Bible Commentaries

Psalms 107:17-22 — wickedness of the Chosen People which led to God's consigning them to captivity. "Fools" "This refers not to intellectual feebleness, but to moral perversity. All sin is folly; and nothing is so insane as to do wrong."Alexander Maclaren, Vol. III. p. 164. The metaphor here is that of a sick person, Israel being the patient, but the emphasis is not upon the nature of the sickness; "It is upon the cause of it, which is sin."Ibid. A sick man compared to one in health is an apt figure indeed of the weak,

Isaiah 1:1 — Jerusalem."G. Rawlinson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 10, p. 1. "The vision" "This is a technical term for `Divine Revelation," as something displayed before the mind's eye of the prophet.Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 609. Actually, much of the Book of Isaiah was communicated to the prophet in a manner unknown to us, as the author of Hebrews put it, "by various manners and various portions" Hebrews 1:1, NIV. There are also examples of "visions" in the usual

Isaiah 27:1 — the Bible, but always in a symbolical or metaphorical sense. Any argument from passages like this to the effect that Satan is a myth must rank as the height of absurdity. Christ taught his disciples to pray, "Deliver us from the evil one!" (Matthew 6:13). Kidner believed that the graphic description of the destruction of God's triple enemies on earth, i.e., Satan, False Religion, and God-hating Government, as depicted in this verse, "Is the same all-embracing judgment as in Isaiah 24:21, where `the

Isaiah 54:4-8 — indeed, those who received these promises and honored them were racial Israelites; but as McGuiggan observed, "All such promises, while addressed to the nation at large, are the heritage only of those who commit themselves to God (Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 55:6-7 and Isaiah 57:13)."Jim McGuiggan, p. 273. However, in all of God's promises, there is an implied condition, whether specifically stated or not, and that is the condition "provided that, those receiving the promises continue in the way of God." Thus,

Jeremiah 10:11 — Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 200. In the attention we have paid to the authenticity of the chapter, we should not overlook the extremely important theological teachings of these important verses: "There is none like God (Jeremiah 10:6); He is the true and living God (Jeremiah 10:10); He is the Creator of heaven and earth (Jeremiah 10:12); He is the controller of the clouds and of the rain (Jeremiah 10:13); he alone is worthy of the respect and adoration of all men (Jeremiah 10:7);

Jeremiah 5:14-18 — it is undeniably a predictive prophecy," according to critical bias, "Get rid of it by any means whatsoever: (1) call it gloss; (2) ascribe it to another writer; (3) late-date it; (4) refer it to some unrelated subject; (5) delete it from the text; (6) mis-translate it; or (7) simply declare, "Of course, we must not make too much of this!"

Ezekiel 15:1-4 — both ends and scorched in the middle" In its perfect state the wood is practically worthless; but, "What if it has been cast into the fire, the two ends have been burnt, and the middle is scorched and half burnt; what then?"Albert Barnes' Commentary, 336. We especially appreciate Bunn's answer to that question. He wrote, "It will not even make good charcoal!"John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 271. The application of Ezekiel 15:4 to the state of Israel

Ezekiel 35:4-6 — matter what the source of it, in human hearts can produce disastrous results in the persons harboring the hatred. Christ himself has warned us, that "If we will not forgive those who trespass against us, God will not forgive us our trespasses!" (Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:35). "In the time of her calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end" Plumptre has summarized the various opinions of scholars on what this means: Keil thought it meant the time of Judah's final transgression; Currey saw the meaning

Daniel 6:25-28 — God's redemptive intention for Adam's race. Most scholars agree that Darius did not become a monotheist by this experience. What he apparently did was to accept God as indeed the greatest of the gods, but not as the one and only true God. SUMMARY Daniel 6:28, So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. See the chapter introduction for a discussion of the historical difficult of these two names. One possible reading of this verse was given by Millard thus: "The

Hosea 2:6 — "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths." Here is the first of a triple strategy God will use in order to restrain, punish, and allure the harlot (Hosea 2:6; Hosea 2:9; Hosea 2:14) with the purpose of bringing her back to himself. There is a distinct shift of the meaning throughout these verses. As Halley (and many others) have pointed out, "Some of this language applies to Hosea's family, some to the nation,

