Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1126 to 1150 of 1285 results

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... prophetic words are made closer by the alteration of the wording of Hosea. The word victory (Gk. nikē) is an original element of Isaiah, but Hosea reads “judgment” (Gk. dikē), which has been changed to victory so that the texts blend smoothly. This doubling up of questions produces great rhetorical force and dramatizes the point. 15:56 Paul’s commentary on the citation(s) in vv. 54–55 is not completely pertinent to the context of the discussion of the resurrection of the dead in which he offers ...

1127. The Collection for God's People

1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... ) that Paul designated this particular day because the Jews were forbidden to handle money on the Sabbath is unpersuasive. In fact, their attempt to defend this notion from the silence of Paul’s letter about Sunday worship is an unbelievable argument from double silence. 16:3 Paul’s phraseology in reference to sending the Corinthians representatives to Jerusalem is ambiguous. The NIV renders a portion of this verse with the words, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them ...

1128. Prologue

Revelation 1:1-3

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... role in the communication between the Lord and John, it also assumes Jesus’ exalted status as the Risen Christ of God: Jesus sent his angel “from heaven.” Further, John would no doubt have recognized the angel from the Lord as his “celestial double”; thus, such a vision represents the continuing and expected activity of the Risen Christ. John is singled out to receive the apocalypse because he is Christ’s servant. As with the epistolary introductions of other biblical writers (cf. Rom. 1:1 ...

1129. The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... the images by the astrology of the ancient Near East and its possible influence on the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah, if not also upon John. In light of John’s visionary world, we understand the creatures as angelic representatives, perhaps “celestial doubles,” of God’s animate creation, which is inherently higher than inanimate creation according to a Jewish theology of creation. Thus, within the heavenly order as John would understand it, each angel symbolizes the highest, most noble creature of its ...

1130. The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... evil beast and its liege of ten kings (17:16–17), with the demand to Give back to her as she has given. In light of the accusations leveled against Babylon in verse 3, the retributive justice of God is framed by the OT, which stipulates double (or capital) punishment for the sins of political and economic exploitation (cf. Isa. 40:2). The plagues that will destroy the city are then enumerated: death, mourning and famine … and fire, which is a paraphrase of the oracle against Babylon found in Isaiah 47:7 ...

1131. Daily Offerings

Numbers 28:1-8

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... 2:3, and Numbers 28 appropriately marks off the offerings to be made on that day. In addition to the regular daily offerings, two lambs are to be brought together with its drink offering and a grain offering. Thus the daily offerings are to be doubled on the Sabbath. 28:11–15 These verses specify the offerings to be made on the first of each month. The custom of observing the new moon was apparently widespread, and here the Priestly tradents incorporate the custom as part of the liturgical calendar. These ...

1132. The Birth of Samuel

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... of the regular feasts or were a private arrangement, perhaps associated with a vow (cf. v. 21). 1:4–5 It would be possible to translate the Hb. as “one portion,” but the “only one portion” of some versions is misleading. The NIV’s double portion conveys the sense. The actual phrase is “portion of the face or nose” (Hb. ʾappāyim), perhaps originating from the custom of bowing down before those who deserved special respect (H. W. Hertzberg, I and II Samuel, [OTL; London: SCM, 1964], p. 24 ...

1133. Samuel Anoints Saul

1 Sam 9:1–10:8

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... s response indicates that he has understood Samuel to be assigning him a significant task within Israel. His response may reflect a genuine humility and lack of self-confidence, but it may also be a normal part of Eastern good manners requiring self-effacement. The double mention of his tribe (v. 21) may have confirmed to Samuel that this was the Benjamite of whom God had spoken. The significance of Samuel’s words was confirmed to Saul by his being given the pride of place at the feast and being assigned ...

1134. Samuel Anoints David

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... follows this section and fails to explain Saul’s request that Jesse send David, who is with the sheep, which appears to indicate other prior knowledge. However, David, bringing appropriate gifts, joins Saul’s service as an armor-bearer, or squire, who doubled as a music therapist. There is no inkling of any tension between Saul and David, but rather emphasis on the fact that Saul liked David and was pleased with him. The music therapy was apparently, if only temporarily, successful. Additional Notes 16 ...

1135. God’s Promise to David

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... people, follows from the covenant between David and the people but involving God (5:3). In 2 Kgs. 11:17, where Joash was made king, the priest Jehoida instigates covenants between God and the king with his people and between the king and the people. Such a double covenant pattern may have been common. 7:18 David presumably entered into the tent where the ark was kept. His ambition may have been to build a beautiful building for the ark, but he knew that such a building was not essential for meeting with God ...

1136. Silent Comfort: Job’s Three Friends

Job 2:11-13

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Silent Comfort: Job’s Three Friends: 2:11 The appearance of Job’s three friends after the apparently successful completion of the double test marks a new departure in the narrative. Having witnessed the second exoneration of Job’s righteousness, the reader anticipates some resolution to his suffering. The immediate question that arises is what role these friends will play in that resolution. There is an element of surprise for the reader as ...

1137. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... . Eliphaz does not expand on the parallel much further but goes on to describe the fate of the aphoristic children, crushed in court. Like Job, the fool will also lose his harvest to the hungry who take it from among thorns. There is a possible double meaning behind this difficult phrase. On the one hand, the thorns may represent the sad state into which the fool’s field and harvest have fallen. On the other hand, the thorns offer an ironic reflection on the “hedge of thorns” with which farmers ...

