Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. Exodus 1:21 NASB Midwives – Name one hundred important Biblical people. Better include some of these women since without them Israel would have expired in Egypt. But I’ll bet you can’t name them, or even one hundred that have names. I’ll bet that after you…
But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 2 Chronicles 11:2 NASB Shemaiah – The prophet’s role is to deliver a message from God. It is not his message. He is merely the messenger. But to be a messenger requires a certain kind of relationship with the One sending…
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 NASB You will be like God – Translated in this way, the serpent’s voice strikes us as the epitome of arrogance, hubris and folly. Of course we can’t…
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9 NASB Curse – Job’s wife has only a few words to say, but, according to David Penchansky, what she says summarizes the entire story of this suffering, righteous man. She speaks sarcastically, telling Job, “Curse God…
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. Psalm 86:5 NASB Ready to forgive – There’s a lot of action in this verse. It combines words like ṭôb (good), ḥesed (lovingkindness) and sālaḥ (forgive). We’ve looked at ṭôb and spent considerable time with ḥesed,…
Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalm 86:4 NASB Make glad – How do you interpret this request? If you’re encumbered by the typical Western paradigm, you might think the psalmist is asking God to gladden his inner, spiritual self. If you view man…
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to You I cry all day long. Psalm 86:3 NASB Be gracious – Some days it just feels like the world is conspiring against us. Some days we are overwhelmed with troubles. They might be the result of our own mistakes or they might seem to be the…
Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. Psalm 86:2 NASB Godly man – The ESV corrects some of the NASB translation by rendering nephesh as “life,” not “soul.” This prayer is about saving life, not about preserving a “soul” as some sort…
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me for I am afflicted and needy. Psalm 86:1 NASB Incline – English translators have a tough time with the Hebrew verb nāṭâ. “The 215 occurrences of this verb, excluding derivatives, are translated some thirty-five different ways in the KJV alone. The ASV and RSV add other renderings…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Scripture – Sometimes the truth overpowers paradigm assumptions. Sometimes men who stand theologically apart nevertheless see the same revelation. Jacques Ellul and Abraham Heschel both come to the same conclusion when they consider…
