Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1551 to 1575 of 1795 results

1551. Additional Instructions Regarding Sacrifices and Impurity

Leviticus 17:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Leviticus 17 serves as a transition. While it shares contents with earlier chapters, its style of exhortation, with emphasis on motivations and penalties, is characteristic of later chapters. The instructions in this chapter counter disloyalty to God by prohibiting Israelites from offering idolatrous sacrifices in the open country to male goats or goat demons, with which the Israelites have committed (spiritual) promiscuity (17:5, 7; ...

1552. His Command to Go Into the Land

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Moses’s First Sermon: “Look What God Has Done” (1:1–4:43) 1:1–5 · In what will be the style of the prophets of Israel, the book begins with, “These are the words Moses spoke” (1:1; cf. Jer. 1:1; Hos. 1:1). Moses is to “proclaim . . . all that the Lord had commanded,” and to “expound [make clear] this law,” thus Deuteronomy is “preached law,” the torah of God ...

1553. Knowing What the Lord Requires of Us

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Moses’s style changes in 10:12, as marked by the words, “And now.” The interrogative “What does the Lord your God ask of you” is echoed in Micah 6:8. Moses gives five answers to this rhetorical question: (1) “to fear the Lord,” (2) “to walk in obedience to him,” (3) “to ...

1554. The Fall of Jericho

Joshua 5:13--6:27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (cf. Josh. 2:10–11), the inhabitants of Jericho choose to shut themselves up in their walled city rather than go out in battle. But the Lord has special instructions for Joshua regarding how to breach Jericho’s wall. Consistent with the narrative style of the author (cf. Josh. 3:7–13; 4:2–7), the battle account is presented through layers of near repetitions, with each layer expanding further on the information previously provided. The main thrust of the Lord’s instructions to Joshua is first ...

1555. Death of Eli

1 Samuel 4:12-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... at age ninety-eight, Eli falls off his chair and breaks his neck when he hears the extent of the catastrophe, especially the news about the capture of the ark. This is worse than the report that his own two sons have been killed. Following the style of the book of Judges, the author notes that Eli “had led Israel forty years” (4:18), and his leadership had proved ineffective. Death continues to stalk Eli’s family: his daughter-in-law dies in childbirth after learning what has happened to her husband ...

1556. Northern Cisjordan Tribes

1 Chronicles 7:1-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The list of genealogies in 1 Chronicles 7 complements the list of northern tribes in 1 Chronicles 5, this time listing the genealogies of the Cisjordan (those tribes on the western side of the River Jordan), northern tribes, which included Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher. In light of the focus of chapter 8 on the tribe of Benjamin, it is odd that Benjamin is included here among the northern tribes. This suggests Benjamin’s identity as the tribe caught between the dominant ...

1557. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , in the presence of the priests, to take an oath that they will do as they promised. Official oaths of this kind were put in writing and kept on record. The whole episode ends with praise to God for this happy resolution. Nehemiah’s leadership style, alluded to in 5:10, is now further explained (5:14–19). The twelve years (5:14) include time after the events of these chapters but certainly indicate the unselfishness and generosity of his leadership at this time. His concern for the poor and needy ...

1558. Job's Reply to Zophar

Job 12:1--14:22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... turned him into a laughingstock. Contempt quickly replaces respect among those who witness the fall of a respected person (12:5). Job further digs at his friends’ notion that they know more than he (12:7–10). In parody Job parrots their style and counsel, even using second-person singular deixis (“you” singular), which the friends use when they speak to Job. Job parodies their argument: even simpleminded animals know that God is judging you, Job. Job continues his platitudes by reciting what appears ...

1559. Psalm 47

Psalm 47:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) surfaces in the Psalter only four other times. The remaining word of praise in this psalm, rendered “sing praises” (47:6 [3×], 7), does enjoy a moderate frequency of usage in the Psalter. That the psalmist chooses less frequently occurring words of praise makes Psalm 47 somewhat unusual in its style.

