Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1001 to 1025 of 1285 results

Deuteronomy 1:9-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... gērîm denotes a class of people who were landless but resided in Israel’s land under the protection of Israelite families. They may have been remnants of the original population or people who immigrated for various reasons. Being without the natural double protection of land and family, they were vulnerable to exploitation and oppression. Israel’s memory of its “resident alien” status in Egypt was a powerful moral spur to humane treatment of aliens in its own midst (cf. Exod. 23:9). The Israelites ...

1002. Not Because of Israel's Righteousness

Deuteronomy 9:1-6

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... of the simple conjunction “and,” on the translators’ assumption that the people’s speech stops at because of my righteousness and Moses’ answer begins with the following words. However, it seems probable that the people were making a “legal” double assumption of innocence and guilt (see commentary), which Moses corrects. Thus, the better translation would be, “Do not say to yourself, ‘The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness, and because of ...

1003. Fear the Lord

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... a monistic universalism that destroys all distinctions, on the one hand, and a narrow exclusivism that denies or restricts the universality of God’s love, on the other. 10:16 Instead of words of encouragement following vv. 14f., Israel finds a double-barreled call to repentance aimed at their metaphorical hearts and necks. Election, for Israel, was not so much a privilege as an awesome responsibility that could prove highly dangerous. The way this summary call for repentance follows an exalted statement ...

1004. The Only Place of Worship

Deuteronomy 12:1-32

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... Israel at the place God would choose, is the first of the two major central sections of the chapter. The other section is verses 13–28, dealing with the matter of “profane slaughter”—i.e., the nonsacrificial killing of animals for food. Both sections have a double-barreled form, with a kind of didactic parallelism between 5–7 and 8–12, and between 13–19 and 20–28. The reason for the repetitious nature of the material is more likely to be its teaching purpose rather than a literary history of ...

1005. Cities of Refuge (II)

Deuteronomy 19:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... not to imagine ourselves superior to the much caricatured OT legal system. On the contrary, we may find ourselves deserving of the prophetic scorn of Hosea (6:8–9), who, with heavy sarcasm for the violence of Israel’s society and the double failures of its judicial guardians, portrayed one city of refuge ([Ramoth] Gilead) as full of deliberate murderers who should not have been allowed sanetuary there, and another (Shechem) as the hiding place of priests who murdered those who were genuinely fleeing for ...

1006. The Altar on Mount Ebal

Deuteronomy 27:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... : Again, the NIV has turned a Hb. singular into the plural. The Hb. phrase “this whole commandment” emphasizes the unity and completeness of the law considered as a whole. Occurring here after all the detail of the intervening legislative chapters (12–26), it echoes its double use in 11:8 and 22 (cf. 6:1, 25). 27:2 When you have crossed . . . : The Hb. here is lit. “On the day you cross . . . ” Taken literally, this suggests that it was intended that inscribed stones be set up close to the river ...

1007. David’s Charge to Solomon

1 Kings 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the LORD may keep his promise to me: The nature of the Davidic promise in Kings has been much discussed, and the tension between its conditional and unconditional aspects has often been exploited in redactional studies of the book. R. D. Nelson, The Double Redaction of the Deuteronomistic History, JSOTSup (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1981), pp. 99–118, has sought to resolve the tension by suggesting that “Israel” in 2:4, 8:25, and 9:4–5 refers only to the northern kingdom and not to Israel/Judah combined ...

1008. Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Kings 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... 15:5) that even David’s righteousness is regarded as only relative. Royal righteousness alone (even David’s) cannot be the explanation for Solomon’s occupation of the throne. It is significant, then, that even in Solomon’s own words to God in verse 6, we find that double use of the word ḥesed, kindness. A much better translation of this noun is “covenant love,” as in 1 Kings 8:23 and, more to the point, 2 Samuel 7:15. For it is here that God promises David that he will never take away his love ...

1009. Solomon Builds His Palace

1 Kings 7:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the king was much more concerned about his palace than about the LORD’s temple. It seems likely, however—since otherwise the second part of 7:1, with its repetition of bêtô, becomes somewhat redundant—that we are also to see a contrast implied in the double use of the verb ḵlh. The key here lies in noting that the extra element in 7:1, when compared with 6:38, is the curious kol before bêtô: “He completed the temple . . . he completed the whole of his house.” The implication is that Solomon ...

