Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Proverbs 23:23 NASB Wisdom – A little etymological investigation shows us why “wisdom” is a subset of Truth: The main synonyms are bîn, bînâ, and tĕbûnâ. The verb bîn is used more widely to mean “consider,” “discern” “perceive,” but the nouns are close synonyms to ḥokmâ and are used especially in Prov and…
alike newborn babies, long for the 1bpure 2milk of the word, so that by it you may cgrow 3in respect to salvation, 1 Peter 2:2 NASB Grow – First, we need to know something about the verb Peter uses. “auxánō means ‘to bring to growth,’ ‘to promote,’ ‘to raise one’s position,’ or intransitive ‘to grow,’…
Who is like You among the gods, Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?Exodus 15:11 NASB Awesome – While Walter Otto provides us with an insight into to paradigm of the religious pagan, it is Abraham Heschel who establishes the experiential foundation of our faith, not as a systematic articulation of the…
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 NIV Teach us – “To live without prayer is to live without God, to live without a soul.”[1] When I first read Heschel’s words some…
In the beginning God created (various translations) God – I have often remarked that there is no Jewish systematic theology, but the importance of that fact is perhaps lost on an audience of Western thinkers. Most likely the subliminal explanation is simply that the ancient Hebrews were not intellectually or morally equipped to construct a…
And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts 11:25-26 NASB Christians – This confirms the beginning of the “church,” according to Christian history. Of course, there…
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5 NASB With what you have – Even the Greeks knew better. An early macarism (“beatitude” – see The Lucky Life) reads, “Blessed is…
“It may be difficult to convey to others what we think, but it is not difficult to convey to others what we live.” Abraham Heschel, Man’s Search for God, p. 86. Pause – Today is “pause day.” That’s the day we gather our thoughts about all those things we haven’t resolved. Maybe we include some…
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” Exodus 20:4 NASB Likeness – What is an idol? You could ask Indiana Jones, I suppose. But you’ll probably learn more if you ask Abraham Heschel….
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: Proverbs 1:1 NASB Proverbs – The Hebrew word translated “proverbs” is mishle, plural of māšāl. What is a mashal? “To translate māšāl simply as ‘proverb’ misses the wide sweep of the word, suggested by the many suggested translations. We are accustomed to think of…