1138. Job's Second Reply to Zophar

Job 21:1-34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... to shut up! Our silent presence and support—our acceptance of our hurting friend despite their anger and doubt—these are the encircling arms of love that the broken soul craves and needs. The Hebrew translated “bear with me,” can have a double meaning that Job shrewdly exploits. On the one hand, the verb can mean “to lift up, bear” something, even something heavy or unpleasant—like an ox “bearing” a yoke, or a constantly whining friend! The word can also, however, mean to “carry” or ...

1139. Oaths

Matthew 5:33-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 23:21–23). Rabbinic equivocation and deliberate ambiguity opened the door to serious misuse of vows (cf. m. Shebuoth). Jesus intensifies the Old Testament teaching on oaths, saying, Do not swear at all (v. 34). The very existence of a vow introduces a double standard. It implies that a person’s word may not be reliable unless accompanied by some sort of verbal guarantee. Jewish tradition held that oaths using God’s name were binding, whereas those avoiding God’s name were not. Jesus now teaches that ...

1140. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... of humor makes a farce of serious exegesis. Better to assume that Peter did exactly what Jesus told him to do and in fact found a four-drachma coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught. Additional Notes 17:24 Temple tax: The didrachmon (double drachma) was a Phoenician coin worth about one half-shekel. Since it was not in current coinage, two people often joined in paying a full shekel (the Greek equivalent being one stater, v. 27). 17:25 Jesus’ awareness of the thoughts of others is reflected in ...

1141. Alone and Persecuted

Psalm 142:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of confinement (Set me free from my prison, cf. 143:11b in Hb.). Each has a supporting motivation. The first points to the opponents (for they are too strong for me), and the second to God (that I may praise your name). The latter doubles as a vow of praise. It is in the context of this future praising, not this present praying, that the psalm foresees that the righteous will gather about me, thus signaling the speaker’s reincorporation into the believing community. Closing the psalm is thanksgiving ...

1142. The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... one talent. The three servants received different amounts based upon the particular ability of each. This parable has led to the use of the word talent in English in the sense of a natural or supernatural gift. The servant entrusted with five talents doubled the amount by wise investment. So also did the servant who received two talents. The third servant, however, dug a hole and buried his master’s money (not at all an uncommon way of protecting valuables in the ancient world). Schweizer reports that ...

1143. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the beginning to the end, than that he would move them from the end to the beginning, because he would be trying to make ch. 4 conform to chs. 3 and 6, both of which conclude with doxologies. Furthermore, moving it to the end breaks up the double inclusio framing ch. 4 and also framing chs. 4–6: both envelope constructions begin and end with praise. Finally, and most important, the king declares that he is about to tell what God has done (4:34 LXX). This clearly shows that it is an introduction rather ...

1144. Daniel’s Vision of a Man

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... power” (Dan. 11:6; see also 2 Chron. 13:20; 22:9). In modern terms, Daniel felt like he just “had the stuffing knocked out of him.” Daniel falls into a deep sleep with his face to the ground (10:9), almost a moment of relief. The Hebrew has a double reading: “on my face, face to the ground.” The NIV is correct to translate “face” only once. This verse is very similar to Daniel 8:18: “I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.” There, as here, it might be better to render the idiom ...

1145. Jesus Heals Many

Luke 4:38-44

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... much of Jesus’ ministry was given over to healing and exorcism. Also, this summary affords Luke another opportunity to have the demons cry out “You are the Son of God!” which reinforces the earlier confession of v. 34 and may be another instance of Luke’s double-witness motif (see commentary on 2:22–38). This exclamation recalls the heavenly voice at the baptism (3:22). 4:42–44 Jesus is so popular, his cures in such great demand, that he has to seek out a solitary place. Even so, he is pursued ...

1146. Six Woes

Luke 11:37-54

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... experts in the law possess the key to knowledge (i.e., they are able to read and understand the Scriptures), they themselves have not entered (i.e., they do not obey the Scriptures), and they have hindered those who were entering. Thus, a double condemnation falls upon them. They are condemned because of their unbelief and hostility toward God’s messengers and what the Scriptures really teach, and they are condemned because they have failed in their responsibilities as true experts in the law. After this ...

1147. The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15:11-32

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... ) whose stricter standards made it difficult to accept Gentiles as part of the new community (see Acts 11), or at least difficult to have fellowship with them (see Acts 15). Additional Notes 15:12 Since Deut. 21:17 requires the firstborn son to receive a “double portion” of his father’s inheritance, we may assume that the younger son’s share of the estate was about one third. Income from this property, however, was due the father as long as he lived. 15:13 the younger son got together all he ...

1148. One Like a Son of Man

Revelation 1:9-20

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... lordship over the congregations for which he now writes. Revelation 1:20 re-focuses the reader’s attention on the seven stars (cf. 1:16), which are the guardian angels of the seven Asian congregations. Their presence in heaven as “celestial doubles” of these churches envisions an important theological point: the effectiveness of the church’s historical witness to God’s reign is guaranteed by its heavenly representation (cf. Eph. 2:6–7). Significantly, in this regard, Jesus holds the seven stars ...

1149. To the Church in Pergamum

Revelation 2:12-17

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... of the imperial cult was built to Augustus in 29 B.C. For Christians, Pergamum symbolized secular power and civil religion; indeed, Christ identifies it as the city “where Satan has his throne … where Satan lives” (2:13). The Lord possesses the sharp, double-edged sword, again repeating what John had seen in his earlier vision of Christ (1:16). This is yet another image of Christ’s lordship, clarified later as “the sword of my mouth” (2:16) that will “fight against” the false teachings and ...

1150. Sabbath Offerings

Numbers 28:9-10

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

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