But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 2 Samuel 6:6-7 NASB Irreverence…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Training – The verse is quite familiar. In evangelical circles it is often the sine qua non of the doctrine of inspiration. Arguments about the proper exegesis of the verse typically center on the meaning…
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NASB Commandments – We want to follow the teaching of the Messiah. We want to be called good and faithful servants. But that means we need to know what he wants, and that means we need to know what his commandments are. Now, we…
They do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor. Jeremiah 5:28b NASB Poor – Hebrew makes several distinctions when it comes to the poor. “ʾebyôn emphasizes ‘need’ and thus is to be distinguished from ʿonî ‘afflicted,’ dal ‘poor,’ and rāš…
They do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor. Jeremiah 5:28b NASB They do not defend – Jeremiah rails against the wickedness of Israel in the days before the Babylonian captivity. He charges them with idolatry, insolence, and a…
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” Hebrews 10:30 NASB Repay – What is your view of justice? What is its purpose? Is vengeance and retribution a necessary part of the social order, a requirement to keep evil in check? Or is something…
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 1 Thessalonians 4:3 NASB Sexual immorality – Have you ever wondered just how much of our ideas of sexual purity are cultural rather than biblical? Have you considered the apparent evolution of sexual standards from Genesis to the apostolic writings? …
Thus says the Lord, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty?” Jeremiah 2:5 NASB Became empty – Certainly you recognize this Hebrew word. It is famous illustrated in the opening of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is…
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 NIV Do good/bless – So you want to follow the Messiah. You want to live by his instructions, obey him as your master, incorporate his…
O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. Jeremiah 20:7 NASB Deceived/overcome – Sometimes the translator’s morality gets in the way of communicating the crass and deliberately offensive speech of the Bible’s prophets. Of course, since…
