Bible Commentaries

Genesis 22:1-2 — leave Ur, etc. The offering of Isaac, however, was something that Abraham could not have done except in an act of obedience to God. The versions that render the word "tempt" instead of "prove" are misleading, because God does not TEMPT any man (James 1:13). The shocking intensity and impact of this divine command are seen in the cumulative effect of the designations for Isaac: "thy son … thine only son … whom thou lovest … even Isaac!" "This is the first mention of love in the O.T."Henry

2 Kings 4:32-37 — her son, and went out." This amazing wonder is one of a very limited number of such miracles recorded in the entire Bible. There are only three such miracles in the O.T.: (1) this one; (2) the raising of the son of the widow of Sarepta (1 Kings 17:17-23) by Elijah; and (3) the resurrection of the man who was being buried, and who, when the burial party was threatened by marauders, was hastily cast into the tomb of Elisha and was restored to life by his contact with the bones of that prophet (2 Kings

1 Chronicles 22:12-16 — gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, for Jehovah is with thee." The significance here is the reference to the Law of God through Moses, a reference to Exodus 20:1, and the direct quotations from Exodus 3:4 and Joshua 1:6-9 and Deuteronomy 31:24, thus providing incontrovertible evidence of the prior existence of the Pentateuch long centuries prior to the discovery of that allegedly `false document' in the reign of Josiah. No wonder the radical critics

1 Chronicles 6:77-81 — 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 this chapter is that all of the services of the tabernacle are presented as reaching all the way back to the Exodus; and the Chronicler tells us that their ceremonies were observed, "According

Job 2:1-6 — is done "before the Lord." The usual meaning of "sons of God" is simply, "men who worship God" (Romans 8:14). "Skin for skin" "There is a riddle here. No one knows for sure the meaning of this cryptic proverb."Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, Vol. 13, p. 90. None of the scholarly guesses we have read is worth repeating. Whatever it means, Satan's allegation is clear enough. He still believed that if Job's body was tortured, he would renounce God. The bitter hatred of all men by Satan is starkly

Psalms 104:31-35 — on earth such as earthquakes, volcanos, floods, tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes, droughts, climatic changes, untimely freezes, etc., etc., are, in all probability, merely the heavenly extension of God's curse upon the earth "for Adam's sake" (Genesis 3:18-19). God is surely the "first cause" of all such things, the design of which is clear enough. God simply does not intend that rebellious and sinful men should be able to make themselves too comfortable on earth. Such disasters as those mentioned,

Isaiah 28:16-19 — STONE Isaiah had already revealed in Isaiah 8:14 that 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

Jeremiah 19 overview — p. 162. "It was probably written by Baruch";Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 108. "It is conjectured that certain verses were added later by an editor";Anthony L. Ash, Psalms (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. Press, 1987), p. 163. (regrettably, Ash neglected to tell us whether this was his opinion or the opinion of unbelieving critics), stating that, "the reader can judge" the matter: Very well, this reader will judge such allegations; and the judgment is simple enough: such

Jeremiah 2 overview — THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL "In this chapter, `Israel' refers to the whole nation, but in Jeremiah 3 the reference is to the Northern Israel."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 285. Keil's summary of the chapter notes these divisions: Israel had indeed loved God at first during the days of their delivery

Jeremiah 25:15-16 — wrath that caused them to be mad and drunken ascribes "all that happens," whether good or evil, to God. This is hard for moderns to understand; but all of the prophets stressed this. "Shall there be evil in a city, and Jehovah hath not done it" (Amos 3:6)? How is God the author of evil? He has created the laws of control, not merely for the universe, but for men as well; and when men violate God's laws of control, evil is sure to result. In that sense, God does the evil. This was a necessary point

Jeremiah 5:14-18 — 1987), p. 78. (2) The other clue comes from the words "mighty nation," rendered "enduring nation" by Ash. "These words describe Babylon, not the Scythians."Ibid. Feinberg listed the earmarks of Babylonian identity here as: (1) distant, (2) ancient, (3) enduring, (4) unintelligible in speech, and (5) deadly in war, all of these being evident in this passage.Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 415. "Their quiver is an open sepulchre" This is an unusual metaphor indicating the

Ezekiel 24:19-24 — eyes that was taken away; but now it will be the desire of the people's eyes which will be taken away; and the loss will be too grave for tears."International Critical Commentary, p. 271. "Then shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign" Apart from Ezekiel 1:3, this is the first mention of Ezekiel's name. "This verse is the subscription to the first twenty-four chapters; and Ezekiel 1:3 is the superscription."F. F. Bruce in the New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 883. Ezekiel as a sign also has overtones reaching

Amos 5:21 — mingling of leavened bread with the burnt offerings; and (c) sacred images in the form of such things as the golden calves, adored at the shrines; (d) instruments of music such as had always marked pagan worship which they added to the worship, etc.; (3) all ethical and moral requirements of God having been forgotten and rejected in the practice of all kinds of immorality, drunkenness, and gluttonous feasting in the very worship itself; (4) the very shrines of Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba, where they

Zechariah 1:1 — captivity,W. J. Deane, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 14, Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 1. and also Marchesuan, according to Josephus.Flavius Josephus, Life and Works of (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston), p. 37 (Ant. 1:3:3). It corresponds to our October-November and was a rainy season. Darius was Darius the Great, grandson of Cyrus the Great who issued the decree for the end of the captivity. His second year is identified as 520 B.C. This was only about

Matthew 24:3 — Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? The question had been propounded by the four fishermen, Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3); and only these four were present to hear the remarkable discourse which begins with the fourth verse of this chapter.J. W. McGarvey, Commentary on Matthew and Mark (Delight, Arkansas: Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1875), p. 204. Note that there

Matthew 3:17 — saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Three times, the Holy Scriptures represent God as speaking out of heaven in testimony for Jesus Christ: in this place, on the occasion of the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and in John 12:28-30. Voice out of heaven … This passage is a stronghold of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Discernible by man's senses, all three persons of the Godhead appear in this passage. The Son is coming up from the waters of baptism, the Spirit of God in the

Romans 3:27 — moral, upright conduct, regardless of any relative superiority over one's fellow-creatures. True, the Jew might have been closer to God than Gentiles; but, whether from a greater or lesser distance, both are hopelessly separated from God. In Romans 3:21-26, Paul outlined the plan of redemption, through which Jews and Gentiles alike might "in Christ" share the benefits of God's righteousness in Christ; and why is boasting excluded by such a plan? Because it was achieved, not by man, but

Hebrews 12:3 — For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls. For notes on "consider," see under 3:1. It is no casual or nonchalant notice by mortals that our Lord is entitled to receive, or that will benefit them that look unto Jesus; but it is an intense, sustained and focal attention that people should give to Jesus, never relaxing or diminishing

Revelation 20:15 — the book of life has often been mentioned; and here the absolute necessity of every man's being inscribed in it in order to be saved is dogmatically stated. Therefore, out of regard to all men, we shall declare how one may so be written. In Matthew 10:32, Jesus promised that all who confess him will themselves be confessed by Jesus in heaven "before God and the angels." In Matthew 16:16, is the record of the first man ever to confess Christ; and significantly, Jesus then and there upon that

Revelation 4:4 — commentators. Who are these elders? They have been variously identified as symbolical of: (1) the "raptured" church which allegedly had already happened; Ibid. (2) the twenty-four star gods of the Babylonian pantheon; G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 63. (3) in the Targum the elders are interpreted as leaders of the Jewish people; (4) the twenty-four priestly orders enumerated in 1 Chronicles 24:4 ff; G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 114. (5) a special order of angels, an interpretation rejected