Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on
Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation
Showing 126 to 150 of 188 results
126. The Law of the Temple
Ezekiel 43:13-27, Ezekiel 44:1-31, Ezekiel 45:1-12, Ezekiel 45:13--46:24
Understanding Series
Steven Tuell
... God is not directing the judgment in verses 1–14 against the Levites, but rather against the people of Israel. Verse 6 in fact states: “Say to the rebellious house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough of your detestable practices, O house of Israel!’” Because of their idolatries, this argument runs, God no longer permits the people to kill their own sacrifices. God instead gives that task to the Levites (v. 11) and otherwise restores them to the historical responsibilities of ...
Teach the Text
C. Marvin Pate
... why. The results usually are discouraging; many answer by listing their religious works as the basis for salvation. Another sermon that could be delivered from Romans 4:1–8 is “No Sin Too Great: Romans 4:6–8,” with reference to God forgiving David his detestable acts of adultery and murder. David, of course, still had to pay the consequences of his sins (loss of a baby, rebellion and death of another son, rebellion in his kingdom), yet God forgave David, whom God saw as “a man after his own heart ...
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
... written in the heavenly register (see the sidebar in 3:1–6). Three specific groups are denied entrance: (1) the unclean or impure, referring to the idolatrous and immoral things of the world (e.g., 17:4–5); (2) anyone who does what is shameful or detestable or repulsive to God (e.g., 21:8); and (3) anyone who practices deceit or falsehood, indicating once again how utterly evil deceit really is (see the sidebar in 18:1–8). God is holy and nothing unholy will enter his holy city. Osborne observes that ...
129. The Burnt Offering
Leviticus 1:1-17
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... : “so that it can be accepted.” Although God’s acceptance requires proper ritual, final acceptance of the sacrifice by God depends on the moral/spiritual state of the offerer, not the worshiper’s doing the mechanics correctly, for “the Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked” (Prov. 15:8). On “atonement,” see “Additional Insights” following the unit on Leviticus 4:1–35. The burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering are atoning sacrifices. 1:5  slaughter the young bull ...
130. Unclean Animals
Leviticus 11:1-47
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... edible sea creatures to those with fins and scales eliminates shellfish, shrimp, and the like. The word “unclean” (sheqets) in verses 10–12 (also vv. 13, 20, 23, 40–41), whose root means “spurn, scorn,”3could be rendered stronger: “detestable” (NRSV, ESV), “abhorrent” (NASB), or “abomination” (KJV). 11:13–19  birds. The birds here are primarily predatory or carrion-eating. The bat, a mammal, is listed with birds as a flying creature. 11:20–23  flying insects . . . that walk ...
Teach the Text
Daniel J. Estes
... (19:13–14). Rather than treating Job with respect and eager obedience (cf. Ps. 123:2), his servants ignore him (19:15–16). His immediate family regards him as repulsive (19:17). Even the little boys in his society ridicule him (19:18), and his closest friends detest him (19:19). Job feels that all those on whom he thought he could depend have turned against him. Consequently, he is left all alone as a social pariah to face his great adversity. 19:21–22  Have pity on me, my friends, have pity. With ...
