Who’s to Blame

So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?  Joshua 7:10 NASB וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ קֻ֣ם לָ֑ךְ לָ֣מָּה זֶּ֔ה אַתָּ֖ה נֹפֵ֥ל עַל־פָּנֶֽיךָ Stand up! קֻ֣ם “Stand up”  1999           קוּם (qûm) rise, arise, stand[1] לָ֑ךְ “toward”  “from”  1063  לְ (lĕ) to, at, in, in reference to, of, by etc.[2] …

The Pursuit of Power (4) Rewind

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad.  Jeremiah 51:7  Robert Alter In the hand – Babylon was an instrument in the hand of YHVH for His purposes.  The text tells us quite clearly that…

The Pursuit of Power (2) Rewind

Her princes inside her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves . . .  Zephaniah 3:3  KJV Roaring lions/evening wolves – “The hunger of the powerful knows no satiety; the appetite grows on what it feeds.  Power exalts itself and is incapable of yielding to any transcendent judgment; . . . It is the…

The Pursuit of Power (1)

She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in YHWH; she did not draw near to her God.  Zephaniah 3:2  Robert Alter Did Not – We have been examining the end of the Empire of Rome, but the same patterns existed in biblical times.  Therefore, I believe…

Lord of the Flies

And I will make mere boys their leaders, and mischievous children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will assault the elder, and the contemptible person will assault the one honored.  Isaiah 3:4-5  NASB Youth/ contemptible – These two verses in Isaiah could have been the inspiration for…

The Fall

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:…

The Pursuit of Power (4)

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7  NASB In the hand– Babylon was an instrument in the hand of YHWH for His purposes.  The text tells us quite clearly that the power of…

The Pursuit of Power (2)

Her princes inside her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves. . .  Zephaniah 3:3  American KJV 1999 Roaring lions/evening wolves – “The hunger of the powerful knows no satiety; the appetite grows on what it feeds.  Power exalts itself and is incapable of yielding to any transcendent judgment; . . . It is…

The Pursuit of Power (1)

She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in YHWH; she did not draw near to her God.  Zephaniah 3:2  KJV3 Did Not – For the next four days I want to revisit the idea of power in the prophets. Zephaniah speaks out against the oppressing city.  His words are…

Folklore (Rewind)

But He answered and said to them,“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’”  Matthew 16:2  NASB 1995 Red– It’s worth reconsidering evaluations of leadership from some we consider exemplars.  It all begins with Yeshua’s reference to folklore wisdom. “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” Yes,…