Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 10:1-10 — and Egypt."Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 252. How do we know that Josephus was wrong about this? His statement is strongly supported by the very titles claimed by the present-day rulers of Ethiopia. Halle Selassie I became Emperor of Ethiopia Nov. 7, 1928, with the title: "King of the Kings of Ethiopia, Lion of Judah, Elect of God."Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 14, p. 701. The explanation that Haile Selassie himself gave regarding that title, "Lion of Judah," when he was in Washington during this

1 Kings 8:46-53 — than seven times. (3)    Both the ubiquitousness and the omniscience of God appear in the declaration that God knows "the hearts of all the children of men" (1 Kings 8:39). Also in the view that "the heaven of heavens" (1 Kings 8:27) cannot contain him, there is further evidence that God is everywhere throughout his whole universe. (4)    The fact of God's displeasure with sin and the certainty of his punishing it appear in such verses as 1 Kings 8:33; 1 Kings

2 Chronicles 14:1-8 — ASA'S WAR WITH ZERAH THE ETHIOPIAN III. ASA (913-873 B.C.) THE DEATH OF ABIJAH AND THE ACCESSION OF ASA "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right

Psalms 132:11-18 — enemies shall I clothe with shame; But upon himself shall his crown flourish." This paragraph is the inspired psalmist's announcement of God's answer to the dedicatory prayer; and, as inspired men often did, he used material already in the Bible (2 Samuel 7:11-16), supplementing it with inspired revelations of his own. "Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne" "If thy children shall keep my covenant… their children also shall sit upon thy throne" (Psalms 132:12). These are the inspired

Psalms 18:18-24 — even the Christ, then there is no problem. Addis, rejecting the Davidic authorship of this psalm, did so, partially, upon the grounds that David could not possibly have described himself as one "Who kept the ways of Jehovah,"W. E. Addis, op. cit., p. 367. However, we believe that Addis misunderstood what that verse really means. Rawlinson has the following very enlightening comment on that passage: "I have kept the ways of the Lord." The parallel line here is, "And have not wickedly departed from my

Psalms 59:1-5 — individual, it has overtones which adapt it to national use also."Wycliffe Bible Commentary of the Old Testament, Old Testament, p. 516. This is the third time that we have encountered this world-wide international element in the Psalms. (See Psalms 56:7; Psalms 57:9, and again here). Please see discussion of all these. It is an earmark of Davidic authorship in all three. Kidner pointed out that this international flavor even existed in that very early prayer in the life of David, before his victory

Proverbs 6:20-35 — little benefit from the Book of Proverbs."Preacher's Homiletic Commentary, op. cit., p. 80. "Lust not after her beauty in thy heart" "These words push the sin of adultery back to the heart of the sinner, even as does the New Testament (Matthew 5:28; Mark 7:21; James 1:14-15)."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 710. There are two fundamentally different interpretations of this section; and the difficult text may be so translated as to support either one of them. This writer accepts the view that there

Isaiah 53:4-6 — the penalty of human transgressions, Satan would have achieved his purpose of the total destruction of Adam's race. The words "borne our griefs" in Isaiah 53:4 in the Hebrew are literally "borne our sicknesses";Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 647. but this is not a reference to Jesus' suffering from all our sicknesses, but to his healing all diseases. It was to make this point clear that the translators rendered the word "griefs." Thus, "The rendition griefs is justifiable."Ibid. "We did deem

Ezekiel 16:1-7 — cruel times in world history; and the exposure of unwanted children for the purpose of getting rid of them was widely known. Furthermore, as Plumptre said, "Everyone was familiar with scenes of this kind."E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 271. In fact, it must be supposed that, the captives themselves were particularly familiar with such things; because in that long terrible march, lasting a month or more, from Jerusalem to Babylon, the heartless captors would have allowed no time or consideration

Ezekiel 37:24-28 — over them… forever" "This can be no other than Christ, of whom it was said when he was brought into the world, `He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever' (Luke 1:33)."Matthew Henry Commentary (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell), p. 970. "The Messiah is here called `David,' because he shall be of the seed of David."International Critical Commentary, p. 402. The first verse of the New Testament flatly declares that Jesus Christ is the seed of David and the seed of Abraham. "Son of

