Variety Is the Spice of Life

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  Romans 4:17 NIV As it is written – When Paul used the phrase, kathōs…

A Change in Direction

Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life.  Psalm 69:1 NASB 1995 Save – Seventeen years ago I wrote something about this verse.  I’d like to correct some of that.  Here’s the original with some corrections and comments (in red): Free Me, Jesus “and you shall call his name Jesus, for he…

Adding a Few (Rewind)

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”  How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? …

Prophecy and Prediction

On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the survivors of Israel.  Isaiah 4:2  NASB The survivors – Who are the survivors?  Who are the pĕlêṭât?  TWOT provides some linguistic analysis: the primary use of this noun is to refer to the remnant…

Paradigm Blindness

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father.”  Matthew 24:36  NIV No one knows – Theological paradigms are just as resistant to challenge as any other paradigm, perhaps even more so.  In the history of science we often find great thinkers making…

Seeing with Your Ears

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  Isaiah 1:1  NASB Vision – Today you’ll read this short analysis.  You will see it with your eyes.  But if I were to have a vision, you wouldn’t see it at all unless…

About Blank

They are all plain to the discerning and straightforward to those who find knowledge.  Proverbs 8:9  Robert Alter Plain – Wisdom cries in the streets: “My ways are all completely clear to those who seek.”  But when I think seriously about this claim, I feel like those times I’ve tried to open a web page…

Not My Problem (2) Rewind

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  Romans 3:23  NASB Fall short – Maybe we’re just not prepared to deal with the implications of homelessness.  Maybe we just haven’t seen enough.  But I’ve seen a lot.  And I’m tired.  The more I travel, the more I see men and women…