Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Ba’al, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, “We are delivered!” – only to go on doing all these abominations? Jeremiah 7:9-10 We…
“And she will bear a son; and you shall call his name Yeshua, for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 From – “Jesus Saves!” I remember that billboard on the side of Interstate 5 between Olympia and Centralia. It was there for years. Ten foot letters in black on a white…
“You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because the deliverance is of the Yehudim.” John 4:22 (Institute for Scripture Research translation) Of The Yehudim – Something is happening. It’s not making the cover of news magazines or even religious journals. But it looks like a movement at the “wild flowers…
Recent discussion about the issue of salvation and the place of Torah in the first century church prompted me to ask Bob if he would comment. As a Jewish rabbi and believer in the Messiah, I thought the rest of us would like to hear what he has to say about this difficult passage in…
YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly! Psalm 21:2 (Hebrew text, my translation) Strength / Deliverance – It’s Oz, but there’s no wizard. It’s deliverance but there’s no background music. Of course, you have to be “old” to understand these allusions. I won’t apologize for that. Age…
But I in Your kindness do trust, my heart exults in Your rescue. Psalm 13:6 (Hebrew text translation by Robert Alter) Rescue – If you read this verse in most English translations, you might see the word “salvation” here instead of “rescue.” Don’t worry; the Hebrew word can be translated both ways. What’s important, however,…
And He said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, from now on you will see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:51 On – Jesus knew Jacob. He also knew that the preposition “on” in Hebrew can mean “because of.” That’s something…
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15 Childhood – The next verse is the famous one. “All Scripture is inspired by God.” Of course, lifted from the context, the statement…
Rise Lord! Rescue me, my God Psalm 3:8 (translation: Robert Alter) Rescue Me – “ho.shi e.ni.” Say it again, out loud! This one is worth remembering. The Hebrew root is yasha, “to bring help to those in trouble.” The pronoun “me” is attached directly to the verb. That’s what I want – direct connection to…
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 salvation with fear and trembling Philippians 2:12 Work Out – Paul is never very far from the Hebrew Scriptures. So, when he talks about working out our salvation, he…
