Bible Commentaries

1 Chronicles 6:77-81 — covered by these genealogies reaches all the way back to Israel (Jacob); and many of the names encountered here remind us of historical events centered around those names throughout the Old Testament. My comments on some of those occurrences are in Exodus 6; 1 Samuel 1 and 1 Samuel 8, and in Joshua 21. "Nadab and Abihu" Their offering strange fire before Jehovah and their untimely death are recorded in Leviticus 20:1-2, and in Numbers 3:4. They left no children. A most significant fact that appears in

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; and

Isaiah 28:16-19 — this stone would also be "a sanctuary, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." Added to the three designations here, we have six adjectives for this Rock. They are (1) elect; (2) cornerstone; (3) tried; (4) sanctuary; (5) stone of stumbling; and (6) rock of offense. It might also be added that Christ is the stone "from another world," and he is "the living stone" (Zechariah 3:9), and the "growing stone" (Daniel 2:34-35). For an extended discussion of this fantastic stone, see Vol. 6 of my New

Isaiah 33:4-6 — directly in Isaiah 33:4, sentencing him to the same brutal treatment he had imposed upon others and promising particularly that all of his spoils would be taken from him in a manner comparable to the devastation caused by a swarm of locusts. Isaiah 33:5-6 promise stability in "thy times," that is, the times of Hezekiah, his treasures being the fear of the Lord. The prophecy turned at once from the contemplation of victory and stability foreseen in the future to the disastrous situation revealed in Isaiah

Jeremiah 6:7-8 — wickedness: violence and destruction are found in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited." The meaning of Jeremiah 6:7 is that, "just as a water well maintained its waters at a constant level, no matter how much was taken out of it; in the same way Jerusalem maintained its full level of producing wickedness, violence, and destruction, continually. "Be thou instructed,

Joel 2:11 — "And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Revelation 6:17 has this: "For the day of their wrath (that of God and the Lamb) is come, and who shall be able to stand?" The passage there is a reference to the eternal judgment. As Keil observed: "That these words affirm something infinitely greater than the

Malachi 1:9 — Jehovah of hosts." "Some Jewish and other commentators accept this verse as a genuine plea for repentance; but the ironic interpretation best agrees with the context. In any case, the offerings of gifts was not a means of securing God's favor (Psalms 40:6-8)."Joyce G. Baldwin, op. cit., p. 226. If the ironical view is correct, the passage might be paraphrased thus: Seeing that you have accepted and used all these worthless sacrifices and offered them upon God's altar, why don't you now pray for God's

Malachi 3:7 — Wherein shall we return?" The apostasy of Israel had begun almost from the very first and flourished unabated throughout pre-Christian and Christian history alike. "Wherein shall we return…?" "This is the same old Pharisaical spirit as in Malachi 1:6, etc., throughout the prophecy. They do not acknowledge their offense; they consider that they are righteous and need no repentance."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 40. As Smith said, "The question is not bona fide, but a virtual declaration of innocence."J.

Matthew 5:7 — proscribed by the Son of God in this beatitude. Such things are forever excluded from the kingdom of heaven. Specific mention should also be made of cruel judgments of other people (Matthew 7:1) and cruel refusal to forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:15). The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice bless'd:It blesses him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomesThe throned monarch better than his

Matthew 5:8 — to those whose hearts have been purified by faith (Acts 15:9) and obedience to the gospel (1 Peter 1:22). The "heart" in this passage is, of course, THE MIND. According to the Scriptures, it is "THE HEART" that imagines (Genesis 6:5), understands (Matthew 15:13), reasons (Mark 2:8), thinks (Luke 9:47), believes (Romans 10:9), and loves (1 Peter 1:22). These passages are more than enough to identify the Scriptural "heart" as the mind or seat of the intelligence. They

Matthew 9:37 — sending forth of the Twelve was Jesus' own response to the marvelous opportunity for reaping a great harvest of souls. Significantly, Christ asked the disciples to pray about it; and he himself continued all night in prayer before naming the Twelve (Luke 6:12-13). In view of this, should Christ's disciples today undertake any project without prayer for guidance and blessing? If Jesus leaned so heavily upon the arm of prayer, how much more should his disciples ask, and seek, and knock to obtain that providential

Mark 1:44 — for a testimony unto them. Say nothing to any man … This prohibition by the Saviour was for his own protection against the irresponsible crowds who would have declared him king if they had been given the lightest pretext for doing so (see John 6:15). The things which Moses commanded … The sacrifice commanded by Moses was a triple offering of two male lambs without blemish and one ewe lamb without blemish (Leviticus 14). For a testimony unto them … The priests would by such a cleansing

Mark 10:24 — deterrent to entering God's kingdom. The same distinction was honored by the New Testament writers, Paul, for example, making "the love of money" and not merely "money," to be the "root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). As Dorris stated it: A man may have great wealth and love God more than the wealth, and be a Christian; just as a poor man may have a little and love the little more than God, and never be a Christian.C. E. W. Dorris, op. cit., p. 239. Nevertheless,

Mark 9:45-46 — the Saviour had in view the need of personal sacrifice to maintain loyalty to God. The metaphor of cutting off hands and feet, and plucking out eyes, is not any more severe than that of "eating and drinking" Christ's flesh and blood (John 6:53); and it was doubtless used to emphasize the extreme importance of loyalty to Christ, as well as the awful consequences of failure.

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 14:27 — his own life to the extent of willingness to accept crucifixion at the hands of the Romans for the sake of fidelity to Christ. The background against which Jesus spoke these words proves this to be true. Only twenty-four years previously, about A.D. 6, "The Romans crucified hundreds of followers of the rebel, Judas the Gaulonite … Crucifixion was a common spectacle both before and after that date."Ibid., p. 400. Therefore, Jesus' mention of bearing a "cross" could not

Joshua 5:13-15 — for Joshua to "take thy shoe from off thy foot," indicating that the ground was holy where he stood. We take the words here to apply to BOTH feet. "The hosts here are not the hosts of Israel, but the angelic hosts of heaven."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 62. Some commentators understand this experience of Joshua as a subjective vision, nothing more or any different from that which may be seen today, "by modern man in his place of worship, or driving in an automobile or riding in an airplane. Usually there

1 Thessalonians 4:15 — that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. By the word of the Lord … "The most natural explanation of this is that Paul is quoting a saying of Jesus," Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 86. and it is not revealed whether it was conveyed to the apostle personally by the Lord, or if Paul had received it through some other apostle, the preferable view being that Paul received from Jesus personally all that Jesus had previously delivered

James 1:25 — cit., p. 5. but that conception was also that of the apostle Paul who wrote, "Do we then make law of none effect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish law" (Romans 3:31), also, "And so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). The perfect law … It is impossible, logically, to refer this to the Law of Moses; because the writer of Hebrews declared that "If the first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second; for finding fault

Revelation 8:3 — And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Revelation 8:3-6 seems to connect the prayers of the saints with the trumpet judgments; and, in a sense, "it is these prayers that set the judgments in motion." Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 120. Over the altar … All speculations about where, exactly, this