Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 43:21 — chosen people, whom He carefully formed for Himself, not ultimately for their own welfare, would praise Him. God created Israel for His own praise, as human witnesses to His greatness. This continues to be the function of God’s people (cf. Luke 1:74-75; Ephesians 1:4-6; 1 Peter 2:9). "Still a third and more glorious ’Exodus’ will take place when the Messiah returns to regather His people (cf. Isaiah 43:5-6) and establish His millennial reign on earth." [Note: J. Martin, p.

Isaiah 51:14 — true of the Babylonian exiles, the promises of salvation in this section of the book anticipate a larger spiritual redemption as well, as I have noted. In fact, life in Babylonian exile was far from harsh for most of the Israelites (cf. Jeremiah 29:4-7), so much so that most of them chose not to return to the Promised Land when they could.

Isaiah 58:5 — This was not the type of fasting God approved (cf. Isaiah 1:11; Psalms 51:16-17; Luke 18:9-14). It consisted only in His people bowing their heads, not their hearts. Bowing the head like a reed expresses formal worship, like a reed automatically bending in response to wind. The people sat in sackcloth and ashes, but they did not really mourn

Isaiah 59:1-15 — chiefly injustice that calls forth his condemnation. Each of these chapters speaks about prayer. In chapter 57 it was not answered because it was not addressed to the true God (Isaiah 57:13); in chapter 58 because the petitioners are hypocrites (Isaiah 58:4); while here in Isaiah 59:1-2, it is because of their sins and particularly, as later verses indicate, their injustice." [Note: Grogan, p. 325.]

Jeremiah 31:9 — They would return, weeping tears of repentance and praying for the Lord’s favor. He would lead them back tenderly, as a father deals with his firstborn son (cf. Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 32:6; Luke 15:11-32), and would make the trip refreshing, pleasant, and safe. "The designation of Ephraim as the first-born of Jahveh simply shows that, in the deliverance of the people, Ephraim is in no respect to be behind Judah,-that

Jeremiah 35:2 — that descended from Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law (cf. Judges 1:16; 1 Chronicles 2:55). [Note: Gerald L. Keown, Jeremiah 26-52, pp. 195-96, wrote an extended excursus on the identity of the Rechabites. Keown wrote the commentary on chapters 35-45 and 52 for this volume.] They had previously settled in northern Israel (Judges 4:17; Judges 5:24) and in southern Judah (1 Samuel 15:6). Evidently Jonadab’s branch of the family had moved from the north into the Southern Kingdom following the

Jeremiah 51:15-19 — His identity. This prophecy is almost identical to the one in Jeremiah 10:12-16. There Jeremiah reminded Judah of the impotence of idols, and here he instructed Babylon about the same thing (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Corinthians 10:7). There are many examples of doublets in Jeremiah. The prophet frequently repeated phrases, sentences, and whole passages in different contexts. [Note: Jesus did the same thing, as is clear in the Gospels.]

Ezekiel 20:43-44 — to know the Lord for the kind of God He is because they would recognize how graciously He had dealt with them as a people. The prospect of future grace, restoration, and blessing has always been the strongest motivation for present holiness (Romans 2:4). This is why this message ends as it does. "The prophet Ezekiel straddled two eras, the grim era of the past and present which culminated in double exile and-in prospect at least-a glorious era to be inaugurated by a new work of God. In this chapter

Ezekiel 40:17-19 — three sides of the courtyard or four, and it is not clear what function they served. Perhaps they were meeting or storage rooms. A pavement, probably mosaic (cf. 2 Chronicles 7:3; Esther 1:6), known as the lower pavement, formed a 50-cubit-wide (83 feet 4 inch) border around the outer edge of the outer courtyard (cf. Ezekiel 40:15). Ezekiel’s guide measured the outer courtyard between the outer and inner gates, and this space was 100 cubits wide (about 166 feet 8 inches) on the east and north sides

Ezekiel 43:9 — insignificant to modern Westerners, it was important to ancient Near Easterners since it expressed respect or disrespect. This is one of many places in which a prophet conditioned the coming of God’s kingdom on Israel’s repentance (cf. Haggai 2:4-7; Zechariah 12:10 to Zechariah 14:9; et al.). The prophets presented the coming of the kingdom as contingent on the sovereignty of God and the enablement of the Holy Spirit as well. [Note: See Stanley D. Toussaint and Jay A. Quine, "No, Not Yet:

