Bible Commentaries

2 Kings 15:17-22 — there will appear before the gates of Jerusalem the threatening army of Sennacherib and the dramatic supernatural delivery of Judah. The two things of importance in Menahem's reign are (1) his brutal atrocity against the pregnant women of Tiphsah, and (2) his becoming tributary to Tiglath-pileser. In this latter event, there appeared before the gates of Israel the great Assyrian power that would soon destroy the Northern Israel forever. Regarding that brutal slaughter of the women, Montgomery wrote

2 Kings 2:7-11 — ages. Great authority and respect were granted to wearers of the prophetic mantle, and Adam Clarke noted that, even in modern times, the royal robes of kings and rulers, "Were adorned with the skins of the animal called the ermine."Adam Clarke, Vol. 2, p. 484. "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me" This did not mean that Elisha had dreams of eclipsing Elijah in the miracles, etc. which he would perform. The very words of this request are taken from Deuteronomy 21:17, where they refer to

2 Kings 5:10-12 — pool of Siloam" (John 9:7); and it should be remembered that all mankind are commanded to "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Significantly, the reaction of countless sons of Adam to that Divine injunction is very similar to that of Naaman's initial reaction here, with exactly the same result. He remained a leper; they remain in their sins. This leads us to inquire as

2 Kings 6:1-7 — had not been able to recover it, he would have been unable to replace it. After the brutal custom of the times, he could have been sold into slavery for such a trivial debt. Oh yes! Amos mentioned those who "sold the poor for a pair of shoes" (Amos 2:6). God's honoring the willingness of Elisha to recover that axe-head demonstrates God's care for the concerns of the poor. As Jesus said, "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven" (Luke 6:20). The mercy and tenderness of the love of

2 Kings 9:4-10 — addressing a group of men as, "O captain," instead of some other doing so apparently corroborates the statement of Josephus that, when Joram left Ramoth-gilead because of his wound, he left Jehu as "his general in charge"Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 284. of the entire army at Ramoth-gilead. It is evident from this that only a summary of Elisha's instructions to the young prophet was given in 2 Kings 9:1-3. The entire charge of Elisha is revealed in the words of the young prophet to Jehu (2 Kings

1 Chronicles 17:16-27 — and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant: and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever." These verses are parallel to 2 Samuel 7:18-29; and, "The Chronicler followed his source quite closely, with insignificant variations."Ibid., p. 130 We have written three pages of comments on these verses in our Commentary on 2 Samuel, pp. 85-97. There is a strong likelihood that

2 Chronicles 30:1-9 — land: for Jehovah your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him." This wonderful invitation from Hezekiah is a remarkable testimony. It came following the fall of the Northern Israel to Assyria in 722 B.C., a disaster that Hezekiah attributed to their forsaking the true worship of God in Jerusalem. This is proof that long before the times of Josiah God had commanded the centralization of his worship in Jerusalem. Note also the significant words

Nehemiah 13:4-9 — the meal-offerings and the frankincense." We find it hard to understand the claims of some that they do not know whether or not Eliashib was high priest, or whether or not Nehemiah returned as governor. Eliashib is listed as a high-priest in Nehemiah 12:10; and, besides that, only the High Priest had sufficient authority to have done for Tobiah what was done here. And, as for Nehemiah, of course, he returned as governor; how else could he have "commanded" as stated in Nehemiah 13:9? The High Priest

Psalms 146:3-4 — anyone."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 544. The prohibition is against trusting any human being as an authority in matters of faith and salvation. McCaw gave three reasons why men should not be trusted in such matters: (1) their lack of ability; (2) their ephemeral nature; "here today, and gone tomorrow"; and (3) their unreliability.Ibid. A current fad in religious matters is the Lutheran doctrine of "salvation by faith alone," a contradiction of James 2:24, and an invention of "a man" more than

Psalms 91:9-13 — thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot." Briggs stated that there is a Messianic significance in this passage;International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 281. and certainly Satan himself thought it applied to Christ, for he quoted Psalms 91:11-12 to Jesus Christ in the temptation recorded in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:10-11. Christ, of course refused the Devil's suggestion that he cast himself from the pinnacle

