Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 22:19-23 — the truth that they might be saved… for this cause, God sendeth them a working of error (strong delusion in the KJV), that they should believe a lie, that they all might be judged who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). Many of the comments of scholars on this paragraph are uninformed and inaccurate. "It is hard to suppose that one of the holy angels was a lying spirit."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 222. The text does not say such a thing. It

2 Kings 10:1-5 — thou shalt bid us; we will not make any man king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes." "For barbarity and hypocrisy Jehu has few parallels; and the cowardice and baseness of the nobles mentioned here have seldom been equaled."Adam Clarke, Vol. 2, p. 517. "Letters sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel" Of course, that type of scholarship which is always fooling with the sacred text and changing it to what they think it should have said has `done their thing' on this verse making it read,

2 Kings 21:1-6 — when he began to reign" "When Hezekiah named his son Manasseh, he might have done so in the spirit of Joseph who gave that name to his first-born (Genesis 41:51), because God `made him forget' his dangerous illness."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 5b, p. 420. "And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah" The ineffectiveness of Hezekiah's extensive reforms is evident in what happened under Manasseh. "There was little sympathy with his reforms in the hearts of the people; the fear of God had vanished

1 Chronicles 17:1-15 — him, as I took it from him that was before thee; but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David." 2 Samuel 7:1-17 is parallel to these fifteen verses; and we have written fourteen pages of comments on them in Vol. 4 (2 Samuel) of the Historical Books in our series of commentaries, pp. 81-94. The variations in the two accounts are not significant.

Isaiah 22:15-19 — placed it a year or two prior to 701 B.C.David F. Payne, The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 706. This is reasonable, because in 701 B.C. Shebna had already been demoted (Isaiah 36:3), although even then he still held an important office. (See also 2 Kings 18:18.) Archer believed that Shebna and Eliakim, who succeeded him, were singled out here as symbolical representatives of the two general classes in Jerusalem: "(1) Eliakim, a truly devoted follower of God, representing the righteous remnant,

Isaiah 25:1-5 — "The wonders for which God is praised were decreed in his counsels from all eternity; their accomplishment shows forth God's `faithfulness and truth.'"Ibid. Paul stressed this fact repeatedly. God's counsels were made "before the worlds" (1 Corinthians 2:8); they were "kept in silence through times eternal" (Romans 16:25); the mystery of salvation was hidden "for ages and generations" (Colossians 1:26), etc. Isaiah 25:2 mentions "a city"; but this is not any particular city. The great cities that existed

Isaiah 27 overview — MORE ON THE FINAL JUDGMENT As Jamieson noted, "This chapter is a continuation of Isaiah 24; Isaiah 25; and Isaiah 26,"Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 459. and therefore a conclusion of Division III, all four of these chapters dealing with the eternal judgment. The outstanding and most challenging thing in the chapter is the

Isaiah 58:13-14 — the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it." Again, notice that all-important IF standing at the head of Isaiah 58:13. The multiple requirement is (1) that Israel must stop doing "their own thing" on the sabbath day; (2) they must stop teaching and parroting the words of men (their own words) and begin honoring God's Word; (3) they are commanded to call the sabbath day honorable, and a delight; (4) they must actually honor the sabbath, not merely refer to it as honorable;

Jeremiah 2:14-19 — fact that Israel is not a slave, but the wife of God; and how, then, is it possible for him to be mined? "The young lions have roared upon him" These words make it certain that the passage applies to the Northern Israel particularly, because since 722 B.C., when the Samaritan Israel had fallen to Assyria, the young lions (definitely identifying Assyria. See Nahum 2:11-13), had indeed been feeding upon the rains of the Northern Israel. The significance of "the young lions" is that they remained in

Ezekiel 13:17-19 — slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies." PROPHECIES AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHETESSES A number of prophetesses are mentioned in the Bible: Miriam in Exodus 15:20; Deborah, Judges 4:4; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14; Noadiah, Nehemiah 6:14; Elizabeth, Luke 1:41-45, Anna, Luke 2:36-38, the four virgin daughters of Philip, Acts 21:9, and Jezebel, Revelation 21:20. Isaiah's wife is also called "a prophetess" (Isaiah 8:3);