1560. Psalm 78

Psalm 78:1-72

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 8–11, 17–20, 22, 32, 36–37, 40–42, 56–58), God’s merciful but powerful judgment against his people (78:21, 30–31, 33, 38–39, 59–64), and Israel’s repentance, short-lived as it was (78:34–35). In typical Hebrew style, Asaph does not always write in strict chronological order; he writes to convey truth in whatever order best makes his point. Asaph also includes information not previously known; for example, plagues of grasshoppers, frost, and lightning (78:46–48, cf. Exodus 7–12) and ...

1561. Proverbs of Solomon

Proberbs 10:1--22:16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of individual verses are now qualified, expanded, explained, generalized, or illustrated by the verses that surround them. All interpreters of Proverbs acknowledge that chapters 10–31 constitute an anthology containing various proverbial collections diverse in style, content, and origin. What is disputed is the extent (or even the existence) of compositional design within and between the various collections. Stated simply, is the order (and literary context) of the individual proverbs significant ...

1562. Recognize that Bad Days Can Bring about Good

Ecclesiastes 7:1--8:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... days come from God and serve his sovereign purposes, although we as humans cannot find out anything about the future (7:14). 7:15–29 Review · Recognize that righteousness and wisdom offer only limited protection:This unit can be clearly distinguished in style from the preceding unit. First-person verbs detailing Qoheleth’s investigative procedure, as well as his discoveries, structure 7:15–29 but are absent from 6:10–7:14. Note the following examples: “I have seen” (7:15), “all this I tested ...

1563. A Further Description of Judgment

Ezekiel 6:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , how will he scatter the bones of the people around the altars? “Demolish” may mean “to make nonfunctional.” Note that the reasons for the people’s destruction are not moral (e.g., for sexual sins). The people are condemned for illicit worship styles. They have introduced into their liturgical ceremonies customs unacceptable to their Lord; they have made worship an end in itself rather than a means to an end. Some, however, will escape the sword (6:8). This is the remnant. (See the language of ...

1564. A Dirge for Israel’s Kings

Ezekiel 19:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Almost all of this chapter is poetic; it is a lament in two parts over the fall and collapse of monarchs in Judah, here styled as “princes of Israel.” In the first part (19:2–9), reference is made to a lioness (Judah?) who sees two of her cubs captured and carried off. One of the cubs is taken to the land of Egypt, the other to the land of Babylon. It is more than ...

1565. Shepherds and Sheep

Ezekiel 34:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

By the phrase “shepherds of Israel” (34:2) Ezekiel designates the leaders of the land. In the ancient Near East “shepherd” was a stock term for “king,” and even gods could be so styled. Indeed, there are many parallels between this particular chapter in Ezekiel and Jeremiah 23:1–8, suggesting that Jeremiah 23 may have served as the stimulation for Ezekiel 34. The point made by the prophets, then, is that a society can be no better or rise no higher than its ...

1566. Lamenting the Death of the Nation

Amos 5:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... sacred temples in the nation because all of those temples will be destroyed with a fire that cannot be put out. God will bring destruction, because in Israel, violence is ruling over justice (5:7). The plain truth is that righteousness is dead and buried. In hymnic style (5:8–9) Amos reminds his audience that their only hope is in the true God, who put the stars in their constellations. This God can also bring great darkness over the earth, just like he did in the time of Noah (Genesis 7–8) or when ...

1567. The Lord Protects and Rescues Jonah

Jonah 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the poem’s interruption of the flow of the narrative are what prompt some to argue that the passage is a later addition. However, other narratives contain mixed genres, and there is no reason to assume that a writer cannot vary in literary style. Others claim that the placement of a thanksgiving psalm before the text describing Jonah’s salvation seems inappropriate. Obviously, though, Jonah did not write down the psalm while in the belly of the sea creature but in retrospection; this presents a logical ...

