The Secret Commandment

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.  Exodus 20:17  ESV Not covet – There is a reason why no other legal code of the ancient Near East contains…

How to Honor the Sabbath

Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.  Exodus 31:14  NASB Work – In an internet article titled “How to Honor the Sabbath”…

Polar Opposites (4)

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  2 Corinthians 4:8-9  NASB Trouble with the Curve – “Struck down” might as well be “struck out.”  The Greek is kataballo.  It is the verb ballo (“to throw”) coupled with the intensifier kata. …

Polar Opposites (3)

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  2 Corinthians 4:8-9  NASB Not forsaken – In order to understand ouk enkataleipomenoi, we probably first need to look at diokomenoi.  Translated “persecuted,” the root is dioko.  This word is about setting something…

Polar Opposites (2)

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  2 Corinthians 4:8-9  NASB Not despairing – How many negatives does it take to make a promise?  Paul suggests that it takes at least three.  Here the Greek is ouk exaporoumenoi.  The first…

Polar Opposites (1)

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  2 Corinthians 4:8-9  NASB Not crushed – Paul’s list of benefits reads like a colossal blunder.  Do we really think that the opposite of afflicted is “not crushed,” or the opposite of perplexed…

The Men’s Group Trinity

Then King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence.  1 Kings 1:32  NASB Prophet, Priest, King – There are only a few verses in the Bible that include all three words “prophet,” priest,” and “king.”  In fact, more…