Sermon and Worship Resources

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Hosea 6:1--7:16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... 5:1, 3–7). Judging from Hos. 6:9, the priests’ opposition to those championing pure Mosaic religion went so far as to lead them to murder some of the reform’s followers. The sin of Israel is summed up, then, in verse 10, and it has its origin in Israel’s harlotrous worship of the gods and goddesses of fertility—that horrible thing in which the Israelites have placed their confidence and to which they have given their lives. God’s Wistful Lament (6:11b-7:2): Anyone who thinks that the concerns of ...

777. Punishment for Israel

Hosea 9:1--10:15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... 6:12–17 to all who are enemies of God. The judgment of God that Hosea prophesies has yet to come fully upon the earth. That should be a sobering message for everyone who reads Hosea’s words. Additional Notes 10:1 Maṣṣēbôt, or stone pillars, were originally accepted in Israel as memorials (cf. Gen. 31:13; 35:20; Josh. 24:26–27). Because they were corrupted into what were probably phallic symbols for Baal, they are prohibited in Deut. 16:22 (cf. Lev. 26:1). 10:4 The first verb should be read as an ...

778. The Lord's Anger Against Israel

Hosea 13:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... smoke from a cooking fire may escape. 13:4–8 In verses 4–8, the Lord speaks directly through the prophet to the people, and once again the past is reviewed. The only God and Savior whom Israel has ever known is Yahweh. The NIV translation has seriously weakened the original. The Hebrew literally reads, in this order: But I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt. And a God besides me you do not know, and a Savior—there is none except me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. When the ...

779. A Lament and Call to Repentance

Amos 5:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... where saving blessing could be found (cf. Ps. 24:6; 27:8; 105:4). Yahweh is now substituted for the cultic site. Beersheba is added to the two cult sites of Bethel and Gilgal previously mentioned (4:4). It was located in the far south of Judah and was originally connected with the religion of the patriarchs (Gen. 21:31; 26:23–25; 46:1). But it was also a place of pilgrimage for those in the northern kingdom (cf. 8:14; 2 Kgs. 23:8). Amos’s condemnation of Israel’s worship at its sanctuaries is all ...

780. Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

Amos 7:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... natures behind all of our equally foolish and proud claims, that God pitied us as a father pities his children and came to rescue us in Jesus Christ. 7:1–3 While the NIV has drastically altered the original text here (cf. the RSV), it has correctly interpreted the meaning of the original and made verses 1–2 considerably easier to understand. The time of this vision of locusts is late spring, when the second planting of seeded crops, as well as wild growth, are just appearing—all vegetation is meant ...

781. The Mountain of the Lord

Micah 4:1-5

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... Zion and Jerusalem (cf. Ps. 46:4–7; 48:3–6; Isa. 10:27b–34; 14:32; 29:8; 30:27–33). The fate of Jerusalem and its temple was therefore closely connected with the sovereignty of God over all nations. Whether Micah 4:1–5 originated with Isaiah or with Micah, we cannot say. Perhaps both prophets borrowed a common tradition. But certainly those who see the oracle as alien to Micah’s thought are in error. It connects directly with the preceding oracle, utilizing the phrase the mountain of the house ...

782. A Promised Ruler from Bethlehem

Micah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Cor. 1:27–29 RSV) More than that, the origins of this ruler promised in Micah 5:2 are from of old, from ancient times (verse 2e–f). Two meanings may be implied. First, the origin of the coming ruler is mysterious and beyond human comprehension, because he comes from God. Second, his appearance was planned long ago in the purpose and providence of God. He is not a sudden ...

783. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... , khebel with a long “e” in the first syllable means “pain,” specifically pain like that of giving birth (for the metaphor, see, e.g., Isa. 13:8; 26:17). Kerethites (keretim) is a term for Philistines, perhaps suggesting Cretans and reflecting their origin across the Mediterranean, and perhaps thus designating the Philistines as a whole by a term that strictly applies only to one numerous group within them; but again, an advantage of the word is that it suggests they are people who are being “cut ...

