Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands, sensation, sense, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding, love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment, emotional state, compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, brotherly love, sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride, opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view, atmosphere, ambience, aura, air, mood, climate, character, overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour, aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination, sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful

Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4770 results

1201. Marriage Violations

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... subsequent divorce. The law is thus a strongly protective measure for a young wife at her most vulnerable. It not only defends her good name (vv. 14, 19) but also provides for her future security against his likely desire to divorce her. The law takes the view that the security and provision of a household—even in the home of such a man—is preferable to the insecurity of a divorced woman that nobody else is likely to marry. Such a law protects women, who in many cultures are vulnerable to cruel husbands ...

1202. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... in either event. 29:22–29 An open stage. “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The behavior of God’s people and God’s own actions toward them are performed in full view of the rest of world and in the full glare of history. This public position could be positive or negative. Israel could become the means of the nations coming to know God because of the blessing that would accompany their obedience (28:10), or they could become “an object of ...

1203. Joshua to Succeed Moses

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... The common theme, especially at the “join” (cf. 3:21–28), is the commissioning of Joshua to lead the Israelites into the land, in view of the fact that Moses would not do so but would die outside it. However, whereas chapters 1–3 focus primarily on the ... long-distance history of Israel is surveyed in the prophetic Song of Moses. This encapsulates a realistic and historically vindicated view of Israel’s unfaithfulness as well as a profound theology of God’s purposes through Israel in relation to ...

1204. Preparations for Building the Temple

1 Kings 5:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... , v. 13) to work abroad; 1 Kgs. 11:28 and 12:3–4, 18 are drawn into the discussion to provide support for this view. Yet 9:15–23 go out of their way to deny that this is so, explicitly stating that he conscripted workers only from the ... :15–23, esp. v. 23). The other comprises 150,000 Israelites, and is supervised by 3,300 foremen (5:15–18). It is the latter group that is viewed in 1 Kgs. 11:28 and 12:3–4, a group that is never described by the word mas (cf. the commentary on these verses and on 12: ...

1205. Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

1 Kings 8:22-61

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... ringing in our ears, we come to the seven specific petitions. The first (vv. 31–32) concerns a legal case where difficulties over evidence or witnesses make resolution in any normal way impossible (cf. 1 Kgs. 3:16–28). A priestly ritual is in view (cf. Num. 5:11–31); God is invoked as a judge to condemn the guilty and clear the innocent individual. The second, third, and fourth petitions concern various disasters that might befall the people of Israel more generally: defeat in battle and subsequent ...

1206. Solomon's Other Activities

1 Kings 9:10-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... seen with respect to 8:22–53 and 9:1–9. It is therefore glory under a cloud, destined to fade away. This of itself would affect our view of what we read in 9:10–10:29, even if we were to find here only repetition of the material of chapters 4–5. It is not ... “turning away” of Solomon (cf. the commentary on 9:15–25; 10:26–29)? These are interesting questions, particularly in view of texts like Proverbs 30:8 and Deuteronomy 17:17. Excessive wealth brings with it the danger of apostasy. We have ...

1207. Ahijah's Prophecy Against Jeroboam

1 Kings 14:1-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... is in this situation that there has ceased to be ʿāṣûr weʿāzûḇ. Whatever the phrase means precisely, it seems probable that when used of the males of the royal house, it is their nature as sources of “power” and “help” to the king that is in view (cf. the analogous “cutting off” of “every horn of Israel” in Lam. 2:3, with its associated “no one to help her” in Lam. 1:7). 14:14 This is the day! What? Yes, even now: A better translation is: “This is the day! What more can there ...

1208. Elijah Fed by Ravens

1 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... submit to the god Mot (death), only to be revived at a later date and once again water the earth. It is this polytheistic view of reality that Elijah now challenges. He worships a single God who lives (cf. the oath taken in the name of the living God ... lit. “to bring to remembrance my sin and kill my son.” In the context a causative connection between sin and death is probably in view: “to bring my sin to God’s notice and cause my son to die.” Just by being there, Elijah has focused God’s ...

