Bible Commentaries

Genesis 12:1-3 — (2) those of the Arabians; and (3) those of the entire Christian world. Muslim, Christian and Jew alike hail Abraham as a sacred ancestor. "I will bless thee" As Unger expressed it, "Blessing for Abraham, as for all of God's people, was dependent upon faith proved by obedience."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), p. 56. This contingency is always in effect, whether stated or not; and it applies to the so-called "land promise" and everything that God

Genesis 14:18 — "added" in the law of Moses. Also, it buries forever the widespread nonsense about the Jews having invented, or discovered monotheism. The truly discerning scholars of all ages have instantly recognized in Melchizedek, "A Canaanite prince by whom the true faith was retained amid the gloom of surrounding paganism."Ibid., p. 209. We have lingered a little on this marvelous episode, true and accurate in itself, but also serving in the precise manner of its appearance in the sacred record as a witness of the

Genesis 28:10 — here? The critic did not tell us where he got all that information about how many angels could stand on the point of a needle! As we have pointed out, the medieval disputants never did solve that problem. Have the modern critics done so? As a matter of faith, changes in the sacred text that are supported solely by the undependable opinions of men should be rejected. Once they have made this dream a vision of the stairway of some pagan shrine, they attribute this dream to Jacob's having seen such a ziggurat,

Exodus 7:8-10 — delivery of Israel from Egypt is a type of the salvation of all men. The universal and perpetual significance of these wonderful events, therefore, far more than justifies such a divine intrusion into human affairs as is unfolded in Exodus. The man of faith, therefore, far from being disturbed by the objections of critics, glories in every precious word of this astounding narrative. We cannot leave this phase of our discussion without pointing out that the Jewish Passover has been a continual celebration

Jeremiah 20:14-18 — 168. Matthew Henry, an older scholar, and a man of incredibly extensive reading and understanding stated that Jeremiah 20:14-18, "Seems to be Jeremiah's relation of his thoughts while he was in the ferment he had experienced in the stocks, and out of which his faith and hope had rescued him, rather than a new temptation into which he later fell."Matthew Henry's Commentary, p. 541. He also cited another scripture where a similar thing occurs. "David said in Psalms 31:22, `I said in my grief' I am cut off."Ibid.

Numbers 10:1-10 — these present times. What a need exists today for such a priestly ministry to call the Lord's people and their leaders BACK TO THE BIBLE out of error, priestism, cultism, and apostasy to apprehend the full and free salvation (through the obedience of faith) in Jesus Christ our Lord.Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), p. 194. These silver trumpets are to be distinguished from the [~showpar], or ram's horn frequently used in Israel's earlier history.

Jonah 3:5 — who also made the distinction between the two expressions thus: "To believe God means to believe what God says, to be the truth; to believe in God expresses not belief only, but that belief resting and trusting in God; it combines hope and trust with faith and love, since without love there cannot be trust."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 415. That the people of Nineveh should have done such a thing as that which is here related must be accounted one of the wonders of all time. That a lone Jewish prophet,

Zechariah 8:3 — "Thus saith Jehovah: I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth; and the mountain of Jehovah of hosts, The holy mountain." The punishment of Israel, God's unfaithful wife (an analogy used throughout the Bible) being completed, God promised here to return to Zion and Jerusalem. Note that "Zion" was used a second time in order to emphasize what part of Israel is the subject here. The ultimate fulfillment of

Matthew 16:19 — preeminence DID pertain to Peter: (1) He preached the first gospel sermon (Acts 2:14 ff). (2) He unlocked the secret of the Davidic kingdom (Acts 2:31). (3) He unlocked the secret of HOW people enter the kingdom (Acts 2:38). (4) He unlocked the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1 ff). (5) He unlocked the door of return for backsliders (Acts 8:13; Acts 8:22). (6) He unlocked the mystery of the new name (1 Peter 4:16). (7) He expounded the mystery of the new birth (1 Peter 3:21). (8) He revealed