784. The Woman in a Basket

Zechariah 5:5-11

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... him to “Look up and see what this is that is appearing.” It is “coming out” (ytsʾ, NIV “appearing”), like the flying scroll (v. 3, NIV “going out”) and the four chariots (6:1), but we do not know its origin. The temple is the most likely point of origin for all of these objects. Zechariah does not report what he sees; he simply asks, “What is it?” The angel’s first answer is too simple, “It is a measuring basket.” Zechariah could have recognized this very ordinary item, a basket ...

785. The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... as to which verses of the prologue belonged to this supposed hymn. Some have attempted to separate poetry from prose, so that when certain prose “insertions” about John the Baptist (vv. 6–8, 15) are removed the remainder can be regarded as the original hymn or poem. Others have proposed even subtler and more complex reconstructions. But the chainlike word repetitions that give the first part of the prologue its stylistic flavor run through the first so-called prose section (vv. 6–8) as well as ...

786. Jesus' First Disciples

John 1:35-42, John 1:43-51

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... Gospel, but appears to have the same meaning as the single “amen” of the Synoptics. On the Son of Man: In the Greek translation of Gen. 28:12, Jacob saw the angels going up and down “on it” (i.e., on the ladder or stairway), but the original Hebrew is ambiguous and some of the rabbis read the text as “on him” (i.e., on Jacob). The phrase in John’s Gospel uses the Greek preposition epi with the accusative case to denote motion toward an object. The one preposition actually does service for two ...

787. John the Baptist's Testimony about Jesus

John 3:22-36

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... 1969), pp. 12–13. 3:25 A certain Jew: Some important ancient manuscripts read “certain Jews” (NIV margin). This could be correct if the variant rests on a copyist’s mistake. But if a deliberate alteration was made, it is more likely that an original singular was changed to a plural (“Jews” frequently being the disputants in this Gospel) than that a plural was changed to a singular (raising the question What Jew? What was his name?). The absence of the article with either form also suggests that ...

788. The Healing at the Pool

John 5:1-15, John 5:16-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... cleansing had been transferred to that early Passover visit (2:13–22), the tendency would have been for it to overshadow the miracles associated with that visit. The account found in 5:1–18 is perhaps one of those miracle stories “rescued” from its original setting, given a new literary setting of its own, and made the basis both of Jesus’ ongoing controversy with the Jewish authorities and of his self-revelation as the giver of life. In any case, this was the miracle that Jesus later singled out ...

789. Jesus the Bread of Life

John 6:25-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... as bread of life. If he is bread, he is bread from heaven (vv. 38, 41–42; cf. v. 33), and it is on his divine origin and mission that the main emphasis falls. Though in his coming he satisfies hunger and thirst (v. 35), he is not “eaten” as bread. Those to ... ’s Supper or made participation in it a condition of salvation (v. 53). If it is early tradition at all, it must have originated in the context of the last supper, as a variant form of the words of institution (“This is my body.… This is my ...

790. Spiritual Blindness

John 9:35-41

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... “Son of God” or “the Christ” (cf. 1:34; 11:27; 20:31). Son of Man was Jesus’ own self-designation, but there is little evidence in the Gospels that he expected others to use it or that his contemporaries knew what it meant. It seems originally not to have been a title at all, but to rest on the Aramaic expressions ar nāšb (indefinite, “a son of man” or “a man”) or bar nāšā’ (definite, “the son of man” or “that man”), used virtually as pronouns (e.g., “someone” or “a ...

791. The Second Appearance and Its Sequel

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... that by believing you may have life in his name (v. 31). The narrator’s intent is that through his writing (especially his account of the resurrection appearances), his readers should enter into the once-and-for-all experience of Jesus’ original disciples (cf. the invitation of the original disciples to do exactly that in 1 John 1:1–3). He wants them to claim for themselves Jesus’ last beatitude, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (v. 29). Their confession that Jesus is the ...

792. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... a title of honor. On the expression the saints in Christ Jesus (cf. 4:21) see O. E. Evans, Saints in Christ Jesus: A Study of the Christian Life in the New Testament. See also the chapter “The Corporate Christ” in C. F. D. Moule, The Origin of Christology, pp. 47–96. In the Pastoral Letters the terms episkopos and presbyteros are still used interchangeably, and there were apparently several officers so designated in one church (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17; Titus 1:5, 7); their qualifications are set out in ...

793. Joy at Believers’ Walking in the Truth

3 John 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... support. The term ethnikos (pagan, Gentile) occurs only four times in the NT, once here and three times in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 5:47; 6:7; 18:17). It was originally a term of Jewish contempt for non-Jews (Gentiles), and that is how the term is used in Matthew, reflecting that Gospel’s strong Jewish origins. But early Christians used it also in reference to non-Christians, and that is its meaning here in 3 John: the Elder’s missionaries have accepted no assistance from non-Christians. Whether ...

794. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... God (4:8; 3:6), God questions those involved (4:9–10; 3:9–13), God pronounces sentence (4:11–12; 3:14–19), God redefines aspects of the way humans relate to each other (4:15; 3:21), and God banishes the offenders from their original habitations (4:14, 16; 3:23–24). Moreover, the vignettes in chapter 4 disclose consequences that grew out of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Outside the garden death becomes a part of human experience, but in a very different way than anticipated. The first generation ...

795. From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... and V. Hamilton (The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17 [NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990]), argue that the different spellings of similar sounding names and the different positions of those names in the respective lists demonstrate that the lists originated independently; thus they trace two different lineages. 5:24 Laqakh (lit. “take”) may be a technical word for “translate,” i.e., to pass directly from the earth to the heavenly realm. Nevertheless, other exegetes interpret the wording “he was ...

796. Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ; Lev. 25:23–34; Num. 36:5–9). Next, Yahweh promised to make his offspring (seed) like the dust of the earth. With this hyperbole Yahweh stressed the vast potential inherent in his promise. The terms “forever” and “beyond numbering” enhanced the original promises God had given Abram in Haran (12:2–3) by asserting that the potential number of his offspring was without limit. Yahweh next commanded Abram to walk through the length and breadth of the land, explaining why Abram journeyed throughout ...

797. Jacob Apprehension in Meeting Esau

Genesis 32:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... from either sarar (“rule,” Hos. 12:4) or sarah (“rule”), to mean “God will rule” or “may God rule.” Scholars have also offered numerous other explanations. One suggestion is that it may originally have been Ishrael, meaning “God is right”; the root then is y-sh-r (“be straight, right, just,” O. Margalith, “On the Origin and Antiquity of the Name ‘Israel,’” ZAW 102 [1990], pp. 225–37). Another suggestion is to take it from s-r-y or y-s-r (“cut” and by extension “judge ...

798. Esau's Descendants

Genesis 36:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... genealogy mentions one daughter, Oholibamah. The list preserves a legendary story about this Anah (v. 24), distinguishing him from his uncle (vv. 20, 25). While he was grazing the donkeys of his father, he came on some hot springs. Such stories about the origin or discovery of important places and customs often became part of a genealogy. The finding of water in such a dry region was noteworthy. Additional Notes 36:2–3 In earlier references, Esau’s three wives are Judith, daughter of Beeri, the Hittite ...

799. Spies Sent Out

Deuteronomy 1:19-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... no need to assume that everything Moses interpreted as a word or command from Yahweh had to come by direct revelation. God could speak to him through the ideas and suggestions of others. In a similar way, vv. 9–14 describe a proposal that originally came from Jethro as if it were Moses’ own idea. It seems unnecessary to regard the differences as coming from different documents (cf. Mayes, Deuteronomy, p. 126). It is perfectly natural to envisage a suggestion of the people being interpreted by Moses as ...

800. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... the meaning of . . . ?” or “What is the real significance of . . . ?” or “What is the point of . . . ?” or even, “Why do we keep these laws?” In fact, as it turns out, the father’s answer combines the historical basis of the law, its divine origin, and the beneficial value of keeping it. It would have been quite easy to imagine the text going straight from verse 20 to verse 24, “Why do we keep these laws? Because the LORD commanded us.” Period. (Most parents will have felt the temptation ...

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