Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 21:17-26 — Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 332. While true enough that the fulfillment of this dreadful prophecy varied in some degree from what is said here, the variation was due to the repentance of Ahab which fully justified the slight changes (Jeremiah 18:7-10), because all of God's promises of judgment and punishment upon either nations or individuals are contingent, always, upon whether or not there is a significant change in the life of the condemned. In Ahab's case, that change occurred. But even so,

2 Kings 14:23-27 — Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash." REGARDING THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM The date of this important administration over Israel is not known exactly. LaSor (New Bible Commentary, Revised) dated it, "From circa 782-752 B.C. with a co-regency from around 793 B.C.."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 358. J. C. McCauley in Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia gave it as 782 to 753 B.C.Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 904. D. A. Hubbard in The New Bible Dictionary

Nehemiah 4:1-6 — wrote that, "Before men were taught to love their enemies and to bless them that cursed them (Matthew 5:44), they gave vent to their natural feelings of anger and indignation by the utterance of maledictions in their prayers."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 7b, p. 37. "The violence of Nehemiah's imprecations here (Nehemiah 4:4) grates harshly on modern ears; but it should be remembered that such vehemence against enemies appears repeatedly in the Psalms (Psalms 79:4-12; Psalms 123:3-4, and Psalms 137:7-9)."Charles

Nehemiah 4:7-14 — (4) He brought in the Jews with their families from the outlying areas, armed them and kept them overnight in the city. (5) He stationed armed men throughout the city near the construction workers. (6) He kept a close eye himself upon the situation. (7) He kept a trumpeter by his side, so that in case of an attack, he could promptly order all hands to repel it (Nehemiah 4:18). (8) He called the whole assembly together, saying, "Be not afraid of them… Remember the Lord who is great and terrible"

Nehemiah 8:13-18 — the word of God. "Once let the sweetness of the Divine Word be tasted, and there springs up in the heart instantly a desire for more, like that feeling of the Psalmist who wrote, `Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day' (Psalms 119:97)."Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 89 Not only did the people come to hear Ezra read the law on that following day, but also on every day throughout the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:18). Leviticus 23:42 had commanded the children of Israel to dwell

Job 30:10-15 — our strength the efforts of so many scholars to interpret the scriptures in such a manner as to put falsehoods in the mouth of the hero of this book. The Almighty himself declared that "Job has spoken that which is right concerning me (God)" (Job 42:7). That affirmation from God Himself cannot be harmonized with allegations that Job accused God of cruelty, affliction, and other crimes against Job. Admittedly, a number of verses in this chapter are very difficult to interpret, as Van Selms explained.

Psalms 143:1-6 — the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house; and I will give thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor… I will do this thing before all Israel (2 Samuel 12:7-12)." Nothing could have any more dramatically reminded David of these words of the Lord spoken to him through Nathan, than did the rebellion of Absalom. Knowing that he himself deserved to die, David nevertheless pleaded for God to spare him, which

Psalms 31:1-8 — not thinking of a final committal of his soul, as distinct from his body, into the hands of the Creator, but was solemnly committing himself, both soul and body, into Divine keeping, to be preserved from his enemies."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, 227. "Jesus' use of these words has made this entire psalm sacred and memorable,"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Old Testament, p. 507. for Christians throughout the ages. Countless saints of God have remembered and used the words in their very act of

Psalms 85:8-13 — this "return to folly" on Israel's part, God finally rejected the Old Israel, replaced it with the New Israel "in Christ," and ordered the total destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the whole religious apparatus of the Hebrews. This occurred in 70 A.D. "That glory may dwell in our land" The reference here is to the "glory of the presence of the Lord in our land," This surely implies a time when the Lord was not dwelling in the Jerusalem temple. A legitimate deduction from this is that, "The

Isaiah 10:5-11 — of his purpose to punish Israel. This metaphor of God's using wicked nations to achieve his purpose, and then turning upon those wicked powers in their ruin to punish them and destroy them is extensively mentioned in the Old Testament. Back in Isaiah 7:20 Assyria was identified as "God's razor, other examples of the recurrence of this metaphor identify such wicked powers as "God's bows" (Isaiah 13:17), "God's battle-ax" (Jeremiah 51:20), and "God's arrows" (Jeremiah 51:11). The words "Ho Assyrian"

