Yet Pharaoh’s heart was [d]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 7:13 NASB Was hardened – This verse begins a story that has bothered believers for centuries. If God hardens Pharoah’s heart, then how can Pharoah be held accountable for refusing to let the Israelites leave Egypt? Didn’t God make…
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. Deuteronomy 6:6 NASB Heart – What is an acronym? Technically, “an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.” You’ll know a few of these from their current usage in modern English. For example, LOL, ASAP, ZIP, and PIN. But did you know that there are…
and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:23-24 NASB In the spirit of your minds – What comes first—the chicken or the egg? What comes first—a change in thinking or a change…
What does your heart teach you and what do your eyes hint? Job 15:12 Chabad Heart teach – If you read this from the perspective of modern religion, you’d conclude that Eliphaz is telling us to look deeply into our “hearts” and follow the intuitions we find there. Ah, but nothing could be further from…
Let me praise God’s name in song, and let me extol Him in thanksgiving. And let it be better to the LORD than oxen, than a horned bull with it hooves. Psalm 69:31-32 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Than oxen – There’s no problem with the translation here, or in most English Bibles. The Hebrew is…
One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. Psalm 15:2 NASB In his heart – “Speaks truth in his heart.” What is that? Unvoiced agreement? Inner affirmation? What good is it in the public arena to speak the truth in the heart? If you don’t say a word, who would know? What…
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ Leviticus 17:11 NASB Life/ souls/ life – “Life is in the blood.” How many times have we heard this…
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word of our God – Yesterday we discovered the awful truth that there was no such thing as “the Bible” until the Christian Church, and particularly the Protestant Christian Church, created a sacred book. In the first century,…
You will arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come. Psalm 102:13 NASB Be gracious – “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;’” (Exodus 34:6). What’s number 2 in God’s self-disclosure? The first…
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 NASB More deceitful– Just how sick are you? Pretty sick, if you read this verse from Jeremiah as it is typically understood in Christian theology. Many theologians teach that there’s a fatal flaw in human beings. We all have a bad heart,…
