“Our God comes; he is not deaf! Fire devours that which is before him. All around him there is a mighty whirlwind.” (Psalm 50:3) What you read here are words of power and might — words that are designed to instill awe in us and to inspire us to worship. How often worship is self-centered… Read More
Category: Expositions
Perfect in Beauty
“From Zion, from that which is made perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” (Psalm 50:2) The majority of translations render this a little more idiomatically, “From Zion, the perfection of beauty…” and such is a perfectly legitimate way to render the phrase מִכְלַל־יֹפִי (miklal-yopiy). Clearly the psalmist is praising God and celebrating the place of… Read More
God’s Preaching
“A Psalm of Asaph. God, the Great God, Yahweh! He commands and proclaims to the earth from the rising sun unto its setting.” (Psalm 50:1) What an amazing beginning to this psalm. Literally it reads: אֵל אֱלֹהִים יהוח (El, Elohim, Yahweh) — three names of God, each getting more specific as it leads to the… Read More
My Land or God’s Land?
“And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Sons of Ammon, saying, ‘What do you have against me? For you are coming to me and fighting in my land.” (Judges 11:12) You will notice how relationships have now changed in the eyes of Jephthah. Before he was an alien toward the land of Gilead… Read More
The Elders, Force, and Bad Decisions
“And it came to pass in several days time that the Sons of Ammon fought with Israel. And as the Sons of Ammon fought with Israel, the Elders of Gilead went to take Jephthah from the land of Tob.” (Judges 11:4-5) And thus, the thing predicted took place: The Ammonites wage war in Gilead and… Read More
The Church Oppressed and Subjugated
“And the nose of Yahweh burned against Israel and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Sons of Amon. They subjugated and oppressed the Sons of Israel in that year — even for eighteen years all of the Sons of Israel who are beyond the Jordan in… Read More
Spiritual Discernment
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ Turning, she said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).” (John 20:16) One of the very curious things about the resurrected Christ is that people don’t always recognize him when they first encounter him. Certainly one could suggest that this may be attached to the terrible grief that those… Read More
The World is Upside Down
The loudest voice tends to get the attention of the crowd…but it rarely a voice of wisdom. Read More
How to Respond to An Angry Boss
How we handle ourselves when those in power over us are enraged says a lot about our spiritual maturity. Read More
Solomon and Reality TV
“And also along the road, as the fool walks, his heart is lacking — he says to all that he is a fool.” (Ecclesiastes 10:3) A fool is not so merely in private things, but in public things as well. As he goes through his life, the actions he takes, the decisions he makes, they… Read More
Bigger, Better, Faster, More
Wisdom will be found during times of quiet reflection, not in the hustle and bustle of life. Read More
Laboring in Useful Obscurity
It is better to be wise than to be Mighty. Read More
The Nations as an Inheritance
“He declares the power of His works to His people; He gives to them the nations as an inheritance.” (Psalm 111:6) I had the joy of bringing the word this past weekend to Ministerios Betesda, a Hispanic congregation in south Florida. This was our second time together for a conference and I was invited to… Read More
The Ever-Relevant Bible
“Indeed, there is not a man who is righteous on the earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) Boy, this sounds an awful lot like the Apostle Paul when he writes: “What then? Are we in a more prominent position? By all means, no! For both Jews and Greeks are already found… Read More
What God has Bent
“Look at the work of God: for who is able to straighten that which he has perpetually bent? On a good day be in good spirits; on an evil day contemplative — the one and the other are made by God; with regards to this, a man can find out nothing of what comes after… Read More
The Dangers of a Welfare State
“For oppression makes the wise look foolish and welfare continually destroys the heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:7) I think that I just got political without intending to do so. Then again, politics formed the vast majority of Solomon’s life for not only was he a king over Israel from Jerusalem, he grew up as the favored son… Read More
American Hedonism and the Church
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning and the heart of the fool is in the house of jubilation.” (Ecclesiastes 7:4) Solomon may seem like he is beating a dead horse with these words, but his purpose is to drive home the importance of finding times of introspection. Even in the… Read More
Go Attend a Funeral
“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for this is the end of every man; let the one who is living lay this to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2) One could render the first part of this verse a little more idiomatically by stating that it is better… Read More
Don’t Waste Your Life
“Even if he should live a thousand years two times over, but goodness he has not seen, is it not to one place that every man goes?” (Ecclesiastes 6:6) No human being that has ever walked the face of the earth has ever made it to his thousandth birthday…none. Methuselah was the oldest recorded living… Read More
Solomon on Income Inequality
“Also, every man to whom God has given wealth and affluence and the opportunity to eat from them and to take his portion and to rejoice in his anxieties — this is his gift from God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18 {5:19 in English Bibles}) It seems to me that people today are talking a lot about what… Read More
Satisfaction in Your Work is a Good Gift
“Behold, I saw that which is good and which is beautiful — it is to eat and to drink and to see the goodness of all his anxiety for which he works hard under the sun for the number of days of his life which God has given him — for it is his portion.”… Read More
No Farms – No Food
“There is profit in the land in all things; he who is king serves the field.” (Ecclesiastes 5:8 {5:9 in English Bibles}) I have a bumper-sticker that I keep on the back of my truck that reads: “No Farms — No Food.” And indeed, therein lies the interpretation of this verse. Everyone is indebted to… Read More
One is the Lonliest Number…
“Two are better than one; for them there is good compensation for their anxieties. For if they fall, one will raise up his companion; woe to him who is one and falls, for there is not a second one to lift him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) Every time that I read these words, my mind always… Read More
Love and Hate
“A time to love and a time to hate; a time for battle and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8) Much of human history can be parsed by the wars that nations have waged against one another. And while many wars in the history of man have been about the expansion of power, there is… Read More
Life is a Lemon and I want my Money Back
“So, I hated life for the work which I did under the sun was evil to me — for it is all vanity — it exasperates the spirit. I hated all of my anxieties which I had been anxious with under the sun; I must put it to rest with the man who will come… Read More
