Bible Commentaries

Genesis 15:7-8 — "And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Significantly, (1) Jehovah (by that name) is already known to Abram; (2) also, the covenant is already in existence (Genesis 12:1 ff); and what the narrative here is concerned with is the question of Abram as to how he could know that it would really be fulfilled.

Exodus 8 overview — progressively hardens, and God's ultimate victory through Moses and Aaron begins to appear: (1)    in the recognition by Pharaoh of Moses and Aaron as God's spokesmen, not as the malcontent slaves that he at first took them to be, (2)    in Pharaoh's growing acquaintance with Jehovah whom he at first professed not to know, and (3)    in the first of a series of compromises in which Pharaoh sought to avoid the inevitable.

2 Kings 16 overview — OVER JUDAH Ahaz was one of the very worst of Judah's kings, only Manasseh and Ammon either reaching or exceeding his state of wickedness and rebellion against God. The full name of this king was Jehoahaz, the same as that of one of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 13:1), as revealed by the discovery of an ancient seal.International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 456. LaSor dated his reign from 732 to 716 B.C., with a co-regency from 735 B.C.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 360.

1 Chronicles 18:12-13 — Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand. And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went." These verses are parallel with 2 Samuel 8:1-14; and we have devoted nine pages to a discussion of these verses in my commentary on Second Samuel, pp. 99-108. The Chronicler made no mention of David's extreme cruelty to the Moabites; but otherwise there are few variations.

Jeremiah 42 overview — PROPHETIC WARNING FOR ISRAEL TO STAY IN PALESTINE The divisions of this chapter are: (1) the people request God's Word of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:1-3); (2) Jeremiah promises to pray for them, and the people promise to obey God's Word (Jeremiah 42:4-6); (3) after ten days, God replies (Jeremiah 42:7-8); (4) the command to remain in Judea (Jeremiah 42:9-12); (5) severe warning against moving to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:13-18); (6) and a prophecy of destruction for those going to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:19-22).

Ezekiel 3 overview — EZEKIEL'S COMMISSION CONCLUDED In this chapter we have: (1) Ezekiel commanded to eat the roll of the book (Ezekiel 3:1-3); (2) God promises Ezekiel power to overcome the difficulties of his mission (Ezekiel 3:4-9); (3) Ezekiel is brought to the place where he is to labor (Ezekiel 3:10-15); (4) Ezekiel is warned of his responsibility for the souls entrusted to his watchfulness

Amos 5:3 — that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel." Military defeat and the near-total destruction of Israel's reservoir of fighting men are sternly indicated by this. This portion of Amos' lament continues in the stylized 3 + 2 metre; and, "Some scholars have imagined that Amos actually put on the garb of a professional mourner and sang this song in Samaria and Bethel."Ralph L. Smith, op. cit., p. 108.

Mark 9 overview — The transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8), teachings concerning Elijah (Mark 9:9-13), the cure of the lunatic boy (Mark 9:14-29), another prophecy of the Passion (Mark 9:30-32), discussion of who was the greatest (Mark 9:33-37), the unknown wonder-worker (Mark 9:38-42), and a collection of independent maxims uttered by our Lord (Mark 9:43-50), form the subject matter of Mark 9. Mark 9:1 was discussed in Mark 8, but a little further attention is directed to it here.

John 11:51 — brought about a blessing he never dreamed (the remission of sins), and compassed for the nation the very evil he sought to avert.Ibid. For another instance of governmental action resulting in authentic prophecy, see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 9:2.

John 19:9 — And he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Jesus did not reply because: (1) he knew that Pilate would not stand against the hierarchy, and (2) his silence allowed the Pharisees' testimony concerning his claim to be the Son of God to stand unchallenged. As Lipscomb noted, "His silence was answer enough — that if he did not make that claim, he certainly would have denied it."

John 5:38 — And ye have not this word abiding in you: for whom he sent, ye believe not. In the chapter heading, mention was made of the three witnesses of Christ presented here; but, in the ultimate sense, they are but one witness, that of God. Its three phases are: (1) the works given of the Father to Jesus, (2) the person of the Son himself, and (3) the sacred Scriptures themselves also of God. This verse introduces the third phase of the Father's witness, that of the Holy Scriptures.

John 6:33 — For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven and giveth life unto the world. Unto the world … Not for Israel alone was the true bread, but for all the world. The true bread was far greater than the manna in these particulars: (1) it gives and sustains spiritual life, a far greater thing than merely sustaining physical life; (2) it is for all the world, not merely for Israel alone; (3) it creates spiritual life leading to eternal life, which no manna could have done.

Acts 1:24 — And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen. Lord … This could refer either to the Father or to the Lord Jesus. As Bruce said: As the verb used in "thou hast chosen" (end of Acts 1:24) is the same as that used in "he had chosen" (end of Acts 1:2), it is reasonable to conclude that Jesus is the subject here as in the former place. F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 51.

Acts 13:23 — the promised Messiah, a fact acknowledged in the first verse of the New Testament and brought into sharp focus here in Paul's address. Paul moved at once to prove the Messiahship of Jesus, citing as proof (1) the testimony of John the Baptist (Acts 13:24-25), (2) the fulfillment of prophecy by his rejection (Acts 13:26-29), and (3) his resurrection from the dead (Acts 13:30-37).

Acts 4:29 — And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness. This is reminiscent of Hezekiah's prayer (2 Kings 19:14 ff) in which he spread the insulting letter of Sennacherib before the Lord in the temple, pleading with God "to see and hear the words of Sennacherib." The praying saints did not propose any solution, leaving the matter wholly

Colossians 1 overview — This is one of the most important chapters in the Holy Writ, because of the Christology which reaches a climax of surpassing importance in Colossians 1:28. It begins with the usual Pauline greetings (Colossians 1:1-2) and occasions of thanksgiving for the Colossians (Colossians 1:3-8); next comes a profound paragraph on the preeminence of the Son of God (Colossians 1:9-23), and then the superb mention

1 Timothy 6 overview — This final chapter has a pungent paragraph on the reciprocal duties of slaves and masters (1 Timothy 6:1-2), stern warnings against senseless disputations and covetousness (1 Timothy 6:3-10), a beautiful admonition for the man of God to live a life worthy of the good confession (1 Timothy 6:11-12), a great Christological doxology (1 Timothy 6:13-16), instructions

Hebrews 3:7-11 — of this Psalm of the Holy Spirit. David, as the human instrument through whom the words came, is not mentioned; and thus the author of this epistle takes his place alongside other New Testament writers in making God the author of the Old Testament (2 Peter 1:21). The experience of Israel in the wilderness of wanderings was indelibly engraved upon the conscience of all the Jews, especially regarding the failure to enter the promised land, the shameful record of which was outlined expressly in their

Judges 2 overview — interpolated here into the main text! "The arguments against the unity of authorship in all three parts, the preface, the body of the work, and the appendices, will NOT bear examination."C. F. Keil in Keil-Delitzsch, Commentaries, Old Testament, Vol. 2-A, p. 245.

Revelation 4:7 — eagle. Of course, everyone is familiar with the adoption of these figures in church architecture to stand for the Four Gospels, but this has no foundation in the Bible. Roberts did not hesitate to identify these with the "seraphim" in Isaiah 6:2, and the "cherubim" of Ezekiel 10:20. J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 56.