Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 2:10-12 — Jerusalem. And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly." Josephus reported that vast treasures were buried with David; and that these were later looted "by John Hyrcanus,"Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 237. and "by Herod."Ibid, p. 487. Both of these statements by Josephus were accepted as true by James Montgomery.International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 90. On the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter mentioned the tomb of David as being "still with

1 Chronicles 11:1-3 — over my people Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah; and they anointed David king over Israel." My comments on these verses are in Vol. 4 of the historical books, (2 Samuel). pp. 53-55.

Psalms 40:9 — thou knewest." There can be little doubt that this passage, as Matthew Henry said, is a reference, "To the coming of the great salvation,"Matthew Henry's Commentary, Vol. III, p. 388. and that `great salvation' began to be spoken by the Lord (Hebrews 2:3), and not by David. "This is a reference to the Gospel of Christ which is preached to all nations."Ibid. "In the great assembly" This is a much more understandable statement as a reference to the fantastically large crowds of the people who heard

Psalms 42:5 — yet praise him For the help of his countenance." This verse, as Henry noted, finds, "Faith silencing the complaint with the assurance of good times at last."Ibid. "Hope thou in God", etc. These last two lines are repeated almost verbatim in Psalms 42:11 and in Psalms 43:5, concluding each of the three stanzas which comprise these two psalms. McCaw has understood the meaning of these three `refrains' as, (1) "Being Faith's rebuke to dejection in Psalms 42:5, (2) Faith's exhortation in bewilderment

Proverbs 20:26 — here, suggesting that, "The words may be figurative."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 573. James Moffatt accepted that theory in his rendition: "A wise king scatters wicked men; he drives hard over them."James Moffatt's Translation of the Bible, 1929. However, the mention of threshing instruments here brings to mind Amos 1:3, where it is said that God brought judgment upon Damascus, "Because they threshed Gilead with threshing-instruments of iron." Toy also agreed that, "There is here the implication

Proverbs 29:15 — "The rod and reproof give wisdom; But a child left to himself causeth shame to his mother." Proverbs 13:24 and Proverbs 23:13 also deal with discipline for children. See comments under similar proverbs. In several other disciplinary instructions, the undisciplined son is said to cause shame, grief, etc. to his father; and the wise or well-disciplined son

Jeremiah 26:24 — results would have been if he had done so. He was indeed a powerful man in that period of Jewish history. His son Gedaliah later become governor of Judah; and "He is mentioned again in circumstances that reflect great credit upon him and his religion in 2 Kings 22:12-14."T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 564. What a wonderful service he provided here for the true faith by his faithful protection of the true prophet Jeremiah!

Hosea 10:2 — purposes of their own lust and gratification. It was for this reason that, "Under the appearance of devotedness to God, they still clung to idols."C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 10 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 128. For the scriptural documentation of this fact, see 2 Kings 17:9.

Joel 2:21-22 — continuing act of God's provision for mankind through the abundance of his creation is no less a "great thing," than any of his more spectacular judgments against Israel's enemies. Just as the swarms of locusts were said to have "done great things" in Joel 2:20, the actions of God's benefits are no less so.

Obadiah 1:11 — them." Here is a clear reference to a past event of Jerusalem's capture by foreigners, and at which time the Edomites stood with the invaders. Our interpretation identifies that occasion with the sack of Jerusalem by the Philistines and the Arabians. (See 2 Chronicles 21:17; Joel 3:3; and Nahum 3:10.) Note that nothing is said here of the destruction of the temple or of the carrying away of captives, events associated with the ruin of the city by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The capture in view here took

Zephaniah 1 overview — Zephaniah announced his theme at once, following his identification of himself as God's spokesman (Zephaniah 1:1), that being the universal final judgment of the whole world (Zephaniah 1:2-3). Would the Jews escape the terrors of that day? Certainly not! Passing from the general to the specific, a device which Dummelow described as being in harmony with the "genius of the Semitic mind,"J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New

Zechariah 5:8 — follows the practice of the older prophets, who repeatedly denounce this offence under the figure of prostitution.Hinckley G. Mitchell, op. cit., p. 173. The very title, "Wickedness" was also applied to the wicked queen who corrupted Judah with idolatry (2 Chronicles 24:7).

Matthew 25:33-34 — the unjust were ordered to take the road downward and to the left. The kingdom which God has allotted to the righteous was designed before the human race was created, "which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7). The disaster in Eden did not thwart, nor will it even delay, the ultimate achievement of God's eternal purpose.

Matthew 27:39 — passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross. An accurate description of this railing was given in Psalms 22. For a more detailed analysis of that Psalm and its prophecy of the crucifixion see at the end of this chapter under the fourth word, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Christ would soon do the thing they suggested, "raise

Matthew 7:5 — fault, however tiny. It is implicit in the comparison that the mote should be cast out of the eye. Tiny as it is, it may not be accepted lightly. Surely, this is an inspired metaphor. Judging and disposing of the faults of others is: (1) dangerous, (2) hypocritical, and (3) futile. If one would truly aid another, his first consideration is to get the plank out of his own eye. This means that he should prepare himself by acknowledging his own sins and turning to him alone who is the sinner's friend.

Mark 2:18 — disciples fast not … This was equivalent to "You are not in style! John the Baptist's disciples and the Pharisees are fasting, so what about you?" The Lord replied to their objection with a triple parable: (1) new cloth on old garment, (2) new wine-skins for new wine, and (3) drinkers of old wine care not for new wine. Only Luke gave the full parable (Luke 5:33-39).

Mark 9:10 — apostles obeyed the Saviour's injunction of secrecy. Questioning … The resurrection of Christ was an event utterly beyond the comprehension of the apostles because: (1) of the inherent preconditioning of the human race not to expect any such thing; (2) of the false idea they had concerning the Messiah and what he would do on earth; and (3) of their failure, at first, to believe Jesus' prophecies of his impending death. Commentators who themselves will not even believe the resurrection of Christ after

Luke 1:19 — said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. I am Gabriel … Only two angels are named in the canonical Scriptures, the other being Michael (Daniel 10:21; Judges 1:9). There are seven such archangels who stand before God's throne (Revelation 8:2). "There seems to be a remarkable gradation in the words (of this verse) enhancing the guilt of Zacharias' unbelief."John Wesley, One Volume Commentary

Luke 4:27 — And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. This was another incident from the Old Testament (2 Kings 5:1-14), this time from the ministry of Elisha; and it has exactly the same point as the one drawn a moment before from the ministry of Elijah. Naaman showed his faith in God by obeying the command of the prophet, being subsequently healed of

Luke 5:12 — that one so afflicted sought Jesus' aid indicated the popular conception that Jesus was a man of supernatural power. This dreaded malady was a type of sin in the Old Testament; and, although there were instances of its being sent as punishment for sin (2 Kings 5:27), it also occurred independently of sin. Significantly, Luke recorded the fact of the man worshipping Jesus.