East of Eden

Only this, I have found, as a real good:  that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains he makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given him; for that is his portion.  Ecclesiastes 5:17 NJPS Real good – There are two views of what…

See No Evil

The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. Isaiah 45:7  NASB Calamity – If God is sovereign, then why is there evil?  How can a good God allow evil in the world? If you’ve never struggled with these questions, perhaps you haven’t read…

The Absence of Awe

and the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, . . . Genesis 3:6  ISR Saw – Are you able to see what’s good?  Can you look below the skin of something and see its true nature?  Maybe…

Blasphemy Against the Spirit

Woe to those who say to evil, good; and to good, evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 (KJV) Evil/Good – What characterizes the ethics of the world more than this?  “Evil is good, good is evil.”  At some level, most…

Biblical Antonyms

I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7 Peace – What is an antonym?  Answer: the opposite.  The antonym of black is white.  The antonym of fast is slow.  The antonym of leader is follower.  But when it comes…

Law And Order

So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7:12 Good – What is good?  Well, there’s the good news.  What’s good about that?  It’s the announcement that we can have peace with God.  That’s pretty good.  In the scheme of things, peace with God counts a lot. …

Worship The King

He has declared to you, O man, what is good. Micah 6:8 Declared – Context, context, context.  Far too often we lift a verse from its culture and history when we apply it to extraneous theological topics.  In this case, while it is certainly true that God does determine what is good, Micah is not…

The Meaning Of “Is”

Taste and see that the Lord is good, happy the man who shelters in Him. Psalm 34:9  (R. Altar translation) Is – Much to the dismay of all moral people, Bill Clinton traded personal ethics for sophistry on meaning of the word “is.”  Had he been a follower of the Hebrew God, he would have…

Duty Calls

He has declared to you, man, what is good; and what does YHWH require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 What Is Good – Pilate asked, “What is truth?”  He didn’t realize that he was asking the wrong question.  The question he…

Determining Good

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Proverbs 3:27 Deserve – This is simply an impossible verse! No one can do this. Can you imagine the consequences to your own life if you really did good to all based only on…