Bible Commentaries

Exodus 16:21-30 — pre-Mosaic Hebrews." Such an allegation was made by RylaarsdamJ. Coert Rylaarsdam, op. cit., p. 854. and others, but the facts regarding the sabbath are as follows: 1.    There is no sabbath commandment in Genesis. Some cite Genesis 29:7 as such, but "sabbath" is not in the passage. 2.    The very first occurrence of the word "sabbath" in the entire Bible is right here in Exodus 16:23.David F Payne op. cit., p. 189. 3.    Furthermore, in this

Exodus 31:1-5 — impart to helpers and assistants who might have been needed. "I have called by name Bezalel" On occasion, when God especially needed a man for important assignments, he called him by name. Thus, on the Damascus road, he called, "Saul, Saul" (Acts 22:7). When Samuel was a child, God called "Samuel" three tinges (1 Samuel 3 and God even called "Cyrus," the ruler of Medo-Persia, generations before he was born (See Isaiah 45:1-7). God's thus calling certain persons "by name" seems to have been rare and

2 Kings 2:23-25 — tender age of the persons spoken of."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 23. Therefore, we reject as totally irresponsible the snide comment that, "This story will not stand examination from any moral point of view."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 197. Such opinions come from an utterly false view of God. The current fad of understanding God as a kind of fuddy-duddy Old Man who would not hurt anybody is derived from gross ignorance. The Great Deluge and the destruction of the inhabitants of Canaan

Leviticus 14:1-9 — innocent of any particular sin, in like manner, the horrible state of the leper in this chapter stands as a true picture of the way it actually is with sinful people. "Him that is to be cleansed" This expression occurs in Leviticus 14:4; Leviticus 14:7-8; Leviticus 14:11; Leviticus 14:14; Leviticus 14:17-19; and it is of the very greatest interest that eminent Hebrew authorities challenge and deny the rendition appearing here, affirming that: "The text uses the reflexive rather than passive inflection

Isaiah 59:1-8 — governor declared to be innocent; (4) they wove a web of intrigue to get Jesus murdered clandestinely (Matthew 26); (5) they bribed the soldiers who witnessed Jesus' resurrection to lie about it; (6) they pressed false charges against him before Pilate; (7) through their friend Herod Agrippa II, they planned the murder of the apostles (Acts 12); (8) their High Priest (of all people) conspired with forty murderers determined to murder Paul, all of the chief priests and elders taking part in it (Acts 23:11-15);

Jeremiah 34:1-5 — against him. "And against all the cities thereof" This refers to the surrounding cities in Palestine which were fortified towns and would of necessity be captured prior to the assault against Jerusalem the major stronghold. Lachish and Azekah (Jeremiah 34:7) were the last two of these to hold out against the Chaldeans. "Thou shalt not escape out of his hand" This meant that Zedekiah would most certainly he required to give an account to Nebuchadnezzar his overlord, with whom he had negotiated a covenant

Micah 4 overview — after Micah lived. Note the false claim that "the best scholarship" accepts such denials. What Christian has not heard that before? The same author declared concerning our Lord Jesus Christ that, "None of the rulers or Pharisees believed on him" (John 7:48). To be sure, the Pharisees also considered themselves and those who agreed with them as "the best scholars," no doubt believing that they were the "in" people. As a matter of fact, they were the "outs" and were the most profoundly blind and deceived

Matthew 18:23-34 — refusal of his children to forgive others. 6.    The king's forgiveness "because thou soughtest me" shows that sinners need only to apply (in the proper way) in order to be forgiven. They need not "pay" anything. 7.    The ultimate punishment of the unmerciful servant shows that all forgiveness is contingent upon the continuing faithfulness of the redeemed. Jesus certainly taught in this that one may fall from grace. 8.    Those

Matthew 27:51 — their tasks with lighted lamps, with a very large number of them present; and it is from this group of eyewitnesses to that remarkable wonder that we may suppose is the explanation of why such a large "company of the priests believed" (Acts 6:7), being later converted to Christ. One may only imagine the fear and awe which attended the rending of that veil, witnessed by so many priests, busy with their lanterns, apprehensive of the enveloping darkness, and eventually associating the event with

Deuteronomy 24:1-5 — his wife whom he hath taken." The first paragraph here is that famous passage brought up by the Pharisees in the presence of Jesus Christ in Matthew 19:3. The view of those evil men was that Moses commanded to give a bill of divorcement (Matthew 19:7), but Christ corrected them, pointing out that Moses indeed permitted divorce because of the hardness of men's hearts, but that he, in no sense whatever commanded it. Some of the commentators today also need to be corrected. For example, Dummelow stated

