Bible Commentaries

Psalms 94:8-11 — chastiseth the nations, shall not he correct, Even he that teacheth men knowledge? Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of men, That they are vanity." "Consider, ye brutish… and ye fools" The persons addressed here are unmistakably the persons of Psalms 94:7 who thought that God could neither hear nor see their crimes. "Among the people" This identifies the practical atheists of this passage as Israelites. The wrong-doers were not among the nations (Gentiles), but among the people, that is, God's people. The

Jeremiah 31:7-9 — waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." "Save thy people" This indicates that "eternal salvation" is the culmination of God's promises here. The remnant of Israel... (Jeremiah 31:7). This expression forbids any notion that the whole nation of apostate racial Israel were meant to be included in these glorious promises. In both this and the preceding paragraphs, God assured Israel of his "everlasting love." With the utmost tenderness,

Daniel 7:17-18 — when this event takes place was not indicated here; but Daniel 2:44 and supplemental information from the New Testament indicate that the possession was to take place in the days of the "fourth" great beast, namely, the days of the Roman Empire. Daniel 7:22 also mentions the saints' possession of the kingdom; and apparently that reference is focused upon the everlasting phase of the kingdom mentioned by the apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:10-11. Thus the "possession of the kingdom" is not a single date at

Hosea 12:1 — and followeth after the east wind: he continually multiplieth lies and desolation: and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt." Feedeth on wind… east wind" This is a similar metaphor to the one used earlier (Hosea 8:7), "Sowing to the wind, reaping the whirlwind." What is clearly meant is the vanity and fruitlessness of Ephraim's self-directed efforts to secure his safety and prosperity while pursuing a rebellious course contrary to the will of God. "Multiplieth

Amos 3:7-8 — 59. are effectually denied and refuted by the sheer necessity of this thought in relation to what has preceded it. The whole passage gives the prophetic view of history as a drama in which sin is punished and righteousness rewarded; omitting Amos 3:7-8 would have been subject to the objection in Amos' hearers that such calamities as those foretold would have been "unfair without adequate warning." Very well, Amos here affirmed the validity of such a forensic objection, but set it aside by the fact

Amos 5:26 — offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,And the star of the god Rephan,The figures which ye made to worship them:and I will carry you away beyond Babylon (Acts 7:42-43)." What is plainly indicated from Stephen's interpretation of this place is that the Israelites in the wilderness, instead of worshipping the true god, were privately passing around the images of Moloch and Rephan, which they made themselves,

Obadiah 1:17 — holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." Thompson has a beautiful comment on this, showing that the Book of Revelation develops some of the thought here, as follows: "According to Obadiah, Mount Zion shall be `holy' (Obadiah 1:17) reserved for those who have escaped condemnation in the judgment; the new Jerusalem of Revelation is a morally holy city for those whose names are found in the Book of Life and who are victorious over sin (Revelation 21:7; Revelation 21:27). Obadiah's

Haggai 1:7-8 — "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider your house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah." Haggai 1:7, except for the words "now, therefore" is identical with Haggai 1:5. The order which the prophet here gave the people was to go at once to the mountains and cut timber that would be needed in rebuilding the Temple, and to get on with the job! Nothing

Matthew 15:10-11 — called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear and understand. Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man. "This he said, making all meats clean" (Mark 7:19). Strangely, people are still trying to get to heaven on some kind of diet! Some won't eat pork; some eat only fish on certain days; and some are actually vegetarians! Novation said, "God is not worshipped by the belly nor by meats. …

Matthew 19:9 — still an evil; but, in the case of adultery of one of the partners, it is a lesser evil than living with an unfaithful spouse. Permitted in such a case? Yes, but the dissolution of marriage is contrary to God's law. Paul's exception in 1 Corinthians 7:15 is not an addition to the one given by Christ in this place but should be viewed as presumptive evidence of the condition named in Jesus' exception. Desertion by one of the marriage partners affords the strongest presumption of adultery also. The

