Posts Tagged ‘Comments’

Who is speaking in Isa 8:16-18?

These three verses suddenly switch from the third person of the context to the first person, and the commentaries are rife with proposals for who is speaking at this point. There is not even agreement that all of the “I”‘s are spoken by the same person. Some commentators hear two different voices here (Targum, Calvin, Alexander, Young), or even three (Gill, Motyer). Candidates for the speaker include the Lord, Isaiah, or the Messiah.
Continue reading Who is speaking in Isa 8:16-18?…

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Sanctify the Lord

This week’s study presents Isaiah’s theological explanation for the proposition we discussed earlier, that worry is a sin. A study of the usage of the expression “sanctify the Lord” (Isa 8:13) leads us to the sin of Moses and Aaron at the waters of Meribah (Num 20:12). They claimed for themselves the power to draw water from the rock, rather than setting the Lord apart as the only one with such power. Similarly, only the Lord is worthy of our fear (cf. Matt 10:28), and fearing anyone else is to deny the Lord the preeminence in our thoughts that he deserves. The exposition illustrates the power of the Bible study principle of paying attention to the Bible’s comments on itself.

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Hardening Hearts

The latest study is on Isaiah 6:9-10, which commands Isaiah to harden people to the Word of God. How does hardening happen? Continue reading Hardening Hearts…

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The First and the Last

The Lord’s description of himself at the end of Rev 1:17 as “the first and the last” ο πρωτος και ο εσχατος is commonly explained as a divine title, roughly synonymous with “the Alpha and the Omega,” based on the parallel with Isaiah’s descriptions of the Lord (41:4; 44:6; 48:12). Continue reading The First and the Last…

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Common Words in Uncommon Phrases

Matt. 24:29-30 predicts that “immediately after the tribulation of those days … all the tribes of the earth shall mourn” when “they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.” The prophecy is understood in two different ways. Thoroughgoing preterists (like John Gill) understand the coming of Christ predicted in this verse to have taken place in the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in AD 70, drawing on verses like Isa 19:1 to show that a military invasion can be the instrument of a divine intervention. Futurists (notably dispensationalists) and partial preterists like John Calvin understand the verses to speak of a coming of the Lord that is still in the future. Continue reading Common Words in Uncommon Phrases…

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Finding What’s Not There

“John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Compare this verse with its counterpart in the synoptics (BW: enter “John 19:30” in the command line, then select “Tools/Synopsis Window” to bring up a harmony of the gospels). All four gospels report that the Lord says something, and then dies, but only John notes that “he bowed his head.” Is John simply adding a detail from his personal observation of the event (Alford, Carson), or does he attach some meaning to it? Gill suggests the gesture shows his submission to the Father’s will. Morris draws a tentative link with Matt 8:20 and Luke 9:58, where the phrase refers to taking rest in sleep (“the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head”). Continue reading Finding What’s Not There…

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