I, Wisdom, dwell in shrewdness, and cunning knowledge I find. Fear of the LORD is hating evil. Proverbs 8:12-13a Robert Alter Hating evil – Doing good isn’t quite enough. It matters, of course. Micah makes that clear: “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and…
A perverse heart shall depart from me, I will know no evil. Psalm 101:4 NASB I will know – End of the Roman calendar year. Most people are making some sort of resolution. Usually these last but a short time and the ordinary routine returns. Most resolutions are statements of positive self-improvement. I have a…
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 – By now you are aware that this verse has been radically changed in order to be consistent with Greek philosophical Christian doctrine. The original verse does not use the word “calamity.” It uses the word ‘ra,…
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NASB Know – Why don’t we dig a little deeper here? Let’s take a bit longer today to examine most of this verse. It starts…
“but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:17 NASB Tree of the knowledge of good and evil – What exactly is this “tree” in the Garden? Maimonides makes it clear that it cannot…
A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil. Psalm 101:4 NASB I will know – End of the Roman calendar year. Most people are making some sort of resolution. Usually these last but a short time and the ordinary routine returns. Most resolutions are statements of positive self-improvement. I have a few. …
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, Isaiah 1:16 ESV Cease – If removing evil was the same as not doing it anymore, then it would not be necessary to have two verbs connected to this idea. But there are two verbs here. …
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…
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…
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…
