Bible Commentaries

Genesis 3:15 — bruise his heel." Many scholars cannot recognize this as the great Protoevangelium of the O.T., which of course, it surely is. Their blindness is due to their failure to recognize that the key to understanding the O.T. is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:15-16). The terminology of this verse is such that it cannot apply to anything in heaven or upon earth except the long spiritual conflict between Christ and Satan. "Between thee and the woman" Woman here stands for the whole of Adam's race, a point

Exodus 19 overview — This chapter may be called, "Getting Ready for the Covenant," for that is the theme of it throughout. The children of Israel come to Sinai, and Moses ascends the mountain (Exodus 19:1-3); Israel called to be a holy nation of royal priests unto God (Exodus 19:4-6); Israel makes a solemn promise of faithfulness to God (Exodus 19:7-10); the three-day period of sanctification (Exodus 19:11-15); great wonders that occurred at Sinai (Exodus

Esther 2:1-4 — after Xerxes had begun to seek a more normal pattern of living. Anderson viewed the last clause here as, "A subtle suggestion that the king desired to reinstate Vashti, but he had signed an irrevocable decree against her."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 839. This is probably true, because his son, and heir, Artaxerxes I, born during the Grecian campaign, or just prior to it, was now, no doubt a charming child of three or four years of age. The king found himself a victim of his own drunken and

Psalms 91:9-13 — full comments on that episode, see in my New Testament series of commentaries under those references. "There shall no evil befall thee" Promises just as glorious as these are provided for the Christians in the New Testament, as for example, in Romans 8:35-39; but as Kidner cautioned, "The assurance here is that nothing can touch God's servant except by God's permission, and that no rebel (Psalms 91:8) can escape God's punishment."Derek Kidner, op., cit., p. 332. Kidner also quoted Luke 21:19 in this

Proverbs 4:20-27 — invariably the beginning of another discourse. Such an address could have come in the middle of an exhortation as the attention of the listener diminished and needed to be stimulated. "Let them not depart from thine eyes" This is exactly the same as Proverbs 3:21, another example of the constant repetition in Proverbs. "The repeated message is that, `it is not enough to hear wise instruction; it must be assimilated, pondered and kept at the center of man's being.'"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 555. "Keep

Isaiah 40:9-11 — proposed by Archer appears to us as correct. "Jerusalem, the Holy City (The New Jerusalem that cometh down out of heaven as a bride, i.e., the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ), she is to announce Jehovah's coming."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 637. Archer also pointed out that "thou that preachest the Gospel" is a better rendition than appears in the American Standard Version. Note that "the Lord's arm and the Lord's hand" in Isaiah 40:10, as Rawlinson pointed out is a favorite expression of

Isaiah 61:1-3 — the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified." "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me" This is a reference to the baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:16 f), upon which occasion the Spirit of God in the form of a dove descended and alighted upon Jesus, remaining upon him. Nothing like this is written of Isaiah. Jesus Christ alone possessed the Spirit of God without limitation (John 3:34). Furthermore,

Hosea 1:8-9 — the inference certainly being allowable that the child belonged not to Hosea, but to another. The name which God pronounced upon that second son was "Not my People," indicating "the completeness and finality of the breach"Jacob M. Myers, op. cit., p. 13. between God and the covenant nation. There is a specific reference in this to the covenant itself. Jeremiah had stated the essential heart of the covenant thus: "I will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Jeremiah 7:23); and in the name of the

Zephaniah 2 overview — The first three verses of this chapter must be understood in the light of the first chapter. Zephaniah established the theme of the whole prophecy as the judgment of all mankind (Zephaniah 1:1-3), and devoted the rest of the chapter to the judgment of Jerusalem and Judah, using terminology that includes glimpses of both the final judgment of all men, and the more immediate and particular judgment of Jerusalem. "He now exhorts the righteous

Zechariah 3 overview — This remarkable vision (Zechariah 3:1-10) was shown to the prophet by God Himself; and it is primarily concerned with the status of Israel after the captivity. God had rejected and destroyed, but not totally, the entire nation of the Jews, including both their wicked states: Ephraim and

Malachi 1:14 — pretended, which caused such niggardly sacrifices. It was greed which placed personal gain above God's required service. They possessed "a male," that is, such as required by lawful sacrifice; but yet they offered God blemished animals" (Leviticus 1:3-10).Clinton R. Gill, Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Malachi (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1971), p. 388. We should not leave this without observing that the curse of God rests upon people who offer to God inferior, blemished service. How many

John 4:2 — (Although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples). See under John 3:22-26. An important deduction from the fact of Jesus' many baptisms, none of which were administered by himself personally, yet being referred to as his baptisms and his accomplishment, is this: All who are baptized in obedience to God's specific command,

Acts 11:11-12 — man's house. No distinction … This was the great word regarding Jews and Gentiles THEN; and so it still is. God has one plan of redemption for all men; and the Scriptures do not reveal any special plan for any race or condition of men. See Romans 3:22. Six brethren … Only here is it revealed that six men were Peter's companions on the mission to Caesarea.

Acts 20:19 — Serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews. Paul's hardships and trials were of epic proportions, as the bare catalogue of them (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) proves. Even the journey upon which he was then embarked had been drastically revised due to a plot against his life (Acts 20:3). Tears … This mention of Paul's weeping was repeated later (Acts 20:31); and from this it may be concluded that

Romans 12:11 — pursues as a vocation; and, above everything, such qualities should characterize his devotion and service in the church. The opposite of what Paul commanded here is lukewarmness, a negative condition represented as disgusting to God himself (Revelation 3:16).

Galatians 3:19 — ordained by angels through the hand of a mediator. The Law of Moses expired by limitation when Christ came, because it was given only "until" that event. Because of transgressions … Paul elaborated the fuller meaning of this in Romans 3:19 ff; and for discussion of the utility of the Law see my Commentary on Romans. The great service of the Law was to demonstrate that all people are sinners (even the Jews), a fact many of them were loath to admit.

Ephesians 6:10 — Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. The admonition Paul was about to give here had been in mind throughout the epistle. He mentioned the strength of God (Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 3:16) and the putting on of "the new man" (Ephesians 4:24) earlier; but now he would give final instructions for arming the Christian for the warfare against the forces which opposed him. "The cosmic purpose of God involves the believer

Joshua 12:1-6 — border of Sihon king of Heshbon. Moses the servant of Jehovah and the children of Israel smote them: and Moses the servant of Jehovah gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh." "Chinneroth" (Joshua 12:3). This body of water is called Chinneroth, Tiberias, Gennessereth, and Galilee in the Bible, also with variations of "Sea of" or "Lake" in each instance. The "Sea of the Arabah" is the Dead Sea. Pisgah was a dramatic promontory overlooking the Arabah,

Colossians 3:21 — right to condemn his child to death and carry out the execution himself. William Barclay, op. cit., p. 161. In current times, the pendulum has swung the other way; and it is the duty of children to obey their parents that needs emphasis (Ephesians 6:1-3).

Revelation 21:13 — on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. East … north … south … west … The order of the mention of these is intriguing: In Numbers 2:3 ff, the tribes are arranged in a square, the sides of which look ESWN, in Ezekiel NESW, in Revelation ENSW, a change that seems deliberate. Ibid. "Both John and Ezekiel seem deliberately to have avoided having the gates in the order observed in