Bible Commentaries

Psalms 106:32-33 — SIN NO. 7 "They angered him at the waters of Meribah, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes; Because they were rebellious against his spirit, And he spake unadvisedly with his lips." The record of this in Numbers 20 received full comment in our commentary mentioned above. It was for Moses' participation in the sins of Israel upon this occasion that resulted in God's forbidding him to enter Canaan, Aaron also was guilty on the same occasion and suffered the same penalty.

Psalms 59:6-9 — we see that these "dogs" are men continually speaking evil against David. "They belch out with their mouth" This refers to the slanderous, obscene, and derogatory tales they were telling against David. Notice too that the final line here in Psalms 59:7 is blasphemous, indicating that they did not believe in God at all. Throughout the psalm thus far, David pleads for God's deliverance on the following grounds: (1) the wickedness of his enemies (Psalms 59:2); the danger of eminent death to himself (Psalms

Psalms 71:13 — AN IMPRECATION AGAINST ENEMIES "Let them be put to shame and consumed that are adversaries to my soul, Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt." Who was as skilled as David in calling down the judgments of God upon his enemies? The very vocabulary of this imprecation is found no less than five times in other psalms of David: Psalms 41:7; Psalms 41:9; Psalms 53:5; Psalms 35:4; Psalms 40:14; Psalms 70:2.

Proverbs 10:6 — "Blessings are upon the head of the righteous; But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." Cook points out that an example of violence covering the mouth of the wicked is found in Esther 7:8, where it is mentioned that they covered the face of Haman.Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Proverbs, p. 34. It was an ancient custom to cover the faces of men condemned to death.

Proverbs 25:6-7 — "Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up higher, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen." It is the glory of this proverb that Jesus Christ utilized in his teaching the grace of humility (Luke 14:7-11). As Tate noted, "The translation speaks for itself."Ibid. It needs no explanation or comment.

Jeremiah 29:5-7 — is spoken as a cardinal principle of the gospel of Christ in Romans 13:1-12. Praying for civil authorities is specifically commanded in 1 Timothy 2:1-3. If the Jewish nation had properly received and obeyed this commandment, the Roman destruction of 70 A.D. would have been averted. Of course, instructions such as these infuriated the false prophets. "Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters" "The wives Jeremiah encouraged them to marry were Jewish wives, not foreign (Deuteronomy 7:3)."Ibid., p.

Ezekiel 9 overview — chapters by recording the first stage of the removal of God's presence (Ezekiel 9:3). Keil's divisions of the chapter are: (1) the supernatural executioners of Jerusalem are summoned (Ezekiel 9:1-3; (2) mercy is extended to the faithful (Ezekiel 9:4-7); and (3) Ezekiel's intercession cannot avail (Ezekiel 9:8-11).Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 124.

Joel 2:5 — "Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. This is a continuation of the prophecy of a military invasion, presented in the strongest military imagery. Horses were, above all other animals, the instruments of war, as were also the chariots. The passage in Revelation 9:7-12 should be consulted in connection with what is said here.

Nahum 1 overview — The announcement of God as the executioner of his wrath upon Assyria is made in Nahum 1:1-6. His wrath will not fall upon his own people, but upon their enemies (Nahum 1:7-11). He will break the yoke of Asshur from off the neck of his people, and destroy the Assyrians (Nahum 1:12-14). This prophecy is so certain of fulfillment that a proleptic announcement of the good news, with Messianic overtones, concludes the chapter (Nahum 1:15).

Matthew 13:17-18 — frequently wrote of this, and a more particular attention to that "mystery" can be quite rewarding. The New Testament refers to these mysteries: The mystery of Christ and his church (Eph. 6:32)The mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7)The mystery of the seven stars and seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20)The mystery of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51)The mystery of the blindness of Israel (Romans 11:25)The mystery of the harlot church (Revelation 14:7)The mysteries of the kingdom

Matthew 26:31 — Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. PETER'S DENIAL WAS FORETOLD The prophecy cited in Matthew 26:31 is Zechariah 13:7, and Christ's quotation of it sheds new light upon its meaning. It is God who will smite the shepherd. The Lord will lay upon him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:7). Thus, the crucifixion is God's doing. Christ will be the architect of his own death,

Mark 1:21 — identical with such teaching as that found in the sermon on the mount and in the parables and other discourses. Significantly, the first teaching of Jesus (as recorded by Mark) occurred in a synagogue provided by a liberal and God-fearing Gentile (Luke 7:5).

Luke 23 overview — Here is Luke's record of the final trials of Jesus before Pilate (Luke 23:1-7), before Herod (Luke 23:8-12), and before Pilate again (Luke 23:13-25), Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross, the prophecy to the daughters of Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of the malefactors (Luke 23:26-32), the crucifixion of our Lord, three sayings from the cross, the inscription, and the death of Jesus (Luke 23:33-49), and the entombment (Luke 23:50-56).

John 3:1-2 — and known as a "ruler of the Jews," a title reserved in Rabbinic literature "for a great man, or a prince."Brooks Foss Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 248. For an article on the Pharisees, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 3:7. The connection here with events of the preceding chapter is dramatic, Nicodemus clearly being one of those "believers" who did not obey the Lord. The omniscience

Acts 10:25 — of: (a)    worshiping God (Matthew 4:10; John 4;:21f; 1 Corinthians 14:25; Revelation 4:10, etc.). (b)    worshiping Christ (Matthew 2:2; Matthew 2:8; Matthew 2:11; Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18; Matthew 28:9; Matthew 28:17; John 9:38; Hebrews 1:6, etc.). (c)    worshiping a man (Matthew 18:16). (d)    worshiping the dragon (by men) (Revelation 13:4). (e)    worshiping the beast (Revelation 13:4; Revelation 13:8;

Acts 20:36 — And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. THE TEARFUL FAREWELL The New Testament does not bind any special "attitude" of prayer upon the Lord's followers; but, in this, as in the matter of his sacrifices, Paul is doubtless an example for all. "Kneeling …" is the most natural of all prayerful attitudes. Jesus observed it (Luke 22:41), and the martyr Stephen, while they were stoning him to death, kneeled in prayer (Acts 7:60).

Colossians 3:24 — Knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ. As Barry pointed out, "The only peculiarity in this passage (as compared with the parallel in Ephesians) regards the strong emphasis on 'the reward of the inheritance'." Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 115. The inheritance is exactly the thing which no slave could receive; only a son could be an heir of God (Galatians 4:7). Thus the slave on earth is recognized as a son in heaven.

Colossians 4 overview — is the conclusion of the instruction on reciprocal relationships (Colossians 4:1), followed by a brief paragraph on prayer and Christian conduct (Colossians 4:2-6); next, Paul mentions affairs pertaining to himself and his imprisonment (Colossians 4:7-9); then comes the paragraph regarding greetings from and greetings to various persons (Colossians 4:10-17); and finally there stands the apostolic autograph, salutation and benediction (Colossians 4:18).

Hebrews 3:15 — While it is said, Today if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. While it is said, Today means persevere as long as life lasts, or as long as there is any today. Since this is a quotation from Psalms 95:7, it is possible the author means, "As long as the Bible says Today." The rest of this verse is parallel to Hebrews 3:8 to which the reader is referred for notes.

James 4:11 — the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. Speaketh against the law … "James does not here use `the law' as a reference to the Mosaic Law, because he is writing to Christians, not to Jews." R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 637. All efforts to dissociate James' teaching from the religion of Christ and move it back into Judaism should be resisted. Lenski noted that all such efforts are "unsupported by the context." Ibid. "The law" spoken of here is the law