Bible Commentaries

Proverbs 27:18 — "Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that regardeth the master shall be honored." Paul evidently had this in mind (2 Timothy 2:6). The comparison here seems to be: "Just as the fig-tree requires constant care, but also yields abundant fruit, so the ministrations of a faithful servant will not be without their due reward."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), op. cit., p. 74.

Proverbs 28:27 — "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse." The sentiment of the first line here is reiterated in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 9:6-11). God today blesses liberal and generous Christians. The reference to `curses' in line 2 reflects the extreme bitterness of poor people who are suffering for lack of the bare necessities of life, which are denied to them by people wallowing in affluence and luxury.

Jeremiah 11 overview — Jehoiachim, during that four or five year period while Israel was still feeling a false sense of security by reason of their friendship for Egypt.W. Harvey Jellie, Jeremiah, in Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company), p. 231. This would have been about 620. B.C. The great theme here is the breaking of the Sinaitic covenant by the Chosen People. That sacred covenant made by God with the Children of Israel at the time when he brought them up out of Egypt had been neglected

Jeremiah 2 overview — THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL "In this chapter, `Israel' refers to the whole nation, but in Jeremiah 3 the reference is to the Northern Israel."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 285. Keil's summary of the chapter notes these divisions: Israel had indeed loved God at first during the days of their delivery from Egypt (Jeremiah 2:1-3); but Israel had fallen away from the love of God and had taken up the worship of idols (Jeremiah

Joel 1:4 — hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten." The two great problems of interpretation encountered in this verse regard (1) the four different names applied to the destroying insects, and (2) the question of whether or not this was a literal infestation. As to the four different names, they have been supposed to refer to the locust at various stages of its development, but the most thorough studies of that insect do not reveal four different

Numbers 3:1-4 — the presence of Aaron their father." "These are the generations…" (Numbers 3:1). Here again we have the magnificent [~toledowth] encountered ten times in Genesis. "It is used here in a technical sense, referring to what follows (as in Genesis 2:4; Genesis 5:1; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 10:1; Genesis 11:10; Genesis 11:27; Genesis 25:12; Genesis 25:19; Genesis 36:1; and Genesis 37:2). It marks a new departure looking DOWN not UP the course of history."Thomas Whitelaw, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.

Matthew 12:45 — Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation. These words were doubtless spoken in sorrow. They were a firm, dogmatic prophecy of Israel's rejection of Christ, reminding one of 2 Peter 2:20. What state is worse than being unsaved? It is the apostasy from which it is impossible to be renewed (Hebrews 6:4-6).

Matthew 16:19 — that if all the apostles exercised that authority, the words lose their meaning as applied by Christ to Peter in the instance before us. This is not the case. A certain preeminence DID pertain to Peter: (1) He preached the first gospel sermon (Acts 2:14 ff). (2) He unlocked the secret of the Davidic kingdom (Acts 2:31). (3) He unlocked the secret of HOW people enter the kingdom (Acts 2:38). (4) He unlocked the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1 ff). (5) He unlocked the door of return for backsliders

Matthew 18:7 — The great issues of time and eternity proceed from God, and no appeal (or escape) from his total authority is possible. That heavenly compulsion was laid even upon Christ while he was in the form of man. He MUST be about the Father's business (Luke 2:49), MUST preach the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43), MUST put new wine in new flasks (Mark 2:22), MUST work the works of God (John 9:4), MUST suffer death (Mark 8:31), and MUST reign until all enemies are put under foot (1 Corinthians 15:25). There MUST

Matthew 5:9 — of his kingdom shall be peacemakers. Indeed, persons without this attitude need not apply. There are several ways in which God's children can serve as peacemakers: (1) Through spiritual instruction, they can bring peace to hearts that are troubled. (2) They can bring peace to their fellow men who are at strife between or among themselves. (3) They can bring men, through preaching God's word, or teaching it, to become reconciled to God, which is the greatest of all the achievements of the peacemaker.

