Bible Commentaries

Exodus 31:6-11 — place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do." "Behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab" It is strange indeed that the man appointed by the Lord to make the curtains and have charge of all the fabric work for the Tent (Exodus 31:7) was himself the bearer of a name Oholiab, which means "Father's Tent."Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr., op. cit., p. 433. It is mentioned that he was of the tribe of Dan; and although that tribe does not appear to have been famous for such men of artistic talent,

1 Kings 8:1-11 — as some have supposed, he dedicated it a year before he finished it. We agree with Dentan that, "The dedication ceremonies were delayed for eleven months so that they might coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles."The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 36, "The time of the year was October-November. Ethanim is the earlier name for the month Tishri."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 318. The use of that earlier name does not fit the allegation of an exilic date for Kings. "The cherubim spread

2 Kings 4:32-37 — up her son, and went out." This amazing wonder is one of a very limited number of such miracles recorded in the entire Bible. There are only three such miracles in the O.T.: (1) this one; (2) the raising of the son of the widow of Sarepta (1 Kings 17:17-23) by Elijah; and (3) the resurrection of the man who was being buried, and who, when the burial party was threatened by marauders, was hastily cast into the tomb of Elisha and was restored to life by his contact with the bones of that prophet (2

1 Chronicles 22:6-11 — wars; but here shines the eternal truth that bloodshed is inherently evil, no matter how necessary it may be at times. "Behold, a son shall be born unto thee" The words used here show that David was referring to the words of God through Nathan (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Yes, God promised that son, all right, but David failed to understand what God said about WHEN that son would be born. It would not happen during David's lifetime, but when thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (2 Samuel 7:12). Furthermore, the

Ezra 2 overview — designed to link the present company of returnees with the glorious names of their previous history, with the implied teaching that they were still the Chosen People and that God would continue to bless them. "This same list of names appears in Nehemiah 7:6-73 and in Ezra 5:4-17. It is not easy to account for the discrepancies."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 399. In fact, we have never seen any attempt by any scholar to harmonize the lists. They satisfied the people who returned from Babylon;

Psalms 23:1-4 — want" (Psalms 23:1). Barnes identified this as the topic sentence of the whole psalm. "This is the leading thought, the essential idea; and it is carried throughout the psalm."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), p. 209. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures" (Psalms 23:2). Any person who knows anything about sheep knows that they will never lie down when they are hungry. Therefore, the scene here is the green pastures where

Psalms 25:8-15 — habitually wicked, but the humble, among whom the psalmist numbers himself."The Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 55. Nevertheless, David most certainly feels an estrangement from God in this passage, as evidenced by his triple plea for pardon in Psalms 25:7; Psalms 25:11; Psalms 25:18. A passage such as this thunders the message that, "God's true people are not sinless."Ibid. Yes, forgiveness is available for those who in penitence and meekness seek it, and who do not place themselves in the fatal position

Jeremiah 49:23-27 — pronounced upon then. One of their most intolerable sins was their slaughter of the people of Gilead with "threshing instruments of iron" (Amos 1:3). This happened during the Syrian war against Israel in the reign of Jehu (2 Kings 10:32-33; 2 Kings 13:7). "Fire in the wall of Damascus" This verse is almost identical with Amos 1:4. Again it appears that Jeremiah was familiar with the prophets who were before him, Amos having prophesied in the eighth century B.C. There is additional comment on this in

Mark 16:7 — Galilee … This anticipates the Galilean appearance to the disciples, as recorded in Matthew 28:16-20, in which the great commission was given, disproving absolutely the theory that the last twelve verses do not belong to this gospel. Mark 16:7 points squarely at Mark 16:15-16, where the world-wide commission to teach and baptize all nations was recorded in perfect harmony with the report in Matthew.

Luke 12:7 — by men, and in fact destroyed by men, it is evident that the most careful Providence should have protected them through centuries and cycles of time. The lesson, of course, is that God will do more for men than for sparrows. The emphasis in Luke 12:6-7 is designed to allay the fears of the disciples, and it is an essential part of the warning against the Pharisees. The disciples must not be afraid of them, but on the other hand should not hesitate to confess Jesus.

