Bible Commentaries

Exodus 27:9-19 — It is a measure of how desperate the cause of destructive criticism actually is that the enemies of the Bible should have attempted to use this paragraph at all. There is allegedly a problem relative to the placement of the 60 pillars enclosing the 50 cubits X 100 cubits of the court. Even Philo thought these instructions were incorrect and proposed to solve the "problem" by reducing God's number of 60 pillars to 56, and then counting all four of the corners twice!C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 188. It

2 Kings 1:1-2 — that precipitated Moab's rebellion was the defeat and death of Ahab in the battle of Ramoth-gilead. "In Oriental empires the death of a brave and energetic king was always the signal for a revolt of the subjected peoples."The Pulpit Commentary Vol. 5b, p. 1. "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron" The word inquire here is of special interest. "It is a technical term for seeking divine revelation. It is used almost exclusively for resorting to a place with a religious objective (Amos 5:5; Deuteronomy

Psalms 20:1-5 — burnt-sacrifice; (Selah) Grant thee thy heart's desire, And fulfill all thy counsel. We will triumph in thy salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners; Jehovah fulfill all thy petitions." The first person plural pronoun in Psalms 20:5 shows that it is the voice of the people who are vocalizing this petition in the sanctuary itself upon behalf of their king. "In the day of trouble" (Psalms 20:1). Alas, it is the destiny of every child of God to confront the day of trouble. It is the

Psalms 82:8 — the sentence of death pronounced upon them by God, with the strong intimation that their death would be by providential action upon God's part to remove them. The psalmist here seems to have been one of those Israelites mentioned by the prophet Amos 5:18-20. Such persons were always calling for God to "Arise and bring on the Judgment Day." As Amos so thoroughly explained, the Judgment Day would be a day of sorrow rather than a day of joy for the vast majority of mankind. Many of the ancient Jews,

Proverbs 2 overview — "This chapter presents the five fruits of wisdom."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. III, p. 252. (1)    The seeker shall find God (Proverbs 2:1-8). (2)    Wisdom provides many precious rewards (Proverbs 2:9-11). (3)    God's man is delivered from evil (Proverbs 2:12-15). (4)    He is safe from harlotry (Proverbs 2:16-19). (5)    He will receive a special inheritance (Proverbs 2 : Proverbs 2:20-22).

Jeremiah 5:14-18 — words "mighty nation," rendered "enduring nation" by Ash. "These words describe Babylon, not the Scythians."Ibid. Feinberg listed the earmarks of Babylonian identity here as: (1) distant, (2) ancient, (3) enduring, (4) unintelligible in speech, and (5) deadly in war, all of these being evident in this passage.Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 415. "Their quiver is an open sepulchre" This is an unusual metaphor indicating the deadliness of the Babylonians in waging war. "I

Zechariah 13 overview — The Christian dispensation continues to be the focus of the revelation in this brief chapter. This is indicated by the triple recurrence of "in that day" (Zechariah 13:1-2; Zechariah 13:4), by Peter's indication that part of the chapter applies to Christians (Zechariah 13:9), and by Jesus' own identification of himself with the smitten Shepherd (Zechariah 13:7). Part of Zechariah 13:5-6 are difficult of interpretation.

Matthew 12:11 — And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? The obvious answer was affirmative. The Pharisees, with one accord, made an exception for "the ox in the ditch," basing their view upon Exodus 23:4-5 and Deuteronomy 22:4.

Matthew 5:27 — Ye have heard that it was said, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THE REVISION OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENTIN THE DECALOGUE (Matthew 5:27-32) Once more, Christ selected as his target one of the great and highly respected words of the Decalogue, blasting it with his "BUT I SAY UNTO YOU!" No wonder Christ's teachings on this occasion resulted in astonishment and amazement among the people (Matthew 7:28-29).

Deuteronomy 22:30 — "A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt." This type of incest was not even tolerated among pagan cultures (1 Corinthians 5:1). The thing forbidden here is the taking of a father's wife (not the sinner's mother), as in the case of Reuben and his adultery with Bilhah. This prohibition is also in Leviticus 18:7 ff, which see for additional comment.

Mark 6 overview — Events related in Mark 6 are: (1) rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6); (2) sending forth of the Twelve (Mark 6:7-13); (3) the beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29); (4) the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:30-44); (5) walking on the sea (Mark 6:45-52); and (6) preaching and healing in Gennesaret (Mark 6:53-56).

Luke 24:27 — afforded time enough for mentioning a very large number of the glorious prophecies fulfilled in Jesus our Lord. Spence has suggested the following as having probably been included in the interpretations given by the Lord: The promise to Eve (Genesis 3:15) The promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:18) The Paschal lamb (Exodus 12) The scapegoat (Leviticus 16:1-34) The greater Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) The star and scepter (Numbers 24:17) Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) "Unto us a child is born" (Isaiah 9:6) The

Luke 8:45-46 — from me. Who touched me …? Here, to be sure, are the grounds of cavil. Did not Christ know all things? Why the perplexity here? Of course, there was no perplexity. Mark said, "He looked round to see her that had done this thing" (Mark 5:32); and it is certain that Jesus knew, not merely that some woman had touched him, but which woman had done so, as well. As Trench observed: Elisha said, "Whence cometh thou, Gehazi?" (2 Kings 5:25); and God said, "Adam, where art thou?"

Galatians 5:25 — If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. In the Spirit … instead of "by the Spirit" is far better, the same being the rendition in the KJV. The current conception is so obsessed with "Spirit in us" that they are reluctant to admit that it is also true the other way around, we being "in the Spirit." See notes under Galatians 5:23.

Philippians 2:2 — Make full my joy, that ye may be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. By commanding them to be in the Spirit, Paul touched upon the basic theological foundation of Christian unity. There is only "one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:4). Other passages bearing upon this basic unity are Romans 12:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13.

Colossians 1:8 — Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. "This is the only explicit reference to the Holy Spirit in the letter to the Colossians." Ernest G. Ashby, op. cit., p. 484. Paul declared that "love" was the first fruit of the Holy Spirit; and thus this verse is a testimony to the Spirit's work in the hearts of the Colossians (Galatians 5:22).

1 Thessalonians 2:17 — But we, brethren, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence not in heart, endeavored the more exceedingly to see your face with great desire: This is one of the most precious passages in Paul's writings. It has a sentiment Paul often expressed as in, "Though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit" (Colossians 2:5).

Hebrews 12:14 — of diligence and urgency, "peace" being personified here and designated as the quarry which people are to pursue. Peace with all men is the objective of Christians at all times and places. Jesus gave his blessing to the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), and Paul commanded believers to be at peace with all men, "if it be possible" (Romans 12:18). The same qualifier, as to its possibility, is present by implication here, since both peace and sanctification are to be sought, and since true

Hebrews 7:19 — "ritual and priesthood"; but the moral code was just as helpless as the ritual to bring people near to God. Again reference is made to those magnificent portions of the Sermon on the Mount in which the Saviour dealt with this very thing (Matthew 5:21; Matthew 5:27; Matthew 5:33). DRAWING NEAR TO GOD Not only is it a fact that people may draw near to God, they are commanded to do so (James 4:8). (1) The initiative for such action rests with people; and the importance of this is seen in almost

1 Peter 5:14 — Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be unto you all that are in Christ. Kiss of love … Paul similarly commanded this greeting (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26). Comment on this was made under all those references. "The practice seems to have been universal in those times." B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 211. Peace be unto you all … "This is the same blessing Peter had heard the Lord use,