Acts 16:29-30 — out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? … This question occurs at three places in Acts, identically in each instance as to meaning, and varying only slightly in form: (1) "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37), (2) "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30), and (3) "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). The answers as given in each instance are: (1) "Repent and be baptized every one of you, etc." (Acts 2:38), (2) "Believe

Romans 2:16 — being no disunity whatever between Peter's Gospel, Paul's Gospel, and Matthew's Gospel, etc. It is the entire New Testament that shall confront people in judgment. Jesus Christ declared of his word, that the same should judge men in the last day (John 12:48); and there is no other authentic source than the New Testament for either the words of the Master or the gospel of Paul. By Jesus Christ … The fact of the judgment's being "by Jesus Christ" is comprehensive: (1) Christ is to be

2 Corinthians 13 overview — congregation, the apostle in this chapter stated his intention of coming to them as soon as he could with a view to having a genuine showdown regarding the minority of the congregation, including the false apostles, who had been causing the trouble (2 Corinthians 13:1-10); he concluded with an affectionate greeting to them all, a thumbnail summary of the epistle, and the world-famed trinitarian doxology, perhaps the most widely used on earth (2 Corinthians 13:11-14).

2 Corinthians 3:7-8 — glory? MINISTRATION OF DEATH The old covenant, deficient on account of man's sins, was nevertheless attended at its inception by glorious manifestations of God's power and majesty, including the radiance of Moses' face mentioned here (see Exodus 34:29-35). Paul's argument is simply this, that if even the old covenant, called here the ministration of death, was attended by such glory, how much more glorious is the gospel of Christ, or the new covenant. Of deep interest is Paul's view of history,

2 Corinthians 7:6 — William M. Ramsay receive the speculation that Titus was Luke's brother, giving that as the reason why Luke in Acts nowhere mentioned Titus by name, especially in view of the fact that Luke apparently avoided doing so in relating a circumstance (Acts 20:4) where Titus' name would have been very appropriate. Sir William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler, pp. xxxviii, 390. Also, F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1954), p. 406. Furthermore, the very first

Galatians 3 overview — his dealings with mankind will help to understand this chapter. From the days of Cain and Abel, one of whom was cursed and the other blessed, for the simple reason that the deeds of one were righteous and the deeds of the other were evil (1 John 3:12), and throughout the history of the patriarchs, and continuing down through the Jewish monarchy, where of various kings it is said that some "did that which was right and good in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 14:2), and of others, that

Philippians 1:29-30 — having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me. Here one glimpses the impact of terrible persecutions upon the soul of the beloved apostle. "This allusion, of course, is to the lawless scourging and imprisonment of Acts 16:22-24." Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 72. That outrage deeply impressed itself upon Paul's heart, as indicated, at the very first, by his demand that the magistrates apologize and by subsequent references to it in 1 Thessalonians 2:2 and 2 Timothy 3:10. The

1 Timothy 1:14 — Christ." "The words (abounded exceedingly) occur 158 times in the New Testament, 106 of these in the Pauline letters." A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 5. Hendriksen classified this as another instance of Paul's "super" words, such as are in Romans 5:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Philippians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 12:7, etc. "It is clear that this super vocabulary is characteristic of Paul." W. H. Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 75.

James 2 overview — The first section of this chapter (James 2:1-13) carries a warning against courting the favor of middle-upper income people or the wealthy, against showing special courtesies and solicitude. There are no doubt many congregations which are tempted to do this very thing. After all, there are budgets

1 Peter 5:2 — will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Tend the flock of God … The flock does not belong to the elders, but to God. The word here is exactly the same "that Jesus used when he admonished Peter to tend his sheep (John 21:16)." Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters of Peter and Jude (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, 1972), p. 98. Exercising the oversight … See under preceding verse. As Dummelow, and many others, stressed, "Elders were not then distinguished