1209. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Elijah is so reluctant to come out and face God (vv. 11–13)—does he fear that reality will interfere with conviction? 19:12 A gentle whisper: The Hb. is lit. “a voice/sound, a barely audible whisper” (qôl demāmâh daqqâh). For a summary of views on the meaning and import of this phrase, see B. P. Robinson, “Elijah at Horeb, 1 Kings 19:1–18: A Coherent Narrative?” RB 98 (1991), pp. 513–36 (esp. pp. 522–27). We are not explicitly told, of course, that the LORD is “in” the whisper, but ...

1210. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Baasha, king of Israel, and so relieve pressure on Judah (15:16–22). On that occasion the Arameans had taken control of a significant proportion of Israelite territory in the north. It is not clear from the present narrative whether it is that campaign that is in view in 20:34 or not, for Ahab’s “father” was not strictly Baasha, but Omri. Whatever is the case, the king of Aram has now moved at the head of a powerful alliance (thirty-two kings) to put pressure on Samaria. He seeks to reduce Israel to ...

1211. The Widow's Oil

2 Kings 4:1-7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... happen, even though prophets commonly foresaw events (cf. 1 Sam. 9:15; 1 Kgs. 14:5). This is a most interesting statement in view of what has just occurred in 2 Kgs. 3, where Elisha’s knowledge of the future was similarly incomplete. God is not a ... a whole. From here to ch. 8 (cf. 8:1), the whole narrative takes place in the context of famine—something that is not unexpected in view of the condition of Israel’s religion during this period (cf. Deut. 28:15ff., esp. vv. 21–24; 1 Kgs. 8:35, 37; 18:2). A ...

1212. Jehu Anointed King of Israel

2 Kings 9:1-13

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... must be its sense in 9:22, and given its appearance so recently in 9:11 it is much better to take it this way also in 9:17–18 (and, uttered sarcastically, in v. 31; the NIV’s footnote is a most unlikely rendering of the Hb. in view of the earlier use of hašālôm). Jehoram is well aware that these are his soldiers. He is not fearful for his own safety, only anxious to discover what is going on. Has disaster overtaken Ramoth Gilead? Is this “multitude” (“rabble”?—šipʿâ in v. 17 is not the ...

1213. Zechariah King of Israel

2 Kings 15:8-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... name for the Tiglath-Pileser of v. 29) has come. Comparison with 15:29 might suggest that it is only the reclaimed territories to the north of Israel proper that the first part of verse 19 has in view. Menahem nevertheless desires to have Pul as a friend rather than an enemy, particularly in view of the apparently unstable internal situation in Israel (he needed to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom, v. 19). He pays, therefore, to turn an enemy into a friend, just as Asa had once bought Ben-Hadad ...

1214. Hoshea Last King of Israel

2 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that led to Israel’s exile in the first place. We must reckon, then, with the presence of irony in 2 Kings 17:25–33. It is not a passage meant to be taken at face value. The authors are simply setting up a particular point of view in order to demolish it—rather in the manner of a participant in a debating competition. The tone of the passage is best caught, in fact, if the reader mentally supplies quotation marks to the words “worship” and “worshiped” in the NIV translation of verses 28 and ...

1215. A Prophecy Against Babylon

Isaiah 13:1--14:23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the notes in 14:4 and 22 refer to Babylon in particular. In 13:2–16, it is not even clear whether Babylon is the victor or the vanquished. While Isaiah himself will have uttered prophecies about the Babylon of his day, it is a plausible view that the other prophecies here did not originally refer to Babylon and that they have been reapplied here to that city. Babylon is the “Assyria” of a century later, so oracles about Assyria would be naturally reapplied in this way. The focus on Babylon may also ...

1216. Hezekiah's Prayer

Isaiah 37:14-20

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... God wants what the person praying does—that the world should come to see that Yahweh is indeed God, God with a capital “G” (cf. v. 10, though this is a distinction possible in English but not in Hebrew). Additional Notes 37:8–38 A common critical view has been that these are two versions of the same events. Instead of trying to combine the two into one story, the text puts the two versions of the story one after each other. The effect is rather like that in Gen. 1–2, where two creation stories ...

