So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12 NASB Work out – I distinctly remember the conversation. We were discussing the various philosophical ideas about the nature of time. I pressed the other person to reconsider how…
You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 NASB Not to incur sin – How can you rebuke someone but not sin doing so? If “rebuke” means “to judge, prove, reprove, and correct,” then what approach should…
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [p]suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 NASB Not good – God’s words, lōʾ ṭôb, are an amazing assessment of the human condition. According to the first chapter of Genesis, everything was good. In fact, more than good. Very good. Blessed. Exactly as intended. But less than 17 verses later, after…
And it happened after the LORD has spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath has flared against you and your two companions because you have not spoken rightly of Me as did My servant Job. Job 42:7 Robert Alter Rightly – The end of the story is…
By the breath of God they perish, and by the [e]blast of His anger they come to an end. Job 4:9 NASB They come to an end – Does God destroy the wicked? The Hebrew term, kālâ, used in this context means “to consume, finish, end.” Eliphaz’ conclusion is that God will not, and does not, tolerate the…
You have granted me life and goodness; and Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:12 NASB Goodness – As we discovered the last time we examined this verse, the translation “goodness” just misses the point. God doesn’t grant us goodness, at least not in this verse. What He grants is ḥesed—relationship, reciprocity, transitivity, and action. …
I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NASB Apart from me – On the surface, Yeshua’s claim seems patently false. Just look around. Men have accomplished amazing things apparently without any…
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 NASB To them – This is the first time…
My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest. Psalm 22:2 NASB Cry out – Anthony Bloom’s comment is frightening: “ . . . it is very important to remember that prayer is an encounter and a relationship, a relationship which is deep, and this…
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes 1:18 NIV Grief – Stay stupid! Is that the solution to the problem? If Qohelet is right, wisdom and knowledge are the last things we would seek. They only bring sorrow and grief. Despite our disclaimers to the contrary, I’m pretty…
