Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; Genesis 44:27 NASB My wife– Sometimes we just read over critical details in the text because we know the stories so well. As a result, we don’t experience the emotional impact in the text. We end up with the Sunday school version—theologically…
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 Peter 3:1 NASB Sincere mind– How often have you heard someone say, “Well, at least he’s sincere.” Or maybe, “What he lacks in understanding he makes up for in sincerity.” In our common…
Reading, studying, meditating, exploring God’s words is something like this: Do you see my shoe on the way down? Want to follow me into the depths? The Hebrew idea of time. A journey into the interior. Might make you dizzy but it will be worth it. TRAVEL MOTEL I am presently in the bush in…
Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.Psalm 26:2 NASB Examine– I don’t have to tell you that life is complicated. If you think it isn’t, then you are probably less than twenty-five. I also don’t have to remind you that life is messy. We plan; God laughs. So say the sages. And…
For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?” Genesis 44:34 NASB See the evil– When you read the story of Joseph, there appears to be a detour in the plot. We recently investigated this detour, noting that…
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 NASB Man– He was never born. He had no mother, no father. He didn’t come from a family. He had no cultural DNA. He had no country, no ethnicity, no expectations. He knew no…
He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” Genesis 15:8 NASB How may I know– God comes to you. You didn’t ask Him to come. He just shows up. He asks you to do something; something pretty startling. “Leave this place, the place of your family and friends, of safety, culture and expectations. …
“Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” Jonah 3:9 NASB Who knows– This tiny phrase, uttered by the king of Nineveh, contains the full depth of the world’s desperation. mî yôdea—who knows? Zornberg summarizes the implications for humanity: “In a world where God hides His face,…
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Psalm 93:1 NASB Not be moved– If you have been a reader of this daily investigation project for awhile, then you know that I don’t shy away from controversy. You might even conclude that I…
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 119:176 NASB Do not forget– What does it mean to be lost? Our common assumptions probably arise from the evangelical interpretation of the state of the lost, that is, the condition of those who do not know God, have no…