1217. Salvation for Others

Isaiah 56:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the one who speaks is the Sovereign Yahweh. Additional Notes 56:1–8 In the commentary we note the difference between the attitude to outsiders here and in books such as Ezra and Nehemiah. In The Dawn of Apocalyptic, P. D. Hanson expounds the view that the key to understanding Isa 56–66 as a whole is its background in conflicts within the Jerusalem community (rev. ed. [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979], pp. 32–208). These chapters represent one party over against another as is seen in books such as Ezekiel ...

1218. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... s inaugural vision (1:4) and in Deuteronomy (4:12, 15, 33, 36; 5:4, 22, 24, 26; 9:10; 10:4) does the Lord speak from the center of the fire: here, to Ezekiel in Babylon; there, to Moses on Sinai. Certainly, then, we would be justified in viewing Ezekiel’s inaugural vision as a gracious self-revelation of God—a revelation all the more remarkable for taking place not on the mountain of God, but in the valley of the river Kebar, in the land of exile. The experience of God’s presence is at once wonderful ...

1219. Personal Accountability

Ezekiel 18:1-32, Ezekiel 19:1-14

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... edge” (v. 2; Jer. 31:27–30 quotes, and refutes, this same proverb). Though reflecting the attitudes of the exiles, this saying comes to Ezekiel not from his community, but from the Lord. As is the case throughout this book, God’s point of view is predominate—even the words of Ezekiel’s fellow exiles are filtered through the divine perspective. While the wording may seem odd (what does it mean to have one’s teeth “set on edge”?), the proverb is based on a familiar experience: surely everyone ...

1220. Two Adulterous Sisters

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... reflects the image of the cup of suffering, poured out from God’s hand: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39; see also Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:42). However, in view of Oholibah drinking Oholah’s cup, a particularly interesting parallel is Jesus’ question to James and John in Mark 10:38: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (see also Matt. 20:22). Here again, the cup is Jesus ...

1221. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

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

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... of the present list, also indicate an agricultural product” (Ezekiel 2, p. 48). The character of Judah and Israel’s trade with Tyre as evidenced elsewhere in the HB would also indicate this. Probably, then, some form of grain is in view. Perhaps Katzenstein’s vague translation “meal” is preferable (History of Tyre, p. 158). 27:32 “Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?” The term here translated “silenced” (Heb. kedumah) is difficult. The NIV and the NJPS, following the ...

1222. Jesus the Messiah from Joseph’s Family Line

Matthew 1:1-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... writes. So his first readers or hearers would have understood “son of David” to point to Jesus as the Messiah, especially given Matthew’s explicit affirmations of Jesus as such (e.g., 1:1; cf. Pss. Sol.17:21) (see the sidebar “First-Century Messianic Views” in the unit on 11:2–19). the son of Abraham. Because Abraham was the patriarch of the Jewish people (Gen. 12:1–3), Matthew’s choice to trace Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham indicates an emphasis on the Jewish identity of Jesus (cf. the ...

1223. Jesus Begins His Ministry to Israel

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... writers (though see, e.g., Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; 15:24), yet he translates the claim that Jesus is king for his primarily Gentile audiences. He regularly proclaims Jesus as Lord, an audacious claim in the context of Roman imperial ideology in which Caesar was viewed as Lord (e.g., Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 8:6; Phil. 2:11). In Revelation the theme of kingdom is pronounced, with the author highlighting Jesus’ role in inaugurating the kingdom (e.g., 12:10) and the identity of God’s people as “a kingdom and ...

1224. Sermon on the Mount: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... . This ensures their future reward. Given this context, it is likely that the reward that they will receive is participation in the kingdom. Hypocrites will not have a future reward; faithful followers of Jesus will. The kingdom itself seems to be the reward in view. 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans. In addition to commending the importance of praying with God as one’s only audience (6:6), Matthew includes Jesus’ commendation of praying with an economy of words (6:7). Unlike ...

1225. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ). To counter this wrong theology, Jesus affirms a knowledge of Israel’s covenant God, who cares, listens, is quick to act, and will answer prayer. Such a message is a crucial one for teaching and preaching in a culture and a world that think and act on wrong views of God on a regular basis. Part of the good news is this: God truly cares about the world and for humanity, made in the image of God. So people can pray with confidence that God acts above and beyond how loving parents act toward their children ...

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