Daniel 10:19 — effect of these many verses that dwell on Daniel’s felt weakness, and the strength that an angel or angels provided him, is to make the reader anticipate the following revelation. It is very important. "This vision [in Daniel 11:2 to Daniel 12:4] contains the most detailed prophetic revelation in the Book of Daniel." [Note: Pentecost, "Daniel," p. 1366.] The angel’s explanation of his activity 10:20-11:1

Hosea 13:2 — The Ephraimites, and the other Israelites, had continued to sin more and more by making molten images and carved idols of silver (cf. Exodus 20:4-5; Exodus 34:17; Deuteronomy 5:8-9). They took great pains to make beautiful idols by employing skilled craftsmen for their construction. They also required that those who made sacrifices to them profess their devotion and homage by kissing the images.

Hosea 9:3 — Promised Land but would go into captivity (cf. Deuteronomy 11:8-21). Assyria, likened here to Egypt (cf. Hosea 7:16; Hosea 8:13; Hosea 11:5), would be the place the Israelites would eat unclean food (i.e., no longer be independent; 2 Kings 17:6; Ezekiel 4:13; Amos 7:17). She would eat defiled food in a defiled land because she had defiled herself with sin. "The place of their captivity was first called ’Egypt’ (cf. Hosea 8:13) in order to show its general character; then Assyria was

Amos 1:4 — the second half of the ninth century, and Ben-Hadad was his son and successor (2 Kings 13:3; 2 Kings 13:22-25). [Note: Chisholm, p. 382.] The idea of sending fire on the walls of the main cities of the land recurs throughout these oracles (cf. Amos 1:4; Amos 1:7; Amos 1:10; Amos 1:12; Amos 1:14; Amos 2:2; Amos 2:5). It is a vivid metaphor for consuming destruction.

Amos 2:8 — Fourth, the Israelites failed to return garments taken as collateral for debts owed them. The Law specified that the Israelites could take a garment as a pledge, except the garment of a widow (Deuteronomy 24:17), but they were to return it to the owner before nightfall (Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 24:10-13; cf. Deuteronomy 24:6; Job 22:6). The Israelites were even taking these garments with them and displaying them at the public feasts honoring whatever

Amos 5:1-17 — injustice 5:1-17 The structure of this message is chiastic, which focuses attention and emphasis on the middle part. A    A description of certain judgment Amos 5:1-3 B    A call for individual repentance Amos 5:4-6 C    An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:7 D    A portrayal of sovereign Yahweh Amos 5:8-9 C’    An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:10-13 B’    A

Amos 5:16-17 — merriment, would be full of mourning, as would the streets. Yahweh promised to pass through the midst of His people, not to bless them but to blast them with punishment. Earlier God had passed through Egypt with similar devastating results (cf. Exodus 11:4-7; Exodus 12:12-13).

Jonah 1:14 — their viewpoint Jonah was innocent (Heb. naqi) of death because he had not committed any of the crimes for which people suffered death at the hands of their fellowmen. Yet nothing less than death was what he deserved for sinning against God (Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23).

Micah 1:3-4 — affairs of His people. He is not only transcendent above all but immanently involved in the world, one of the most basic revelations in Old Testament theology. When He came, all the earth would melt, split, and quake before His awesome power (cf. Judges 5:4-5). Since He could affect the physical creation so drastically, His people needed to fear Him. Treading on the high places of the land, where the Israelites worshipped in idolatry (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:17), probably also implies that He would crush pagan

Habakkuk 2:1 — question, as He had the first, so he could report it to his people (cf. Habakkuk 3:16). He prepared himself for a discussion with the Lord about the situation as well as for the Lord’s answer that he expected in a vision or dream (cf. Job 13:3; Job 23:4). "Only by revelation can the genuine perplexities of God’s dealings with human beings be comprehended." [Note: Robertson, p. 166.]   "Yahweh’s response to those who inquire of him is never automatic. They must be willing