Hosea 3:4 — between two views. McKeating and others felt that all of the things mentioned here were legitimate institutions denied to Israel during the period of waiting;Henry McKeating, Cambridge Bible Commentary Amos, Hosea, Micah (Cambridge: University Press, 1971), p. 92. while others as firmly suppose that none of these things was actually legitimate, even the institution of the king being viewed, not as the will of God, but as God's rejection (1 Samuel 8). The truth would appear to be that Hosea simply means

Micah 1:1 — loved to contradict what God says; and the evil one has not hesitated to contradict what God says in this verse. He says that: "This superscription is not the prophet's words.James Luther Mays, Micah, A Commentary (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 36. Micah 1:2 was inserted by the redactor.Ibid., p. 40. The second and third lines of Micah 1:5 are not the language of Micah.Ibid., p. 45. "Thus saith the Lord," God's Word still comes to those who hear and obey the prophetic call.D. Elmo Scoggin,

Mark 14:12 — this, when the paschal lambs were sacrificed, and all leaven was expelled from the houses, was popularly spoken of as "the first day of the unleavened bread."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 709. It is the conviction here that this popular usage of the expression was made in Mark's record here. Only by contradicting the Gospel of John can anything else be maintained. (6)    Christ's death at 3:00 o'clock in the

Mark 8:38 — eternal justice upon his creation. The presence of the holy angels in conjunction with the second coming is affirmed throughout the New Testament. It appears in the parables of the kingdom (Matthew 13) and in the writings of Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:7 f). It is the function of the angels to separate the precious from the vile at the time of the final judgment (Matthew 13:41; Matthew 13:49). Therefore, the coming of Christ in this verse must be identified with "the judgment" so frequently

Romans 11:25-26 — FULLNESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN. But "hardening" (until that of Israel) had invariably meant the destruction and disappearance of the people hardened, as occurred with the ten northern tribes, and all the instances cited under Romans 11:7 (which see). Paul here knocked down the conceit of the Gentiles by the declaration that God had spared hardened Israel! They would not be destroyed in the final sense at all, nor would they disappear. Their continuation upon the earth was here revealed

Romans 2:6 — authority from people alone and not from God, being the ceremonies and doctrines people themselves devised and having not the Creator as their author. Such are the traditions, precepts, and commandments of men denounced by Christ himself (Matthew 15:9). (7) A seventh New Testament classification of works is called the "work of faith" (1 Thessalonians 1:3). This work is clearly in a class by itself and may be defined as any action whatever undertaken or discharged by man in OBEDIENCE to a divine

Romans 9:33 — lump of black carbon, folded and pressured by the undulating layers of prehistoric earth; and how it came to be a jewel in a monarch's regalia is a romance as exciting as the story of the earth itself. Again, glance at the seared residue of Ahnighito (79,000-pound meteorite in Museum of Natural History, New York). Like the angels cast out of heaven, it has fallen from its first estate, having once coasted through measureless reaches of the universe at thousands of miles an hour for numberless thousands

1 Timothy 6:15 — no impediment to holding the same as true here. After all, in the Greek New Testament, Christ is called "God" no less than ten times, not including this passage. See comment on this in my Commentary on Hebrews, p. 31. See also Revelation 17:14. THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS In this survey, we shall classify some of the Scriptures relating to the kingship of Jesus Christ, inquire as to his credentials for such authority, explore the extent and duration of his kingdom and examine some

Hebrews 6:1-2 — Spirit (Matthew 3:11); (2) the baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11); (3) the baptism of John (Matthew 3:16); (4) the baptism unto Moses (1 Corinthians 10:2); (5) the baptism of suffering (Luke 15:30); (6) the baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29); and (7) the baptism of the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The seventh of these is beyond question the "one" baptism of Ephesians 4:5; and the knowledge of these things was most certainly part of the elementary things that one had to know in

2 Samuel 12:13-14 — 31:31-35). (6)    If sins were actually forgiven in O.T. times, what was the use of the First Advent of Christ? Why was Jesus Christ, in any sense, necessary if Adam's rebellious descendants already were able to receive the forgiveness of their sins? (7)    Since most of our versions actually speak of "forgiveness" in the O.T. period, what, actually, was it? The N.T. gives valuable light upon this question also. All forgiveness under the Old Covenant was accommodative, provisional