Daniel 1:3-7 — up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:16-18). As for the reasons why the names of these men were changed by their Babylonian masters, several motives could have caused it: (1) Hebrew names being unfamiliar to the Babylonians, they replaced them with names they could more easily

Matthew 3:1-2 — DIVISION 2 PREPARATION FOR HIS MESSIANIC WORK, THE HERALD, BAPTISM, TEMPTATION, AND HIS PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION BY JOHN THE BAPTIST Matthew 3:1—4:11 And in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying Repent ye; for the kingdom

Luke 8:9-15 — said: We are indeed the incense offered by Christ to God, both for those who are on the way to salvation, and for those who are on the way to perdition: to the latter it is a deadly fume that kills, to the former a vital fragrance that brings to life (2 Corinthians 2:16, New English Bible). There can be no wonder then that Jesus cried with a loud voice and said: "Take heed how ye hear!" The dual quality of the parables: (1) enlightening them of right spirit, and (2) blinding and hardening

Acts 1:21 — until the resurrection of Christ, how is it possible that any person in subsequent ages should be hailed as an apostle? These two verses shed light upon two of the most important subjects in the New Testament, (1) the qualifications of an apostle, and (2) the purpose of an apostle, that of witnessing the resurrection of Christ. It should be noted that death did not remove Judas from his office; it was his betrayal of Jesus that removed him. When James was executed by Herod (Acts 12:2), no successor

Romans 6:16 — regarding salvation by faith, may in no sense, therefore, be construed as diminishing or omitting the requirement of obedience in all who hope to be redeemed. Paul's gospel is emphatically that of "the obedience of faith" (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26) and not, as foolishly thought by some, salvation by "faith alone"; but people are tenacious where their theories are concerned, and thus it remains to soften the impact of a sentence like this. Oh, that is not talking about justification

1 John 3:9 — heaven, "the seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). In speaking of the new birth, Peter also mentioned the "incorruptible seed" which he promptly identified as "the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Peter 1:23). Therefore, it is the word of God which is eternal, incorruptible and continually abiding in Christian hearts. This word is no mere "dead letter," but "living, active … and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart"

Revelation 15 overview — SECTION IV (Revelation 15—16) This, the shortest chapter in Revelation, together with Revelation 16, for which it is merely the introduction, again takes us through the whole cycle of time to the eternal judgment (Revelation 16:17-21). Several times already the final judgment has been prophesied (Revelation 6:12-17; Revelation 11:15-19; Revelation 14:14-20). Many have pointed out the remarkable resemblances between the seals, trumpets, and bowls. All are judgments of God; the areas

Ruth 2:8-13 — threatened an isolated young woman without any protection in such an environment as the harvest fields provided, and he at once moved to provide that protection: (1)    He instructed her to glean in his field and in no other field. (2)    He commanded the young men among his laborers not to touch her. (3)    He told her to remain near his own maidens and to do her gleaning, following them. (4)    He at once gave her the

1 Samuel 20:1-3 — reject this chapter as "unhistorical,"International Critical Commentary, Samuel, p. 184. declaring that, "It cannot be reconciled with the story of Michal… It is hard to see where this incident can be made to fit in."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, p. 989 All such "difficulties" in the acceptance of this chapter are due to the failure of writers to understand the situation. Note the following: (1)    David was the son-in-law of King Saul, having recently married his daughter

2 Samuel 19:41-43 — situation which is reminiscent of the quarrels initiated by the tribe of Joseph, first against Gideon, and later against Jephthah, the latter erupting in a bitter civil war that destroyed forty-two thousand of the tribe of Joseph (Judges 8:1-3; Judges 12:1-6). This tribal jealousy and bitterness marred what otherwise would have been a happy ending to the rebellion. "A great catastrophe like Absalom's rebellion could not end without leaving profound effects."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 419.