You shall not take the name Yahweh your God in vain. Exodus20:7a World English Bible In vain – The second commandment is the reverence commandment. It demands that we treat God’s name with respect. As we discovered, that means we speak as men and women under His authority. Our words must reflect His character because words…
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24 NASB Cannot serve– It’s not possible to “opt out” in the Hebrew worldview. Choosing not to participate is still a choice. …
Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord God, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, For he is small?” The Lord changed His mind about…
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” Genesis 18:20-21 NIV See– God knows everything, right? God sees everything without error, right? Then why does God…
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. Psalm 5:1-2 NASB Heed– If you’re like me, your first reaction to a beggar on the street is to turn away. If you’re like me, the sight of a wounded person…
“The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against…
“And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.” Exodus 15:7 NASB Burning anger– God is mad! Watch out! That’s what Moses is talking about in this verse. The Hebrew verb is ḥārâ, “to burn (of anger).” The verb is always…
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46 NASB My God – Why does Yeshua cry out from the cross? Some time ago we discovered that his words are really the opening statement of a psalm of…
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. Proverbs 31:11 NASB Trusts – What does it mean to “trust” your wife? How will that turn out to be prosperous for the husband? In the past we examined the Hebrew word bāṭaḥ in the context of the ‘ezer kenegdo, God’s design for…
Indeed, I was born through iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 (David Lambert translation) Born– My goodness, what theological mileage has been fueled with this verse! Augustine told us that it confirmed the essential sinfulness of human beings. It is a standard proof-text for the doctrine of original sin. Others have tried to…
