Beloved, I exhort you as aliens and exiles, to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul 1 Peter 2:11 Abstain – Sometimes you just can’t avoid grammar if you really want to understand the words. Of course, our society is not inclined to agree. We have devolved to functional literacy, a place where…
Beloved, I exhort you as aliens and exiles, to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul 1 Peter 2:11 Aliens and Exiles – There is no doubt about what Peter had in mind. We just don’t seem to be listening. In Greek, paroikos and parepidemos. Literally, “near the house” and “close to the…
We give thanks to you. O God, we give thanks, for Your name is near. Psalm 75:1 Near – David knew the difference between thanksgiving for presents and thanksgiving for presence. His psalm is the expression of joyful gratitude for God as his neighbor; the one who is close at hand. In fact, this Hebrew…
and there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:5 Day – Now you know that the Hebrew view of days gives all the importance to the God who created them. Days have no spiritual importance unless God designates them to have importance. The Sabbath is significant. So is the Day of Atonement….
This is the day that the Lord has made Psalm 118:24 Day – Yom, the Hebrew word for “day”, is the most common word for time in the Old Testament. You might think that this is to be expected. After all, the common experience of life is day by day. The regular occurrence of day…
A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and before Yahweh pours out his complaint. Psalm 102:1 (in the Hebrew text) Pours Out – “Then you will take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water . . will become blood.” So begins the story of the…
A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and before Yahweh pours out his complaint. Psalm 102:1 (in the Hebrew text) Complaint – No one likes a whiner. Constant complaining is wearisome to all. Complaint is an irksome word, a word that brings annoyance, avoidance and anger. Why does the afflicted man tread on…
A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and before Yahweh pours out his complaint. Psalm 102:1 (in the Hebrew text) Faint – Jacob knew about ‘ataph. Genesis 30:42 uses the word to describe lambs and goats born feeble, weak and unhealthy. Affliction does that to living creatures, especially to us. Affliction births defects….
A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and before Yahweh pours out his complaint. Psalm 102:1 (in the Hebrew text) Prayer – What is prayer? There is no doubt that the Hebrew word tephilla means “prayer”, but what does “prayer” mean? What does it look like? Hebrew has more than a dozen words…
A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and before Yahweh pours out his complaint. Psalm 102:1 (in the Hebrew text) Afflicted – Oh the history in this word! It knows no ethnic borders. Hagar, the Egyptian, is afflicted by Sarah. It knows no relational privilege. Leah was afflicted (not loved) by Jacob. It…
