Bible Commentaries

Exodus 19:15 — then, does this have to do with consecration to God? First of all, the flesh is antithetical to the Spirit of God. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other" (Galatians 5:17). Thus, it was considered to be desirable among Christians that husbands and wives should refrain from their usual relations, upon occasion, to "give themselves unto prayer" (1 Peter 3:7; 1 Corinthians 7:5). Back of scriptures such as these lies the

Exodus 29:5-6 — under-girdle. (3)    Putting on the robe of the ephod. (4)    Putting on the ephod. (5)    Girding with the curious girdle of the ephod. (6)    Putting on the breastplate. (7)    Putting the Urim and Thummin into the breastplate. (8)    Putting on the mitre. (9)    Putting the gold plate "Holy to Jehovah" on the mitre.George Rawlinson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.

1 Kings 1:28-31 — the priesthood, just as God had prophesied regarding the descendants of Eli. SOLOMON BECAME CO-REGENT WITH DAVID What is revealed here is of very great importance, because it removes forever any possibility of understanding key passages in 2 Samuel 7 as having any application whatever to Solomon. The Great One prophesied there was to be raised up at a time after David slept with his fathers, but Solomon actually became a co-regent with David during his lifetime. So Solomon was not the Great One

Proverbs 12:25 — "Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop; But a good work maketh it glad." "A word of terror disturbs the heart of a (righteous) man, but a good message will gladden him."The Greek Septuagint (LXX). In the first clause, the subject is anxiety; and the Savior, "Bids us beware of anxiety, and not to perplex ourselves with solicitude for the future (Matthew 6:34; 1 Peter 5:7)."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 237.

Isaiah 28 overview — they would be reduced by the Assyrians.Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 460. The date of these chapters is most likely that proposed by Dummelow: "This chapter must be assigned to a date prior to the capture of Samaria by the Assyrians (722 B.C.) and the fall of the northern kingdom."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 434. Even many of the critical commentators agree that the date may not be placed "any later than just prior to the fall of Samaria (722 B.C.)."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville:

Jonah 2:1 — ignorance of the fact that thanksgiving is the very heart of prayer; but this is not a psalm of deliverance from the great fish. It is rather a psalm of deliverance from drowning."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1957), p. 602. THE PROBLEM OF THE PSALM The fact of a number of words, phrases, and clauses from Jonah's prayer (or psalm) resembling or corresponding rather closely to similar expressions in the Book of Psalms is a big point of contention to some. It is

Matthew 21:35 — And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Such maltreatment of God's messengers, the prophets, is detailed in Hebrews 11:37-38; Jeremiah 37:15; and other passages which stress the abuse which was heaped upon God's servants, the prophets. Matthew 23:31-35 and Acts 7:52 reveal that both Christ and Stephen the martyr made very pointed references to the same maltreatment of the prophets.

Matthew 9:7 — And he arose, and departed to his house. Thus, another mighty wonder performed by the Master followed the usual pattern: (1) It was complete. (2) It was immediate. (3) It was accomplished by a mere word. (4) There were no incantations. (5) There was no agonizing. (6) There were no loud prayers. (7) It was totally accomplished with the utmost ease in the presence of his enemies, without prior staging, and without any props.

Deuteronomy 7:24-26 — to Jehovah thy God. And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and become a devoted thing like unto it: thou shalt utterly detest it. and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing." "Lest thou be snared therein" (Deuteronomy 7:25). The meaning is not that the silver and gold in itself would be a snare, but that in being a devoted thing as part of their false gods, it would contaminate all that came in contact with it. The tragic story of Achan in Joshua (Joshua 7) shows what

Mark 12:18 — And there come unto him Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying. THE SADDUCEES PRESENT THEIR QUESTION The Sadducees were the materialists of that day, denying not only any such thing as the resurrection, but the existence of angels as well. For more on the sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 3:7. Significantly, these ancient enemies were here making common cause against the Lord.

Luke 12:24 — Consider the ravens, they sow not, neither do they reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds. This is another of the Saviour's illustrations teaching the same lesson as that based upon his reference to the sparrows (Luke 12:6-7). It is easy to see in these passages how the Lord varied and adapted his teaching at various times and places.

Luke 2 overview — This chapter details the birth of Christ (Luke 2:1-7), the annunciation to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), ceremonies of the law of Moses observed on behalf of Jesus (Luke 2:21-24), the prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35), the thanksgiving of Anna (Luke 2:36-39), episode when Jesus was twelve years old (Luke 2:40-51), and a one-sentence summary of some eighteen years of Jesus' life (Luke 2:52).

Luke 7 overview — of Christ into sharp focus in this chapter, along with the ethic derived from it, namely, that it is in the love of God and the love of man that a soul may hope to commend itself to the Lord. First, there is the centurion who loved his servant (Luke 7:1-10); then, Jesus showed his love for the bereaved by raising the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17); next, Jesus offered his love of the afflicted and the poor as proof of his Messiahship to John the Baptist, laying stress on the publicans and

John 14:3 — second coming of the Lord, which is a part of the Christian faith. C. E. W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospel by John (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Co., 1939), p. 200. THE SECOND ADVENT Not only here but in Acts 1:11; Acts 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-17, etc., the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is emphatically taught, the same being one of the foundational teachings of Christianity. I.    What Christ will not do upon his return. A. He will not offer himself a second time

John 7:32 — The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him; and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to take him. Having decided months earlier to kill Christ, they were here spurred to action by the growing sentiment of the people that would have hailed him as the Christ. Their strategy of meeting such an event was to attempt his arrest; but the power of God restrained them until his "hour" had come (John 7:30).

John 8:28 — Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know … Some of the priests (in fact, many of them) would believe (Acts 6:7), but not until after the crucifixion, resurrection, and world-wide proclamation of the faith.

Romans 3:14 — Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Paul was continuing to pile up scriptures to prove the wickedness of that generation which rejected Christ. This verse is a paraphrase of Psalms 10:7; and, like the three charges listed in Romans 3:13, deals with sins of the tongue. The fact that this class of sins is mentioned at such length in this context shows how important the tongue is as an indicator of character.

Joshua 2:22-24 — rocks, which in later times were the abode of many hermits, they could easily have sheltered themselves for three days."F. C. Cook, Barnes' Notes, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 356. "The fords of the Jordan," mentioned back in Joshua 2:7, does not mean that adequate passage for a nation like Israel was located there. It is even doubtful that the spies were able to use them, due to the flood-stage of the river. Many commentators have expressed the opinion that the spies "swam the river,"

Revelation 1:3 — by the Roman Empire."G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 12. Frank L. Cox noted that, "This is the first of seven beatitudes in the book, the other six being found in Revelation 14:13; Revelation 16:15; Revelation 19:9; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 22:7, and Revelation 22:14."Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 2. Regarding this one, Beasley-Murray wrote: The blessing invoked is on the one reading aloud to the congregation and on those hearing

1 Samuel 15 overview — of R. P. Smith that, "God never finally rejects a man until, after repeated opportunities for repentance, he finally proves himself obdurate."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 4b, p. 264. The passage which proves that God thus deals with men is Jeremiah 18:7-10. In this light, therefore, we reject as totally inaccurate the notion that, "This chapter contains a second version of the reason for Saul's rejection as king."The Teachers' Bible Commentary, p. 171. All of the talk of critical commentators about