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298 illustrations — Lessons from history, biography, and world events
Sin operates as a *phoros* (burden)—an insupportable load that detains sinners from Elohim, the only source of relief.
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To ransom (*lutroo*) means to redeem or free from captivity by paying an equivalent—to rescue from danger and death, to deliver from an enemy's possession through warfare or purchase by gold.
Armed hosts from the north sweep through the land like a devastating wind, stripping the people's substance as a harvest-man gathers corn.
Scripture reveals two distinct covenants between God and man: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace.
Matthew Henry observed that when the Almighty permits enemies to prevail against Zion and Jerusalem, He ordains this affliction for a redemptive purpose—to perform a "whole work" of refining grace.
Who will go for Us?" He describes a messenger from two perspectives.
The prophet Isaiah, having just proclaimed Christ's kingdom as universal and permanent, introduces not multitudes but a single, isolated individual—one unknown soul.
When Judah faces annihilation, Yahweh promises: "Yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return." The remnant will be small—a *tithe* (*asirith*), God's consecrated portion under the law.
Where human rulers depend upon military strength, natural talent, and force of will, the Messiah judges *the poor* (*dal*, the economically vulnerable) through *righteousness* (*tsedaqah*, covenantal justice).
Under Nebuchadnezzar, who followed his illustrious father Nabopolassar, the empire extended from the frozen northern zones to the equatorial belt, subjugating Egypt, Assyria, and even maritime Tyre.
When a man looks downward at his feet, his circle of vision measures mere inches—encompassing only small details and fragmented parts whose purpose remains obscure.
Consider the empty house: bills posted in windows reading "To let," black windows gaping without blinds or curtains, long matted grass overtaking the lawn, doors creaking on hinges as if reluctant to wake.
The mirage—from the Latin *mirari* (to wonder at)—deceives the thirsty traveler with an optical illusion: shimmering water that recedes as one approaches.
Joseph Exell's 1887 commentary identifies three essential truths about Christian ministry.
It is a blessed loss that makes us find our Elohim!
John Trapp's commentary drives this home—one portion of wood serves its *proper* purpose, the other becomes an object of futile worship.
To think and to purpose are attributes of all rational beings—created or uncreated.
We find in Scripture the recorded history and experience of God's people, permitting us to compare our own experience with theirs.
First, some say, "I lack the dramatic conversion others profess." Yet Elohim has brought many sons to glory through utterly different paths.
This indictment reveals a profound spiritual blindness: Israel refused to recognize that Elohim's judgment itself was an expression of mercy.
Yet the ocean addresses us in manifold languages, calling upon us through both eye and ear.
Exell observes that in the Church, Elohim is present as a great reservoir of fervid love, a storehouse of blazing affection heated seventy times seven hotter than any creatural love, pouring out its ardours for the quickening of all who...
Exell (1887) observed that nature and Scripture together form two revelatory books: creation displays God's *dynamis* (power), while Scripture unveils His salvation.
Historically, Moab had suffered severe humiliation under King Jehoram of Israel (2 Kings 3:4, 25).