Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2426 to 2450 of 2962 results

Proverbs 1:20-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of Lady Wisdom (Hebrew hokmah is a feminine noun) have been much discussed, this figure is best understood as both a poetic personification of a divine attribute and a foil, or conceptual antithesis, to the promiscuous or foolish woman. The designation for Lady Wisdom is literally “wisdoms,” possibly an intensive plural, implying that she embodies the fullness of wisdom qualities (similar to the plural form elohim for God and the plural behemot—literally “beasts”—for Behemoth [Job 40:15]). The ...

2427. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28, Proverbs 25:1-28, Proverbs 27:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 6). Two general proverbs follow. Verse 7 may simply illustrate how circumstances dictate tastes (although both are distorted); however, in context, the sweet-tasting, bitter food may refer to the “wounds from a friend” (27:6). The Hebrew verb nadad (27:8) designates one forced to flee (NIV) from home like a bird (rather than one unfaithfully straying, as in NIV 1984) and thereby being deprived of the sweet counsel of a close companion (NIV “pleasantness,” 27:9). Whereas verse 8 pities the one forced ...

2428. Agur’s Message: Relying on God’s Word, Learning from His Work

Proverbs 30:1-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... oracle,” a term otherwise applied to prophetic utterances (30:1; 31:1; cf. the opening verses of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Malachi), perhaps thereby claiming divine origin and authority (so the NIV’s “an inspired utterance”). Less likely, the Hebrew word massa could designate a region in the Arabian Peninsula named after one of Ishmael’s descendants (i.e., Massa; cf. Gen. 25:13–14; 1 Chron. 1:29–30; see NIV 1984 note), making the authors non-Israelite. 30:1–33 · In the Greek Septuagint, Proverbs ...

2429. Everything is Ephemeral

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... live in such a world? The phrase “under the sun” is used exclusively in Ecclesiastes (twenty-nine times, with the variant expressions “see the sun” [6:5; 7:11; 11:7] and “under the heavens” [1:13; 2:3; 3:1]). It designates the earthly realm of existence and activity as humans experience and view it apart from divine revelation regarding the final judgment and the eternal dimension. Qoheleth largely restricts himself to the former perspective throughout the book, while not denying thereby that ...

2430. Time and Eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is a proper time for action to seek or for making an appropriate response). This is followed by seven (symbolizing completeness) couplets of paired actions (i.e., 7 × 2 × 2 = 28). The fourteen pairs of terms employ merism, a figure of speech that designates a sphere by means of polar opposites (e.g., Gen. 1:1 “the heavens and the earth” = the cosmos; Ps. 1:2 “day and night” = continually). Although some interpreters claim that the author has made no attempt to order the activities progressively or ...

2431. Warnings against Wrong Attitudes Toward God and Government

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as retorting, “What do you expect, when every bureaucrat is protecting another?” The Hebrew word used here for “district” is taken by some as a certain indicator of the book’s late date of composition, since in Nehemiah and Esther the same term frequently designates the Persian satraps. But the term also occurs in 1 Kings 20:14, 15, 17, and 19, referring to provincial commanders in the time of Elijah. The wording of verse 9 is even more ambiguous. The fact that it begins with the key Hebrew word ...

2432. One Should Embrace Wisdom and Avoid Folly

Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... First, success in various human activities, such as victory, wealth, or social favor, is not guaranteed either by physical skill, such as speed and strength, or by mental prowess (using three wisdom terms). This is because “time and chance,” a hendiadys designating unexpected events, can happen to anyone (9:11). Since even death (i.e., “his time”) can approach without warning, catastrophe can strike as suddenly as a fishnet or a bird trap captures its unsuspecting prey (9:12). Second, wisdom can be ...

2433. Be Bold

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... such natural phenomena, we must act. The NIV distinguishes two examples in verse 5: the path of the wind (as in 11:4a; cf. John 3:8) and the formation of a fetus in a pregnant woman. But it is preferable to see here a wordplay with Hebrew ruah designating wind in verse 4 and spirit in verse 5. The use of this word in Ecclesiastes 8:8 is similarly ambiguous, perhaps intentionally. Thus, only one example is noted: how the life-breath (as in Eccles. 3:21; 12:7) enters a fetus. This and more fall under the ...

