They have surrounded me like water all day long; they have encircled me altogether. Psalm 88:17 NASB They – Suddenly, a change. Through seventeen verses the psalmist has decried God’s absence. His lament holds God responsible for the sorry state of his life, for the nearly impossible burden he must carry, for the approach of death. But now,…
The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds and multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and moaning. Lamentations 2:5 NASB Like an enemy – We live in the “God is Love” age. I’m not sure when we transitioned from “Sinners in the…
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Job 1:1 NASB Job – Do you know anyone named Job? Ah, I didn’t think so (if you do, you might ask him how he feels about his name). This is a name we…
Make friends quickly with your opponent at law. . Matthew 5:25 NASB Make Friends– God reminds me that I need considerable improvement in the area of interpersonal conflict. It’s not that I am an angry, hostile man. Most people find me congenial, friendly, and helpful. That’s how I like to think of myself. But God lets me…
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? Psalm 139:7 NASB Flee– “Basically bāraḥ means to go or pass through, and to flee or hurry. It occurs mostly in narratives, referring to flight from an enemy.”[1] But how can this be true in this psalm? Is God the enemy? Do we…
If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. Exodus 23:4 NASB Return – The instructions that accompany citizenship in the Kingdom of YHVH are fundamentally different than our view of political affiliation. In systems based on Western thought, individual rights and privileges are at the…
you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever Obadiah 10 NASB Shame – The Hebrew word bushah is used only four times in the Old Testament. It describes King David’s personal shame and distress and it describes the shame associated with the destruction under God’s judgment. In Obadiah, the nation…
For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10 NASB Enemies – No one could ever have imagined such a statement. Today those who are followers of the Christ don’t give this verse…
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. Proverbs 25:21-22 Will reward – Does this translation make sense to you? Is God promising to give you a reward…
“And a second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:39 NASB Love – We all know that this Greek word is agapao. Agape love is the standard of Christian concern. We also recognize that it is self-sacrificing love, based not on what I might receive from another but solely on…
