Bible Commentaries

Psalms 130:3-4 — 2. A strong expression of trust 130:3-4 The psalmist realized that if God gave people what they deserve, no one would be able to survive. To mark iniquities means to keep a record of them and hold the sinner accountable for each one. Fortunately God forgives. He does not "keep track"

Psalms 89:15-18 — acknowledged and walked with God experienced. They had joy, exaltation, glory, strength, and security. "The joyful sound" (Psalms 89:15, NASB) refers to the shout of joy God’s people uttered when they saw Him lifted up and honored (cf. 1 Samuel 4:5-6). [Note: Ibid., p. 322.] A better translation might be, "Happy the people who have learnt to acclaim thee" (NEB). "Our horn" (Psalms 89:17) means "our strength." Ethan rejoiced that Israel’s king, who was her

Proverbs 23:6-8 — dish." [Note: Kidner, p. 151.] "The seventh saying [Proverbs 23:1-3] warns about the greed of the gluttonous guest and the ninth saying [Proverbs 23:6-8] about the greed of the stingy host. At their center stands the eighth saying [Proverbs 23:4-5], prohibiting the quest for riches, for they are a false security. All three sayings warn that things are not as they appear." [Note: Waltke, The Book . . . 31, p. 237.]

Song of Solomon 2:7 — The refrain 2:7 This charge by Solomon occurs again later (Song of Solomon 3:5; Song of Solomon 8:4) and serves as an indicator that one pericope has ended. The point of Solomon’s words is that others desiring the kind of relationship he and his beloved enjoyed should be patient and "let love take its natural course." [Note: Ibid.,

Isaiah 2:10-11 — lofty people would eventually try to hide from God’s judgment of them when He exalts Himself in the day of His reckoning (see Isaiah 2:12). Having boasted in earthly resources (Isaiah 2:6-8), they now have only the earth to turn to (cf. Isaiah 1:24). Contrast the nations that the Lord will accept in the future (Isaiah 2:4). "In preaching as he does here, Isaiah is going contrary to modern psychological theories which assert that it is unwise and even wrong to use fear as a motif in preaching

Isaiah 28:5-6 — Ephriam would fall, the Lord would also preserve a remnant of the Northern Kingdom. He would be the true crown (king, cf. Isaiah 11:1-9) of His people and a source of glory for them, in contrast to their present fading garlands (cf. Isaiah 28:1; Isaiah 4:2-6). He would also become the standard and facilitator of justice for their judges and the strength of their soldiers (cf. Isaiah 11:2). This does not mean that the faithful Ephraimites would turn on their enemies and defeat them, but that they would

Isaiah 49:1-12 — 1. Anticipation of salvation 49:1-52:12 This first segment focuses on the anticipation of salvation. Israel needed to believe the promises of God concerning the coming salvation. The possibility of a restored relationship between Israel and her God becomes increasingly clear as this

Isaiah 61:1-3 — (Messiah) and His mission. Some scholars regard Isaiah 61:1-3 as a fifth Servant Song. [Note: E.g., Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "The Christological Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Servant Songs," Bibliotheca Sacra 163:652 (October-December 2006):401-4), regard 61:1-3.] That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11, is clear from what Isaiah wrote about Him. "The Anointed One now appears for the second time. As in the second Servant Song

Jeremiah 23:24 — to hide from God in the sense that they did evil that they thought He could not see. The Lord reminded His people through Jeremiah that He is everywhere in the universe. There is no place where they could go to hide from Him (cf. Psalms 139; Amos 9:2-4). "It is not wealth of knowledge as the result of long life or old age that God claims for Himself in Jeremiah 23:24, but the power of seeing into that which is hidden so that none can conceal himself from Him, or omniscience." [Note: Keil,

Jeremiah 23:30-32 — false prophets because they got messages from one another, or from their own minds, or from a dream, and then claimed that they were from the Lord. They were misleading God’s people and were not benefiting them in the least (cf. Jeremiah 23:1-4). In our day, many liberal preachers begin their messages with "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," and then proceed to deliver an unbiblical sermon. They give placebos to the people rather than helpful prescriptions. The

Jeremiah 26:10 — When the princes of Judah heard what had happened, they left the palace complex and assembled at the New Gate of the temple (cf. Jeremiah 20:2; 2 Kings 15:35). Gates were the normal sites of court sessions (cf. Genesis 23:10-20; Deuteronomy 21:19; Ruth 4:1; 2 Samuel 15:2; Proverbs 31:23; Amos 5:10-12). The exact location of the New (Benjamin, Altar, Upper, North) Gate is unknown, though it was an opening in the barrier that separated the outer and inner courtyards on the north side of the temple (cf.

