Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7 Robert Alter In the hand – Babylon was an instrument in the hand of YHVH for His purposes. The text tells us quite clearly that…
Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7 Robert Alter Mad – The elixir of the gods is power. It is the aphrodisiac of self-sovereignty. And it is deadly. Jeremiah proclaimed that the…
Her princes inside her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves . . . Zephaniah 3:3 KJV Roaring lions/evening wolves – “The hunger of the powerful knows no satiety; the appetite grows on what it feeds. Power exalts itself and is incapable of yielding to any transcendent judgment; . . . It is the…
She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in YHWH; she did not draw near to her God. Zephaniah 3:2 Robert Alter Did Not – We have been examining the end of the Empire of Rome, but the same patterns existed in biblical times. Therefore, I believe…
But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2 NASB Lord – It’s too bad that English translations replace the consonants YHVH with “LORD” especially in this verse. Why? Because Pharoah isn’t making a statement about…
Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household….
Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household….
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV Serve – The world is preoccupied with freedom these days. It is current political coinage. In the…
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, . .” Matthew 6:25 ESV Anxious – Heidegger calls anxiety the manifestation of “homelessness.” Anxiety is being afraid of things that are not real, things that might happen. When I am afraid of what might happen, I feel a kind of persistent, “things are not right”…