Teach the Text
Daniel J. Estes
... the green light to attack Job. Therefore, they do not hesitate to exploit Job’s weakness. The adversary earlier complained that Yahweh had placed a hedge of protection around Job, but now that protective barrier is gone, and Job feels the onslaught of those who detest him. Even more painful to Job is his sense that God is attacking him directly, not just indirectly through the human enemies. God seems to be strangling him and throwing him into the mud. Instead of answering Job’s cry for help, God seems ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... witnesses is severe (Deut. 19:16–21). The rest of Scripture presents lying in general as a heinous offense. The book of Proverbs repeatedly warns of the damage that false speech does, declaring that a lying tongue and a false witness who pours out lies are detestable to the Lord (Prov. 6:16–19). Jesus strikes at the root of the problem, calling the devil the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The end of liars, along with such offenders as murderers, the sexually immoral, and ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... not worship the Lord your God in [your own] way” (emphasis mine), repeats the concern of Leviticus 18:3, “You must not do as they do.” Canaanite religion included both male and female prostitution, which the Lord “hates” (12:31) and finds “detestable” (Deut. 18:9). Canaanite worship is completely unacceptable (12:1–4). Israel is to gather together at the place of worship God will describe. No specific case is made for “Jerusalem” at this point, as many scholars incorrectly infer. At this ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... basis for dividing these creatures up into clean and unclean is not immediately apparent, but it may involve hygienic reasons, avoidance of heathen religions, and the fact that those who ate unclean flesh were producers of death. Surely the use of the word “detestable” (14:3) or “abominable” is linked with offensive Canaanite practices not tolerated by God (Deut. 7:25–26; 12:31; 13:14). Eating the bodies of creatures already dead is also prohibited (14:21), but the reason is not hygienic, for they ...
136. Miscellaneous Laws
Deut 23:15–25:19
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... of a “certificate of divorce” is to protect the woman, who otherwise never knew where she stood depending on the whims of her husband. Even if the second marriage fails, there is to be no return to the first marriage, for the woman will have become “detestable” in God’s sight (24:4). Care has to be exercised in maintaining the purity of marriage lest sin and defilement be brought on the land. Further examples of theft can be seen in (1) not exempting from army service for one year a man recently ...
137. The Account of Josiah
2 Chron 34:1–36:1
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... gods, commends the penitential example of Josiah. Josiah leads the nation in a covenant renewal, in which they pledge their desire to follow God, but he also rids the nation, including also the tribal territories of the former northern kingdom, of its detestable idols. This restoration of the temple and renewal of the people lays the foundation for the reinstatement of the festal calendar at the temple in 35:1–19. In focus are the closely related Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread. Josiah’s ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... appoints Zedekiah (36:11–20), Jehoiachin’s uncle, as puppet king of Judah (see COS 1.137:468). After eleven years of submission Zedekiah rebels against his overlord, an action paralleled by the apostasy of both Zedekiah and his people from Yahweh by following the detestable practices (same word used of Ahaz, Manasseh, and Jehoiakim in 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:2; 34:33; 36:8). The prophetic voice again breaks in as God’s last act of compassion to avoid discipline, but to no avail. The city falls to ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... Pentateuch and points out the contrast between what God’s people should be and what they are in reality. They are unfaithful to their covenant with God. Intermarriage with these peoples involves compromising the covenant relationship with God, the acceptance of “detestable practices,” and opening the community to the influence of a pagan worldview. All through the Bible God calls his people to be separate from the world (1 John 2:15–17). Sometimes they have gone to extremes in a legalistic fashion ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... God putting words in Israel’s mouth. For this reason the divine response begins with “if” (4:1). Ever-turning Israel might turn, yet fail to turn to God. Turning to God demands action as well as words. Negatively it means throwing away the detestable things—all that is ungodly. Positively it means a change in behavior to just and righteous dealings. Then Israel can rightfully make promises by invoking the name of the Lord. Meeting the conditions means good things to nations who will be blessed and ...
141. Pride Ruins Everything
Jeremiah 13:1-11, Jeremiah 13:12-14, Jeremiah 13:15-27
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... an explanation. The girdle, or loincloth (Hebrew ezor), is more than a belt; it is like a short skirt that reaches down to the knees but hugs the waist. Jeremiah’s symbolic act has a double message, the first of which is the evil of pride. God detests pride (2 Chron. 32:24–26; Prov. 8:13). Arrogance, an exaggerated estimate of oneself, brings the disdain of others and accounts for the evils of verse 10. Second, the sign act pictures the way in which God would take proper pride in Israel, who, like the ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... God. When he leaves, the temple becomes like any other building. It surrenders its sanctity. There were seven thousand in Elijah’s day who did not bow the knee to Baal. And there are those in Ezekiel’s day who grieve and lament over all the detestable things (9:4). The heavenly scribe is to put a mark on the foreheads of these faithful believers who have not compromised religious convictions. The Hebrew says: “put a taw on their foreheads.” Taw is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in the ...
