Bible Commentaries

Exodus 16:1-3 — Upon this occasion of their murmuring, God heard their cry and sent bread from heaven. "Would we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt… This cry puts on the garb of piety, and names the name of Jehovah, but indicates a lack of faith in Him, His power, and His promises."George Rawlinson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 1, Exodus (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 30. We cannot be too harsh, however, in our judgment of Israel. It was a real hardship they

2 Kings 8:16-19 — Bible Commentary, p. 454. "For he had the daughter of Ahab to wife" This evil woman, of course, was the daughter of Jezebel. "That disastrous political marriage which Jehoshaphat unwisely allowed,"Ibid. was the instrument by which Satan almost removed faith in Jehovah from the chosen people. Athaliah, here called the daughter of Ahab (and Jezebel) is also called "the granddaughter of Omri" (2 Kings 8:26 RSV), and "the daughter of Omri" (2 Kings 8:26 KJV). The words "son" and "daughter" are used nine

1 Chronicles 7:30-40 — myth"? One of these later obeyed the gospel. These names stimulate our curiosity and our imagination. Many of these are described as mighty men of valor, heads of their fathers' houses, chief among the princes of Israel, etc. What wonderful deeds of faith and trust in God must have been done! What marvelous stories of heroism, tragedy, glory, defeat and victory were woven around the names written here. We shall never know the slightest thing about most of them; but as we gaze upon their names we

Psalms 26:1-8 — five masons why the psalmist believes God will vindicate him against all charges of wrong doing: (1) "Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes" He does this continually, never allowing it out of his sight. (2) "I have walked in thy truth" He clings to faith in God. (3) "I have not sat with men of falsehood" He has not cultivated nor received the friendship of wicked men. The word here rendered "falsehood" in the Hebrew is "vanity."The Pulpit Commentary, p. 192. (4) "Neither will I go in with dissemblers"

Isaiah 22 overview — this prophecy is not certainly known. It would appear that following the miraculous lifting of the siege by Sennacherib because of the death of his army in a single night, instead of responding with an outpouring of thanksgiving to God and a renewal of faith and devotion, Judah wholeheartedly engaged in a boisterous, sensuous outpouring of merriment and celebration, marked by scandalous and irresponsible behavior. Against such a background of carnality, Isaiah announced God's prophecy of the "death"

Jeremiah 12:1-4 — wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end." "Wherefore... doth the wicked prosper" Jeremiah got to the point at once; and the problem here presented before the Lord in faith and humility was indeed an old one. Habakkuk had struggled with it; the patriarch Job (Job 21:7) was perplexed by it; and the Book of Psalms devotes at least two chapters to a discussion of it (Psalms 37 and Psalms 73). Men of every generation,

Jeremiah 5:1-3 — direction is addressed to the whole city."J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 233. "They swear falsely" "This does not refer to a judicial oath, but means that their professions of faith in Jehovah were insincere."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 511. In spite of repeated punishments by the Lord and his constant pleading with them to return to him, the people continued in stubborn rebellion.

Jeremiah 7:12-15 — millennium earlier. Albright, Thompson, and Unger all make mention of the excavations that have disclosed the destruction of Shiloh. This destruction of Shiloh, where once God's name was recorded, proved the wretched error of the people in their foolish faith that God was irrevocably committed to the preservation of any place regardless of the moral state of the Chosen People. "There not only existed the ancient tabernacle at Shiloh, but also substantial buildings as proved by excavations, so it is called

Hosea 6:6 — Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 710. Concerning the sacrifices commanded in the Law of Moses, Jesus himself said, "These ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone (justice, mercy, and faith)" (Matthew 23:23). In this admonition, Jesus referred primarily to tithing certain things; and, since the tithing of flocks and herds was also included, it is a valid view that Jesus designated the sacrifices of the Law of Moses as legitimate, things

Numbers 32:16-19 — eastward." "We will not inherit with them on the other side of Jordan" Here is the essential departure from God's will, based upon the same grounds that always underlies disobedience, "We will not!" Oh yes, the promises were excellent, no doubt made in good faith, and with the approving support of the whole nation; so Moses yielded. After all, it was the end of the line for him, and Israel would face the responsibilities of the future WITHOUT Moses. Therefore, he granted their request but included a final

Micah 6:6 — worshipping God." "It would be a gross misinterpretation of this verse, a violent wrenching the text out of its context, to construe this as a mere pronouncement that the whole point of religion is a virtuous life, without the need of atonement or of faith in God's revealed word."Gleason L. Archer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 759. To take the view which some have advocated would be to degenerate holy religion into mere humanism, which

Zechariah 11 overview — the interpretation of them. All such confusion merely demonstrates that when the obvious, central meaning of Zechariah 11 is ignored, the whole passage becomes impossible of any intelligent explanation. We are thankful for the clear vision and vital faith of many of the older commentators who do not hesitate to interpret the chapter as a reference to the rejection of Christ by Israel. Jamieson gave the whole chapter a single rifle: "The Destruction of the Second Temple and the Jewish Polity for their

Zechariah 5:10-11 — Babylon with the image of a woman in it means that Wickedness is enthroned in the evil city, and that God's people should leave the place. The spiritual application is that God's people should avoid all unspiritual environments that are destructive of faith. God's people totally reject idolatry.

Zechariah 9:9-10 — to this prophecy of Zechariah. "I will cut off the chariot… the horse… the battle bow" This refers to the rejection on the part of Christ's followers, of all instruments of physical warfare in their winning of converts to the Christian faith. It definitely does not refer to any period of bringing together both Ephraim and Judah in any recreated secular state of Israel. "In the Messianic age, weapons of war will be banished";R. E. Higginson, op. cit., p. 795. not from the world but from

Matthew 17:1 — duties and responsibilities. The Saviour's prophecy of his approaching death and humiliation had doubtless imparted some measure of shock and disappointment to the Twelve, and that event was possibly designed to lift their spirits, strengthen their faith, and lead them into an acceptance of the approaching passion of our Lord. The location of the wondrous unveiling of his glory is not given; but there are excellent and convincing reasons for placing it at Mount Hermon, or one of its supporting peaks.

Luke 1:17 — fathers' hearts to the children. And the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just … This is the same as "turning the hearts of the children to the fathers," as it is stated in Malachi, meaning that they will repent and again honor the faith of their father Abraham. There is, of course, the obvious fact that much more than metaphor is intended here. Moses and Elijah who were also among "the fathers," appeared in conversation with Jesus in the transfiguration; and from this

Acts 27 overview — its purpose, Ramsay was doubtless correct in the affirmation that "The result of his trial before the supreme court of the empire was that he was acquitted, and a decisive verdict was thus pronounced in favor of the free teaching of the Christian faith." Sir William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1959), p. 310. This was one of the key victories in the early propagation of Christianity. Later, the situation was to change; but this initial

Joshua 22:30-34 — people is the crying need of all generations. As Unger stated it, "How desperately the Lord's people need to exemplify that unity before men in a genuine testimony of the power of the gospel, not by a man-made monument, but by the outshining of genuine faith in God's Word exemplifying spiritual vitality from within the heart."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament, Joshua (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), p. 306. We conclude this chapter with the following comment from Jamieson: "This

Joshua 3:2-3 — "And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your

2 Samuel 12:7-9 — get his enemies to do his murderous work for him."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 307. This blunt, overwhelming indictment of David's conduct by an honored prophet of God must have come as a profound shock to the king. It is a miracle of David's faith in God that he did not order his bodyguard to slay Nathan in the midst of this interview. We have fully discussed that possibility in our commentary on Psalms 51. It is not because of his sins that David deserves honor and respect; but it is because