do not know anything about this drought outside of the oracle, and the chapter does not situate it in time. However, as Jeremiah’s oracles as a whole point to an impending national catastrophe ...

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