Bible Commentaries

Genesis 49:20 — "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties." In 1 Kings 5:11, it is revealed that Asher lived in the lowlands along the Mediterranean between Carmel and Tyre, a fruitful and fertile region; and Solomon supplied the household of King Hiram from the wheat and oil products of this region.

Psalms 128 overview — fear the Lord. This blessedness is seen in: (a) their success in life; (b) a numerous, happy family (Psalms 128:3); (c) being permitted to see children's children (Psalms 128:6); (d) being permitted to see the prosperity of holy religion (Psalms 128:5); (e) seeing the prosperity of Jerusalem; and (f) peace upon Israel (Psalms 128:5-6).Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 252.

Psalms 99:6-9 — in the same breath. "Thou (God) tookest vengeance of their doings" Moses and Aaron were forbidden to enter Canaan; and, "Samuel's judgeship seems to have been brought to an end through his undue leniency toward his sons Joel and Abijah (1 Samuel 7:1-5)."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 345. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" is a law which is not abrogated by forgiveness. All of God's forgiveness is accompanied by punishment in order to show the pardoned man how deadly his sin

Proverbs 11:6 — "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them; But the treacherous shall be taken in their own iniquity." "This is an emphatic reiteration of Proverbs 11:5. The indulgence of their passions destroys sinners."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 213. Another rendition is, "The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires."NIV.

Proverbs 15:18 — "A wrathful man stirreth up contention; But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife." "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he that is slow to anger quiets contention."The Revised Standard Version. One finds the same thought here that is one of the Beatitudes of Jesus, "Blessed are the peacemakers." (Matthew 5:9).

Proverbs 17:13 — "Whoso rewardeth evil for good, Evil shall not depart from his house." "If a man repays evil for good, evil will never quit his house."Ibid. This warning frequently expressed in Proverbs simply means, "You reap what you sow,"Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), Vol. 5, p. 57. a principle strongly reiterated in the New Testament (Galatians 6:7-8).

Proverbs 20:19 — "He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets; Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips." Similar proverbs are Proverbs 11:13 and Proverbs 18:8. See comments there. The meaning here is simple enough. "The talebearer will not keep confidences, so do not associate with him."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), Vol. 5, p. 65.

Hosea 5:4 — "Their doings will not suffer them to return unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah." Polkinghorne is correct in his discernment that this passage relates to "the mortal sin of Mark 3:29, 1 John 5:16, etc. Hence they find that God has withdrawn himself so as not to receive their sacrifices (Hosea 5:15)."G. J. Polkinghorne, The New Layman's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), p. 931. The word Paul used to describe

Amos 1:9 — and cruelty of Phoenicia, the great slave traders of the day, in their dealings with the covenant people of God, ultimately issued in God's destructive judgment against them. The friendliness between Tyre and Israel is mentioned in the O.T. (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1; 1 Kings 9:11; 1 Kings 9:14, etc.); and, although there is no mention of any formal treaty existing between them, the relationship, "doubtless had occasionally been cemented by formal treaty."J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 564. At any

Micah 5 overview — This chapter concludes the middle division of the prophecy (Micah 4-6), having as its principal feature the glorious prophecy of the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and the triumph of the kingdom of heaven over all enemies, concluding with another reference to the vengeance and wrath of God executed upon "the nations that hearkened not."

Matthew 19:4 — And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female. As always, Christ referred the issue to higher ground, not to what Moses said, but to what God had said. Bypassing Moses altogether, he rested his case upon the word of God, appealing to Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 5:2.

Mark 7:35 — And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. The cure was accomplished completely by the Saviour's word of command. The prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6 that "The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped … and the tongue of the dumb sing" was fulfilled by the Son of God.

John 17:22 — And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are. Not the apostles only, but all Christians, partake of the glory of God from Christ. They are partakers of his holiness (Hebrews 12:10), "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), and have received the reconciliation (Romans 5:11).

Acts 23:7-9 — the Pharisees whom Jesus denounced. See my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 3:7, for classifications of Pharisees. Many priests became Christians (Acts 6:7), most of whom were doubtless Pharisees; and it is very likely that much of Luke's gospel (Luke 9:51—19:28) was researched through Luke's interviews with such Pharisees (then Christians) while Paul suffered the two whole years incarceration in Caesarea. The true and righteous Pharisees, of whom Paul must be reckoned, obeyed the gospel. Paul's

Galatians 1 overview — This chapter contains Paul's salutation (Galatians 1:1-5), the dramatic introduction of his reason for writing the epistle, which was the developing apostasy of the Galatians (Gal. 6-10), a bold defense of his apostleship (Galatians 1:11-17), and the additional evidence of his independence and authority as an apostle (Galatians 1:18-24).

Colossians 3:19 — Husbands love your wives, and be not bitter against them. This must be understood in the light of Ephesians 5:28-33. Paul did not need to spell everything out in each of the epistles, because he specifically instructed that his writings should be passed around and made available to others, beyond those addressed in the salutation (Colossians 4:16).

2 Thessalonians 3 overview — Following the prayer which concluded the previous chapter, Paul, in this, urgently requested that the Thessalonians would continue to pray for him (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5). Various practical exhortations were then given (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15), especially with regard to busybodies and idlers. Paul's autographic attestation and benediction (2 Thessalonians 3:16-18) conclude the letter.

James 4:6 — appropriately be said to be what God does. The Scripture saith … Here indeed is a formula for introducing a Scriptural passage, and there followed a quotation from Proverbs 3:34. As Punchard noted, "Peter used the same quotation (1 Peter 5:5); and it seems to have been a common saying, a maxim of the wise that had become, as it were, a law of life." Ibid. God resisteth the proud … There is no greater deterrent to righteousness than pride. Through pride, Satan fell; pride leads

James 5:12 — your assertions in ordinary conversation." J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 1037. The words "above all" have the additional utility of identifying the admonition here as having been given originally by the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 5:34; Matthew 5:37). Agreement is felt with Roberts and many others who have insisted that "This passage has nothing to do with solemn and serious civil and religious oaths." J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 155. Christ himself permitted himself

Revelation 20:11 — throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw a great white throne … Is this God, or Christ? We should probably read it as Christ, to correspond with Matthew 25:31-46, and also with the truth that God has committed judgment unto the Son of man (John 5:22). From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away … Note that very similar things were written in Revelation 6:14; Revelation 16:20; Revelation 18:21;