Bible Commentaries

1 Chronicles 16:1-3 — sacrifices were presented by the whole community of Israel with the Levitical priests performing their proper functions. David appears here, not as a priest, but as the king who supervised the proper activities of worship."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 335.

Psalms 1:4-5 — by the wind or burned. The New Testament use of this same figure begins with John the Baptist's declaration with regard to Jesus Christ, that, "He will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). "The wicked shall not stand." Not only will the wicked be unable to stand in the judgment of the Last Day, but they will also be unable to maintain themselves as stable members of the believing children of God through Christ. Here is the explanation

Psalms 49:9-12 — cannot do, there are some additional inabilities mentioned here. (1)    They do not enable the owner to live always (Psalms 49:9). (2)    They do not enable `their houses' to continue forever (Psalms 49:11). (3)    Riches do not enable the owner to determine what shall happen to them after his death (Psalms 49:10). The picture of the man who trusts in riches here is that of a man who is living in this world exactly as if he fully intended

Isaiah 3:10-12 — commentators who see in these verses the principle of future rewards and punishments. Good deeds tend to ripen into happiness; and evil deeds into misery and wretchedness. Of course, this is to be accomplished in a spiritual sense, and not mechanically. Isaiah 3:12 is not a derogatory put down of women but uses the inability, ignorance, and helplessness of that generation of women as a fitting metaphor for the characteristics of the rulers that were mining Israel and Judah. The same principle refers to the

Joel 1:8 — reminder here that the chosen people themselves, the nation of Israel, were frequently compared to a beautiful virgin. "The real subject here is the congregation or people of Judah, as suggested in the Chaldee."W.J. Deane, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 13, Joel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 3.

Nahum 1:14 — Assyria as: "Ashur, Nabu, Anu, Adad, the goddess, Ishtar, and others."Homer Hailey, op. cit., p. 258. 'Jamieson added Nisroch to the list, translating the passage here as, "I will make the house of thy gods thy grave!"Robert Jamieson, op. cit., p. 823. Sennacherib was slain in the house of his god; and when the whole city fell, the pagan temples became the hecatomb of the people, literally fulfilling the prophecy. "For thou art vile" See under Nahum 1:3, above for summary of similar teachings in

Nahum 2:10 — is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and anguish is in all loins, and the faces of them all are waxed pale." In the next chapter, Nahum added the thought that, "there is no assuaging of thy hurt," (Nahum 3:19), concluding his prophecy with that word. Those commentators who try to make Nahum merely a poetic celebration of a past event neglect to tell us how "the poet" knew that Assyrian Nineveh would lay desolate for 25 centuries! "Empty… void…

Matthew 12:37 — It must appear even to casual thought of it that words, as used by millions, constitute the bulk of human shame and wickedness. James said, "If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also" (James 3:2). Beyond everything else, man should watch what he says. One's words can justify when they confess Christ, or teach the truth, or serve to make peace, bestow a blessing, or give encouragement; but on the other hand, when words condemn, cast a reflection,

Matthew 12:42 — the South is seen in that she came upon a paucity of evidence, responding to rumor, or hearsay. The ends of the earth, according to Barnes, referred to "the most distant parts of the habitable world then known."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 135. Christ as "greater than Solomon" was expounded by James H. Childress as follows: (1) Christ was greater in his birth, (2) his wisdom, (3) his temple, (4) his throne, (5) his prayers, (6) in his mansions, and (7) in the sacrifice Christ offered.

Matthew 13:14-15 — Israel and their obdurate unwillingness to accept the King when he appeared among them. The words "turn again" near the end of the prophecy above are also translated "be converted" in the King James Version. See more under Matthew 18:3.

Matthew 17:5 — well pleased; hear ye him. The triple "behold" is significant. Miracle was piled upon miracle in the succession of astounding occurrences. Here is a manifestation of the Trinity almost as definite as that at the baptismal scene in Matthew 3:16. Christ was present, radiant in heavenly light; the Father spake out of heaven; and the cloud strongly suggests the Holy Spirit, although it is not so identified. The frightened apostles fell on their faces in abject terror at that overwhelming display

Matthew 2:20 — child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's life. Note that the instructions were to return to Israel, not to Bethlehem or to Jerusalem. They are dead that sought … See under Matthew 2:3 how, by a peculiar providence, most of the powerful members of Herod's establishment perished with him. How circumstantially accurate are God's words! Satan had doubtless raised up many enemies of Christ even in his infancy. How strange and significant

Matthew 26:33 — and said unto him, If all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended. One's sympathy lies with Peter here, although he was wrong. His error was threefold, in that he: (1) contradicted Jesus' words, (2) rated himself superior to others, and (3) relied upon his own strength alone. Furthermore, he did not realize that the strength and righteousness he had were not his own, but were only the reflected strength and righteousness of Christ. Many "righteous" people today make the same

Matthew 7:7 — great promise that prayer will be answered, although not always in precisely the manner expected. God answers prayer: (1) gradually, as in the case of Hawthorne's little Ernst in "The Great Stone Face," (2) literally as in the case of Jonah, (3) by denial of the request, as in the case of Paul's thorn in the flesh, (4) by sending something other than was requested as in the case of our Lord's prayer for the cup to pass but which was answered by his receiving strength to drink it, and (5) after

Mark 10:9 — creation. Intrinsically, these words apply to anything and everything that God has joined together. Thus, faith and baptism are joined as preconditions of salvation (Mark 16:16): glorifying God is to be "in the church and in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 3:21), thus joining Jesus and his spiritual body the church.

Mark 13:31 — was envisioned by the preceding prophecy. Christ was clearly talking about the cataclysmic destruction of the earth and its environment (at least), a fact properly understood by the apostles and mentioned in their writings, as for example, in 2 Peter 3:8-13, etc. This is also a prophecy that the words of Christ "shall not pass away." Even the most diligent efforts of radical, unbelieving scholars to discredit the gospels have an opposite effect; because, if they truly believed that the words

Mark 4:25 — judgment of the one-talent man from whom the one talent was taken and given to the man who had ten talents (Matthew 25:19-28). Barclay has a sermon which develops the thought of this law thus: (1) it is true of knowledge; (2) it is true of skill or craft; (3) it is true of effort; and (4) it is true of the ability to bear responsibility.William Barclay, op. cit., p. 102.

Luke 11:27-28 — unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. This incident is strangely similar to the episode recorded in Matthew 12:46 f and Mark 3:31 f. There, it was the mother of Jesus and his brethren who interrupted; here it is a woman who spake of Mary. The words here could not have been spoken by the mother of Jesus, but were quite properly spoken concerning her. Childers saw this as "the

Romans 8:28 — love me, ye will keep my commandments. … He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me (John 14:15; John 14:21). Christ's apostles stressed the same truth: This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments (1 John 5:3). This is love, that we should walk after his commandments (2 John 1:6). Them that are called according to his purpose … At this point, the great Biblical doctrines of calling, foreknowledge, and foreordination (or predestination) begin to emerge,

1 Samuel 25:43-44 — "David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and both of them became his wives. Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim." When David later had the power he took Michal back (2 Samuel 3:14-15). It is not certain exactly who Ahinoam might have been, but one possibility is that she was one of the wives of Saul (2 Samuel 12:8). If so, the mention of her here is that of an event that came twenty-two years later. We reject that view for