Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 19:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... in Ephesus was accompanied “by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit” (Rom. 15:19; cf. Acts 13:11; 14:3, 10; 16:18; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:4), only here the miracles may have been unusually frequent (note the imperfect, “was doing”) and appear to have been extraordinary in character (v. 11). It was God, of course, who was doing them; Paul was simply the agent (lit., “through the hands of Paul,” v. 11; see note on 5:12). But the ordinary people were not concerned with ...

2. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... should cause the attentive reader to recall Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 concerning what kinds of things will survive God’s scrutiny on the Day of final judgment. 13:11–12 To make his point concerning the passing away of imperfection (that is, the gifts) and the eternal nature of love, Paul offers a dramatic metaphor in regard to the putting aside of childish ways. Immaturity gives way to maturity, so that a childish concern with flamboyant gifts should run its course and end with ...

3. Festus Consults King Agrippa

Acts 25:13-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... and it is a question whether Festus meant it in that sense (see disc. on 17:22). The whole discussion had seemed to Festus to turn on the question of whether a dead man named Jesus had risen from the dead as Paul had claimed (v. 19). The imperfect tense suggests that Paul had made this claim repeatedly, but the verb itself (Gk. phaskein) reflects Festus’ own opinion that it had been made without any grounds. The proposition had seemed to him to be quite absurd, yet he had put his finger on the real point ...

4. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... members, that is, over the local Jewish communities. And by having those members punished who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, he had tried to force them to blaspheme (the name of Jesus) (cf. 13:45; 18:6). Again the tense of the Greek verb (imperfect) may indicate repeated attempts, but the real significance of the expression is that it leaves open the question whether he ever succeeded. In contrast to the abhorrence that he now felt for his own part in this, there is an undisguised note of admiration ...

5. “Some Trust in Chariots . . . , but We Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God”

Psalm 20:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... is the only reference to the king, except for the synonym “anointed [one]” in 20:6, but it is enough to place the psalm in a royal setting. Theological Insights The blessing of 20:1–5, though not called a blessing, is a string of Hebrew imperfects used in a modal sense (“May the Lord answer you”), expressing what the people hoped the Lord would do, perhaps even expressing the substance of their prayer. A blessing is the transfer of God’s favor from one person to another. In the Old Testament ...

6. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... also Hartley, Job, p. 250, for a discussion of other, non-commercial options. 15:32 The first half of the sentence is a bit difficult because of uncertainty regarding the verb translated paid in full (Heb. timmaleʾ). The form is a Niphal imperfect, feminine singular, while the subjects usually suggested (“his time” or “the wicked himself”) are masculine. This has led to a variety of emendations, most of which are not very persuasive. Perhaps a way forward is to take this verb as anticipating the ...

7. The God Who Blesses Israel’s Harvests and His International Praise

Psalm 67:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... harvest is not a consequence of the nations’ praise of God but a prerequisite to it. As argued above, these verses should also be read as requests: “may God, our God, bless us.” And the Hebrew grammar of verse 7 (the simple waw attached to the imperfect in a volitional sequence) underscores further the ultimate purpose of this blessing on “us”: “so that all the ends of the earth may fear him.” What draws the nations to fear (i.e., stand in awe, believe) God is not a military defeat or a legal ...

8. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... , 1987], pp. 246–53). 8:12 The word host does not fit here very well. It is missing in the LXX, which seems to represent an earlier form of the text than MT. Although wetsabaʾ, “host,” is normally masculine, it is paired here with an imperfect third-person singular feminine verb: tinnaten, “will be given” (NIV were given). There is possibly one other place where the noun tsabaʾ takes a feminine verb (Isa. 40:2), but the reading is contested. The fact that the other three verbs in Dan. 8:12 are ...

9. The Fellowship of the Believers

Acts 2:42-47

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... and wonders came about through the apostles.” 2:44–45 All the believers were together (v. 44; see disc. on v. 42). One result of this was their readiness to share their belongings with one another. They made this their practice. The verb is in the imperfect and could be rendered “they kept on having all things (in) common.” Spirituality for these Christians was inseparable from social responsibility (see Deut. 15:4f.; cf. Acts 6:1–6; 11:28; 20:33–35; 24:17; Luke 19:8). The whole thing appears to ...