1568. Psalms of Hope and Praise

Micah 7:8-13, Micah 7:14-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The prophecy of Micah concludes with four sections (7:8–10, 11–15, 16–17, 18–20) united by their psalmlike style and their forward look to the time of restoration. Micah continues to speak in the first-person singular, but now he stands for the whole nation. He envisions the time when Israel will be downtrodden and taunted by her enemies. He warns these nations not to rejoice too much, since ...

1569. The Woman Caught in Adultry

John 7:45--8:11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... into the text of John? Most scholars answer in the affirmative. The best Greek manuscripts do not have it, and when they do, it appears in a variety of places (e.g., after John 7:36; 21:25; Luke 21:38; or even Luke 24:53). It also has a style unlike that of John, and it interrupts the Feast of Tabernacles story (see 8:12). If it belonged here, 7:53–8:1 would imply that Jesus was at the Sanhedrin meeting in 7:45–52! (2) Is the story authentically from Jesus? Yes it is. It is similar to ...

1570. Jesus and Peter

John 21:15-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... oida, ginōskō). Of these pairs of synonyms, the interplay of verbs for “love” has inspired most comment. (Jesus uses agapaō twice and then phileō in the final exchange; Peter uses phileō throughout.) This variation is either a feature of John’s Greek style—the other synonym pairs suggest this—or it bears some meaning. If the latter is true then two options are possible. Either Jesus consents to Peter’s verb and we find in phileō an affectionate love Peter desires to express, or agapaō is ...

1571. God’s Righteous Judgment

Romans 2:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Jewish readers agree with Paul’s indictment of humankind in the previous paragraph. However, Jews believed that they had a privileged position before God. In 2:1 Paul shifts his style to employ diatribe, interacting with a dialogue partner. This interlocutor is not imaginary, since Paul had conversations with pious Jews who would have emphasized their exemption from God’s judgment on account of their status as members of God’s covenant people (cf. Wisdom of Solomon 15:2–3: “Even ...

1572. Paul’s Reflection on His Ministry

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:6b–18 • The message of Paul’s ministry: But, as is so often the case in Paul’s writings, the terms that are used to conclude one argument lead inevitably to the opening of another. (This is also commonplace in Jewish literary style in general.) Here the mention of a new covenant (see Jer. 31:31–34) inspires a transition in thought from discussion about the source and character of Paul’s ministry to a consideration of its message. Paul presents it in terms of a comparison between the ministry ...

1573. Introduction and No Other Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... This would normally be followed by a greeting varying in length and usually determined by the degree of warmth felt between the author and the recipients. We notice here, contrary to his other letters, that Paul gives only the briefest of greetings (1:3). His style is proper and a bit curt and immediately evidences a defense of his apostolic origin. Clearly, Paul perceives himself to be under attack as he writes. He wastes no time in rising to his own defense. The attacks against him appear to have revolved ...

1574. The Purpose of the Law

Galatians 3:15-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the term “seed.” He only wishes to remind his readers of what they, and the opponents, have come to know, namely, that the Abrahamic covenant would be fulfilled by a personal deliverer and not by a legal code followed by many. Paul proceeds with a characteristic style of arguing his case by presenting the presumed objections of a hypothetical opponent (see, e.g., Rom. 3:9, 27; 6:1, 15; 7:7; 11:1). Here he does not wish to imply that the Mosaic law was either unnecessary or without a place in salvation ...

1575. Submit Yourselves to God

James 4:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the “and” beginning the second sentence is a bit of a problem, this second alternative should be accepted. It results in a neat parallelism, with each statement connecting an inner attitude to an outward consequence. Furthermore, this sequence fits a popular style of moral analysis in the ancient world (see Johnson 1983). But does James seriously mean to accuse his readers of committing murder? While it is possible that indeed he does (some of his readers may have been Jewish Zealots, who believed ...

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