Bible Commentaries

Amos 4:9 — and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah." The two disasters recorded here are (1) the blasting and mildew, and (2) the invasion of the palmer-worm, or locust (as in some versions). Some doubt persists as to which insect, exactly, is mentioned; but, whatever it was, the effect of it was totally ruinous. "Blasting and mildew" Barnes noted that: "Both words are doubly

Amos 8:6 — their unjust laws, due to their having defaulted upon some minor and trifling debt. "Sell the refuse of the wheat" This is a third device pointed out in this passage, used for swindling and defrauding the customer. They were: (1) false measurements; (2) false scales; and (3) delivery of inferior merchandise. The refuse of the wheat was hardly fit for animals, as it was derived from the sweepings of the threshing floors; but these unscrupulous rascals were delivering it to the poor instead of the good

Jonah 2:7 — "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah; and my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple." See under Jonah 2:4 for the significance of this reference to the temple in Jerusalem as still standing. There is no dependability whatever in denials that this is a reference to that temple. Griffiths asserted that, "This is probably not the literal Jerusalem temple";Michael

Micah 2:1 — 14, Micah (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 17. At bedtime, when men of a righteous disposition mark the hour with meditation upon God's Word and the offering up of prayers to the Father, the thoughts of the evil men (Micah 2:1) were directed toward the accomplishment of some evil purpose.

Habakkuk 2:10 — sinned against thy soul." As Ward pointed out, each of these woes has three verses, and the three are necessary to make the meaning clear. For example, in this woe, the reference to "the eagle's nest" would seem to apply to Edom; but here in Habakkuk 2:10, "The repetition of the multiplied conquests applies the malediction still to the Chaldeans."W. Hays Ward, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T and T Clark), Habakkuk, p. 20. "Thou hast devised shame to thy house" By riding rough-shod

Zechariah 1:4 — contemporary prophet (Zechariah)."Joyce G. Baldwin, op. cit., p. 90. Be not as your fathers" "Absurd are they who follow the ignorance of their fathers, pleading inherited custom as an irrefragable defense."E. B. Pusey, Notes on the Minor Prophets, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 340. Every kind of religious error ever known on earth is still being perpetuated by people who blindly follow the customs and religious prejudices of their ancestors.

Zechariah 4:8-9 — Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; His hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you." "Ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you" Homer Hailey pointed out that: "From Zechariah 2:9 and Zechariah 4:9, along with this passage, one may conclude that the speaker is the angel of Jehovah (that is, the Messiah in an Old Testament appearance). However, even if it cannot be certainly determined, it will matter little, for both angels

Matthew 1:17 — have the same number in the next one." Ibid., p. 16. Matthew had Scriptural precedent for this, to say nothing of his inspiration. Ezra, in giving his own genealogy, omits six names in a single group. This will appear in a comparison of Ezra 7:1-2 with 1 Chronicles 6:6-11.

Matthew 13:11-12 — conception of the Messiah's purpose. "Mystery," as used in the New Testament, referred to things concerning the kingdom of God, hidden from all previous generations; but then, in Christ, revealed to the apostles, and later to all mankind (Romans 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8).

Matthew 2:12 — warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Being warned of God in a dream … the wise men refused to cooperate with Herod. His caution in calling the wise men privily (Matthew 2:7) was of no avail. He that "slumbers not nor sleeps" was watching over the Saviour's cradle. Dreams were often a vehicle of revelation among the Hebrews. They were considered inferior to visions but often played a vital role in protecting

Matthew 25:32 — goats. The cataclysmic and simultaneous judgment of all nations depicted here should not be understood as some special kind of selection regarding earth's governments. The "all nations" here is the same as that of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and, from the parallel account in Mark, it is learned that it means "every creature," that is, "every man born into the world." Paul said, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive

Matthew 26:5 — the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people. But they said … How futile was what THEY said. The true order of the deeds to be done was already determined, and there was nothing they could have done to the contrary. See notes under Matthew 26:2. Naturally, with people present for the passover from all over the ancient empire, they shrank from murdering a popular and noble person like Jesus was known to be, lest their deed should lose some of the popular support which they enjoyed from the

Matthew 5:38 — Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. THE OTHER TEACHINGS CONTRASTEDWITH JEWISH LAW (Matthew 5:38-48) Passages which contain this injunction are Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; and Deuteronomy 19:21. Harsh and demanding as such a principle appears to enlightened people of our day, it should be remembered that it was a tremendously significant advance above and beyond the primitive thinking of the untrained

Matthew 6:33 — But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. This is a divine appeal for men to put first things first. The kingdom of God should be placed first: (1) in importance, (2) in point of time, and (3) in emphasis. The righteousness men should seek is that of Christ, not their own. This means that God's commandments should be honored, rather than men's, and that his doctrine should be received and practiced instead of the

Mark 11:18 — they "decided" to destroy him; that decision had already been made more than three years previously (John 5:18). Furthermore, Jesus, at the first cleansing, had associated his action with a veiled prophecy of his death and resurrection (John 2:19). Without doubt, Jesus' action in the two cleansings was a prime source of the motivation of the enemies who decided to destroy him. The principal concern of the chief priests, as revealed here, was exactly how they could bring about his death. Mark's

Mark 15:11 — filled the holy place with dead corpses, murdered the entire nobility, and with rapine and slaughter unparalleled historically, they accomplished the total ruin of Jerusalem, being in fact the "abomination of desolation." See under Mark 13:2, especially item (10) in the article, Why God Destroyed the Temple. Nineteen centuries have not diminished the wonderment over the choice which evil men made that day.

Mark 9:20 — always multiplied. Souls on the brink of salvation always confront the active hostility and opposition of the evil one. Spurgeon devoted an entire sermon to this phenomenon.Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Sermons (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, Vol. 2), p. 297.

Luke 12:29-31 — than that of seeking the kingdom of God. That such basic things are indeed legitimate needs is indicated in the last clause. "Christ was by no means suggesting that faith makes work for a living unnecessary."Charles L. Childers, op. cit., p. 524. Believers are not expected to be drones. "Honest toil and the fulfillment of one's temporal obligations are not only consistent with faith; they are prerequisite to faith (2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:8)."Ibid.

Luke 2:19 — All mothers like to keep a "baby book," and there can be no doubt at all that the most accurate record of things that attended Jesus' conception and birth was made by his virgin mother and, in due course, given to the author of this Gospel. (2) She pondered them in her heart. This indicates that Mary continually had these things in mind, meditating upon them, and wondering, perhaps, what the full import of such things could be.

Luke 5:9-10 — had met Jesus, as more fully explained in John. However, this was the instant of their being called into a new and higher relationship with Jesus as apostles. Elements which aided their decision were (1) the consciousness of Jesus' miraculous power, (2) a vision of something greater, "thou shalt catch men," and (3) a consciousness of sin. Only Peter acknowledged sin here; but it may be that the others were equally guilty of the same attitude.