Bible Commentaries

Psalms 3:3-4 — prayer from "his holy hill," this, from Jerusalem where God had recorded his name and where, in time, the temple would be built. There is a marked similarity here to the prayer of Jonah who also mentioned God's answer as coming from the temple (Jonah 2:7).

Proverbs 17:2 — the Bible. "A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child that acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the family."The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Eliezer the servant of Abraham was just such a servant (Genesis 15:2-3) as that which is spoken of here.

Proverbs 22:24-25 — Word 2. "Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, And get a snare to thy soul." This is a stern warning against association with any man given to angry and wrathful outbursts.

Proverbs 29:6 — fast by his sin. It becomes a habit which he is unwilling or unable to break."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 553. The contrast here is not very obvious. "It means (1) either that the good man has a peaceful conscience free of the snare of sin, or (2) that, although the righteous man has also sinned, he has repented; God has forgiven him, and therefore he sings."Ibid.

Isaiah 57:19 — Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him." The apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost applied the expression, "to him that is far off," to the call of the Gentiles into the ranks of the Church (Acts 2:39). The literal words in the Greek here are "far from the temple," thus applying to all persons, even to those who were not Jews. Note also God's promise of healing, which is here a promise of pardon and forgiveness of sins.

Isaiah 65 overview — subjects, regarding some of the most remarkable of the themes Isaiah has discussed throughout the prophecy. Regarding the divisions of this chapter, we have (1) God's reply to the complaints visible in Israel's prayer for deliverance (Isaiah 65:1-7); (2) regardless of the total destruction awaiting the irreligious majority, a faithful remnant shall be redeemed (Isaiah 65:8-12); (3) a mingling of threats to the unfaithful and promises to the faithful (Isaiah 65:13-16); (4) a glorious depiction of the

Daniel 1 overview — This chapter gives the historical setting (Daniel 1:1-2), introduces the four Hebrew young men whose deeds are featured in Daniel (Daniel 1:3-7), tells how these "four" did not wish to violate God's dietary rules and requested that they may eat only those things which God allowed (Daniel 1:9-13), reports

Hosea 2:10 — "And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand." Part of the punishment of a harlot in some of the Mid-East countries involved their being stripped and driven away naked, as indicated in Hosea 2:3, above. This verse is merely a reiteration of the disastrous punishment inflicted upon Israel. One may well wonder if a thing like this actually happened to Gomer; but if it did, the prophet mercifully covered it. However, there would be no mitigation

Matthew 10:26 — would not succeed in hiding the truth but would result in its being published. Persecution actually provided then, as always, the following benefits for the thing, doctrine, or person persecuted: (1) it intensifies the zeal of the persecuted party; (2) arouses sympathy for the underdog; (3) if intense enough, multiplies centers of dissemination for the hated truth. All these results were clearly observable in the history of the early church.

Matthew 7:28 — scribes. The significance of this great sermon was not lost upon those who first heard it. They understood, although probably not all of them believed, that Jesus in this magnificent discourse laid claim to authority surpassing that of: (1) the scribes, (2) the Decalogue, (3) Moses, (4) the Holy Scriptures, and (5) all earthly and human authorities. The truly perceptive must surely have detected the advance indications that here indeed was THE MESSIAH.

Acts 3:1 — occasions for preaching Christ to the people. In time, God would remove the temple; and the separation from Judaism would become complete. Ten reasons why, it may be concluded, that God destroyed the temple are discussed in my Commentary on Mark, Mark 13:2. Regarding the chronology of just when the event described in this chapter occurred, some have been quite anxious to suppose that a long period had elapsed since Pentecost, Ramsay declaring that "It is not made clear at this point whether weeks

Acts 6:5 — group nominated by the multitude. Philip … Concerning this nominee, Johnson said: He was distinguished as "Philip the Evangelist." He gave the gospel to Samaria, converted the eunuch, and afterward lived and labored at Caesarea (Acts 21:8). B. W. Johnson, Notes on the New Testament (Delight, Arkansas: Gospel Light Publishing Company, n.d.), p. 439. Nicolaus … A great deal of interest attaches to this last named of the Seven. First, he is the only one designated a proselyte,

Romans 12:17 — chapter, this type of consideration appears, namely, the need for maintaining a deportment that approves itself to men. The close parallel, "We take thought for things honorable not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:21), points up this consideration. Ibid., p. 138. Such a decent respect to the opinions of mankind was frequently noted by Paul, who commended himself to "every conscience of men" (2 Corinthians 4:2), and who required that a

1 Corinthians 2:7 — always accompanied by vastness depth and power. John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 406. THE MYSTERY The New Testament refers to many mysteries: of Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:32), of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7), of seven stars and seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20), of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51) of the blindness of Israel (Romans 11:25), of the harlot church (Revelation 17:7), and of the kingdom of heaven

1 Corinthians 3:12 — hay, stubble. Two widely held misconceptions are grounded on this verse, which is understood (1) as "applicable primarily, if not exclusively to teachers," John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids:. Baker Book House, 1972), in loco. and (2) as applying to DOCTRINES of two classes, (a) gold, etc., and (b) wood, etc. It is evident, of course, that the six kinds of building materials are of two classes: (1) the valuable and permanent and (2) the cheap and destructible;

1 Corinthians 7:39-40 — the sixth question Paul answered in this chapter; and the answer to this one was easy. Yes, widows might indeed marry again, but "only in the Lord." It was never intended that Christians marry unbelievers, as Paul spelled out more fully in 2 Corinthians 6:14 ff. It is a rare and exceptional thing indeed that mixed marriages between Christians and unbelievers can produce anything but sorrow. As Barclay said: One thing it must be, Paul laid down here; it must be a marriage in the Lord …

1 Corinthians 9:27 — There is no excuse for rendering the word here [@adokimos] as either "rejected" (English Revised Version (1885)) or "disqualified" (RSV). It means "reprobate" and is so translated elsewhere in the New Testament (Romans 1:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5-7; 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy3:8; Titus 1:16). It is thus crystal clear that the apostle Paul, even after the world-shaking ministry of the word of God which characterized his life, considered it possible that he himself could become

Galatians 2:3-5 — the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. "The apostle's language here is somewhat ambiguous," F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), p. 103. as Bruce said, making the interpretation to be: The first time I took Titus to Jerusalem the question was not even raised; but, at a later time, the false brethren spied on us and demanded that he be circumcised; but we refused to do so, etc.

Ephesians 1:13 — "in Christ" except by being baptized into him, the true meaning shines through despite all efforts to hide it. Bruce made a big point out of the fact that the participle "having believed" here is identical with the same words in Acts 19:2, where the English Revised Version rendition is "when ye believed." F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 36. But, of course, the ERV missed it in both places; and the device of proving one false rendition by a second false rendition cannot prove Bruce's

Revelation 12:7-9 — the human creation itself, is absolutely certain. No other possible understanding of it is either intellectually or theologically tenable. As Beckwith affirmed, "That the Apocalyptist thinks of it as past is evident." Ibid. It (Revelation 12:7-8) is included here to account for the relentless hostility of the devil towards God and his church. It relates to the period anterior to the Creation, concerning which we have a slight hint in Judges 1:6. A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 312. Inasmuch as