Matthew 26:54-55 — which Christ relied in his encounter with the prince of evil (Matthew 4:4, which see). The thesis of his life was "and the scriptures cannot be broken" (John 10:35). As for the expression "thus it must be," see notes on Matthew 18:7. Christ's mention of sitting daily in the temple, teaching, confirms the existence of an extensive ministry of Christ in Jerusalem. Dummelow noted that, This cannot merely refer to two, or at the most three days' ministry during Holy Week, but indicates

Mark 3:31 — conclusion.Henry E. Turlington, The Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1946), Vol. 8, p. 295. It is true that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him, even as late as October prior to the Passion in April of the following year (John 7:5), but there is no evidence that the mother and brethren said, "He is crazy" and tried to get him locked up, as indicated in some of the perverted paraphrases marketed under misleading titles as "translations." And his brethren

John 20:22 — And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised the apostles that after he went away he would send the Spirit, hence his action here (John 16:7 ff). Windisch said, "It is impossible to see in John 20:22 ff the fulfillment of the Paraclete prophecies"; Hans Windisch. The Spirit-Paraclete in the Fourth Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968), p. 33. but, of course, it is impossible

John 5:18 — and then deny that Jesus claimed to be God. Even his enemies knew full well the implication of his words. Also, it was exactly upon this claim, which they construed as blasphemy, that they based their demands of Pilate that he be crucified (John 19:7). These two verses (John 5:17-18) are among the most important in Scripture, especially as they relate to the heresy of Arius (died 336 A.D.) and Sabellius (circa 230 A.D.), the former teaching that Christ was a created being, and the latter affirming

Romans 1:2 — that the words therein contained are not the words of the prophets, but the word of God delivered "through his prophets" (as here), and "through the apostles" (2 Peter 3:2). (See Matthew 1:22; Matthew 2:5; Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:17; Matthew 3:3; Matthew 4:14, and throughout the Bible). Paul's summary of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) stresses this same point through the recurrence of the phrase, "according to the scriptures." Bruce's definition of the gospel is: (It

Romans 11:32 — "WILL obtain mercy." Thus, "mercy upon all" has reference to God's invitation and permission, not to any fiat of arbitrarily saving everybody. The tragic truth, so emphatically stated by the Christ himself that few shall be saved (Matthew 7:13-14) does not compromise the fact that God's mercy is "upon all." Attempts to make this verse teach universal salvation are denials of the entire corpus of Christian truth.

Ephesians 5:20-21 — learned to do this, even in the most unpropitious circumstances." Ibid., p. 112. Subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ … "Paul ceaselessly preached `submission,' or `subjection,' to Roman authority (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Corinthians 14:32-34; 1 Corinthians 16:16; Titus 3:1). J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 964. This clause is the topical heading for the next three paragraphs of the epistle, as pointed out in the chapter introduction. The first of the three reciprocal

Hebrews 3:5 — And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, as a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken. This designation of Moses as a servant is founded on the word of God himself (Numbers 12:7); and this entitled the author of Hebrews to conclude that Moses was not the great lawgiver through any power and ability of himself alone, but that it was his capacity as God's representative and as a vessel for the conveyance of God's message that

James 4:2 — kill is to be taken in the sense of hatred proceeding from envy, as in 1 John 3:15: whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.'" John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 575. Of course, all of the New Testament writers were aware of the Master's teaching in Matthew 5:21-22, where the antecedent motives and attitudes leading to murder were exposed and judged as murder. The blunt, powerful charges made in this verse are

1 Peter 2:21 — Christ. Leaving you an example … "The word from which `example' comes is found nowhere else in the New Testament"; David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1242. and the meaning of it is very similar to words translated "figure" in Acts 7:44 and "pattern" in Hebrews 8:5. The word is [@hupogrammos], and means "a writing copy," W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, ii (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), p. 54. that is, a pattern