Isaiah 44:1-5 — visible on every page of this great prophecy. But the words, "Yet now hear" emphasize not a continuation of the same theme, but a dramatic change to a new one, just as the word "now" in Romans 8:1 signals a dramatic switch from the deadness of Romans 7 to the eternal life of chapter 8, the significant word in each place being "now." Just so it is here, the dramatic shift is from the fleshly, rebellious, condemned Israel who would rot in captivity to their seed, their offspring, who would receive God's

Jeremiah 4:27-31 — that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers." Of very great interest is the promise of God in Jeremiah 4:27 that he will not make a full end of Judah. Not so for Nineveh. God promised to make a "Full end of her place" (Nahum 1:8); and that was surely her fate, because when Alexander the Great encamped his army near the ancient ruins of Nineveh, he did not

Ezekiel 1:1-3 — thirtieth year of the current jubilee period; it points to the thirtieth year of the neo-Babylonian empire; it was the thirtieth year of Manasseh's evil reign; it is the thirtieth year of Artaxerxes III."Anton T. Pearson in Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 707. By far the most acceptable understanding of what is meant by this "thirtieth year" goes back to the times of Origen (185-254 A.D.) who considered it a reference to the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life, that being the age when Jewish priests began

Hosea 9:15 — that place with the extravagant immoralities and indecencies of the worship of Baal adopted by the Israelites. See Amos 4:15; 5:5; and 12:11. Keil mentioned the opinion of some that human sacrifice was even practiced there.C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 127. However, in line with the rejection of Israel bluntly stated almost in the same breath, it would appear that the implication of bringing in Gilgal here pertained to the rejection of Saul. Just as their first king had been rejected, now the whole nation

Amos 5:4 — live." Seek ye me" "This does not mean, `inquire about,' or `search for' something or someone lost or inaccessible. When Yahweh is the object, the meaning is, `turn to Yahweh,' and `hold to Yahweh' as a way of life."James Luther Mays, op. cit., p. 87. Many have noted that this passage does not in any sense mean that the Lord is hiding from Israel, or even that he is not available to them. "It must be understood as meaning, to seek out and observe God's commandments."Erling Hammershaimb, op. cit.,

Amos 7:17 — away captive out of his land." This terrible prophecy against Amaziah was doubtless fulfilled exactly, as were all the other prophecies, the evident truth and divine origin of them being the primary reason that the prophecy of Amos has survived some 27 centuries of human history. It is a perpetual memorial to the grand truth that what God prophesies through his prophets will surely come to pass. "Thy wife will be a harlot" Such a result as this would have been an inevitable consequence of the great

Amos 8:1-3 — cycle. Motyer commented that, "The harvest metaphor is well suited to the passage. The crop comes to harvest as the climax of its own inner development."J. A. Motyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), p. 738. "The end is come upon my people Israel" "The harvest is past and the summer is ended; and we are not saved" (Jeremiah 8:20), was the plaintive cry of Jeremiah; and the same sad extremity is in view here. "I will not again pass by them any

Micah 3:5 — the (false) prophet's words. What comes out of their mouths depends on whether anything goes in. Feed them, and you hear good words. Slight them, and you hear of your doom."James Luther Mays, Micah, A Commentary (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 82. Affluent clients were no doubt catered to by the false prophets, and what numerous commentators say about that is undoubtedly true; but, somehow it appears impossible to find that particular meaning in the expression, "they bite with their

1 Samuel 2:27-36 — follow clearly make Eli himself blameworthy. "I promised … but now, Far be it from me" All of God's promises are conditional absolutely upon the fidelity of the one to whom the promise came. Jeremiah spelled this out dramatically in Jeremiah 18:7-10. 1 Samuel 2:32, above, is an exceedingly obscure and doubtful passage, and the RSV rendition of it here is the result of extensive emendation,John T. Willis, p. 53. a necessary procedure at times in order to come up with some likely meaning. "All

2 Samuel 2:18-23 — turn aside, the skilled commander of Ishbosheth's forces stopped suddenly, at the same time making a backward thrust with his spear, the butt of which had been sharpened in order for it to be stuck in the ground at Abner's head at nights (1 Samuel 26:7). That fatal thrust through Asahel's body ended the conflict. "Why should I smite you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?" Abner's reluctance to slay Asahel was doubtless due to his unwillingness to incur the hatred