He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NASB What is good – Want to know how to live in this world? The prophet Micah provides YHVH’s answer. Just three…
“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34 NASB…
for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— 2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB Now – When are you saved? Oh, sorry. Most of us would have expected the question, “When were…
“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 NASB Bless/curse – On my last trip to Israel, I was delighted to meet Roi Ziv, a native Israelite who lives near Nof Ginnosar…
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB Time – How difficult it is for us to not read this verse (and the following elaboration) as if it is about dates on the calendar! The addition of just a few extra words pushes…
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB Time – Do you remember how Moses Luzzatto defined mercy? Mercy is God giving us more time. Mercy is delay of judgment. Mercy is God waking us up the next morning and saying, “OK, now…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB Work and “Work” – “The biblical story of mankind begins with the command, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.’ Work is more than labour. Biblical Hebrew has two words to express the difference: melakhah is work as creation, avodah is…
Funny thing about a razor. No matter which way you move it, it cuts. That’s the way I am feeling about the wonderful discussion concerning activities prohibited on Shabbat. Now that Shabbat is over (for me), I thought I would write a few of my own thoughts (and spill a bit more blood). Today, while…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB To keep holy – Pay close attention to the verse. Notice that the act of remembering has a purpose. That purpose is leqaddesho, “to keep holy.” We remember in order to sanctify. That’s not our usual thinking about Shabbat. We often think that Shabbat…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB To keep it – Let’s talk about the Sabbath. Again and again the question comes up, “Am I allowed to do ________ on the Sabbath?” You fill in the blank. Of course, what you will fill in is not something specifically prohibited. Those actions…
