303 results for author: Mark Hathaway

310 – Psalm 16 – lot (not the man)

Psalm 16:5 (NKJV)            5       O [YHWH], You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;     You maintain my lot. Last time we talked about the concept of Yahweh being both David and our portion. What we didn’t talk about was, “You maintain my lot”, at the end of verse five. If we were going to do our diligence as students of the Bible we might look up the word “maintain” in the original language before considering the word “lot”. If we were to do that we would discover it means “to hold”. Comparing other translations, for example, the Lexham English Bible, validates “hold” as a reasonable ...

309- Psalm 16 – My Portion Your Portion?

We’ve been crawling through Psalm sixteen. Let's pick up where we left off.  Psalm 16:3-4 (LEB)      3 With regard to the saints who are in the land,       they are the noble ones in whom is all my desire.       4 Those who hurry after another god increase their sorrows.       I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,       nor take up their names on my lips.  David presents an interesting contrast in verses three and four. To summarize, he loves Yahweh’s people and has determined to have nothing to do with the ungodly. Consider an excerpt from the Faithlife Study Bible. “16:3 ...

308 – Psalm 16 – Two Important Words

I’m quoting from the Lexham English Bible today because they transliterate the Divine name  to “Yahweh” instead of substituting the word “lord” like most other translations. When I quote from the New King James I try to put Yahweh in brackets [Yahweh] so the reader can see that the Divine name is actually being used in the original Hebrew. I am among the few who believe that not only is “lord” a poor substitute for the actual name of the one true God, but it should be proclaimed. This is important to have clear in our minds as we approach the text in the Lexham English Bible because they use both the name “Yaweh” and the word ...

307 – Psalm 16 – A boy A Lion A bear

Psalm sixteen, by its own indication, was written by David. Before we look at verse one let’s recall some facts about this unique king. King Saul is trying to talk David out of confronting the Giant. This Giant is huge and has trained as a warrior since he was a boy. What have you been preparing for David? Let’s look at David’s response.   1 Samuel 17:34-35 (LEB)            34       And David said to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group,             35       I would go out after it and strike ...

306 – 40 Days – Part 3

Matthew 4:1-2 (NKJV)            4:1       Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.             2       And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.    Mark 1:13 (NKJV)       13       And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.   Luke 4:2 (NKJV)       2       being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.   We’ve been ...

305 – 40 days part – 2

Last time we began our study on the topic of “40 days”. We are attempting to answer the question, “Is there a significance to the number 40 in the Bible?” For today’s study, I want to begin with Deuteronomy chapter nine. Consider the first five verses. Deuteronomy 9:1-4 (NKJV)            9:1       “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven,             2       a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can ...

304 – 40 Days – Part 1

I usually avoid topical devotional posts, preferring to work through a biblical book from start to finish when possible. However, I was asked something like, “There’s Moses in the wilderness for 40 years, Jesus fasted for 40 days, the flood was 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Is there significance to the number 40 in the Bible?” The question seemed to me to be an insightful one. I’m always encouraging others to slow down and make observations, which includes asking lots of questions about the passage we are studying. Of course, we don’t ask all of those questions to leave them unanswered. Due diligence demands we go on fact-finding ...

303 – Psalm 15 – Symbolic

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have lived closer to the time when the Bible was written. Being so far removed from the original writings, both in time and culture, makes it too easy for us to read past important concepts.  From our Western and modern mindsets, we simply miss important details unless we dig for them.       Psalm 15:1 (NKJV)            1       LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?     Who may dwell in Your holy hill?   You’ll remember that YHWH instructed Moses to build the “tabernacle” in the wilderness.   Exodus 25:8-9 (NKJV)      8       ...

302 – Psalm 15 – A Late Introduction?

The consistent Bible study method I find very useful could be called something like a consistent inductive hermeneutic. I know it seems like just throwing big words around but I think it would be useful to break the words down and come to some understanding of the methodology. Let’s look at each of the words individually, then in one or two sentences I’ll tell you what the process is, then I want to highlight just one of the steps in the process for today’s study.  Consistent Too often if and when Bible study is done it is haphazard in its implementation yielding a poor understanding of the passage being studied. Applying the simple ...

301 – Psalm 15 – More Questions?

Psalm 15:1 (NKJV)            1       [YHWH], who may abide in Your tabernacle?     Who may dwell in Your holy hill? Last time we considered Psalm 15:1. There’s more to observe in this two-sentence verse. I mentioned last time that according to Logos Bible Software a few glosses for the Hebrew word “abide” are: dwell as alien and dependent, sojourn (“live temporarily”), lodge, and dwell. I didn’t tell you that the Hebrew word is “yagur”. The word “dwell” in the second sentence is the Hebrew word “yiskon”, and Logos Bible Software reports the glosses as settle, reside, be enthroned.  You may ...