This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. Joshua 1:8 NASB Careful – Step…
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 NASB Evil good – The history of Mankind, as the rabbis note, is a nightmare. Empire after empire followed the path falsely attributed to Alexander Tytler:…
When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them away captive, Deuteronomy 21:10 NASB When – The most important word in this verse is not “battle” or “enemies.” It’s not the claim that God will fight on your side. It’s the opening conjunction, the…
Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have lifted me up and thrown me away. Psalm 102:10 NASB Because – Who’s fault is all this? Who’s to blame for the tragedy of human living? When Heschel remarks “history is a nightmare,” we know precisely what he means. Humanity has produced escalating moral entropy since…
“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11 NASB Who is like You – I’m sure you noticed that Moses’ question implies multiple gods. “Who is like You among the gods?” isn’t the way we would ask. We live in a “one God” universe. …
A perverse heart shall depart from me, I will know no evil. Psalm 101:4 NASB I will know – End of the Roman calendar year. Most people are making some sort of resolution. Usually these last but a short time and the ordinary routine returns. Most resolutions are statements of positive self-improvement. I have a…
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 Turning away – Finally, a participle. To this point Job’s character has been described with adjectives (as we would expect). Now we come to a participle, an action description of 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 Fearing God – We are familiar with the Hebrew verb yārēʾ. Used hundreds of times, this word has a wide umbrella of related meanings: biblical usages of yārēʾ are divided into…
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 NASB Knowing good and evil – Read the text again. What does the serpent claim will happen? Sometimes we think that the serpent offers eternal life (“You will be like God”), but that…
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3:9 NIV Right and wrong – The translators of the NIV completely ignore the Hebrew connection between Solomon and Adam. I suspect it is deliberate. The Hebrew text…
