Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 2:1-4 — on the throne of Israel." (See my remarks above regarding David's quotation from the Law of Moses.) The latter part of this charge regarded the conditional promise of God regarding David's earthly dynasty. There were two things prophesied in 2 Samuel 7 : (1) the promise of Messiah who would reign on David's throne forever, and (2) the continuity of David's earthly dynasty. The promise of the Messiah was unconditional, but the promise of the continuity of David's posterity upon the throne in Jerusalem

Job 1 overview — here. Apparently, none of the scholars whose writings we have consulted thus far on Job have been reading the same Bible that we read. They all say that the scene here is "laid in heaven." Ridiculous! Satan does not have access to heaven. Revelation 12:7-9 declares, regarding Satan and his angels, that, "Their place was found no more in heaven," and that, "Satan was cast down to earth," and this epoch event is revealed as taking place before the creation of Adam. That is why Satan had access to the

Job 26:9-14 — alike bear witness to the mighty power of God; how mighty must be the God of an ordered universe"!The New Bible Commentary, Revised p. 435. Some scholars find all kinds of references in this section to Babylonian mythology; but Job's statement in Job 26:7 absolutely contradicts the Babylonian Creation myth. "That myth supposed that the earth was a flat disc resting on the `great deep,' an ocean of waters, standing for Chaos."Asp, p. 359. Job taught that God suspended the earth on nothing (Job 26:7).

Job 7:11-16 — scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me through visions: So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than these my bones. I loathe my life; I would not live alway: Let me alone, for my days are vanity." The recurrence of the word `thou' (Job 7:12; Job 7:14) indicates that we have a prayer here in which Job pours out the bitterness of his complaint to God Himself. The terrible dreams and nightmares that came to Job are thought by some to have been characteristic of the disease of Elephantiasis.

Psalms 105:11-15 — patriarchs were landless; they were but a handful of people; they wandered about from nation to nation; "But God was at work protecting and blessing his people, looking to the ultimate fulfilment of the promise."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 675. "From nation to nation" "Abraham was in Egypt awhile, and Isaac was in Gerar"CNN, p. 353. (Genesis 12; Genesis 20; Genesis 26). Also Jacob was at Manahaim (Genesis 32), Shechem (Genesis 33), Bethel (Genesis 35), Ephraph (Genesis 35:16) and Egypt (Genesis

Psalms 57:6-10 — fell back upon themselves; they fell into the pit of their own making, a common Biblical thought.H. C. Leupold, p. 433. It may be remembered that Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had constructed for the purpose of hanging Mordecai (Esther 7:9). "Awake… awake… I will awake right early." The meaning here is that, "I will awaken the Dawn (personified) instead of letting the Dawn wake me."The Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 639. "Among the peoples… among the nations" What

Psalms 89:1-4 — have sworn unto David my servant: Thy seed will I establish forever, And build up thy throne to all generations." The first two verses here are the pledge of the psalmist to sing the praises of God forever; and Psalms 89:2-4 are a summary of 2 Samuel 7, the key passage of the Scriptures in which God through the prophet Nathan made the glorying promises presented here. The entire psalm is related to God's promise of an everlasting kingdom, through the posterity of David. Apparently, the thought never

Isaiah 5 overview — vineyard, etc.; and, when it produced poisonous berries instead of grapes and after it had become obvious that there was no possible excuse for such a thing, he revealed the true meaning of this little song about the vineyard. Only when we come to Isaiah 5:7 does it become clear that God is the one who planted the vineyard and that Israel and Judah (collectively) are the vineyard. "This is the first appearance, chronologically, of the vineyard as a symbol of Israel."Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Wycliffe Old

Jeremiah 47:6-7 — sword of the Lord symbolizes righteous judgment. That judgment which is now falling upon Judah is also coming upon other countries. The Philistines also must drink of the cup of the wrath of God."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p 187. There are two addresses in these verses to the personified Sword of Jehovah: (1) The Philistines cry out for the sword to rest, and be still. (2) The prophet answers, "How canst thou, seeing Jehovah hath given thee a charge?" "There hath he

Ezekiel 7:14-18 — fear from their nesting places, so shall the remnant of Israel who escape death moan in the land of their exile."Albert Barnes' Commentary. 321. "All knees… weak as water" "This expression is unique to Ezekiel, and we shall meet it again in 21:7. The thought is paralleled in Isaiah 13:7 and in Jeremiah 6:24."E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 119. It just means that all of the strength of the once mighty people has been sinned away. They are now powerless before their enemies.

