Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 1751 to 1775 of 4957 results

1751. Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... plural “you all.”) As we shall see in Exodus 32, the people almost did not make it. Escape from slavery was, in God’s eyes, neither the primary measure of success nor the limit of God’s involvement. Only a people who worshiped God could truly claim deliverance by God. This text announces the theme of worship (serving) that will be repeated throughout Exodus (ʿabad, sometimes translated “worship,” includes the meaning “serve”: 3:12, 18; 4:23; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7–8, 11, 24–26 ...

1752. God Promises Deliverance

Exodus 5:22--6:12

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... then only to describe how they eat a meal and are saved from death. This is the “gospel” of the exodus: God has to intervene with a mighty hand (vv. 1, 6) and needs Moses (and Aaron) simply to declare the Lord’s judgment to the oppressors and to claim deliverance of the people (see Fretheim, Exodus, pp. 91–96). For verses 10-12 please see the commentary on the next next pericope: 6:13-27. Additional Notes 5:23 This commentary section ends with Exodus 6:1 instead of 5:23 because God and Moses are in ...

1753. The Plague of Locusts

Exodus 10:21-29

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... his hard heart remind us that Pharaoh himself was responsible for his hard heart (7:13–14, 22–23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34–35). He enslaved and oppressed the people of his own volition long before the Lord began this hardening. God claimed to harden the pharaoh’s heart (thereby prolonging the slavery of the Israelites and the plagues) in order to “perform these miraculous signs of mine among them.” These signs further revealed to the Israelites who God is (“these signs of mine”). As we see in ...

1754. Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... of verse 4: “I will harden” and “I will gain glory (be honored) through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.” (See the discussion and additional note at v. 4.) The NIV omits the original emphatic claim that begins verse 17: “And I, Behold me! I will harden.” This is the whole wonderful, troublesome point of the text. The Lord God, known only to the Hebrew slaves and barely trusted by them, would cause the greatest king of the ancient world to destroy his army through ...

1755. The Lord Commands Joshua

Joshua 1:1-18

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... . The book of Joshua shows that God places the right person in leadership for the challenges in Canaan. Preparation to Cross the River and a Threat to Joshua’s Leadership Crossing the Jordan River presents a number of challenges. To cross the river is to claim the territory on the other side, but the river also threatens to split the forces of Joshua between the east and the west. Thus the Jordan River could become a divisive boundary and a threat to the unity of the emerging people. Moses sought to ...

1756. Gideon

Judges 6:1-40

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... Midianites. Furthermore, “that night” also thematically links the impending deliverance to Passover (Exod. 12:8, 12, 42; Deut. 16:1), underscoring, along with the anonymous prophet (Judg. 6:7–8), what the Lord had done for Israel in the exodus, which was the basis of his claim upon Israel (Judg. 6:10) and also his assurance of a new exodus on their behalf. Additional Notes 6:13 If the LORD is with us: This story not only parallels that of Moses but also has some parallels to the story of Samson (Judg ...

1757. Reuben

1 Chronicles 5:1-10

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... this is nowhere made explicit. A reference in Ps. 83:6 creates an association between “Edom and the Ishmaelites” and “Moab and the Hagrites.” One would have expected to find the Hagrites in Ishmael’s genealogy. However, 1 Chron. 5:10 does not claim that they were part of the Reubenites. The Reubenites “waged war against the Hagrites” (5:19). 5:17 Here we get the second occurrence of the technical term translated by the NIV as entered in the genealogical records (see Additional Note on 4:33b ...

1758. Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return

Ezra 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... . This role of providence is considered so fundamental in the first mission that it is repeated at the end of the account in 6:14, 22, and it frames the passage, serving as an inclusio. In the other two missions, divine involvement is simply a theological claim made by the participants (7:27, echoed by the editor in 7:6; Neh. 2:8). This verse, however, confirms that the God of Israel was at work in this crucial historical event, which is hailed as the validation of earlier predictions made by the prophet ...

