Bible Commentaries

Psalms 99 overview — HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD OF HOSTS (Isaiah 6:3) "This Psalm falls into three parts: (1) Psalms 99:1-3; (2) Psalms 99:4-5; and (3) Psalms 99:6-9, each concluded with a declaration of God's holiness. It is an echo of the Trisagion of the seraphim (Isaiah 6:3)."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-C, p. 99. In the

Isaiah 26:20 — pursue privately his loving devotions to God, or as Christ put it, "When thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee" (Matthew 6:6).

Isaiah 6 overview — Isaiah would have understood perfectly; and the prophet's need of a special revelation and commission from God Himself in order to enable and encourage Isaiah's announcement of it is evident enough. We fully agree with Lowth that this vision (of Isaiah 6) could be, "A new designation to introduce more solemnly a general declaration of the whole course of God's dispensations in regard to his people and the fate of the nation (Israel)."Robert Lowth, Isaiah (London: Tegg and Son, MDCCCXXXVII), p. 181. The

Ezekiel 10:20-22 — two visions, an importance which we have already stressed. CHERUBIM "And I knew that they were cherubim" We are indebted to Anton T. Pearson for most of the information cited here.Anton T. Pearson in Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 721. Cherubim are emblematic, composite figures representing glorified human life, or angelic life, spiritualized and exalted to have a part in the service of God Himself. In the sacred Scriptures, they are seen as performing a number of functions:

Ezekiel 23:32-34 — and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah." There are extensive references to the "cup of the wrath of Jehovah" in the Bible. See Jeremiah 25:15-29; Jeremiah 49:12-13; Jeremiah 51:6-7; Isaiah 51:17-23; Isaiah 56:12; Zechariah 12:2; Habakkuk 2:16; Psalms 11:6; Psalms 75:8; and Revelation 14:20. Also see our comments on most of these passages, except the ones in Psalms.

Hosea 4:7 — "As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame." This verse, as the passage before it, has its primary reference, not to the pagan priesthood, but to Israel the priest of God in the national sense (Exodus 19:6). The evidence that this is the true interpretation is strengthened by the frantic efforts of some scholars who have vainly tried to move Exodus 19:6 into post-exilic times."W. R. Harper, op. cit., p. 255. The more the nation increased and the greater

Hosea 9 overview — will come when idols will be abandoned and devotion to God will have full sway. Restored to her own land, Israel will once more enjoy material prosperity and divine blessings."Samuel J. Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks (New York: Harper and Row, 1960), p. 391. Take a look at what this prophecy says in this chapter: Let Israel's joy cease...Hosea 9:1. Your (Israel's) food supply shall fail...Hosea 9:2. Your vulgar licentiousness has disgusted me...Hosea 9:1. You are a nation of harlots...Hosea

Micah 6:6 — Contrary to what is frequently alleged, the passage does not say: "The true worship of God is the service of man. The Old Testament has no greater word than this.J. E. MacFayden, Abingdon Bible Commentary, (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1929), p. 796. This passage is one of the greatest in the Bible on the futility of ritualistic worship."Rolland E. Wolfe, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VI (New York: Abingdon, 1957), p. 938. There are many such comments regarding these verses, but they miss the point

Zechariah 4:4-5 — bridge between the description of the vision and the angelic revelation of what it meant. This leads to the expectation that the meaning will appear next, and that is what occurred. The unwillingness of critics to accept the explanation of Zechariah 4:6 ff is due solely to one of the false canons of criticism, namely, "That all visions should be cast into the same mould."Ibid., p. 88. As Leupold noted, the canons followed by the critics are not broad enough. "Bible students who are willing to accept

