Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 NASB Will be given – Rabbi Shraga Freedman makes an astounding claim in his book Living Kiddush Hashem. “If Hashem were to answer the tefillos of people who do not follow His ordinances, it would…
Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” 2 Samuel 24:14 NASB Fall into the hand of the Lord – Are you in great distress? Oh, maybe not now, but have you…
The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB Acts of mercy – This is one of those cases where we must see the Hebrew in order to understand the impact of the verse. “Acts of mercy” just doesn’t cut it. We…
May You increase my greatness and turn to comfort me. Psalm 71:21 NASB My greatness – What was the opening line of the vastly popular book, The Purpose-Driven Life? Oh, yes, “It’s not about you.” A sort of oxymoron, don’t you think? The book sold millions of copies precisely because readers believed that it was in fact all…
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NASB Good – Marcion of Sinope was born in 85 C.E. in Turkey. Before he died in 160 in Rome, he changed the entire Christian world forever after. How did…
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…
You will arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come. Psalm 102:13 NASB Be gracious – “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;’” (Exodus 34:6). What’s number 2 in God’s self-disclosure? The first…
who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Exodus 34:7 NASB No means leave the guilty unpunished – Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most important passages in the…
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; Isaiah 5:14a Without measure – Why do people go to Hell? No, it’s not a theological trick question. Why do you think God would send people to Hell? Is it because they were wicked and deserved long-lasting punishment? Is it because true justice demands that…
The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds and multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and moaning. Lamentations 2:5 NASB Like an enemy – We live in the “God is Love” age. I’m not sure when we transitioned from “Sinners in the…
