Unbelievable

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 KJV Faith – We don’t have to revisit the modern dilution of this text. That’s already been done. But just a reminder. When the NASB and the NIV and others choose to render this verse something like, “Now…

Do Unto Others

“Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;” Numbers 12:7 NASB Is faithful – We aren’t surprised to find that this is the Hebrew verb ‘aman. Its derivatives, ‘emunah and ‘emet are found all over the Tanakh. Faithfulness and truth are inextricably linked in Hebrew thought. The TWOT points out that…

Hebrew Accounting

Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully.  2 Kings 12:15  NASB Dealt faithfully – Perhaps you’ve noticed some very odd things about the Hebrew community of Torah; things that seem unimaginable in our…

Visible Belief

And Yeshua seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”  Mark 2:5  (Tim Hegg translation) Seeing – “The very fact that Yeshua is described as ‘seeing their faith’ is indicative of how the Apostles defined faith.  Faith simply could not exist as a hidden thought in the heart.  Believing and…

Paul’s Summation (4)

“Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”  Habakkuk 2:4  ESV Faith – Finally we come to the most crucial term – faith.  Once again we must turn to the Hebrew background.  The Hebrew stem is ‘aman.  It means, “to confirm, support, uphold,…

Rebels’ Reward

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Numbers 20:12 NASB Not believed Me – It seems like such a trifling…

God Repeats Himself

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7 Testimony – The Hebrew word ‘eduth means “testimony, precept or warning.”  It comes from a word that means “witness,” that is, someone who gives evidence.  And that word comes from a primitive…

Read Carefully

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Righteous – What do you think about this verse?  Does it say that everyone is unrighteous?  Does it claim that everyone is fallen?  Go back and take a careful look.  Doesn’t it suggest that there is no righteous…

Meritorious Behavior

It will be therefore to our merit before YHWH Eloheinu to observe faithfully this whole instruction, as He has commanded us. Deuteronomy 6:24 (JPS translation with name corrections) Merit – After the Reformation, verses like this one are difficult to integrate.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that Christianity created the chasm between the “old”…

Checklist

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. Jonah 3:5 Believed In – Do you believe in God?  More than eighty percent of Americans answer “Yes.”  Do you suppose they believe in God in the same way that…