Luke 8:27 — the Old Testament. When Aaron cast his rod upon the ground and it became a serpent, Satan's representatives at once imitated and reproduced, apparently, the same miracle, with this difference, that Aaron's rod-serpent swallowed all of theirs! (Exodus 7:12). There were actually two of these demoniacs, as related in Matthew; but as Boles expressed it, "He who tells of the two includes the one, and he who tells of the one does not deny the two."H. Lee Boles, Commentary on Luke (Nashville: Gospel

Luke 8:40-42 — reference is made to them for many comments that will not be repeated here. The scene of this wonder was Capernaum, or very near it; and Jairus was one of the respected managers of the synagogue which had been given to the Jews by the centurion (Luke 7:5). His prostrating himself before Jesus was atypical of his class and probably earned him the sharp disapproval of his peers; but such was the agony of his heart that he braved all the consequences of seeking Jesus upon her behalf who was dying. Nothing

John 1:51 — "Son of God." A little further attention to the title Son of man is in order. THE SON OF MAN The title "Son of man" was used at least forty times by Jesus, twelve times in this Gospel; and, with the exception of Stephen's use of it (Acts 7:56), it is found only in our Lord's reference to himself. There are two questions of the deepest significance that arise from Jesus' use of this title: (1) did he use it in such a manner as to diminish his claim of absolute divinity? and (2) why did

Romans 7:20 — "does" the sin. How pitiful it is, then, that any should continue in sin! This fits the words of the Lord himself whose favorite word for sinner was the term "fool" or its equivalent. Thus the Saviour spoke of the foolish builder (Matthew 7:26), the foolish virgins (Matthew 25:2), the fool whose soul was required of him that night (Luke 12:20) and the foolish disciples who did not believe the prophets (Luke 24:25); etc. Even in the Old Testament, the denier of God is called "the fool"

1 Corinthians 3:16 — desire to have such a house (temple), stating emphatically that after David's death, David's son would build God a house, that his kingdom would be established for ever in the person of that "seed" (which was Christ, of course). See 2 Samuel 7:1-13. Concerning the Greater Son of David, who is Christ, it was prophesied that he would build a house (temple) for God's name and that his throne would be established for ever. From the remarkable teachings in this passage from Samuel it is absolutely

Philippians 1:1 — sole author of the epistle, the name of Timothy who was with him at the time being added as a courtesy. Also, Mounce noted, "Timothy might have acted as Paul's secretary." Robert H. Mounce, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 756. Timothy … This name is associated with that of Paul in several other Pauline letters (Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; and in 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1). Timothy was deeply interested in the Philippians,

Joshua 7:16-21 — my tent, and the silver under it." "Brought Israel near" The repeated use of "bring near" for the casting of the lots indicates that these proceedings, "took place at the sanctuary, i.e., the tabernacle of Israel."Maxten H. Woudstra, op. cit., p. 127. "My son" (Joshua 7:19). "This is no mere hypocritical affectation by Joshua, who really feels for the criminal, (although the Commander is already under orders from God Himself to execute Achan). In our own times, we have seen a judge melted to tears

Revelation 1:5 — that of Hal Lindsey, who wrote: "Even though Christ has the right to rule the earth, he isn't exercising this authority over kings and kingdoms at this time." Hal Lindsey, There's a New World Coming (California: Vision House, Publishers, 1973), p. 26. If Christ is not exercising his authority, how can the church receive his promise that Christ will be with us "even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20)? Yes, despite the inability of some to see and recognize it, Christ

Revelation 12:12 — cosmic struggle going on in a theater of far greater dimensions than those of mortal life alone. They are part of what Barclay called the "sleepless vigil of evil against good." William Barclay, op. cit., p. 83. The vision of Revelation 12:7-12 was given to afford Christians a glance of the broader conflict of which their own trials are a part. Because the devil is gone down unto you … Here is the explanation of the whole phenomenon of evil, and we might add that this is the only

2 Samuel 13:7-14 — king; for he will not withhold me from you." But he would not listen to her; and being stronger than she, he forced her, and lay with her." "Such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this wanton folly" "This is a verbal quotation from Genesis 34:7; and the natural inference is that Tamar knew this passage in Genesis and wished to profit from the warning it contained."Albert Barnes, Samuel, p. 97. This is only one of literally hundreds of instances which we have cited in our commentaries which