143. Rebelliousness
Ezekiel 20:1-29, Ezekiel 20:30-49
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... date is all the more ominous, for it is exactly five years to the day before Nebuchadnezzar torches the Jerusalem temple (Jer. 52:12–13). Again the elders come to Ezekiel for a spiritual message, only to be rebuffed. Verses 5–29 are about the detestable practices of the exiles’ fathers. This section is presented in four subunits. The first is verses 5–9 and covers the fathers in Egypt. Although chosen by God, the people still rebelled and held on to their images. Only for the sake of his reputation ...
144. A City of Blood
Ezekiel 22:1-31
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... reverence for holy things, especially Sabbaths. Sexual decency and propriety is a thing of the past. Social exploitation is rampant. Note that Ezekiel does not neatly divide acts of wrongdoing into the ethical and the ritual. They are all lumped together as “detestable practices” (22:2), whether it is shedding blood or desecrating Sabbaths. The second unit in this chapter is verses 17–22. A new metaphor is introduced here. Israel has become dross to her God. Dross is, of course, the worthless material ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... s curse the nation has no hope and no prophet to intercede for them. 10:1–15 · The last major sermon in this punishment section is divided into two paragraphs. First, Hosea reminds his audience that because of their sins God will destroy all the detestable altars where the people worship (10:1–8). Hosea compares Israel to a vine that has produced much fruit, because for many years they were a prosperous nation. But the richer the people became, the more they built pagan altars and standing stones that ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... from them. How will the Israelites make their relationship with God right again? Micah contrasts external religious acts (sacrifices) with inward religious attitudes (justice, mercy, humility). These verses have been distorted to say that Micah and the prophets in general detested the priestly sacrificial system. Most scholars now admit that Micah was not attacking the sacrificial system itself but the conviction that external religious acts without inward piety can establish a right relationship with God.
147. The Shepherds
Zechariah 11:4-17
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... , especially the two major factions, Judah and Israel. God’s shepherd replaces the leadership of Israel (the three shepherds, symbolic of the three offices of prophet, priest, and king). He is the perfect leader, ideal in every way. Yet the flock detests him and rejects him. Therefore he leaves them to their fate, dying and consuming one another. The breaking of the staff called Favor (11:10) symbolizes the revoking of the protective covenant keeping the nations from harming Israel. Only the faithful ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... the contracted sum with Rome was his to keep. The Roman system of taxation thus attracted unscrupulous individuals and virtually required dishonesty in order for a tax collector to survive economically. That Jesus would call as a disciple a tax collector, who was detested because of his collaboration with the Roman occupation and ritually unclean because of it, was no less offensive than his touching of a leper (1:40–45). This story repeats and reinforces the truth of 2:1–12: there he forgave sins; here ...
149. Jesus and Beelzebub
Mark 3:20-30, Mark 3:31-35
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... momentarily in abeyance, Mark inserts the accusation of the scribes that Jesus is in league with Satan (3:22). The Greek reference to “Beelzeboul” (NIV “Beelzebul”) appears to equate Satan with the pagan god Baal, who was ubiquitously detested in Israel. The contemptuous epithet, apparently meaning “Baal the prince,” or “Baal’s dominion,” insinuates that Jesus derives his power to cast out demons from the archdemon himself. Jesus responds with a threefold refutation. Verses 23–26 appeal ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... stamped with the impression of Tiberius Caesar (Roman emperor AD 14–37). The question of the Pharisees and Herodians is designed to ensnare Jesus however he answers: support for taxation will discredit him in the eyes of the people, who detest Roman occupation; refusal to pay will invite Roman retaliation for insurrection. In a brilliant repartee, Jesus grants that the image and inscription are Caesar’s; therefore, the coin belongs to Caesar. This answer acknowledges the legitimacy of human government ...
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