Matthew 1:17 — the third and final grouping. McGarvey's view is typical of many. He said, "Matthew, seeing there were just 14 names in the preceding division, desired for the sake of aiding the memory, to have the same number in the next one." Ibid., p. 16. Matthew had Scriptural precedent for this, to say nothing of his inspiration. Ezra, in giving his own genealogy, omits six names in a single group. This will appear in a comparison of Ezra 7:1-2 with 1 Chronicles 6:6-11.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 — God, Jehovah is one. Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. "Whichever one is correct, the idea of one God (monotheism) is obviously in this phrase. There is, was, and always will be only one true God. See Deuteronomy 4:35; Deuteronomy 4:39; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; and 1 Corinthians 8:4."Bruce Oberst, Deuteronomy (Joplin College Press, 1968), p. 108. Keil also stated dogmatically that, "This clause not merely precludes polytheism, but also syncretism which reduces the one absolute God to a national

Luke 4:12 — And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. The passage quoted by Jesus is Deuteronomy 6:16; and by such an appeal to other Scriptures relating to the one Satan quoted Jesus set forth the proper manner of understanding Biblical quotations, all of which must be understood in the light of all the Scriptures bearing upon the subject considered.

John 6:16-17 — And when evening came, his disciples went down into the sea; and they entered into a boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. THE FIFTH SIGN Here, and through John 6:21, is recorded the fifth great sign, that of Jesus' walking on the sea. In a sense, the trouble in which the apostles soon found themselves was of their own doing. If they had been less inclined to cooperate with the unspiritual mob in their efforts

John 6:49-51 — I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: yea, and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. These verses are a recapitulation of the Lord's teachings in John 6:32-33, and with the additional new element regarding his crucifixion, that is, giving "his flesh" for the life of the world. For contrast between the manna and the true bread, see under John 6:32-33. "Flesh" in this context is a

Acts 10:13-15 — God hath cleansed, make not thou common. No so, Lord … In all ages, there have been those who, while acknowledging Jesus as Lord, nevertheless presumed to contradict what the Lord taught. This phenomenon was pointed out by Jesus himself in Luke 6:46. For a sermon on this topic, see my Commentary on Luke, under 6:46. I have never … What men have always done, or what their habitual behavior is, usually determines their reaction to any given circumstances. Peter did not yet know, despite

1 Corinthians 11:30 — Paul was speaking of those who had become spiritually weak and sickly, some no doubt having perished spiritually. If that was meant, then the condition of those asleep was terminal and irrevocable, being the same as that evident in Mark 3:29; Hebrews 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:6; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:19. For a dissertation on the unpardonable sin, see my Commentary on Mark, pp. 65-67. The condition of those asleep was no different from that of Ananias and Sapphira; and therefore Paul's

1 Thessalonians 3:5 — might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. The tempter … "Only in one other passage (Matthew 4:3) is Satan thus designated in the New Testament." Raymond C. Kelcy, op. cit., p. 69. Paul's usual designation of the evil one was by his proper name, Satan; and some scholars have even based their denial of Pauline authorship of Hebrews on the "fact!" that Paul nowhere uses "devil" as in Hebrews 2:14. This so-called

1 Timothy 6:5-6 — would have been great gain; and there is the strongest possibility that there are echoes of that position here. Turning quickly to the counterpart of his truth, namely, that in one sense godliness is indeed great gain, he wrote the next line (1 Timothy 6:6).

1 Peter 2:3 — if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: In this verse from Psalms 34, Peter applied to the Lord Jesus the great Old Testament word for God, "the Lord." The writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 6:4-5) also mentioned "tasting" as a metaphor of understanding and appropriating to one's own needs the word of God. As Mason said, "This gives quite a new complexion to the 34th Psalm," A. J. Mason, Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Vol.

Revelation 19:6 — and Revelation 5 and read them again. God has never left his throne. The Almighty … This is a characteristic designation for God in this prophecy. It occurs ten times in the New Testament; once it is in an Old Testament quotation (2 Corinthians 6:18); and the other nine times are in Revelation (Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7; Revelation 16:14; Revelation 19:6; Revelation 19:15; Revelation 21:22). William Barclay, op. cit., p. 173. The Almighty