Bible Commentaries

Amos 4:10 — have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah." Two more disasters are recounted here, (1) pestilence, and (2) military disaster. The New English Bible renders "plagues of Egypt" instead of "pestilence after the manner of Egypt"; but despite this there remains some doubt of what, exactly, is meant. All of the disasters mentioned in these verses were known to

Amos 7:2-3 — averted before fatal damage was inflicted. This would fit the interpretation of such things by Deane who cited one of them thus: "This refers to the retreat of the Assyrians under Pul, the usurping monarch who assumed the name of Tiglath-Peleser II (2 Kings 15:17 ff). Some commentators consider this judgment to be literally a plague of locusts; but this is not probable."Ibid., p. 138.

Numbers 26:1-65 — Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun." Here is a graphic summary of this census and that of the first chapter, showing the changes during the intervening 38 years. GRAPHIC SUMMARYFirstSecondNet%%TribeFamiliesCensusCensusChangeGainLossREUBEN446,50043,7302,2706%SIMEON559,30022,20037,10063%GAD745,65040,5005,15011%JUDAH574,60076,5001,9002 1/2%ISSACHAR454,40064,3009,90018%ZEBULUN357,40060,5003,1005 1/2%EPHRAIM440,50032,5008,00020%MANASSEH832,20052,70020,50063%BENJAMIN735,40045,60010,20029%DAN162,70064,4001,7002

Numbers 33:1-49 — places mentioned here, although, here and there, one of the names corresponds with the location of events related in Exodus. "Twelve of the places mentioned are mentioned nowhere else in the Bible."John Joseph Owens, Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, Numbers (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 168. "Of all the seventeen places listed between Numbers 33:19-36, not a single one is known or can be pointed out with certainty (with the possible exception of Ezion-geber)."C. F. Keil, Commentary on

Obadiah 1:7 — no understanding in him." "All the men of thy confederacy" These allies of Edom were identified by Deane as Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon;W. J. Deane, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 14, Obadiah (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 2. there may have been others. But not only were the formal allies of Edom to prove undependable, the inner structure of their society itself would revolt against them and contribute to their overthrow. All of the great nations of history that have been

Jonah 4:2 — the slightest influence in arresting the sinful course of Israel. As Butler said, "Everything of this sort had already been tried with Israel, and still their hearts waxed hard and cold."Paul T. Butler, Minor Prophets (Joplin: College Press, 1968), p. 257. "Gracious… merciful… slow to anger… etc." How terrible is the thought that Jonah made these very attributes of the loving God the basis of rejecting his will! "Jonah is here quoting the `Thirteen Attributes' (Exodus 34:6-7 and

Micah 2:5 — imagine that these words refer to some future time when God would again parcel out the land to the Israelites, excluding the evil exploiters. Ah no! As Keil said, "Such a thought cannot be arbitrarily taken for granted here."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 442. Yes indeed, there was uttered a moment later, the promise of a victory for the people of God, but it must be applied strictly to the righteous remnant, and not to Israel in the fleshly sense. Micah 2:12-13 are unmistakably Messianic. As Deane pointed

Nahum 1:4 — but there is nothing there now! Barnes pointed out that God's making the sea dry "was exactly what he had done in delivering his people from Pharaoh, a type of all subsequent oppressors";Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, Minor Prophets, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1950), p. 132. and that fact was well known to all the nations of antiquity. The harlot on the walls of Jericho stated forty years after the event that, "The fear of God had fallen upon all of them" because of it.

Zechariah 13:2 — when prophecies would be "done away" (1 Corinthians 13:8), but that is definitely not in view here. All of the prophets of the new dispensation, along with the apostles, would lay the foundations in Christ of the Church of the New Covenant (Ephesians 2:10), long afterward from the times of Zechariah.

Malachi 3:11 — children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's sake, but he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life!" (Mark 10:29-30). "God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:7-8).

