Meaning “to feel passion with someone” or “to enter sympathetically into one’s sorrow and pain.” In various translations of the Bible, this English word is used to translate at least five Hebrew words in the OT and eight Greek words in the NT. The subtle variations in the original terms are emphasized below, with the inevitable overlapping of meaning being apparent.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (COMPASSION)
The teacher in Ecclesiastes has everything, yet he still manages to feel depressed and despondent. The reasons he gives for his depression are the apparent meaninglessness of life and the fact that man cannot find satisfaction or contentment. Each new day is just a repetition of all the other days that have gone before. In fact, there is nothing that is actually new, nothing that is fresh. In a restless and weary turn of phrase, the Teacher coins the well-used quote: “History merely repeats itself.” According to the Teacher’s reasoning, there is no worth to be found in doing things that have already been done and seen and experienced by other people.
Can we feel sorry for the man who invented murder?
Sure. Cain probably felt sorry for himself. He was the first child born into mankind’s fallen state. He friends a cursed land. It would have been a difficult life. He might have felt bitter. Perhaps he felt justified in keeping his best produce for himself and offering God the rest. Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (CAIN: THE “FIRST” DRIP IN THE FLOOD)