10. The Believers Share Their Possessions

Acts 4:32-37

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... (not shown in NIV) between this and the following verse, namely, that the absence of need among the believers (v. 34) was evidence of the constraint of God’s grace upon them (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14). 4:34–35 The language of these verses, with the Greek imperfect being used throughout, makes it clear that the believers did not dispose of their property all at once. Rather, they sold it off bit by bit as needed. The statement of verse 35 takes us beyond that of 2:44 in a way that is entirely consistent with ...

11. The Choosing of the Seven

Acts 6:1-7

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... impression is given that the resolution of this matter brought renewed blessing—the word of God spread; that is, the apostolic preaching of Christ (see disc. on 5:20) was heard by more and more people, and consequently the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly. The imperfect tense of the verb in each of these statements emphasizes that this was an ongoing process (cf. 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1). Among those won to the new faith were many priests who had come up to the city to serve their turn in ...

12. In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14:8-20

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... already heard the missionaries on several occasions, but now he caught the apostle’s eye. Paul saw evidence of faith—‘the man’s heart shone in his face’—and he spoke the healing word (cf. 3:4, 6). Immediately the man jumped up (aorist tense) and began to walk (imperfect tense; v. 10; see disc. on 3:8). Luke comments that the man was lame from birth and had never walked (v. 8; cf. 3:2). 14:11–14 It was not something done in a corner. In fact, Paul seems to have shouted his command to the lame ...

13. In Athens

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... himself with a motley crowd in the agora. But it was not only with hoi polloi that he came into contact, but with some of the philosophers who also frequented that place, Epicureans and Stoics. He met with them more than once (so the Greek imperfect), but still they did not really grasp what he was saying. They heard him speak of Jesus and the resurrection, but to their ears it sounded as though he was advocating foreign gods (lit., “demons,” but in the neutral Greek sense). Apparently they misconstrued ...

14. Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13-38

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... and quicker route for Paul (about twenty miles) than had he gone with the others by ship. He may have taken this option in order to spend a little more time with the Christians of Troas. 20:14–16 As planned, Paul met the ship at Assos, though the imperfect tense raises the possibility that he sighted the ship while he was still on the way (“as he came to meet us,” v. 14), and was taken on board at once. At all events, from Assos they sailed to Mitylene (about thirty miles from Assos), the chief town ...

15. The Shipwreck

Acts 27:27-44

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... bay and in ancient times was higher than it is today. The shock of the impact as much as the pounding of the waves would have caused the stern to break up. Some texts, indeed, omit the reference to the waves and so give this sense to the verse. The imperfect tense could be rendered “began to break up.” 27:42–44 With the ship doomed, the soldiers were all for killing the prisoners lest any should escape and they be held to account (cf. 12:19; 16:27). But for Paul’s sake, the centurion kept them from ...

16. Wives and Husbands

Ephesians 5:22-33

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... Christ and the church. Consequently, he sees in the oneness of husband and wife a great revelation that, for him, applies to Christ and the church. “The husband’s position as head and his duty of sacrificial love and devoted care for his wife are but pictures, imperfect, but the best that this life can offer, of Christ as Head, and of His love, self-sacrifice and concern for His church. The dependence of the wife on her husband and her duty of submission are a picture of how the Church should live and ...

17. Submission to Rulers and Masters

1 Peter 2:13-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... :21); straying sheep, now returned to the Shepherd (2:25); elders bidden to tend the flock of God (5:2); and to be examples to the flock (5:3); chief Shepherd (5:4); watch out for roaring lion (5:8). You were … going astray (imperfect, indicating past habitual action) but now you have returned (aorist middle, lit. “have turned yourself to”) by a deliberate response at the time of conversion. The words recall Christ’s charge to Peter, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22 ...