Amos 2:14-16 — himself when he faces the final catastrophe."Hughell E. W. Fosbroke, op. cit., p. 790. "In that day" The day of the Lord refers to that day when, "God's judgment would fail upon Israel."Arnold C. Schultz, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 830. Although the immediate application of these words is thus accurately indicated, there is a more extended and ultimate sense in which they refer to the Great and Final Day of Judgment, when the entire human race shall confront the judgment

Amos 6:6 — drink from."Erling Hammershaimb, op. cit., p. 101. "The Hebrew word for "bowl" in this place actually means "the great bowl" and is mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament only in connection with ritual procedures."James Luther Mays, op. cit., p. 116. The sin which Amos condemned here is therefore a religious violation, and not merely excessive drinking, further pointing up the truth that this whole passage deals primarily with perversion of God's worship, the particular thing here, being desecration

Micah 2:11 — willing audience for anyone who panders to the vices of the age under the guise of proclaiming God's truth."David J. Clark, The New Layman's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), p. 991. The verses of this sub-section (Micah 2:6-11) have the utility of authenticating the prophecies of captivity for God's people, following invasion and destruction of their capitals. It is simply amazing that some of the critical commentators miss this; in fact, all of them miss it. They freely

Habakkuk 1:2 — iniquity."H. A. Ironside, Notes on the Minor Prophets (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, reprint, 1909), p. 278. Taylor expressed doubt that the extensive wickedness indicated in this verse could have been descriptive of wickedness in Judah prior to 600 B.C., alleging at the same time that it points to a period of 333-63 B.C.!Charles L. Taylor, Jr., Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VI (New York: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 980. One cannot possibly imagine what such a "doubt" could have been founded upon.

Malachi 4:6 — while knowing it to be a genuine part of the prophecy; and this accounts for the fact of none of their versions of the Old Testament allowing this verse to stand as the conclusion. In order to avoid it, they repeat one of the previous verses after verse 6, thus making the repeated verse to be the conclusion. Thus, the Old Testament Canon closes with an admonition for "those who fear God's name" to keep the sacred Law, and to wait for the great Herald who would usher in the age of Messiah by calling the

Matthew 10:2-4 — Iscariot, who also betrayed him. There are four listings of the Twelve in the New Testament, always occurring in groups of four, with positions 1, 5, and 9 always listing Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus in that order. See Mark 3:13; Luke 6:12; Acts 1:13. From this, it is conjectured that Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus were the respective leaders in each of their groups of four. The other names do not always follow a given order, but they do not occur outside the group of

Matthew 21:1-11 — DIVISION 6 THE GLORIFICATION OF THE MESSIAH THROUGH SUFFERINGS,DEATH, AND RESURRECTION, "GO MAKE DISCIPLES, etc." (Matthew 21-28) And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

Matthew 27:33-34 — reject it? Surely not because he wanted to suffer as much as possible, else he would not have tasted it at all. More probably, the tasting revealed that the concoction contained wine, and it has already been noted why he refused wine (see on Matthew 26:29). Though not related, that drink could have been proffered from the hands of a certain group in Jerusalem who customarily showed mercy by such acts on behalf of condemned men. Another possibility, regarding the wine and gall, is that Christ tasted

Mark 3:16-19 — custodians and deliverers of God's message to mankind, they are fully worthy of the honor God has reserved for them in the inscription of their names upon the foundations of the Eternal City (Revelation 21:14).MATTHEWMARKLUKEACTS(Matthew 10:2-4)(Mark 3:16-19)(Luke 6:14-16)(Acts 1:13)Peter Andrew James John Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew James, son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Simon the Cananean Judas Iscariot Peter James John Andrew Philip Bartholomew Matthew Thomas James, son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Simon

Romans 8:2 — law to Christ!' (1 Corinthians 9:21). Thus, freedom from Moses' law does not mean freedom from the higher law "in Christ." All people are under obligation to obey Christ. Paul called such obligations "the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2); James called them "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25), "the royal law" (James 2:8), and "the law of liberty" (James 2:12). Thus, the very gospel itself is "a law" that mortals are required to observe