Jeremiah 3:20 — Robert B. Chisholm Jr., Handbook on the Prophets, p. 159. See also Terence Fretheim, The Suffering of God, p. 116.]   "It is important to retain memory of this deep compassion when we read the prophet’s declarations of judgment (Jeremiah 4:5 ff.); in judgment, the compassion is still present, hoping beyond the judgment for a restoration of the relationship of love." [Note: Craigie, p. 64.]

Jeremiah 35:6 — commanded his descendants never to drink wine. Abstinence was not a requirement of the Mosaic Law; it was simply a requirement that Jonadab imposed on his family. Faithful Nazirites also abstained from wine and grape products (cf. Numbers 6; Judges 13:4-7; 1 Samuel 1:11), though the Rechabites do not seem to have been Nazirites. The Nazirite vow was normally for a brief time, but the Rechabites had abstained from wine for generations. Jonadab lived in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of King Jehu

Jeremiah 37:11-21 — Fourth, he was released from this dungeon but restricted to the prison courtyard again until Jerusalem fell (Jeremiah 38:17-28). Fifth, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took him in chains to Ramah, where he released Jeremiah (Jeremiah 40:1-4). [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 812.]

Jeremiah 4:1-2 — If they would put away their idolatry consistently and would swear by Him, rather than by the idols, then Israel would become responsible for the nations blessing themselves (cf. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4; Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 65:16; Isaiah 65:18). That is, the Gentile nations would come to the Lord and so experience His blessing and would glorify Him. ". . . they will discern in the example of Israel that the source of true blessing lies in Yahweh

Jeremiah 6:20 — Even though the Judeans still worshipped God formally, their sacrifices made no impression on Him (cf. Isaiah 1:11-14; Amos 5:21; Micah 6:6-8). It was their true attitudes and actions that He saw. "Sheba" was a famous southwest Arabia (possibly modern Yemen) source for the incense used in the offerings (cf. 1 Kings 10:1-13; Ezekiel 27:22). Sweet cane (calamus)

Ezekiel 13:4-5 — The Lord compared these false prophets to foxes or jackals (Heb. shu’alim) that prowled around among ruins looking for holes in which to hide (cf. Nehemiah 4:3; Lamentations 5:18). The same Hebrew word refers to both animals. They had not tried to repair conditions that had resulted in Israel’s weakness and vulnerability nor had they strengthened the nation spiritually (cf. Ezekiel 22:30). Building

Ezekiel 24:17 — the customary acts of mourning over the death of his loved one, which included throwing dust on his head, going barefoot, covering his mustache, and eating a modest meal after a day of fasting (cf. 2 Samuel 1:12; 2 Samuel 3:35; Jeremiah 16:7; Hosea 9:4). [Note: See Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, pp. 59-61.] Mourning was not appropriate in cases of capital punishment.

Ezekiel 7:19-22 — Jerusalem and the temple and, as the height of arrogance, had used some of the temple treasures to make idols. Therefore the Lord would make the temple an abhorrent thing to them and would turn it over to their enemies who would profane it (cf. Daniel 5:3-4). "Since Israel had already profaned the temple of God, He saw no further purpose in keeping it from the desecration of the enemy." [Note: Feinberg, p. 47.] The Lord would turn away from His people then.

Ezekiel 8:3 — In his vision Ezekiel saw God reach out and pick him up by his hair and transport him to Jerusalem by the Spirit. The Lord placed him down at the north gate of the inner court of the temple where there was an image of an idol (cf. Deuteronomy 4:16). King Jotham (750-732 B.C.) had built this gate, which apparently did not exist when Solomon first constructed the temple (2 Kings 15:35). Other names for it were the upper Benjamin gate (Jeremiah 20:2), the new gate (Jeremiah 26:10; Jeremiah 36:10),