The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets. Exodus 32:16 Graven – One of the reasons we read the sages is to discover the insights about God’s Word that come from centuries of exploration. Often we find something that we would have passed by…
You have said to YHWH, “You are my Lord, I have no goodness except in You.” Psalm 16:2 Said – The Hebrew verb amar is fairly common. It is used in all kinds of situations where the next phrase is a quotation. Since Hebrew has no punctuation, it’s a useful little verb, showing us…
All things are lawful to me, but not all things are profitable. 1 Corinthians 6:12 Lawful – How we long for the removal of all requirements over our lives! We want to be free! What we mean, of course, is that we want to do whatever we want to do whenever we feel like doing…
For the whole law is fulfilled in this one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14 One Word – What’s the matter with Paul’s arithmetic? This isn’t one word. It’s a whole bunch of words, an entire commandment. Why does Paul say that the whole law is fulfilled in this one word?…
For, brothers, you were called to freedom. Only do not use the freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love serve one another as slaves. Galatians 5:13 Gain – How did you attain freedom? That’s the question behind Paul’s argument in Galatians. Did you earn your freedom by spiritual effort or noble works or…
It was for freedom that Christ set us free: therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 Freedom – “I have a dream,” said Martin Luther King. When he spoke those words, he touched the heart of every man and woman who ever felt the yoke…
For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13 Freedom/Serve – Sometimes, the intimate connection between Hebrew thought and the New Testament documents just doesn’t show itself in Greek or in English. That’s unfortunate since it deprives…
