Akiva’s Solution

“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?  Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?”  Exodus 15:11  NASB Who is like You – I’m sure you noticed that Moses’ question implies multiple gods.  “Who is like You among the gods?” isn’t the way we would ask.  We live in a “one God” universe. …

Technical Terms

When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Genesis 32:25  NASB Socket of his thigh – The enigmatic Hebrew phrase bekaph yereko raises some interesting technical questions.  If we try to figure out…

Overwhelmed

He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.  Psalm 66:7  NASB Might – Okay, this is a victory poem.  God will prevail over all His enemies.  No one and nothing can stand against Him.  Don’t be deceived, the wicked will perish.  We get that, but after all…

The Helper

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1-2  NASB Who made – Yesterday we discovered that God’s sovereign choice to create anything at all implies His ultimate concern and involvement with creation, and as such, creation is the continual unfolding of the purposes…

The Order of Existence

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”   Genesis 2:18  NASB A helper suitable– We have investigated a lot about the Hebrew phrase ‘ezer kenegdo. We discovered that these words spoken by God about the creation of the woman are filled with royal language,…

The Pursuit of Power (4)

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7  NASB In the hand– Babylon was an instrument in the hand of YHWH for His purposes.  The text tells us quite clearly that the power of…

The Pursuit of Power (3)

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7  NASB Mad – The elixir of the gods is power.  It is the aphrodisiac of self-sovereignty.  And it is deadly.  Jeremiah proclaimed that the world of…

The Pursuit of Power (2)

Her princes inside her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves. . .  Zephaniah 3:3  American KJV 1999 Roaring lions/evening wolves – “The hunger of the powerful knows no satiety; the appetite grows on what it feeds.  Power exalts itself and is incapable of yielding to any transcendent judgment; . . . It is…

The Pursuit of Power (1)

She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in YHWH; she did not draw near to her God.  Zephaniah 3:2  KJV3 Did Not – For the next four days I want to revisit the idea of power in the prophets. Zephaniah speaks out against the oppressing city.  His words are…

Stop Talking

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV Power – Does Paul’s declaration seem right to you? Is the Kingdom really about power?  If I look around the religious environment today, I don’t see much of Paul’s standard displayed.  I hear lots of talk, but I see very little dynamis (power). …