Malachi 4:1 — apostles, ever softened or reduced the intensity of this promise in any manner. John the Baptist, revealed later in the chapter as the forerunner of the Judge, used exactly the same figure: "But the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). Christ himself spoke of, "The eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 12:42). Peter spelled it out at some length, "The heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against

Matthew 6:14-15 — on the human level only and did not mean that the murderers of our Lord were pardoned immediately in heaven. Some of them, at least, repented and were forgiven when they obeyed the gospel on Pentecost. THAT forgiveness was from above, in heaven (Acts 2:36 ff). The same two levels, human and divine, are observable in the case of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 7:58-60). Stephen forgave him (on the human level) as the deed was done; but Saul was forgiven in heaven when he had obeyed "from the heart that form

Matthew 6:22-23 — comes in the form of a climax. The subject is human duplicity. Christ laid bare the deceitful and double motives which prompt men in their religious actions. Looking back to the beginning of this chapter, note that: (1) men do alms for two motives; (2) they pray for two motives; (3) they fast for two motives; (4) they even SEE DOUBLE! The evil eye is the one that explores every action, regardless of how sacred it is, for the purpose of discovering what base motive might also be served by the doing

Mark 11:14 — words rendered "for ever," which literally mean "for the age," (meaning) … until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.E. Bickersteth, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 16, p. 121. For further comment upon the hardening of Israel and the duration of it, see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 11. For comment on the parallel account of this wonder in Matthew, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 21:18. THE SECOND

Mark 12:10-11 — Have ye not read even this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes? Jesus here quoted Psalms 118:22-23, thus claiming for himself that he was "the head of the corner," despite the fact of his being rejected by the "builders," that is, the religious leaders. Also, by the prominence of the word "stone" in this passage,

Mark 7:28 — plea: Saidest thou "dogs"? It is well; I accept the title and the place; for the dogs have a portion too, not indeed the first, not the children's portion, but a portion still — the crumbs which fall from the Master's table.Ibid., p. 373. (2) She appealed not to the children, but to the Master. The children, as represented by the apostles, had stood adamantly by, not interceding on the woman's behalf, actually demanding that the Lord get rid of her (see Matthew); so there was no mercy for

Mark 8:17 — world was all that mattered. The only kingdom was an earthly one. Do ye not yet perceive … The apostles' perception had failed on two counts: (1) They had failed to perceive that Christ could and would supply bread for the four thousand men. (2) They had failed to perceive that the one loaf which they had on board, WITH JESUS, was far more than enough! They had not learned the true lessons which their experiences were designed to teach. In this, the perceptive words of Barclay are significant.

Luke 13:2 — sins. Job's friends accused him of sin, their accusation being based on his sufferings; and likewise the citizens of Malta supposed Paul to have been a murderer, solely upon the basis of their observance that a poisonous serpent had bitten him (Acts 28:4). As Summers said, "This verse suggests that Jesus detected a note of pious superiority in the report";Ray Summers, Commentary on Luke (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, Inc., 1974), p. 165. inasmuch as Jesus' audience had not suffered

Luke 13:5 — people are justified "by faith alone," which by any definition is faith without repentance? Along with faith and baptism, repentance is established as one of the preconditions of salvation, as clearly enunciated by the apostle Peter (Acts 2:38). Just as those ancient Jews supposed that they did not need to repent, since Pilate had not murdered them and no tower had fallen upon them, there are people today who suppose the same thing on the basis that they have believed in Christ; and regarding

Luke 9:23-24 — ground being in Christ and "in him" only. No mortal may be saved as John Doe, or Joe Bloke, or in any other human identity. If men are ever saved, they must be saved "in Christ" (Romans 6:3), and "as Christ" (Galatians 2:20). This self-renunciation is the same thing for all Christians that the cross was for Jesus, namely, the submission to God's will, not one's own will. For extensive discussion of this, see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 3:22-24, and also under my