Bible Commentaries

Amos 3:15 — op. cit., p. 70. "Houses of ivory" The import of this is not likely to be that houses were built entirely out of this substance, but rather that they were extensively decorated with it. The Bible mentions the "ivory house which Ahab built" (1 Kings 22:39). "Winter houses and summer houses" Plural houses were provided for some who could afford them with elevations that were designed to provide comfort in diverse seasons. That ancient culture, founded upon the heartless oppression of the poor, is

Amos 5:21 — will take not delight in your solemn assemblies. God's repudiation of their worship was based upon several things: (1) It was not really the worship of God at all, but the worship of the old pagan gods they had always adored, even in the wilderness; (2) the formal services which were patterned after the commandments laid down in the Mosaic Law had been conspicuously altered and perverted by such things as: (a) the omission of the sin-offering; and (b) the mingling of leavened bread with the burnt

Amos 6:6 — abhorrence. It will be recalled that for a similar offence of drinking from the sacred vessels robbed from the temple in Jerusalem, Belshazzar was punished by a summary judgment from God; and the kingdom was torn away from him in the same night (Daniel 5:1-25). "And anoint themselves with the chief oils" Hammershaimb assures us that the word for chief oils (or first oils) could also "be taken with the meaning of firstfruits; their sin would then be that they have anointed themselves with the firstfruits

Obadiah 1:15 — this basic truth. Certainly, Paul did not abolish it, for he wrote: "For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Habakkuk 2:4 — both at the beginning and at the end of Romans. The allegation that, "Paul's use of the term "faith"… goes far beyond the meaning of Habakkuk's word"Balmer H. Kelley, Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 15 (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1962), p. 62. must be rejected as erroneous. Paul's reference to this passage proves that he was referring to exactly the same thing, namely, "fidelity." As Taylor pointed out, "`Faithfulness' is a more accurate translation than `faith' of the Hebrew in

Zechariah 14:20 — is this: THERE IS A NEW MEANING OF WHAT IS SACRED in the religion of Christ. The words here listed as being "upon the bells of the horses" was exactly the inscription engraved upon a plate of pure gold on the turban of Aaron the High Priest (Exodus 28:36-38). "Holy unto Jehovah" was thus in the life of Israel reserved for the highest and holiest position and function imaginable… on the turban of the loftiest spiritual dignitary of the nation and its representative before God.Merrill F. Unger,

Zechariah 3:6-7 — to God on the part of mankind that was ever opened up was through the blood of Jesus Christ. Concerning both the ancient Israel and the new Israel, Paul declared that, "Through Christ we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). Furthermore, this was not any kind of temporary or emergency arrangement. The apostle stated plainly that such access through Christ was "according to the eternal purpose" of God (Ephesians 3:11-12). Thus, this whole passage has in view the ultimate

Zechariah 5:1-2 — commentators who cite them, "have not been able to furnish an interpretation that is sufficiently obvious to commend itself to anyone except the inventor!"Hinckley G. Mitchell, International Critical Commentary, Zechariah (Edinburgh: T and T Clark, 1912), p. 169. The flying roll appears to be identified with the Law of Moses, because, "Being written on both sides (Zechariah 5:3), they connect with the two tables of the Law (Exodus 32:15)."Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary (Grand

Matthew 10:2-4 — Iscariot, who also betrayed him. There are four listings of the Twelve in the New Testament, always occurring in groups of four, with positions 1, 5, and 9 always listing Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus in that order. See Mark 3:13; Luke 6:12; Acts 1:13. From this, it is conjectured that Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus were the respective leaders in each of their groups of four. The other names do not always follow a given order, but they do not occur outside the group of four.