1010. Jehoahaz King of Israel

2 Kings 13:1-9

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Elijah’s Moses (cf. 2 Kgs. 2:1–18). Like Elijah, he brought life in the midst of death (1 Kgs. 17:17–24; 2 Kgs. 4). Like him, he mediated salvation even to foreigners (1 Kgs. 17:17–24; 2 Kgs. 5). Having asked of Elijah a double portion of his spirit, he went on to perform many more miracles than his predecessor. As a true prophet of God, however, he brought with him not only blessing but also curse, not only salvation but also judgment (cf. the significance of his name, Elisha [“God saves”] son ...

1011. A Rebellious Nation

Isaiah 1:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... proper way, whether at the level of the courts or at the level of forming and implementing political policies. Thus Zion will once again be the City of Righteousness, “Justice City,” and once again Faithful City. The ideal is restored. 1:27–31 The double-sided point about punishment and restoration is now put in a different way. This redeeming of the city is an act of payment expected of the city itself. It has responsibility for the reshaping of its life in accordance with just judgment. The point ...

1012. The Song of the Vineyard

Isaiah 5:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... 5–6? Who can issue commands to the rain clouds? What is going on? All becomes clear in verse 7. The song was one about the relationship between Yahweh and Israel/Judah. To the metaphorical lament in verses 1–6 is added a double paronomasia: He looked for justice (mishpat) , but saw bloodshed (mishpakh) ; for righteousness (tsedaqah) , but heard cries of distress (tse’aqah; see 1:21 on the pairing of justice and righteousness). The proximity of the words and the similarity of sounds belie the distance ...

1013. The Lord's Devastation of the Earth

Isaiah 24:1-23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the nature of the world itself, and when they are ignored, calamity can only follow. The end of verse 20 follows the wording of Amos 5:2. In that day, verse 21, suggests the beginning of a new prophecy. The imagery does change, but the double emphasis on the world above and the world below continues. The very name “Yahweh armies” (v. 21, see Additional Note) reminded Israel that supernatural forces fight on Yahweh’s side, but anyone could see that this does not mean that battles on earth always work ...

1014. Woe to David’s City

Isaiah 29:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... its other aspect, by keeping a commitment to people once it has been made (cf. Hos. 11:9 where this point is explicit). So Yahweh may go to the very edge of annihilating the people but in the end will not do that. If Isaiah felt this double necessity, he himself may have been responsible for the sharp juxtaposition of verses 1–4 and 5–8. Yahweh will always in the end rescue the people or restore them, as the history of the Jewish people and of the Christian church demonstrates, though perhaps only after ...

1015. Distress and Help

Isaiah 33:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... king will thus contrast with having to see the arrogant people who had invaded them, the people obscure in their speech (translated “deep” in 30:33, “greatly” in 31:6), of strange tongue (see 28:11). 33:20–24 This vision of a restored city repeats the double invitation to look and see from verse 17 (NIV there “see” and “view”). The eye turns to the other of the two objects of Yahweh’s love and choice that Judah especially treasured (cf. Ps. 132). Zion/Jerusalem is the city of David (29:1 ...

1016. The Year of the Lord’s Favor

Isaiah 61:1-11

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... provide for them in abundance (v. 6b) while they are becoming “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6; Isa. 61:6a). This will more than make up for their material deprivation and their consequent shame (v. 7). The repeated word for double is different from that in 40:2, but the parallel is still noteworthy—especially as Yahweh goes on to promise that they will now receive their reward (v. 8; cf. 40:10). In the context, the robbery and iniquity must be that exercised against the community ...

1017. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... with the second. The bread that the Lord commands Ezekiel to prepare he is to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side (v. 9), days which the second sign describes as the days of your siege (v. 8). The words “your siege” carry a double meaning. Ezekiel, in his role as God’s representative, has brought the siege; now, in his role as Israel’s representative, Ezekiel will suffer the deprivations of the siege. Ezekiel is to make his bread from wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt (v ...

