The details of Ezekiel's life are of little importance in the material, he is mentioned only twice; once to confirm that he was a priest (1:3) and second the son of Buzi (24:24). Dating of Ezekiel is a bit more certain than some of the other biblical books since archaeological materials buttress the Jewish captivity in Babylon, the Egyptian Period, and the Fall of Jerusalem (Malick)
The focus is on birthright, land inheritance, and the plan God had for the Israelites to regain a homeland. Chapter 33 is a commentary chapter, falling between a longer account of Babylon and Egypt and just prior to dealing with another set of Israel's enemies (Morse)
Ezekiel may not initially desire to send a message that provides entertainment, but he also realizes that in order to fulfill his duty as "watchman" he must ensure the people adhere to his warning. This is likely the reason for the change in prose: in tone and timbre, and serves as a rhetorical means of reconnecting the Judeans to their proper place and location (Renz, 101-29)
The corresponding Hebrew word shub meaning return or turn, on the contrary, draws attention to the importance of action and orientation to a possible different future. The term conversion would be etymologically closer (Blenkinsopp 84) By the charge of acting without principle (verses 25 and 29), the Israelites accused God of punishing the innocent along with the guilty
The goal is stressed with as much emphasis as the Pauline Epistle to the Hebrews uses to illustrate the point that, as St. Augustine would later say, life on earth is warfare: "The Christian is not an unconcerned stroller along the byways of life; he is a wayfarer on the high road" (Barclay 171)
Nonetheless, the character is Pauline -- and Paul, being a Jewish convert himself, would serve as an exceptional candidate for the writing of an inspiring and encouraging letter to the Jewish Christian recipients. Sensing the danger that the Jewish converts were facing in Palestine, the Pauline Epistle carries with it the grandeur and urgency that the circumstance would have demanded: it preaches steadfastness in the face of weakness and uses an extensive list of references from the Old Testament as a means of a reassuring the converts "in danger of relapsing into Judaism" (Frey 574) that Judaism itself points to Christ as Redeemer and Son of God
Just as David does not just go to meet his foe but runs to meet him, this Psalm runs the soul of the hearer to God, with Whom it longs to be. This exuberance of both the Psalm and David is what commentators suggest exemplifies the kind of spiritual exuberance with which the children of God should meet the obstacles they face (Kaiser, 2011, p
David plays the lyre so well that Saul allows him to stay. As Jonathan Kirsch observes, however, Saul did not merely allow David to stay with him: He also gave David an important title -- "weapons bearer" (Kirsch, 2000, p
Therefore this connection can be drawn. But as McKenzie (2000) states, there is more to David's appeal than just this: the Old Testament contains several books "devoted to David," (McKenzie, 2000, p
Psalm 91, in fact, acts as a spiritual bow and arrow that carries the reader straight to the heart of God, Who loves men after his own heart -- which is what David in the Psalms reflects. For this reason it is known as the "Soldier's Psalm" (Williams-Hayes, p
It can be taken into consideration that our absence of approval with God and partaking in uncertainty of Him has more to do with what we emphasize on and not the trust that we have on God. Right from the point of creation, God had given us all that we need to achieve His purposes and until the present moment, God remains the Lord who responds in Grace and in Love to all of our human flaws (Pfeiffer, 1962)
In addition, it is clear that the author was a skillful narrator. He utilized several expressive verses and phrases that facilitated the audience to understand the story he was narrating (Stuart, 2006)
In this encounter, Moses questions God regarding His identity and also doubt his own self as he considers himself inadequate for the task at hand. Throughout the entire passage, God tells Moses that "I am who I am" and shows him that He is the Lord who not only dwells amongst them but also the one who will rescue them and redeem them from Pharaoh (Young, 1966)