Isaiah 18:7 — confirmation from pagan sources; but the opposite is always true. Besides that, in all probability, what is prophesied here is the conversion of many Ethiopians in the Messianic era, as frequently prophesied, not only here, but throughout the Bible. See Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 60-62; Psalms 68:31; Psalms 87:4, and Romans 15:16. GOD'S PROOF OF HIS PROPHECIES In this chapter we have another example of how God's prophecies are "proved" by their very presentation, a phenomenon this writer first noticed

Isaiah 30:23-26 — his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." This is an agricultural metaphor of very extravagant promises of God's blessings; "But we must understand that this language prefigures the glorious blessings in Christ (Ephesians 3:19; Colossians 2:8-10)."Homer Hailey, p. 260. Yes indeed, it also refers to marvelous blessings to Israel after the return from Babylonian captivity; but the continued rebellion of Israel prevented the full blessings God intended for Israel after their return. God had

Isaiah 57:5-8 — and although some have attempted to deny that the children were actually burned to death, such passages as Psalms 106:37-38; Jeremiah 7:31; and Jeremiah 19:5 prove that they were burned to death. It was practiced by the Jews in the valley of Hinnom (2 Chronicles 3; 2 Chronicles 33:6); and as would appear from this text, in other valleys also."E. Henderson, p. 420. Of course, there is absolutely nothing in the post-exilic history of the Jews that even remotely suggests the type of behavior described

Isaiah 60:19-22 — shall be the light, and the Lamb of God the Lamp of the New Jerusalem, when all mourning is ended and eternal joy will prevail, that great condition will be realized, not upon earth, but in heaven. And when shall this occur? God states in Isaiah 60:22 that, "He will hasten it in its time." The time is not known to men in our generation. One thing stands out starkly enough, "Only the righteous, i.e., only those who are the shoot of God's planting, and the work of his hands will participate in Zion's

Jeremiah 19:3-5 — approval. They had destroyed the very charter of their existence as a nation. "Ye have filled this place with the blood of innocents" This does not refer to the sacrifice of infants to Molech, but to the senseless murder of innocent people by Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16). "The sacrifice of children to Molech constitutes a new indictment, which comes in the next verse."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 426. "Ye have built the high places of Baal" The purpose of those

Jeremiah 36:11-19 — avoided. The words of the book had already been read publicly! They immediately requested that Baruch would explain to them just how the dictation took place, and Baruch promptly answered. It is evident that: (1) God's Word was transmitted accurately, and (2) that it was not edited or changed in any manner by Baruch. The sympathy of these mighty princes toward Baruch and Jeremiah is evident in a number of incidentals: (1) they invited him to "sit," thus assuming the position of a teacher; (2) they questioned

Ezekiel 22:1-5 — could know at what point the land "is filled" with violence; but when that point is reached, who can doubt that God will terminate it? Jerusalem had certainly reached such a point, as indicated here. "Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood (2 Kings 21:2-15)."Ibid.

Judges 7:2-3 — reduction which God accomplished in Gideon's forces would have appeared to be absolute madness by any general not endowed with Gideon's faith. "Proclaim in the ears of the people" "This proclamation was in full accordance with the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 20:8)."Albert Barnes, Notes on Bible Books, Judges, p. 434. If this is a fair cross-section of human opinion, it indicates that the vast majority of men involved in warfare actually have no enthusiasm for it, but are merely involved due to peer pressure

1 Samuel 19:8-10 — spirit from the Lord came upon Saul" "We are not to conclude that God sent an evil spirit, but that he permitted an evil spirit to take possession of Saul. The spirit of envy and jealousy is obviously from the devil."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 158. We do not know the exact nature of Saul's affliction. It was sent upon Saul as a punishment; and with God's permission, as Adam Clarke thought: "It was made worse by some diabolical influence"Adam Clarke, Vol. 2, p. 273. "David fled, and escaped"

2 Samuel 8:1-2 — word "'Now' might be better."Ibid, p. 335. "David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines" From the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 18. we learn that Methegammah (translated as, `the bridle of the mother city')Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, p. 1089. is actually a reference to the Philistine city of Gath and its adjacent towns. It is merely a gratuitous insult to the O.T. for any scholar to refer to that explanation in First Chronicles as only, "a brave guess."Ibid. The actual meaning