Today’s Word
A Just War
The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. Joshua 4:12 NIV Ready for battle – What does the odd Hebrew word ḥămūšîm really mean? In the NIV it is translated “ready for battle,” but in the NASB it appears as “in…
Where is Israel?
The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. Joshua 4:12 NIV Crossed over – The auspicious day has arrived. The tribes are about to conquer the Promised Land. God has given them territories to occupy. Soon the nation of Israel will…
The Edge of Belief
Stricter judgment – “Sometimes I feel like a guide escorting others through the rooms of their own house. What a treat it is to watch them open doors to rooms never before entered, discover unopened wings of their house containing beautiful and creative pieces of identity.”[1] Irvin Yalom’s comment stirred similar feelings in me. The…
Blessed Assurance
Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, but the descendants of the righteous will be rescued. Proverbs 11:21 NASB Be assured – You remember the old hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.” Fanny Crosby clearly didn’t get the idea from this Hebrew verse. Why? Well, the…
Quite the Opposite
A merciful person does himself good, but the cruel person does himself harm. Proverbs 11:17 NASB Cruel – Who is the cruel person? The torturer? The egotistic dictator? Men like Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin? When we think of the antonym of “cruel” these days, what term comes to mind? Kind? Forgiving? Merriam-Webster lists “tender, warm, warmhearted, charitable, clement, lenient, merciful, pitying, pacific, peaceable, peaceful.” The…
The Spiritual Tautology
A merciful person does himself good, but the cruel person does himself harm. Proverbs 11:17 NASB Merciful – It should come as no surprise that the word translated “mercy” is really ḥesed. The translation relies on the way ḥesed is treated in the LXX, but as you know, even there we find eight different Greek words for…
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