Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 851 to 875 of 1138 results

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... The oracle portrays God as attentive to the possibility of their repentance, but to no avail. Their lack of response dumbfounds. They are determined in their sin like a horse charging into battle. The animal similes continue by comparing God’s people with a variety of birds (stork, dove, swift, thrush). Birds know the proper time for an action (their migration), but the people do not know that they must heed the law and recognize that their sin makes this the proper time for repentance. Additional Notes 8 ...

852. At the Potter's House

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Jeremiah 20:1-6

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... ignored. For the Valley of Ben Hinnom see commentary on Jer. 7:30–34. We do not know the Potsherd Gate except in this one occasion, but the name describes broken pieces of pots littering the exit to the “dump.” The gate may have gone by a variety of names including the Dung Gate (Neh. 2:13; 3:13, 14; 12:31). Upon his arrival at this location, God instructed Jeremiah to deliver an oracle that announces a future, horrible punishment upon the people. It is so bad that it will make the ears of everyone ...

853. Lying Prophets

Jeremiah 23:9-32, Jeremiah 23:33-40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... path that leads to life. Here the wicked are said to slip right off and go into the darkness. God has disaster for them, a time of punishment. 23:13–15 In yet another oracle against the prophets, Jeremiah speaks against both northern and southern varieties of false prophets. Samaria was the capital of the former northern kingdom (defeated by Assyria in 722 B.C.). It was also a name sometimes given to the entirety of the northern kingdom. Thus, when Jeremiah says that he witnessed this atrocity (I saw), he ...

854. Disaster Because of Idolatry

Jeremiah 44:1-30

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... , we will learn that matters get worse still. While in Egypt, they take up the worship of foreign deities, which earlier had brought God’s judgment upon them. 44:1–6 When the divine word comes to Jeremiah this time, Israelites were living in a variety of locations in Egypt. Migdol and Tahpanhes were in the Delta region. Memphis was an important capital city in central Egypt and Upper Egypt refers to the southern parts of that nation. It is unclear whether it was the group that came with Jeremiah that ...

855. A Lament and Call to Repentance

Amos 5:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... encounter the same tenderness in 7:1–6, and it is a good note to keep in mind when interpreting Amos’s judgment oracles. Verses 4–5 continue the divine speech and point out to Israel what it should have done. Scholars have interpreted these verses in a variety of ways—as irony, as spoken only to the under classes; as offers of hope for the future—but their meaning is similar to that set forth in 4:4–13: Israel’s worship at its cult sites has been totally false, without ever involving any true ...

856. A Promised Ruler from Bethlehem

Micah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... is the one whose kingdom will endure forever. And he is the one who can give his people that security which the world can neither give nor ever take away. Additional Note 5:1 Marshall your troops, O city of troops: The line has been emended and read in a variety of ways: RSV [MT 4:14]: “Now you are walled about with a wall,” following Robinson’s emendation of titgēd e rî b e gādēr; Wellhausen, followed by many: “Now you are gashing yourself with gashes,” reading hitgōdēd titgōd e dî; some ...

857. Four Chariots

Zechariah 6:1-8

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... up. He saw four chariots, each pulled by horses of a different color—red, black, white, and dappled. As in the first vision of red, brown, and white horses (1:8), there is no reason to think that the colors are individually symbolic. The variety of colors emphasizes the owner’s wealth. In the ancient world, kings and emperors owned chariots and used them to exert their military power in war and their authority over conquered territory. These horses and chariots suited their purpose, for all of them were ...

858. Jesus Heals the Official’s Son

John 4:43-54

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... basis the miracles in chapters 5–11 can legitimately be incorporated into the sequence. None of these is referred to individually as a “miracle” or “sign.” Moreover, the general references in this Gospel to signs or miracles (2:18, 23; 3:2; 4:48; 6:2, 30) display a considerable variety of meaning, so there is no real basis for assuming that the general references in 12:37 and 20:30–31 have in mind a particular set of miracle stories.

859. Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... of purpose in which no one would wish to impose a veto on others. This is not a matter of making everyone see eye-to-eye or have the same opinion on every subject. Life would be very flat and dull without the give-and-take practiced when variety of opinion and viewpoint provides scope for friendly discussion and debate. 2:3 But discussion and debate cease to be friendly when each one aims at scoring points off the others and getting his or her own way. There must be no encouragement of the spirit of ...

860. Shining as Stars

Philippians 2:12-18

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... Notes 2:14 W. Schmithals considers that the warning against complaining or arguing is intelligible only as a reference to “the dissension brought into the community by the false teachers” (Paul and the Gnostics, p. 74). But it is easy to think of a great variety of other causes that could lead to complaining or arguing. Compare also the exhortations of 4:1–3, 8–9. 2:15 There is a striking similarity between so that you may become (hina genēsthe) … children of God and the words in the Sermon ...

861. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... symbolizing that he was further away from fellowship with God. 4:17–22 The genealogy of Cain includes references to the first human inventions (vv. 17b, 20b, 21, 22) and Lamech’s boasting song (vv. 23–24). Humans took up a variety of occupations, including city building, herding, metal working, and playing musical instruments. The creativity of humans led them to invent new patterns for supporting life, artistic works to enhance the human spirit, and technologies for coping with the harsh environment ...

862. The Sons of Noah

Genesis 9:18-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... deluge Noah, like Adam, worked the soil. He developed viniculture, which places him on the same plane as the other predeluvian innovators (4:20–22). From the harvest of his vineyard he made wine, a highly prized drink. The ancients had little variety in drinks, and this new product brought joy and relaxation to humans (“wine . . . gladdens the heart,” Ps. 104:15). This achievement is in accord with Noah’s name, which means “rest.” This also confirms that after the deluge God continued to bless ...

863. Abram in Egypt

Genesis 12:10-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... were preferred for riding. The mention of camels in Genesis remains an enigma. Because the thousands of texts from the second millennium B.C. make only a few references to camels, many scholars view these references in Genesis as anachronisms. But excavations in a variety of places, including the Wadi Arabah, have uncovered camel bones in levels of the second half of the second millennium B.C. In more distant places like East Iran, camel bones dating back to 2700 B.C. have been found (J. Zarins, “Camel ...

864. God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. The context implies that these animals were to be the sacrifice for the covenant ceremony. Since this was the initial covenant that God entered into with the seed of Israel, the variety of animals represents the offerings that are to be acceptable in the official worship of Yahweh. Abram brought all the animals, cut them in two, except for the birds, and arranged the halves so that they faced each other. Birds, being small, usually were not ...

865. The Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17:1-27

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , i.e., the rainbow (9:12–16) and circumcision (17:11) respectively. 17:10 In the ancient Near East several tribal groups practiced circumcision, including the Moabites, Amorites, Edomites, and Egyptians. But other tribes, such as the Philistines, the Hivites, and a variety of peoples from Mesopotamia, did not circumcise. That only males bore the sign of the covenant on their bodies should not be interpreted as evidence that God considered female members of the covenant to be inferior. Rather, it is to be ...

866. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:30-38, Genesis 19:1-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... sitting in the gateway. One of the gates of a walled city served as the main access. A large open area inside that gate was the hub of city life. Throughout the day citizens assembled in the square to buy and sell and conduct a variety of transactions. In the early evening the leading citizens of the town gathered there to visit and deliberate on matters of concern. After separating from Abraham, Lot had pitched his tent near Sodom (13:12). Strongly attracted by the pleasures of urban life, he eventually ...

867. Abraham and Abimelech

Genesis 20:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... having heard rave reports about Sarah, who had recently arrived in his capital with her brother, Abimelech sent officers to bring Sarah to the palace. After Sarah arrived at the king’s household, she possibly had to remain in special quarters as she underwent a variety of rituals preparing her to join the harem (see Esth. 2:12–13 for an extreme example). God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and warned him that he was under threat of death for having taken . . . a married woman into his household ...

868. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... whom you love” is attached to “your only son.” Given the number of terms here for Isaac, it is hard to capture the Hb. wording and emphasis in the Eng. translation. The location of the land of Moriah is unknown. The versions render Moriah by a variety of terms, e.g., “up-country “(LXX) and “worship” (Tg.). Later tradition identified Mount Moriah with the Temple mount (2 Chron. 3:1). See also the phrase “mount of Yahweh” in v. 14b for the temple area (Ps. 24:3; Isa. 2:3; R. Moberly, “The ...

869. Isaac and Abimelech

Genesis 26:1-35

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... specifically recalls the promises Abraham had received after placing Isaac on the altar. These words, then, were packed with meaning for Isaac. “All these lands” refers to the diverse geographic areas of Canaan, including the area around Gerar, that were occupied by a variety of ethnic groups. Yahweh reasserted that he was going to make Isaac’s descendants (seed) as numerous as the stars in the sky (15:5). God was going to give them all these lands. And all nations on earth would find blessing through ...

870. Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

Genesis 28:10-22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... postulate that it was a ramp. Others relate it to Akk. simmiltu (“stairs, ladder”), which suggests that it means a staired ramp like that used in a towered temple such as a ziggurat (11:1–9). 28:18 People throughout the Near East erected and dedicated stones for a variety of purposes: a memorial of an event, a boundary marker, a marker for a tomb, or a witness of a transaction (e.g., 31:45–54; 35:14, 20). Here Jacob wanted a witness to the promises God had given him in the dream and a marker for the ...

871. Jacob’s Children

Genesis 29:31--30:24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... gives off a strong, distinct smell. The ancients thought that mandrakes had aphrodisiac powers, possibly because the roots resemble the male genitals or because the plant’s name, duda’im, is similar to Hb. dod (“love”). 30:18 There is a variety of explanations for the name Issachar. Possibly it comes from the phrase yesh sakar (“there is a reward”). Sarna (Genesis, p. 210) traces the original back to yashaskir (“may he grant favor/reward”). Another proposal takes it from ’ish sakar (“a ...

872. Pharaoh's Dreams

Genesis 41:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... severe that they would consume all the surplus produced during the seven years of bumper crops. God had shown Pharaoh the future in two different forms because the matter had been firmly decided by God and the cycle was about to begin. A variety of texts from Egypt and Mesopotamia attest that one of the fates the ancients dreaded was a seven-year drought. Conversely, seven years of plenty symbolized the richest blessing. Sternberg (The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, p. 400) points out that despite the way ...

873. The Second Journey to Egypt

Genesis 43:1-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the many carts Joseph had sent, Jacob’s spirit . . . revived, and he was convinced that his son Joseph was still alive. He then declared his determination to go and see him before he died. Additional Note 44:5 In Egypt, counselors used such cups for divination. They would pour a variety of liquids, such as oil or wine, into water standing in the cup and then read the future by the configuration of the resulting designs.

874. Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-28

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... “Gad—a band will attack him,” and the second line has yagud, “he will attack.” This picture accords with Gad’s fame for its warriors (Deut. 33:20–21; 1 Chron. 5:18; 12:8). 49:20 Asher, a skilled farmer, would grow a rich variety of luscious produce fit for a king’s table. Possibly this refers to exporting choice produce to foreign kings. His tribal allotment, which reached from the Jezreel Valley north along the coast, was among the most fertile areas in Canaan. 49:21 Naphtali was to be ...

875. Driving Out the Nations

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... . That skin is stretched over a structural “skeleton” of a nation that must be distinct and exclusive. Yet when we finally arrive at the “heart” of the chapter, we find it beating with the passionate love of God, expressed with poetic repetition and variety. Divine love and grace stand at the core of a chapter commanding total destruction! The moral issues raised by the conquest of Canaan are significant (and we shall take them up more fully in ch. 9), but the theological issues are equally weighty ...

Showing results