The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem Ecclesiastes 1:1 JPS Words – I love the line from the movie The International where the old Communist officer, now a sage, says, “There is a difference between truth and fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” I don’t know who wrote that line for the…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Inspired– Why do we bother to investigate the historical and cultural settings of the biblical authors and audiences? If God is able to speak to each of us through the Spirit, does any of this…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. Exodus 20:22 NASB Now What? (Simchat Torah) Seen that I have spoken– God speaks to the people at Sinai. They see the lightning and hear the thunder. They are afraid. According to rabbinic…
“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Mark 7:8 NASB Tradition of men– What are we to do with tradition? Actually, the question is a bit more complicated when we realize that the Greek word is parádosis, meaning “what is transmitted.” In other words, Yeshua is criticizing the behaviors of…
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23 NASB Fall short – Maybe we’re just not prepared to deal with the implications. Maybe we just haven’t seen enough. But I’ve seen a lot. And I’m tired. The more I travel, the more I see men and women interpreting their…
It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ Genesis 31:29 NASB Power – In his book, The Exodus You Almost Passed Over, David Fohrman points out that this verse employs the…
He established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters were standing above the mountains. Psalm 104:5-6 NASB Above – Here is a visual representation of the cosmology of Genesis: It’s nothing like even the simplest grade…
Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. Psalm 104:2 NASB Tent Curtain – Read this verse without your current Einstein cosmic concepts. Read it without the Hubble telescope, the textbooks on astrophysics or even without those glow-in-the-dark stars you attached to your youngest child’s bedroom ceiling. Read…
. . . the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, . . . Deuteronomy 13:5 NASB Brought you from – YHVH’s redemptive work in the exodus from Egypt is a constant reminder to the people. Again and again the text identifies YHVH…
If a lion could talk, we could not understand him. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations Understand – You won’t find this sentence in the Bible, so don’t bother to look. But you will find the idea behind Wittgenstein’s insight.[1] The idea is that the meaning of words cannot be fully explained with other words. What is…
