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January 2012

To leave and cleave

Genesis 2:24; Psalm 63 It’s no accident that the key verbs of Genesis 2:24 rhyme.  The King James translation was written to be read aloud.  They would have been glad to find a rhyme that so naturally arises from the Hebrew.  And certainly preachers for the last four centuries have enjoyed the fact that their […]

Bone of my bones

Click for source Genesis 2:23; Zephaniah 3:14-17 It was not good for the man to be alone.  The beauty of the garden, its endless delights, the challenges of work, the excitement of exploration were not enough for Adam.  And swans, dolphins, baboons, wombats, poodles – none of them solved this ‘aloneness’ either. Creation in and […]

Spare Rib

Click for source Genesis 2:18-25 “Spare Rib” was a feminist magazine launched in 1972.  Its title was a defiant play on the account of Eve’s creation in Genesis 2.   ‘Woman is far more than a spare rib’, was the message. And the Bible would agree.  Eve’s origins are far more exalted than Adam’s.  He came from […]

Adam

Genesis 2:7-8; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Let’s think about two modern sayings where ‘Adam’ features. We say “as old as Adam” when we mean ancient.  And, at least whenever I use it, it has the connotation of intransigent.  If there’s a stubborn fact of existence and if it has ever been thus, it’s “as old as Adam.”  Frustrations […]

The Garden of Eden

Genesis 2:8-25 Even the phrase “garden of Eden” should make us home-sick.  “Eden” is taken from the word “delight”.  And “garden” when translated to Greek is “paradise”. The highest plane humanity has reached thus far was at the outset.  In fact Genesis 2 means to communicate this truth, even topographically!  The four rivers flow down from this hill-top […]

The Breath of Life

Genesis 2:4-7 What does dirt have to do with deity?  Quite a bit actually. Here’s our verse for the day: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  (Genesis 2:7) It doesn’t get any more earthy than […]

God rested

Genesis 2:1-3 “Work to live or live to work?”  We know how we should answer.  The testimony of our lives is probably another matter.  But let’s ask the question of God – because I would guess that our unspoken assumption is that, basically, God lives to work. You see, for many people, “Creator” is God’s most […]

And Behold, it was very good!

Genesis 1:31; Psalm 8 A good God makes a good world.  Perhaps that should be the banner over Genesis chapter 1. There are no regrets here.  God doesn’t say “It’s not quite what I’d imagined.  It was better in rehearsals.  I’ve kept the receipts in case you want to exchange it.”  No, Genesis 1:28 – […]

Fresh Stocks of the King's English Devotional

Perhaps I should have done this from the outset but… The King’s English is now on Lulu.  So it will never sell out. Not sure how much they’ll charge you for shipping from overseas (perhaps you could tell me in the comments), but I hope it’s not too expensive. Enjoy!

Be fruitful and multiply

Genesis 1:28-30 On day 4 we’ve hit a milestone.  Here’s the first of many King James phrases that have become swear words!  “Be fruitful and multiply.” It’s God’s way of saying… well… let’s stick to the way God says it: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) It’s a phrase that actually gives us a window […]