Matthew 27:57 — the stake, while others who in prison shuddered even to think of it and exhibited the most solemn fears, behaved themselves with true manhood when the terrible moment came.Foxe's Book of Martyrs, traditional. The divine antidote for all timidity is faith (Romans 9:33; Romans 10:11). (3) Joseph's wealth might also have been a consideration in making him a secret follower instead of an avowed disciple (Mark 10:23-24). Wealth has always been one of the things capable of choking the word of God out

Mark 4:10-12 — the fact "that the kingdom of God has come in the person, words, and works of Jesus."C. E. B. Cranfield, op. cit., p. 153. According to New Testament definitions of it: (1) it is the enlightenment of all nations concerning the obedience of faith to the only wise God through Jesus Christ (Romans 16:25-27); (2) it is the plan of redemption formulated by the Father before the world was, but now preached in Christ (1 Corinthians 2:7); (3) it is the revelation of God's purpose of summing up

Luke 3:23 — centuries, and it must be confessed that human knowledge is by no means complete with regard to it. Perhaps the most persuasive fact related to the genealogies is that when the enemies of Christianity, such as Celsus and Porphyry, sought to discredit the faith, none of them ever alleged any contradiction in the genealogies. If people who lived when the genealogical tables were still preserved did not dare to allege any contradiction, those who dare to do so nineteen centuries later stand on the most tenuous

John 1:29 — that epic announcement in all of its dimensions and overtones. It was a truth that thundered and reverberated in his mind throughout a lifetime; and this narrative of the exact circumstances of its revelation is one of the richest heritages of our holy faith. In this first announcement of the great office of the Son of God, it was his relation to man's sin that was emphasized. He "taketh away the sin of the world!" Christ did not come to solve the political problems of Israel, nor to break

John 4:24 — meditating upon God's word in sermon or Scripture reading, (2) singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, (3) praying to God through Christ, (4) observance of the Lord's supper, and (5) the giving of money, goods, and services for the propagation of the faith and the relief of human needs. Very well, then, does the person who DOES these things worship God? Not necessarily, because an apostle spoke of certain persons who ate the Lord's supper in a manner unworthy of it, not discerning the Lord's body.

1 Corinthians 12:10 — Corinth. Paul had the true gift of 1 Corinthians 12:10 here; but it may never be supposed that he engaged in the non-sensical blabberings affected by the Corinthian tongue speakers. The nine miraculous gifts mentioned here are: (1) wisdom; (2) knowledge; (3) faith; (4) healings; (5) miracles; (6) prophecy; (7) discernments of spirits; (8) tongues; and (9) interpretation of tongues. Is the true gift of speaking in tongues on earth today? The answer has to be negative. What is admittedly true of all other gifts

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 — True, it is only said here that "tongues SHALL cease"; but there is no reason whatever to believe that this least of all supernatural gifts should have survived when supernatural knowledge, divine prophecy, and the gift of miracle-working faith perished; which, of course, they did. Any authentic speaking in tongues is here restricted by the apostle Paul to the age of miracles; and when that ceased, the tongues ceased, except for the affectations of those who indulge, from whatever motives,

Joshua 10:12-15 — less. God does not have to say it twice for it to be true! Now that denial about there being no physical evidence available to support the truth of this wonder, is itself false. There is indeed solid evidence, and it is this evidence that confirms our faith that this event occurred just as recorded here. The Holy Scriptures do not need to be continued by anything that men know or think that they know, but it is of some interest that the scientific facts available today prove that the axis upon which

Joshua 17:7-13 — 9. Why did not Israel drive out the Canaanites? Jamieson gave his opinion of the failure as follows: "Indolence, a love of ease; perhaps a mistaken humanity, arising from a disregard or forgetfulness of the Divine command, a decreasing principle of faith and zeal in the service of God were the causes of their failure."Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 154. Despite opinions such as that of Jamieson, however, we believe

Hebrews 2:17-18 — Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Behooved carries with it the idea of indebtedness, as of

Hebrews 9:13-14 — consciences being cleansed from dead works, although not within the perimeter of the author's vision in these verses, is a matter of the greatest concern to all people. A good conscience becomes reality upon one's obeying the gospel of Christ through faith, repentance and baptism, and rising to walk in newness of life. Without doubt, this fact underlies the reason that baptism, the great initiatory rite into the Christian religion, should have been so solemnly enjoined by the Saviour upon the occasions