Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 876 to 900 of 1230 results

Hebrews 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... 12:22). See E. Hoffmann, NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 68–74. The Promise of a New Covenant The author now cites an OT passage of major importance in the epistle, Jeremiah 31:31–34. The explicit reference to the new covenant in this text makes it ideal for his purpose. The internalizing of the law and the reality of the forgiveness of sins in particular are significant for our author’s argumentation, and sections of this same passage are quoted again in 10:16–18. The quotation enables the author to stress the ...

877. Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

Hebrews 10:1-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... midrash, or running commentary, on the passage, by which he supports the argument he is pursuing. In this instance that argument involves the transitory character of the levitical sacrifices and the permanent character of what Christ has done. The author has found an ideal text for his purposes. With Christ as his hermeneutical key, he expounds the deeper meaning of the text, which can now be seen retrospectively in a new way through the fulfillment brought by Christ. 10:5–7 Although not stipulated in the ...

878. God Disciplines His Sons

Hebrews 12:1-13, Hebrews 12:14-29

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... part of human beings. See E. Schweizer, TDNT, vol. 6, pp. 445f. The word righteous (dikaios) was used earlier in 10:38 (in the quotation of Hab. 2:4) and in 11:4, where Abel is described as “a righteous man.” The word is thus ideal to describe the exemplars of faith mentioned in chap. 11. It is possible, however, as some have argued (e.g., Delitzsch, Westcott, Hughes), that this clause refers universally to people of faith in all eras, old and new. See W. J. Dumbrell, “ ‘The Spirits of Just ...

879. Warning Against Refusing God

Hebrews 12:14-29, Hebrews 12:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

880. The Christian and the World

James 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... earth, in which God is the origin and center of all life. These Christians worship Christ quite faithfully, but they also seek influence, financial security, and a better standard of living, which means they cannot live the church’s ideal of servanthood and generosity “too literally.” Slowly the “practical” principles of the world (power, hierarchy, authority) have been brought into the church as well, as the quarrels witness. James states flatly that this form of unfaithfulness is apostasy, just ...

881. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 4:13-17, James 5:1-6, James 5:7-12, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... large stock of goods to a place they were scarce and attempted to trade at a profit for the rare goods of that land (e.g., Matt. 13:45–46). When all had been sold, one took the foreign goods back to Palestine and sold them at a profit. The ideal was to repeat the cycle until one was able to buy a large estate and become part of the landed gentry, who had the highest social status. See further S. W. Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, vol. 1, pp. 255–59; F. C. Grant, The Economic ...

882. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... ē was a meal of fellowship in the house-churches on the Lord’s Day. The meal was shared by all the members, of whatever class of society, with each one bringing a contribution of food, according to ability. In practice, it sometimes fell short of the ideal (cf. what happens at the Lord’s Supper in 1 Cor. 11:17–22). Jude warns that the infiltrators are seeking to take advantage of what was intended to be a fellowship of Christian love, and threatening to wreck it by their perfidious teaching. Yet they ...

883. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... fighting, reveals a gap in his credibility as a leader. The Hebrews had no reason to accept his authority as one of them, as he did not share their experience. But even if he had been “one of them,” he was not their leader. His idealized solidarity with them assumed too much and the disjuncture in his identity is evident. His violent method of resolving conflict, which they had apparently either observed or heard of, carried no special hope for them. They knew all about that. When Moses asked the one ...

884. Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... repeats the promise of land to Abraham’s family, and predicts Pharaoh’s resistance. Finally, God promises to do “wonders” until the Egyptians let the people go and send them away with silver, gold, and clothing. The complete interaction continues through 4:17 and ideally should be read as one conversation. 3:1–6 The Lord God introduces himself to Moses. Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian (see comment at 2:18). According to tradition, Moses had forty years ...

885. Offerings for the Tabernacle

Exodus 25:1-9

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... text. Readers have rarely taken the text at face value for what it says about itself. More often than not, the text has suffered from interpreters’ preoccupation with its historical context (variously exilic, Davidic, or Second Temple) as Israel’s idealized worship space. Scholars differ widely on the sociohistorical setting, in part because the text is not interested in giving any clues about it. The plan is from God (25:9). The pressure for commentators to make a sociohistorical decision, especially ...

886. The Tent of Meeting

Exodus 33:7-11

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... through the conversation it afforded. The tabernacle tent, made after this crisis, would sustain the people throughout their history, even when they sinned, by its existence at the center of community worship. Before the crisis of the golden calf, the text describes an idealized relationship with the Lord. At that that time, Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp (v. 7) as part of their normal relationship with their redeemer. When Moses went out to the tent, all the ...

887. Circumcision at Gilgal

Joshua 5:1-12

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... of Deuteronomy 7 or 20. Instructions are given before each battle, and the soldiers are accountable to follow only those. Obedience is not always gauged by the rules of Deuteronomy. In some ways, Joshua modifies the rules and stands in tension with the ideals of Deuteronomy. As the narrative describes the battles, notice the variation in application of the devoted rules to the victories of the tribes. Additional Notes 5:1–6:27 Kings along the coast heard: The account of Joshua’s conquest has striking ...

888. The Fall of Jericho

Joshua 5:13--6:27

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... devoted does not always follow the rules of Deuteronomy 7 or 20. Instructions are given before each battle, and the soldiers are accountable to follow only those. Obedience is not always gauged by the rules of Deuteronomy. In some ways, Joshua modifies the rules and stands in tension with the ideals of Deuteronomy. As the narrative describes the battles, notice the variation in application of the devoted rules to the victories of the tribes.

