Bible Commentaries

Exodus 12:4-6 — the Son of God, the Christ. "A male a year old" Here too the Christ is typified. It was specifically foretold that the Seed of Woman should crush the serpent's head, but it was equally true that the Messiah would be a man, "a He-Man," (Revelation 12:13), his masculinity being specifically stressed by the sacred writers. A male (lamb) a year old would be in the prime of life, at the zenith of its strength, just as Christ was crucified at about age 33, the very pinnacle of earthly strength and maturity.

Exodus 15 overview — triumph is given in Exodus 15. The glory of this Song of Moses is imperishable. It set the tone and established the style of Hebrew poetry for all subsequent time. And, in the N.T., it is associated with the final triumph of the church (Revelation 15:3). This is the story of a nation's birth-hour. "It is an emphatic declaration that Israel did not simply happen, but was created. It is a mighty act of God."B. David Napier, The Layman's Bible Commentary, Exodus (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press,

Ezra 6:1-5 — the sacred text in order to make it say what the scholars suppose it SHOULD have said. The RSV renders this line, "in the house of the archives where the documents were stored"; but Bowman rejects this as "unnecessary,"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 614. because archaeological discoveries have proved that such decrees were kept in the same vaults where the treasures were also kept. It is to Darius' great credit that when Cyrus' decree was not found in Babylon, he did not abandon the search,

Job 1:6-12 — here, as Dummelow wrote, that, "The Tetragrammaton (Jehovah) may have been much older than Moses."Ibid. This writer fully believes that the name Jehovah is indeed much older than Moses. (See my excursus on the Tetragrammaton (Y-H-W-H), beginning on p. 32 of my commentary on Exodus.) "Satan here has ready access to heaven."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 423. See chapter introduction for many reasons why such a comment is erroneous. "The sons of God… are divine beings who shared in the

Proverbs 3:21-35 — earth."Ibid. Not only did the previous paragraph speak of the Creation; but the separation of the beneficial waters by the heavens, dividing those beneath from those above, appeared in the mention of `the depths' and the `dew from the skies' (Proverbs 3:19-20). "Let them not depart from thine eyes… so shall they be life unto thy soul" "The main thrust here is the security that wisdom gives."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), op. cit., p. 21. The plural `them' refers

Isaiah 55:6-8 — beginning right here in Isaiah 55:7, is devoted to the reasons why men should heed the Divine call to repentance, there being five of these: (1) "God will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7). (2) "My thoughts are not your thoughts," etc., (Isaiah 55:8). (3) A third for introduces this reason, "God's ways are superior to men's ways as the heavens are higher than the earth" (Isaiah 55:9). (4) "God's Word will accomplish its purpose anyway, regardless of what men do" (Isaiah 55:10-11). (5) The fifth and

Jeremiah 23:1-4 — multiply. And I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith Jehovah." "Shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep" "Whither I have driven them" (Jeremiah 23:3). Throughout the Bible the same action is often attributed to multiple sources. Here the sheep were scattered by the false shepherds, but God also states that he had scattered them. "The same act may be referred to man or to God, according to the

Jeremiah 51:1-5 — full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel." "Them that dwell in Leb-kamai" The proper name here is a kind of trick word called an athbash, devised by numbering the Hebrew alphabet from each end (for example, in English X, Y, Z, would be numbered 3, 2, 1, etc.; and A, B, C, would be numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. Thus, to form an athbash, the letters of a name would be changed. The letter "A" would be written "Z," and the letter "B" would be written "Y," etc.). Leb-kamai here is an athbash for "Chaldea."Anthony

Ezekiel 14:4-6 — restoration and salvation, never their destruction. "Still, this is a threat of punishment."International Critical Commentary, p. 151. "After all, to turn to other gods was a crime worthy of death as clearly spelled out in the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:3-5; Leviticus 19:4; Leviticus 26:1; and Deuteronomy 5:8; Deuteronomy 12:3; Deuteronomy 27:15)."WE, p. 182. "Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols" The infinite mercy of God is here seen in the fact that, while in the very act of pronouncing