Matthew 11:25 — what the other did in 1611! Confusion naturally exists in such a situation, at least in some degree; but it cannot be denied that popular usage still favors what has become the more formal "thou" as an address to deity. See under Matthew 14:26. The basis of rejoicing that the Father had revealed his wisdom to "babes" is found in the apostles' lack of sophistication, pride, and intellectual arrogance. They were not worldly wise, wedded to preconceived notions, or doctrinaire. The

Matthew 3:17 — heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Three times, the Holy Scriptures represent God as speaking out of heaven in testimony for Jesus Christ: in this place, on the occasion of the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and in John 12:28-30. Voice out of heaven … This passage is a stronghold of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Discernible by man's senses, all three persons of the Godhead appear in this passage. The Son is coming up from the waters of baptism, the Spirit of God

Mark 10:29-31 — sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold 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. This tremendous threefold promise of: (1) possessions and (2) family being multiplied a hundredfold in this present life, and (3) of eternal life in the world to come is one of the grandest in the word of God. No man ever tried this promise without finding it true; and yet, as Taylor said: "Such an utterance

Mark 3:16-19 — Testament, as given below. The number twelve corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel and to the twelve foundations of the eternal city. In this dispensation, the Twelve sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel (Matthew 19:28). These men, in one sense, are the most important men who ever lived. In their capacity as the God-ordained witnesses of the incarnation and the custodians and deliverers of God's message to mankind, they are fully worthy of the honor God has reserved

Luke 12:13 — the younger brother one-third; since the older brother would have been executor of the estate, the appeal here would seem to be that of the younger brother, implying either of two problems: (1) either the elder brother had not given him his share, or (2) the younger brother was thinking of breaking the ancient custom of primogeniture which gave the double portion to the oldest son. Thus, we may not be certain whether this was an appeal for redress under the existing law, or if it was a bold movement

Luke 6:13-16 — Bartholomew … For articles on these individual apostles see index of my Commentary on John. Matthew and Thomas … See the introduction to my Commentary on Matthew and comments on Matthew 9:9 with regard to the apostle Matthew, and under John 20:25 for discussion of Thomas. James the son of Alphaeus … This Alphaeus was different from the man who was the father of Matthew. "Had that not been the case, this James would have been more clearly identified as `the brother of Matthew'."Ray

Romans 3:22 — for staying with the KJV in this place, and similar places, of which there are a number, throughout the New Testament; because the same tampering with the word of God which resulted in the monstrosity of "a" righteousness of God (Romans 3:21 and Romans 1:17) is in evidence here. The true scriptural justification "by faith" has no reference at all to the faith of stinking sinners, but to the "faith of the Son of God." Note the following: The scriptures hath concluded

Romans 6:5 — united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. This is a further allusion to Christian baptism, as Barrett noted, "the likeness of his death being baptism." C. K. Barrett, op. cit., p. 124. Most commentators refer to textual difficulties in this place, but regardless of those, the overall meaning is clear. Paul was making a comparison between the death and resurrection of Christ, on the one hand, and death to sin and rising to walk in

Romans 8:3 — provision for the impartation of God's Spirit to help people, and no absolute forgiveness, there having been a remembrance of sin made again every year, even after observance of the ceremonies which typically "removed" them. (See under Romans 10:2 in my Commentary on Hebrews.) The law could not extend justification to people except upon the premise of perfect obedience, and the weakness of all flesh prevented such a thing from ever occurring. God sending his own Son … Jesus came into the

Galatians 2:15-16 — the best scholarship on earth, and capitalized to emphasize the truth. REGARDING THE TRANSLATION WHICH IS ACCEPTED HERE The teaching set forth in this series of commentaries with regard to justification is advocated fully in my Commentary on Romans 3:22; and the student is referred to that for a great deal of material that cannot be repeated here. Since the publication of that volume in 1973, further scholarly studies by distinguished theologians have fully confirmed the undeniable accuracy of translating

Philippians 4:2-3 — practice, and the animosity between them had become a problem in the whole church. Boice believed that the shadow of this personal friction falls upon several passages prior to this passage where Paul dealt with it. In Philippians 1:8; Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2 and Philippians 3:16, there have already been exhortations to unity and walking by the same rule; but in this passage Paul boldly confronted the difficulty and demanded a reconciliation. Caffin considered the repeated "I exhort"