1018. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... did not claim divinity. However, the prince of Tyre’s description of himself enthroned “in the heart of the seas” is reminiscent of the description of the Canaanite high god ‘El’s dwelling, “at the source of twin rivers, by the pools of the double-deep” (CTA 4.4.21–22). Secure in his opulent island sanctuary, the ruler of Tyre lays claim to godlike power and invincibility. But he is sadly deluded. In their histories of Phoenicia, the Greek historians Dius and Menander of Ephesus both relate ...

1019. Jesus’s Ministry and Popularity Continue to Grow

Mark 1:40-45, Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:29-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... . One simply cannot remain silent. This is Mark’s point. When Christ has changed your life, you must go public with the incredible joy that you feel. show yourself to the priest. When Jesus commands the leper, “Be clean!” there is a double meaning, encompassing both the physical healing and the social/religious cleansing that allowed the man to reenter society. Leprosy was the one disease that demanded a ritual ceremony witnessed by the community before the healing could be finalized. It was a complex ...

1020. Jesus’s Authority to Forgive and Heal Sinners

Mark 2:1-12

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... Jesus saw their faith . . . “Son, your sins are forgiven.” This “faith” (see also 5:34, 36; 9:23–24; 10:52) in Jesus characterizes the paralytic and his friends. So Jesus’s statement to the man most likely involves all of them. There is double meaning in “faith” (though they intended only the first): first is the power of Jesus to miraculously heal, and then (implicit in Jesus’s statement) a faith in God’s ability to bring spiritual healing. The Baptist in 1:4 preached “a baptism of ...

1021. Jesus as Lord and as Archcriminal

Mark 2:23-3:6, Mark 2:18-22

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... be taken from them” clearly refer to Jesus’s time on earth and to his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus’s followers experience the joy of the kingdom that he has brought with him, so it is time for celebration. There may be double meaning in “taken”: taken from this world through death and taken up into glory by God. But the former is central, and Jesus certainly is referring to his coming violent death (“on that day” = his crucifixion). The later church took this literally and ...

1022. The Rejection of Jesus in His Own Hometown

Mark 6:1-6

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... , and the fate of Jesus’s contemporary prophet, John the Baptist, is described next in Mark 6:14–29. That same end, of course, awaits Jesus in Jerusalem. 6:5 he could not do any miracles there. This is stated very strongly, with a double negative in Greek (“not . . . not any”) and the verb dynamai (“could not,” almost meaning “did not have the power”). The central point is the unbelief of the townspeople, and this does not actually mean that Jesus is rendered powerless. After all, he does ...

1023. Jesus Defines Himself as Lord in Contrast to the Leaders of Israel

Mark 12:41-44, Mark 12:35-40

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... . Understanding the Text While verses 35–37 belong with the controversy stories of 11:27–12:37, they also are part of the final three narratives that conclude the section, presented together as Jesus’s teaching in the temple grounds. There is a double contrast: (1) Jesus’s true nature as Lord (vv. 35–37) versus the depravity of the scribes (vv. 38–40), and (2) the wickedness of the scribes versus the widow as a symbol of true devotion and radical discipleship (vv. 41–44). Interpretive Insights ...

1024. Jesus Is Tested in Gethsemane

Mark 14:32-42

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... will complete God’s plan. This time begins with Judas, who will “deliver” or “betray” Jesus to his enemies. This “deliverance” has been predicted often (9:12, 31; 10:33; 14:18–21) and is now to be fulfilled. Still, there is likely a double meaning here because “the delivering over of Jesus by Judas (14:42b) fulfills the divine giving over (9:31; 10:33).”8God, not Judas and the officials, is in charge, and all unfolds according to his will. The “sinners” are the elders, chief priests ...

1025. Testing in the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... “tested” and learning to depend on his Father through the discipline of deprivation in the wilderness. This is the background for Jesus’s own testing as the Son of God. Interpretive Insights 4:1 full of the Holy Spirit . . . led by the Spirit. This double mention of the Spirit leaves no doubt that this was a divinely planned and necessary experience, from which Jesus will then return “in the power of the Spirit” (4:14). Like Israel’s testing in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2), it is designed by ...

Showing results