Luke 14:13 — Advocate Company, 1940), p. 285. A man is not in the true sense hospitable who entertains only those who can entertain him. "Such interested hospitality is not wrong, but it does not lay up treasure in heaven."J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 757. With this word to the host, Jesus pinpointed the third of three distortions, or reverse ethics, which marked the conduct of his hearers. In Luke 14:5, it was love of property elevated over love of men; in Luke 14:7, it was pride and conceit elevated

Luke 5:26 — in not absolute. For example, he said in another place, "And all the people …" were baptized "of John's baptism; but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized of him" (Luke 7:29). Therefore, it may be assumed that the same group refused to glorify God in this instance. We have seen strange things … Indeed, how strange it was! That Almighty God should have become a man, concerning himself with the pitiful ailments

Acts 6:12-14 — 2:19-22). Jesus indeed prophesied the destruction of the temple, promising not that he himself would destroy it, but affirming that "The king (God) would send his armies (those of the Romans) and destroy those murderers and burn their city" (Matthew 22:7). Change the customs … Only malignant spite could construe Stephen's preaching the very changes God himself had prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures as blasphemy, either of God or Moses. Thus it was no mere twisting what Jesus or Stephen

1 Corinthians 10 overview — B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 19, p. 322. Also, it may be suspected that the omission of this authentic connective could be related to the critical bias which would make this chapter "the relic of a previous epistle." ISBE p. 713. It is now recognized, however, that such a view is concocted out of "no sufficient evidence." Ibid. The understanding of Paul's full line of thought in these chapters also explodes any notion that two different positions are advocated by

1 Timothy 6:12 — agreed that "this seems to point clearly to his baptism," adding that "The good confession in view here is that of Christ himself confessing himself the Son of God (Mark 14:62), which is analogous to the baptismal confession of Acts 8:37 (KJV and ASV margin)." A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 122. THE GOOD CONFESSION Why is this called the good confession twice in a single short paragraph? 1.    It is the good confession because Christ made it, under oath (Mark 14:62),

James 1:25 — had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second; for finding fault with them … he saith I will make a new covenant" (Hebrews 8:8). True the Psalmist declared that "The law of the Lord is perfect" (Psalms 19:7); but that passage is doubtless a prophecy of the new covenant. The law of liberty … Even less is there any excuse for making out that this may be applied to the law of Moses, for an apostle said of Moses' law that "It is a yoke of bondage

2 John 1:7 — spirit already working in John's time, should be identified with the "lawless one" to be revealed shortly before the Second Advent; for, as Paul said, "the spirit of lawlessness" was already working in his time also (2 Thessalonians 2:7); but neither "antichrist" nor the "lawless one" may be absolutely identified with "the man of sin," except in the sense of being an ultimate development of the apostasy evident in "the man of sin." Many deceivers

Revelation 14:1 — Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1) The 144,000 … These are without doubt the same as those of Revelation 7:4; Revelation 7:9; namely, the entire register of the redeemed of earth without the loss of one. See further comment on this interpretation under those verses, above. Some are able to find only "the martyrs" here, "but it is unlikely

Revelation 20:12 — 19). B.    "His everlasting power and divinity are perceived through the things that are made" (Romans 1:20). C.    "He left not himself without witness … he did good, gave rains and fruitful seasons, etc." (Acts 14:17). D.    But there is no such thing as forgiveness in nature. The book of nature does not reveal Christ. II.    The Book of Remembrance. A.    "A book of remembrance was written before

2 Samuel 7:8-11 — in the direction of those accouterments of worldly success such as palatial buildings, etc. "I… have cut off all your enemies from before you… I will give you rest from all your enemies" Is this a contradiction? Certainly not! 2 Samuel 7:9 refers to the enemies God had already cut off; and 2 Samuel 7:11 refers to the future enemies of David from whom God would also give him rest. "And I will appoint a place for my people Israel… they may dwell in their own place… and be