18. Personal Injuries

Exodus 21:12-36

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... penalty, at the very least, to the child’s mother? (see Sarna, “Exodus,” p. 461). The LXX clarifies the more reliable original meaning of injury to the child: “If two men strive and smite a woman with child, and her child be born imperfectly formed, he shall be forced to pay a penalty” (v. 22a). Houtman, Exodus, III, pp. 160–71, discusses the extensive secondary literature (see also Sprinkle, “Interpretation,” pp. 233–53). 21:24 Jesus amended the application of “an eye for an eye” for ...

19. Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... is describing. This is then background to v. 16. 3:16 The verbs in the first two lines are qatal (“perfect”) and may plausibly be taken to describe the prophet’s reaction to the vision. The verbs in all of the final four lines are yiqtol (“imperfect”), and I thus take it that the creeping, trembling, and waiting patiently all characterize the prophet’s ongoing state. 3:18 Yet: lit., “then I—I in Yahweh intend to exult.” The pronoun is expressed as it does not need to be and comes at the ...

20. The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

Zechariah 8:1-23

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... to the practice of fasting in memory of the judgment on Jerusalem and will replace fast days with festivals. The context of the answer in Zechariah 7–8 implies that this transformation had not yet taken place in the fourth year of Darius. The verb is imperfect, with a future sense. Would it occur when the temple building was completed, or at some later time, when Jerusalem will be filled with God’s people living there unafraid and with peoples from the whole world who will come there in search of God ...

21. The Day of Atonement: Preparation

Leviticus 16:1-34

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... the three views unless and until new evidence from the ancient world comes to light supporting “Azazel” as a geographic term or as a term for a god/demon. Teaching the Text Leviticus 16:1–14 shows the imperfection of human priests in contrast with the holiness of God. 1. Human priests are imperfect. The central focus of Leviticus 16 is the ritual involving the two goats, but Aaron has much to do first. He must bathe (v. 4b) and put on simple linen clothing (v. 4a), symbolically humbling himself, and ...

22. “For Your Sake We Face Death . . . as Sheep to Be Slaughtered”

Psalm 44:1-26

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... The word translated “push back” occurs in poetic sections of the Bible (e.g., Deut. 33:17 [NIV: “gore”]) in reference to smiting Israel’s enemies.9The verb “trample” (bus) is used of trampling Israel’s enemies (e.g., Isa. 63:6). The verbs are Hebrew imperfect, suggesting a review of Israel’s past practices: “Through your name we would trample our enemies.” The imagery is that of an ox that gores its way forward as it also tramples those in its path. 44:6 I put no trust in my bow, my ...

23. Eliphaz

Job 4:1–5:27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of the misfortune fully reserved for the wicked. The implication for Job, therefore, is to (re)embrace this truth, to repent of what all humans share. In so doing, Job will end his temporary downturn of fortune, an effect rooted in his own human imperfection. The voice of the amorphous presence builds its case on a familiar rhetorical device: minor to major, or “how much more?” First, the voice’s rhetorical question is almost banal—a mortal more righteous, more pure than God?! On the heels of the ...

24. Second Meeting with Jerusalem Leadership

Galatians 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... leaders, James, Cephas, and John, who are also identified by the term “pillars” in verse 9. Verse 6 has a curious mixture of Greek tenses. Paul uses the imperfect in referring to the pillars (“whatever they were”). Then he utilizes the present tense (“makes no difference”) in referring to his reaction to them. It seems clear that the imperfect is referring to their reputation as being part of Jesus’s inner circle. Yet Paul is making the point that no group’s past performance is going to ...

25. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... symbols of mourning and death. 30:20–23 I cry out to you. Job’s lot is not the consequence of his failure to entreat God. The verb “cry out” is from a root (shwʿ) related to the noun yeshuʿah, “deliverance; salvation.” The verb is in the imperfect, indicating that Job’s pleas for deliverance are ongoing. And yet God continually fails to reply in the face of Job’s pleas: but you do not answer. I stand up, but you merely look at me. Job knows that God is aware of his plight and his pleas ...

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