Identity Documents

So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel.  Joshua 6:23  NASB Young men – Apparently the author of the book of Joshua can’t really make up…

“The Departed” – Rewind

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,  Ephesians 4:1-2  NASB 1995 Worthy – Jack Nicholson delivered a memorable line in the movie The Departed. …

The Usual

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.  2 Timothy 4:2  NASB The word – A Christian website sent me a story about instructing pastors.  The elder wrote: I thought about Paul’s instruction to the young preacher, Timothy, as he spoke in 2 Timothy 4:2 (NASB) “preach the word;…

The Nuclear Option

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; I will not endure one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart.  Psalm 101:5  NASB Destroy – This psalm makes an incredible claim.  God will totally eliminate those who slander others in secret.  It’s hard to miss the audacity of this statement.  The Hebrew verb, ṣāmat, used…

Mileage Maker

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” Romans 9:6-7 NASB Not all Israel – Daniel Boyarin’s study of the invention of heresy as a way to establish religious…

Number 8659

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.  John 21:25 NIV Would not have room – This is number 8659.  Eight thousand six hundred fifty-nine posts about biblical words.  That’s…

Double Double, Toil and Trouble

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; Genesis 2:16  NASB Freely eat – Hebrew has a funny way of expressing emphasis.  If the sentence calls for an exclamation point (which doesn’t exist in Hebrew), the phrase often doubles the important word.  So, in Hebrew it actually reads,…

Lost in Place

Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all.  Psalm 139:4  NASB You know it all – God knows everything, right?  Theologically, the idea is called omniscience.  This verse in Psalms supports the doctrine even if the actual Hebrew is only about words.  It’s clear that the Psalmist means God knows…

Inventing Difference

“But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;”  Acts 24:14 NASB Sect – Unless you read the Greek text you’d never know that the word Paul…

The Royal Rachel – Once More

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.  Genesis 29:9 NASB Shepherdess – Today is the birthday of my daughter, Rachel.  On this day of celebration, I want to look at her name and a verse that talks about her character.  It’s the story of Jacob’s…