Luke 21 overview — regarding the widow's mites (Luke 21:1-4) 2.    Jesus' prophecy of the temple's destruction, and by inference, the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 21:5-6) 3.    The disciples' request to know the sign and when (Luke 21:7) 4.    Apparent signs not to be mistaken for real (Luke 21:8-18) 5.    The true sign, with destruction to follow at once (Luke 21:20-24) 6.    Signs of the Second Coming and the End (Luke 21:25-27) 7.    Practical

Romans 7:7 — commandment in the law of Moses. How is it possible for people to affirm that Paul was speaking of the commandments of Jesus Christ by his use of the term "law" in this chapter? As noted in the paragraph heading this chapter, Paul here (Romans 7:7-13) expounded further the manner in which the law of Moses made sin "abound" (Romans 5:20-21). Also, Paul had mentioned again, only a moment earlier, that the law had wrought forth "in our members to bring forth fruit unto death";

Galatians 6:18 — could not have been otherwise than effective. J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 288. This epistle, along with the Corinthians and Romans, staggered Judaism and restrained it until, smitten by the hand of the Almighty at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, it ceased to trouble the church any more until the times of the apostasy, when its forms and systems were revived, and in modern times when sabbatarians still attempt to bind such things as the sabbath day. THE LAW OF CHRIST 1.    He

1 Timothy 2:6 — testimony" of Christ to the fact of God's willingness to save all people was borne by the coming of Christ "in the fullness of time." The "fullness of time" also marked the testimony of the apostles themselves, as indicated in verse 7. Who gave himself a ransom for all … This ranks with Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45 among the great "ransom" passages of the New Testament. Our Lord literally gave himself, in that no one took his life away from him, but he laid it down

Hebrews 4:14 — Having then a great high priest who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (Hebrews 4:14) DIVISION III CHRIST IS A BETTER HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 4:14—7:10) The author introduces in this verse the theme of Jesus as the great high priest and proceeds to elaborate the reasons of great superiority over any other. Jesus' passing "through the heavens" contrasts with Aaron's merely passing beyond

James 1:10 — Gibson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 3. Nevertheless, the expression "brethren" is used sixteen times in this letter, and all who were mentioned (except in James 4:7-10 and in James 5:1-6) fall under the blanket inclusion of that endearing address. How could it be supposed that James was addressing rich unbelievers? It seems mandatory then to accept the rich of this passage as rich Christians. What James did here

Judges 7:15-18 — is no wonder that the ensuing panic completely destroyed the invaders. "For Jehovah and for Gideon" Some versions have "The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon," but, "There is no word for `sword' in the Hebrew text."Ibid. However, it appears from Judges 7:14; Judges 7:19 that Gideon's men were indeed armed with swords. Hervey suggested that the battle-cry was abbreviated in these words. It is significant that Jehovah's name is mentioned ahead of Gideon's name. In the strictest sense, the victory belonged

Revelation 1:19 — "hereafter" referring to the balance of the prophecy. However, we agree with Smith who said, "This classification does not help much in interpretation." Wilbur M. Smith, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 1059. Furthermore, he pointed out that the word "hereafter" is used eight other times in Revelation 4:1; Revelation 7:1; Revelation 7:9; Revelation 9:12; Revelation 15:5; Revelation 18:1; Revelation 19:1; Revelation 20:3! It is very

Revelation 19:6 — And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. This, together with Revelation 19:7, constitutes a proleptic or anticipatory announcement of the "Marriage of the Lamb," an event that does not take place until the Second Advent. George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans

1 Samuel 9:15-17 — the corner of his turban to whisper something in his ear."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 281. "And he shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines" H. P. Smith wrote that, "This sentence is a direct contradiction of 1 Samuel 7:11 ff";International Critical Commentary, Samuel, p. 62. but such an error should be rejected. (See our comment on 1 Samuel 7:11 ff, above.) "Anoint him to be prince over my people Israel" The word `prince' as used here has the same meaning as `king.'