1759. Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

Nehemiah 2:11-20

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... and suggested that their sinister political purpose was to rebel against the empire—the old trick of Ezra 4:12–16. In response to their challenge, Nehemiah disputed their right to interfere. First, however, he redefined the issue in spiritual terms, claiming divine support. This reinforced the theme of verse 18 and was meant for the ears of his new supporters, as a pastoral antidote to the intimidating circle of secular opposition. Their role as servants of God made them eligible for supernatural ...

1760. The List of the Exiles Who Returned

Nehemiah 7:4-73a

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... had the air of a ghost town after most of the wall builders left Jerusalem and went home. An extensive house building project had not been implemented, such as will be implied by the repopulation program of 11:1, for which 7:5 was preparing. Nehemiah claimed, as in 2:12, that his God had put the idea into his mind. These two statements of divine guidance, in 2:12 and here, introduce the execution of the two halves of his mission. By way of preparation, Nehemiah organized the registration of the population ...

1761. The Israelites Confess their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-37

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... . This, too, had been a concern of Nehemiah’s prayer in the first chapter, as we noticed in connection with chapter 8. Contemporary Israel had broken the terms of the Torah given by God to Moses (1:7), but the Torah also provided a divine promise for them to claim (1:8–9). In this prayer, too, the Torah is much in evidence, with its commands and its promise of the land. An organic link was thus forged between the Torah reading of verse 3 and the prayer. The prayer represents the Torah as given by God in ...

1762. Wisdom's Call

Proverbs 8:1-36

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... herself. There is a superficial similarity between the opening verses and 1:20–21, but the tenor of Wisdom’s proclamation in this chapter is unique. She appeals to all, including the simple and the fools. They are to listen to her because of her claims to truth and righteousness, which are far more valuable than material riches. Who is she? In verses 22–31, she launches a description of herself as begotten of God before creation, at God’s side, but also delighting in human beings. The final words in ...

1763. A Common Destiny for All

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... (or transience) and Sheol within the call itself put it in further perspective. The reader experiences the entire section as tempered by the preceding insistence that “no one can comprehend” and “even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it” (8:17). The “common destiny” that Qohelet claims for all people (9:2) may itself be beyond the speaker’s ability to comprehend. 9:1–6 Qohelet returns to the theme of one fate for everyone. The language hints at the cult, especially ...

1764. Bread Upon the Water

Ecclesiastes 9:13--12:8

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... words: It is possible to connect the phrase with v. 13 (as does NIV) or with the rest of v. 14. If the latter is correct, one might suspect some self-deprecation on Qohelet’s part because what follows is a repetition of one of Qohelet’s key claims. 10:18 Out of context, the verse would refer to an actual physical structure. In context, one wonders whether the house is a metaphor for government that is neglected because the princes are feasting instead of governing. 11:7 It pleases the eye to see the sun ...

1765. All Night Long

Song of Songs 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... this passage, though, combined with the fact that longing for an absent lover is hardly limited to deities, makes his claim less than certain. According to some interpreters, the imagery of seeking and finding in this passage connects it with ... woman stops just short of saying that this is the room where she was conceived; the wording raises the association without making a claim. 3:6 Who is this: The Hb. expression is mî z??t. Ordinarily mî is the interrogative personal pronoun “who,” although it can ...

1766. Seventy Years of Captivity

Jeremiah 25:1-14

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... of the fourth year of Jehoiakim with the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingship creates a problem when compared with the correlation between the third year of this Judean king and Nebuchadnezzar’s first year in Daniel 1:1. In addition, it is claimed that the Babylonians did not come to Jerusalem until the fifth year of Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:9). A surface reading of the Babylonian Chronicle appears to support this opinion. According to Hartman and Di Lella (The Book of Daniel [New York: Doubleday, 1978 ...

