“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.” Job 14:1 NASB Man – I still have places to go. Katmandu, Nepal Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan Skógafoss, Iceland Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan Cao Bang Ban Gioc Waterfall, Vietnam Caño Cristales, Columbia Raja Ampat, Indonesia Dongchuan, China Marble Caves, Chico, Chile…
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden . . . Genesis 3:8a Robert Alter Walking – Sometimes our English translations cripple Hebrew intention. Verses become pedestrian instead of surprising. We read them as if they had nothing more to say than our simple-minded interpretation. We reduce the biblical…
My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness. Psalm 38:5 NASB Wounds/ foolishness – Umbrellas. That’s how you must think when it comes to Hebrew vocabulary. Big umbrellas. Lots of space underneath. Lots of places for words to shift and change and rearrange. And all that moving around means we might find something important in the…
For my guilty deeds have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. Psalm 38:4 NASB Heavy burden – Let’s start here CLICK. In my last year at the University of Washington, before an exam I would go to the sound studio and play Abbey Road—loud! I wouldn’t think about…
For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me. There is no healthy part in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. Psalm 38:2-3 NASB Your indignation – Look who’s responsible! If God runs the universe, then He must be the one behind…
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV Sting – Abraham Heschel once described Christianity as a religion of death. …
Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, and do not punish me in Your burning anger. Psalm 38:1 NASB Punish – Have you ever prayed a prayer like this? Have you reached the point, long after the Lord has redeemed you, long after you recognize your sinful condition and your desperate need for grace, where…
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105 NIV Light – How about some reflective history. Let me, please, make a comment about what it’s like to write these (now) 8000+ word studies. “Today’s Word” is not your standard approach to Scripture. Yes, the theology is conservative and…
The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB Acts of mercy – This is one of those cases where we must see the Hebrew in order to understand the impact of the verse. “Acts of mercy” just doesn’t cut it. We…
and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24 NASB Put on the new self – Paul is an orthodox Jewish thinker. Among other things, that means his theology is rooted in the Tanakh, interpreted by the rabbinic traditions. When he writes, even…
