saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2 ESV King– Christian teaching has conditioned us to believe that the Jews expected a personal redeemer/Messiah from the time of Moses. This is partly due to the interpretation of Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh…
And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. Psalm 39:7 NASB For what – Remember that Hebrew has no punctuation. No commas. No question marks. And “Lord” isn’t found in the middle of the sentence. So, is this, “For what do I wait?” or is it, “And now that I wait, Lord, my hope…
How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. Psalm 89:15 NASB Joyful sound– But of course, it isn’t just any joyful sound. This is the sound of tĕrûʿâ, the call of the Shofar to the assembly, the critical reminder of a community under Torah. Why does…
And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, “This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, ‘He is my brother.”’ Genesis 20:13 ESV Every place– God describes Abraham’s travels as a journey toward a destination. “Go forth . . …
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.” Genesis 6:13 NASB Violence– What does a rainbow guarantee? Does it guarantee that God will never again destroy all flesh? No, it…
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2 ESV Waters– How incredibly difficult it is for us to read these ancient texts from the perspective of the original audience. We constantly import theories…
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…
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…