Hosea 6:4 — what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away." An important witness to the unity of Hosea is evident in the comparisons (morning cloud… dew), "for they correspond to those in Hosea 6:3"Ibid., p. 97. (morning… latter rain). Any genuine goodness on the part either of Ephraim or of Judah is but a vanishing trace, disappearing like the dew, or the morning cloud. "What shall I do unto thee…? This verse confirms what was said

Zechariah 1:15 — news to the Israelites. From anything they had been able to see, the hostile powers oppressing them were getting away with it; but here is the assurance that they shall receive merited punishment. (See further comment on this clause under Zechariah 1:3, above.) The nations that are at ease" Here is heavenly comment on those nations "at rest" (Zechariah 1:11). Their condition was one of carnal security, confidently asserting itself over the groanings of the enslaved and oppressed. God was displeased

Malachi 1:10 — been rebuilt. For awhile, `their house' would remain in their abusive hands; but God had an appointment with them in that bitter August of A.D. 70! There is an amazing correspondence between this passage and the passage in Hosea already cited (Hosea 3:4-5). In both passages, the long desert of "no sacrifice" is followed in the very next breath by the promise of the Davidic King, the Messiah, to whom the children of the New Israel will return. Thus, Malachi 1:10-11 fits Hosea 3:4-5 as snugly as the

John 1:50 — employed in the achievement of human redemption, a far greater thing. (2) He had seen the truth that Jesus is the Son of God; but, in the future, he would see Christ also as the Son of man and the achiever of reconciliation between God and all humanity. (3) He had seen Jesus as King of Israel; but, in the future, he would come to know that Christ is not merely King of Israel, but King of all creation, King of kings, and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15).

John 12:31 — cross to redeem men from the curse of sin, enabling them to be saved eternally, and to restore the fellowship with God, broken such a long while before by the disaster in Eden. The head of Satan would now be "bruised" in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. This great victory is here called the casting out of the prince of this world. That the cosmic victory over Satan would be won by such a thing as the death of Christ on Calvary is the mystery hidden before times eternal. The victory came through

John 4:45 — Jesus, but derived from the miracles they had witnessed in Jerusalem. Thus far, John had recorded only one of the seven great signs, that of the miracle in Cana; but there have been repeated references to a great plurality of "signs" (John 2:23; John 3:2), and "all the things" mentioned here. Galilee afforded no outpouring of welcome like that of Sychar. If indeed the Lord intended a decrease of popularity, Galilee proved to be exactly the place to find it. At Cana he would do the

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 — terrible warning to Romanism, but in conscience cannot do otherwise. The correspondence between the picture drawn and the historical apostate church is too clear and certain to be mistaken. AN EXCURSUS ON "THE MAN OF SIN" In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, Paul prophesied the great apostasy from the Christian religion and the ultimate revelation of "the man of sin" who would be destroyed by the Second Advent of Christ. However, this prophecy of a vast and extensive defection from true Christianity

Hebrews 12:23 — representative persons who are included in it, with whom believers are brought into fellowship. These are angels and men, no longer separated, as at Sinai, by signs of great terror, but united in one vast assembly. Brooke Foss Westcott, op. cit., p. 413. This view would make the "general assembly" and the "church of the firstborn" to be actually two entities, the latter a component of the first, yet distinct from it. "Who are enrolled in heaven" is a reference to the Book

Hebrews 12:5-6 — which reasoneth with you as with sons, My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art reproved of him; For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourges every son whom he receiveth. This quotation is from Proverbs 3:11-12, and it is here applied forcefully to all citizens of the new institution. The exhortation, in this reference, takes a new turn. He had just been speaking of the fact that they had not been required to sea1 their faith with their blood; but now

Revelation 17:8 — about to come up out of the abyss … As Beckwith said: It seems unquestionable that the idea expressed in these words (Revelation 17:8) is the same as that denoted in the symbolical vision by the head smitten unto death and healed (Revelation 13:3). They are described in closely parallel terms. Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 696. This is an exceedingly important point, having the meaning that this woman herself is that "healed

Revelation 4:1 — this little adverbial phrase! "There is no justification for assigning what follows to a time after this world." A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 143. I saw, and behold a door opened in heaven … As Earle stated it, "He saw the door standing open; he did not see it opened." Ralph Earle, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 530. John's use of