889. Northern Kings Defeated

Joshua 11:1-23

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... warfare. Truly the God of Israel will triumph over the most advanced weapon of warfare in giving the people the land. The battle has three facets. One is that Joshua surprises the forces of Hazor at the Waters of Merom, an ideal place to corner an army and to make chariots ineffective. Joshua then pursues the forces until no remnant is left. Finally, the Israelite forces cripple the horses and burn the chariots. Again, decisive leadership, effective pursuit, and faithfulness to herem instructions allow ...

890. Division of the Land West of the Jordan

Joshua 14:1-5

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... Semitic World,” in Ugarit and the Bible [ed. G. J. Brooke, A. H. W. Curtis, and J. G. Healey; Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1994], pp. 123–38). Several points can be made about the boundary and city lists of Joshua 14–21. First, the lists represent ideal allotments for the tribes. One does not need to place the lists into a context in which Israel controlled the land of Canaan. Next, the tribal allotments receive divine support by the casting of lots (Hb. goral). The painted rocks or bones declare to the ...

891. Allotment for Judah

Joshua 15:1-63

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... hill country of the land. The inclusion of Philistine towns in the list may indicate that the list originated at a later time, when the cities were a part of Judah. It may be a district list from the time of Josiah, or the list may be an ideal gift that includes area and cities that remain to be conquered. Both the boundary and city lists begin with brief introductions pointing out that the inheritance of the tribe of Judah extends clan by clan (lit. family; 15:1, 20). 15:63 The allotment concludes with a ...

892. Allotment for Simeon

Joshua 19:1-9

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... the time of the book of Judges, which lists foreign populations living in tribal territories whom tribes must subjugate or in whose midst tribes must live. Judges 1:27–36 mentions unconquered populations in Canaan. By contrast, Joshua presents an ideal picture of tribal inheritances, including land not yet conquered. The lists in Joshua divide the land of Canaan and eliminate its gaps. Boundaries of the tribes coincide with those of Canaan. The lists in Joshua do not include topographical notes about ...

893. Buried in the Promised Land

Joshua 24:28-33

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... God’s ways, and successful (1:1–9). Joshua’s leadership shows that leaders can act decisively, prepare well, be unprepared, make mistakes, be manipulated, and compromise outside of God’s will. As a leader Joshua does not model the ideals of leadership throughout the book. He combines success with disappointment. Though Joshua leads with mixed results, he remains faithful to God and serves his people. Consequently, the success of Joshua teaches that leaders ultimately can succeed with guidance from ...

894. Gideon's Ephod

Judges 8:22-27

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... . True, the Lord did give them flesh-and-blood leaders, but they were viewed as representatives of the heavenly king, who worked through them by special charisms imparted by the Spirit of the Lord. Many of these leaders were prophets. But ideally Israel had never confused these representatives with the true King. Thus the request signaled a serious development that revealed Israel’s growing rejection of the Lord’s sovereignty over them (cf. 1 Sam. 8). The reference to Gideon’s son and grandson ...

895. Israel's Sons

1 Chronicles 2:1-55

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... beyond the exile. The final construction of the genealogies (whether they originally formed part of Chronicles or were later added to form an integral part of Chronicles) already paves the way for the focal point in the narrative parts of the book, namely, the ideal historical period under David (1 Chron. 10–29) and Solomon (2 Chron. 1–9). Judah’s genealogy is introduced in two subsections (1 Chron. 2:3–55 and 4:1–23), surrounding the sections dedicated to David and Solomon. Whether they compose a ...

896. Simeon

1 Chronicles 4:24-43

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... their identity remains a mystery. What is important about this campaign is that the attackers found a land that was spacious, peaceful and quiet. This seems to be a foreshadowing of a theme that is prominent in Chronicles as a whole, namely, the ideal of having quietness, rest, and peace. This theme is present in the Chronicler’s presentation of Solomon, but at this stage it is only important to take note that the Hebrew term translated “peaceful” occurs in prominent positions in the description of ...

897. Bringing Back the Ark

1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... All-Israel came from everywhere to join the process of bringing the ark to Jerusalem. The actual area constituting the Persian province of Yehud was considerably smaller than the Chronicler’s grandiose portrait, which recalls the extent of the Davidic-Solomonic empire. The ideal image of the land from the past aims to show how inclusive was Israel’s participation in the event. First Chronicles 13:6 closely follows the source text (2 Sam. 6:2) but additionally identifies Baalah of Judah as Kiriath Jearim ...

898. The Decree of Darius

Ezra 6:1-12

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... Judeans were involved or some of the Yahweh-worshiping aliens of 4:2 or both; we shall revisit this issue in connection with chapter 8. They functioned like Rahab in the first occupation of the land long before (Josh. 2:9–14). The idealism of having the experience of foreign exile as a qualification for membership was tempered by the practicality of gaining adherents who espoused the community’s own uncompromising stand for orthodoxy. Nonetheless, there still stood out against the rest a group of former ...

899. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... Unchecked, it would soon throw another wrench into the smooth-running machine portrayed in chapter 3 and bring it to a halt. This problem challenged the unity of the people and threatened to divide it into two opposing groups—the oppressed and their oppressors. The ideal of the chapter is the expression of communal brotherhood, which emerges from a term used in verse 5, “brothers” (NJB and NJPS, in place of countrymen). Nehemiah borrowed the term from the cry of v. 5 and gave it pride of place in the ...

900. The Israelites Confess their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-37

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... was probably an independent one used in contemporary worship. In the new editorial context, the twenty-fourth day of verse 1 slots neatly after the twenty-second day implied in 8:18. Like chapter 8, this chapter works out at a communal level the ideal that Nehemiah expressed in chapter 1. In his private prayer, he representatively confessed the sins of the community of exiles as a prerequisite for their taking up residence in Jerusalem. This was not enough. Now the whole community prays such a prayer after ...

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