2434. If Only You Were To Me A Brother

Song of Songs 8:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ’s brothers recall her growth and development from their “little sister” into a mature woman ready for a life of her own (8:8–9). The earlier anger of the brothers (1:6) was likely their jealous protection of their sister’s chastity against the designs of overzealous suitors in an attempt to prevent premature love before the proper time for her marriage. The phrase “on the day she is spoken for” (8:8) implies this was the purpose of the lovers’ return to her home village—the granting of ...

2435. The Branch of the Lord

Isaiah 4:2-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... branch of a tree but a new shoot out of the ground; it refers to the survivors of the day of judgment. “Branch” may also signify the Messiah of David, as in Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15 and Zechariah 3:8; 6:12, but the more general designation of messianic “people” fits the context best. The “fruit of the land” (4:2) describes the blessedness of the land, as the people are restored to God’s blessings. The messianic era is characterized here as an era of restoration. The remnant, the people of God, has ...

2436. Proclamation of Restoration

Isaiah 48:1-11, Isaiah 48:12-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the first,” the prophet signifies the God who has been involved in the work of creation and with his people in exile. By “the last,” Isaiah signifies the new era, which is to be introduced at the fall of Babylon and the decree of Cyrus, also designated the era of “new things” (48:6). Yahweh himself directs the history of redemption from beginning to end. He has not spoken or dealt secretly but rather has made it clear that he has planned everything that comes to pass, including the mission of the ...

2437. Restoration of Israel

Isaiah 49:1-7, Isaiah 49:8-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... reward the servant with success. The tribes of Jacob will be restored as a part of God’s mission, that they might be a “light” to the nations. Who is the “servant”? According to 41:8–9; 44:2; and 49:3, “servant” is a prophetic designation for the restored people of God, Israel. Yet, according to 49:1–6, the servant has a mission to the nation and to the Gentiles. These words are applicable to the restored community of Jews in Judea and the Diaspora, but in a greater sense they apply ...

2438. Terror on Every Side

Jeremiah 20:1-6, Jeremiah 20:7-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... cries out as an innocent sufferer. To shout violence is the equivalent of the modern “Emergency!” Jeremiah’s personal frustration in dealing with an irresistible urge to speak is compounded by external opposition. “Friends” (20:10) is a tongue-in-cheek designation. His “support system” has collapsed. They mock him with the slogan of his own message, “Terror on every side.” The statement of confidence about God as warrior (20:11) harks back to Jeremiah’s call (1:8, 19). God’s vengeance ...

2439. Divine Anger

Jeremiah 24:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God can plan calamity or good. The words “build,” “plant,” “tear down,” and “uproot” (24:6) were important in Jeremiah’s call (1:10). The covenant formula—“They will be my people, and I will be their God”—captures God’s design for bondedness. Here spiritual restoration follows physical return to the land; elsewhere, spiritual restoration seems to precede the homecoming (cf. Jer. 31:18–22). The survivors in the homeland feel that God’s future with his people will be with them ...

2440. The Cup of God's Wrath

Jeremiah 25:15-38

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... nations mentioned. The roster of nations—nations from every point on the compass—begins with Egypt in the south and ends with Babylon to the east. These two were the superpowers of that century. “Foreign people” in Egypt and in Arabia (25:20, 24) designate smaller, usually adjacent kingdoms and allies. Uz bordered the desert east of Jordan. The Philistine city-states lay between Judah and the Mediterranean. Edom was to the south of Judah; Moab and Ammon were to the east. Tyre and Sidon were in the ...

2441. Restoration of Isarel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... by them about Israel’s destroyed cities. Laments, in one sense, stir God to action. The hope-filled future of 29:11 is now elaborated as Jeremiah describes the return of the prodigal (31:15–22). “Ephraim” (31:18) here designates the ten northern tribes. The pun on “turn,” translated “restore,” “return,” “stray,” intermingles turning to (or away from) God and (re)turning to the land. Israel’s repentance is like that earlier prescribed. “Beating the breast” (literally “thighs ...