1767. Jeremiah in Prison

Jeremiah 37:1-21

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... , the son of Hananiah. Irijah is named only here, and Shelemiah and Hananiah are very popular names for many individuals in the book of Jeremiah and elsewhere in the Old Testament, so we can proceed no further in our identification of them. The claim was that he was deserting to the Babylonians, but Jeremiah vociferously denies the charge. Even so, he was arrested and turned over to certain unnamed officials who beat and imprisoned him. Though the officials were unnamed, they can probably be identified with ...

1768. Hosea's Wife and Children

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... found only this once in the OT. God is above all the living God, a designation seen elsewhere only in Joshua 3:10 and Psalms 42:2 and 84:2. That is, God is the source of life. Hosea is fighting in his ministry a baal fertility religion, which claims to give life to its adherents, and so this passage emphasizes, in the strongest terms, that God is the source of life (cf. 14:5–8). Verse 11, in the Hebrew, reads “and they shall go up from the land,” contrary to the NIV reading. The reference is not ...

1769. The Charge Against Israel

Hosea 4:1-19

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... as it has been sounded previously (1:10–2:1; 2:8–9). It constitutes one of the major challenges that Hosea’s preaching hurls in the face of baalism’s fertility cult, ripping from that cult all claims to give abundant life to worshipers. And it still challenges all those religious movements, gurus, and cults that would claim to give us vitality apart from the one Son of God who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Additional Note 4:4 The RSV translation of v. 4c–d is based on ...

1770. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... wrote, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Just as walking in darkness falsifies a believer’s claim to fellowship with God, so also walking in the light is necessary for fellowship with other believers (1:6–7). Paul strikes a similar note when he says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or ...

1771. Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

Amos 7:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... prowess and their lavish cult (see the comments on 5:18–6:14). In the light of God’s word, Amos sees their true condition; they are pitiful and small. We can be grateful that God saw our real natures behind all of our equally foolish and proud claims, that God pitied us as a father pities his children and came to rescue us in Jesus Christ. 7:1–3 While the NIV has drastically altered the original text here (cf. the RSV), it has correctly interpreted the meaning of the original and made verses 1–2 ...

1772. Mourning for the One They Pierced

Zechariah 12:10-14

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... and to be responsible for the family land and other assets. The death of the firstborn could endanger the family’s survival. On the occasion of the first Passover the Egyptians experienced this loss in every household (Exod. 12:29–30). Furthermore, God had a claim on the firstborn of every womb in Israel, human and animal (Num. 3:11–13). The final simile is less clear. Does the weeping of Hadad Rimmon refer to an otherwise unknown ritual dedicated to the Canaanite storm deity Hadad, something like the ...

1773. Robbing God

Malachi 3:6-18

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... food in my house. The word for “food” (teref) is rare (Ps. 111:5; Prov. 31:15), but the idea is similar to that in Malachi 1:12, which calls sacrifices “food” (ʾokel). This concept is not common in the OT and it should not be understood as a claim that God needs sacrifices or offerings as nourishment (Ps. 50:9–13). The landless were fed by tithes paid in grain, wine, and oil (Deut. 14:23; Lev. 18:27; Neh. 10:37) and, according to Leviticus 27:32, from the flock and herd. They were to “eat and ...

1774. The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:1–2). But if John’s Gospel lays claim to the past in much the same way as Hebrews, its center of interest from the prologue on is almost entirely the present and future, not the past. Whatever their wider implications, the immediate function of the opening verses is simply to lay a basis for the ...

1775. The Arrest of Jesus

John 18:1-11, John 18:12-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... I am he (lit., “I am”; Gr. egō eimi) merely identify him as Jesus of Nazareth, the object of the group’s search. But they also correspond exactly to the formula by which Jesus revealed himself as God according to 8:24 and 28 (“I am the one I claim to be”), and especially 8:58 (“I am”; in each case, Gr.: egō eimi). Only by attributing equal significance to the I am he of the present passage can the reader explain the reaction of the crowd of soldiers and temple guards: They drew back and fell ...

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