Bible Commentaries

Exodus 29:19-25 — before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire unto Jehovah." "The other ram" This ram is called the "ram of consecration" in Exodus 29:22. This is, by far, the most peculiar part of the entire ceremony. "It must be viewed as a peace-offering (Leviticus 3:1-17), but one of a peculiar character. The application of the blood to the persons of the priests was altogether unique, and most significant. It was the crowning act of consecration and implied the complete dedication of their lives and of all their

Exodus 32:30-35 — to make an ellipsis out of it by leaving out a comma! We also reject the frequent "explanations" of this "book" mentioned here as being a human record of the children of Israel. It was no human roll at all, but a book which God had "written" (Exodus 32:32), as revealed by the apostle Paul, who called it "the book of life" (Philippians 4:3). For extended comment on the "Book of Life." see my comments on Hebrews 12:23, and also go to my comments on Revelation 3:5. Thus, what Moses actually requested

Psalms 145:1-7 — blessings God has bestowed upon him even before he eats breakfast. "It is proper then that we should give thanks to God every day."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 320. No Christian should think of omitting prayers of thanksgiving three times daily at mealtimes. It was the neglect of this simple duty that began the long decline and eventual debauchery of the pre-Christian Gentile world (Romans 1:20-26). "One generation

Leviticus 4:1-12 — shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt." Despite the fact of these other offerings having been outlined first (Leviticus 1-3), it was always the sin-offering or the guilt-offering which was first offered in the case of multiple sacrifices. The other three were presented first in the text because, "they were already in existence, and had existed from the time of the Fall."F.

Isaiah 28:1-6 — chapter, is the result of Isaiah's discrimination between the leaders who are principally to blame for the approaching disaster and the rank and file of the people who are being misled. "He varies his tone and manner,"T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, p. 163. accordingly as he addresses first one group, then another. The city of Samaria on a hill, crowned with a wall around the summit, sat like a crown on the city dominating a fertile valley. The behavior of their leading men, being a group of sorted drunkards

Lamentations 1:1-3 — JERUSALEM, THE GRIEVING WIDOW,The chapter headings which we have adopted here are those of Dr. Anthony L. Ash. See Anthony L. Ash, Jeremiah and Lamentations (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. Press, 1987), p. 335.THE THEME OF LAMENTATIONS "How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She has become as a widow, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces is become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and

Deuteronomy 20:5-9 — people." There are four grounds of exemption given here: (1)    for a house-builder who has not yet dedicated his house; (2)    for the planter of a vineyard who has not yet brought the vineyard into common production; (3)    for the betrothed husband who has not yet taken his wife; and (4)    for all cowards. We may only laugh at the remark by Watts that, "The officers act like king's men."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary,

Luke 22:19 — every solemn occasion of worship, even upon the day of Atonement; but in Christianity, there is no more a remembrance of sin, but of the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. See elaboration of this in my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 10:3-4.

John 18:5 — from heaven as "Jesus of Nazareth" (Acts 22:8). I am (he) … It will be noted that "he" is not in the Greek. Therefore, what Jesus said here was "I AM," thus making it another assertion of his Godhead (see Exodus 3:14 and under John 8:58).

John 4:54 — … means the second fully recounted in John. This author presented seven great signs of the deity of Jesus Christ, and this is the second in that sequence. Jesus, even this early in his ministry, had already wrought countless miraculous deeds (12:23; 3:2; and 4:45). The evident purpose of including this wonder in the list of seven was to show that the physical presence of the Lord was not required in the performance of his signs, but that his holy will was effective from any distance whatever.

John 5:36 — Father hath sent me. John performed no miracle; and there was a strong opinion within the very group Jesus was addressing, an opinion stated by Nicodemus that "We know that no man can do the signs thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2). Also, God had spoken out of heaven in broad open daylight in the presence of thousands saying, "This is my beloved Son." The works of Jesus, empowered by God, were the most fantastically powerful deeds ever done on earth, nor has there

John 7:39 — But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified. This verse is the proof that the first portion of John 3 is spoken of Christian baptism, not at that time commanded, but anticipated by the Lord's remarks there, just as the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost is anticipated here. The commentators who make such a big thing out of the great commission's

John 8:57-58 — ministry, but Jesus answered by an affirmation even more wonderful than that, declaring that he existed before Abraham was born. The majestic "I AM" with which Jesus concluded this confrontation suggests God's "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14), and there can be no reasonable denial that Jesus here claimed equality with God. See my Commentary on Romans, p. 315. A check of the teachings in this chapter reveals that Jesus presented himself as one with Almighty God no less than a dozen times.

Acts 20:21 — use near the end of the first century. We believe Luke accurately reported the use of this title here, in the year 55 A.D.; and further, that the title itself was given in the great high-priestly prayer of Jesus on the night he was betrayed (John 17:3), and that the Lord's giving of it that night accounts for its universal use among Christians of the generation who had seen the Lord.

Acts 5:31 — possession of every promise of the Old Testament. W. R. Walker, op. cit., p. 47. Prince and a Saviour … The word "prince" has the meaning of "Author," as in the "Author of eternal Life," being the same word as in Acts 3:15.

1 Corinthians 15:24 — he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. The end … means the end of the world, an event mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, as in Matthew 28:20; 2 Peter 3:10, etc. See my Commentary on Matthew, p. 527. He shall have delivered up the kingdom … The Second Advent will not be the beginning of the reign of Christ but the end of it. Millennial expectations predicated upon the supposition that Christ

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 — watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor. The location depicted here is fully identified later as "God's field" (1 Corinthians 3:9). The thought is that Paul planted the crop; Apollos cultivated and watered it. There is no reference to baptism in "watered." Are one … They were one in mutual love and respect for each other, one in purpose, one in status as God's

2 Corinthians 1:15-16 — described by Paul here as "a second benefit." Set forward on my journey … This is a reference to the early custom of members of the congregation accompanying the apostle part of the way upon occasions of his departure, as in Acts 15:3; Acts 20:38; Acts 21:5 and in Romans 15:24.

2 Corinthians 9:4 — with me any of Macedonia and find you unprepared, we (that we say not ye) should be put to shame in this confidence. Lest by any means … does not have any meaning of uncertainty. "It is not hypothetical, but = `when,' as in 2 Corinthians 13:2." David J. A. Clines, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 433. We should be put to shame … This is a marvelous example of Paul's use of "we" in order more fully to identify

1 Peter 3:21 — period of nine months; and as Macknight noted, "Noah's coming forth from the water to live again on the earth, after having been full nine months in the water, might fitly be called his being born of water." James Macknight, op. cit., p. 483. Christians too must be "born of water" (John 3:5). (3)    The same water which destroyed the antediluvians was the water which bore up the ark and delivered Noah and his family into a new life. It is the water of baptism