2442. The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s third act is to prepare various foods and make them into bread for himself (4:9–17). It is something that Ezekiel does while the siege is being enacted. The prophet’s food is to consist of wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. This is not designed to help Ezekiel put on weight. His daily intake of food is to be twenty shekels (eight or nine ounces). His only beverage is water, and of this he is to drink only one-sixth of a hin (two or three pints). This frugal diet symbolizes the minimal ...

2443. A Foundling Turned Harlot

Ezekiel 16:1-63

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) to a bloody death. The punishment will be twofold. First, she will be stripped naked before her lovers (16:37), ironic in light of the fact that when she was much younger, the Lord found her naked and then covered her nakedness (16:6–7). Stripping designates public exposure and degradation. Second, God will deliver her to her paramours (16:37–41), who will stone her and finally burn her. Foreign nations will ravage Jerusalem. As in the book of Judges, God’s form of punishment on his own is to remove ...

2444. A Lament for Pharaoh

Ezekiel 32:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and Tubal (32:26–27—Asia Minor). The dishonorable burial these powers suffered will be Egypt’s experience too. Two last groups are mentioned (32:30): princes of the north and the Sidonians. “Princes of the north” is probably a catchall term designating other nations to the north not previously spoken about in the chapter. The “Sidonians” are the Phoenicians. The Pharaoh will be somewhat consoled when he discovers that he is not the lone occupant of Sheol (32:31). Misery indeed loves company ...

2445. 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 ...

2446. Resurrection and Reunification

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 1 the word refers to the Spirit of the Lord, which transports and inspires Ezekiel. In verses 5–6 and 8–10 ruah is rendered (in the NIV) as “breath,” that is, the life-giving breath from the Lord. In verse 9 the plural of ruah occurs, designating the four “winds” of heaven. Finally, in verse 14 ruah refers to God’s Spirit as the life-giving Spirit. Although the metaphor is used for the first time, this is not the first place Ezekiel has spoken of the restoration of God’s people to their ...

2447. The Temple Area

Ezekiel 40:1-47

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... his exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month; this is fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem. This is the latest date in the book except for 29:17–21. The year mentioned in verse 1 is 573 BC. The month designated as “the beginning of the year” could be either Nisan (spring) or Tishri (fall). The “tenth” day of each month is significant. The tenth of Nisan begins Passover observance (Exod. 12:3). The tenth of Tishri is the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29), and it inaugurates ...

2448. God’s Glory Returns

Ezekiel 43:1-12, Ezekiel 43:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... restored to the place of worship, religious apostasy becomes unlikely. Idolatry will be a thing of the past. That Ezekiel is to make known to the people all the data about this new temple suggests that he is another Moses (43:10–11). God is the designer; Moses and Ezekiel are the transmitters of data. The return of God’s presence and God’s directive to Ezekiel are followed by information about the altar in the temple (43:13–27). Note the parallel here. The temple, although now finished, is not ready ...

2449. Division of the Land

Ezekiel 45:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is a portion for the Levites that is twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide. Distinction is made here between the priests, who minister in the sanctuary (45:4), and the Levites, who serve in the temple (45:5). Third is an area designated as city land (45:6). Fourth is a reserve for the prince (future king) on the east and west sides of the sacred district and the city (45:7–8). While Ezekiel is talking about the contribution and apportionment of land for the prince, he addresses ...

2450. Division of the Land

Ezekiel 48:1-29, Ezekiel 48:30-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 48:8–22). It is a strip of land twenty-five thousand cubits long and wide and is divided into three east-west strips. The northernmost strip is for the priests (48:9–12); the middle strip is for the Levites (48:13–14). Both strips are designated holy. The lowest strip contains a centrally located city surrounded by land for grazing and flanked by farmland. Land outside of this square is crown land. The last topic covered in the chapter is the reference to the four sides of the city, each of which has ...

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