And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:4 NASB Separated– Great thinkers struggle with great problems. Not surprisingly, great thinkers often struggle with the same great problems because the really great problems have been the same for Man in all the ages. So when you read astute, insightful thoughts…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. Exodus 20:22 NASB Now What? (Simchat Torah) Seen that I have spoken– God speaks to the people at Sinai. They see the lightning and hear the thunder. They are afraid. According to rabbinic…
What to do while laying on your back for a few years.
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 ESV Created/Formed– Understanding the text of an ancient Near-Eastern Semitic document requires a particular kind of imaginative listening. It’s not just vocabulary definitions,…
Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30 ESV Must I do– How do you read this question? If you’re like most Western believers, you will read this as a personal need for salvation. You will identify with the trauma of the jailer, and think of this question as if you were…
“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12 NASB Burn up– Very few people in modern society have any sense of history. Yes, we know what happened yesterday, last week, last month. But…
Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” Genesis 21:6 NASB Laughter – Why does Peter list Sarah as a heroine of the faith (1 Peter 3:6)? With all that we have learned about her, it seems that Zornberg’s assessment, a life of “grim realism,” is more accurate than Peter’s praise. …
Crawling through creation under the surface.
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Genesis 23:2 NASB Weep– We have reached the end of our stories about Sarah. The only remaining mention of her is a short account of her death (she is the only woman in…
Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Genesis 21:3 NASB Abraham called– Perhaps the naming of Isaac is innocent. Perhaps it is simply a joyful reminder of that glorious day when God promised a child. But we should note that it is Abraham, not Sarah, who names…
