Yet Pharaoh’s heart was [d]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 7:13 NASB Was hardened – This verse begins a story that has bothered believers for centuries. If God hardens Pharoah’s heart, then how can Pharoah be held accountable for refusing to let the Israelites leave Egypt? Didn’t God make…
“ . . . and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NASB Set you free – What does it mean “to be set free”? The Greek verb, eleutheróō, finds its roots in the idea of slavery. In the Greek world, freedom was both a physical and a political ideal. …
You are to keep My statutes. You shall not cross-breed two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together. Leviticus 19:19 NASB You shall not wear a material of wool and linen combined together. Deuteronomy 22:11 NASB Two…
Abandoned among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You no longer remember, and they are cut off from Your hand. Psalm 88:5 NASB Abandoned – What an interesting choice of words! Sometimes translated “forsaken,” the Hebrew root is the verb ḥāpaš. Here it is ḥopšî, an adjective. What’s interesting is the basic…
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NASB Free – Consider the strangeness of this statement. Oh, you might have heard it so often that it doesn’t seem strange to you anymore, but pause just long enough to notice the verb eleutheróō. It means “to set free.” The apostle…
For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Titus 3:3 NASB Disobedient, deceived, enslaved – “Foolish” keeps company with a host of friends. You remember that Greek term anóētos with all its nuances. Well, Paul provides a list of some of the compatriots of anóētos. The…
yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus Philemon 1:9 NASB Appeal – You know this Greek word. You just don’t know it in this context. The word is parakaléō, usually associated with the Christian idea of the Holy Spirit. What it really…
Abandoned among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You no longer remember, and they are cut off from Your hand. Psalm 88:5 NASB Abandoned – What an interesting choice of words! Sometimes translated “forsaken,” the Hebrew root is the verb ḥāpaš. Here it is ḥopšî, an adjective. What’s interesting is the basic…
And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance. Exodus 20:18 NASB At a distance – It’s a nice translation but it doesn’t really tell us what happened. In order…
So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. John 8:36 NASB Free – eleutheróō. “To set free.” The Greek verb is contrasted to being a slave. To be set free is to be redeemed from slavery. This is not merely a political act. To be really free is to experience independent self-determination. …
