“Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” Jonah 3:9 NIV His fierce anger – “A better god has been discovered who never takes offense, is never angry, never inflicts punishment.”[1] If Tertullian is right, then the king of Nineveh is grossly mistaken. Too bad he made…
“Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” Jonah 3:9 NIV Who knows? – The king of Nineveh asked one of humanity’s most important questions. Does God change His mind? When the king of Nineveh asked this question, it was possible to imagine an empirical answer. Yes,…
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. Romans 7:14-15 NASB Hate – Step back and think about this verse. Is it really possible…
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. Romans 7:14-15 NASB Bondage – What if we read Paul’s letter to the Romans not as…
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NASB In the beginning – Recently we examined Heschel’s claim that this verse is not a proto-scientific statement of causality. It doesn’t tell us anything about how the world came into existence. Rather, it is a statement that God is alive, that He is sovereign,…
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 63:3 NASB Better than – kî ṭôb pens the Psalmist. “Better than.” Better than what? mē ḥayyîm, he replies. ḥesed is kî ṭôb mē ḥayyîm. ḥesed is better than life! That is a powerful claim! Do we really think that ḥesed is better…
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14 NASB I AM – Is this the biblical definition of God? Does He reveal His true essence in this conundrum of consonant/vowels? When you read…
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12b NIV Gentle whisper – You know the story. Elijah calls down fire from heaven. He proves YHVH is the only God. He slaughters Jezebel’s four hundred false prophets. Victory is his. Then a single, wicked woman sends him a threat and Elijah, “ran for his…
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NASB In the beginning – Abraham Heschel’s two volume work, The Prophets, is undoubtedly one of the most important theological texts you can read. It’s not simply an analysis of the message of the prophets like you would find in commentaries. It is a tour…
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10 NASB According to – Is God just? Frankly, I hope not. Justice means the application of the law without bias. It is personified in the famous blind lady holding the balance scales. If God blindly measures me…
