Bible Commentaries

Genesis 4:9-16 — As in chapter 3, God came investigating the crime with questions (Genesis 4:9-10). [Note: See P. A. Riemann, "Am I My Brother’s Keeper?" Interpretation 24 (1970):482-91.] There the result was God cursing the ground and people generally, but here the result is His cursing Cain, another evidence that wickedness

Isaiah 28:23 — The prophet appealed to his audience to listen to him (cf. Mark 4:3; Mark 4:9), even though some of them were scoffers. What he had to say was very important for them. Failure to listen to God’s Word had been the fatal flaw of the leaders, but they could still hearken and respond. The prophet used two illustrations.

Ezekiel 4:9-17 — The food 4:9-17 This second dramatization took place while Ezekiel was acting out the first 390 days of the siege of Jerusalem with the brick and the plate (Ezekiel 4:1-8). Whereas the main drama pictured the siege as a judgment from God, this aspect of it stressed the severe conditions that would exist in the city during the siege.

Micah 7:20 — confidence was that God would be faithful to His promises to Jacob and loyal to His commitment (Heb. hesed) to bless Abraham (cf. Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18-21; Genesis 17:7-8; Genesis 17:13; Genesis 17:19; Genesis 17:21; Genesis 28:13-14; Genesis 35:10-12; Genesis 48:4; et al.). These were ancient promises that God had sealed with His oath, vowing to fulfill them (e.g., Genesis 22:16-18; cf. Romans 4:13; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 4:1-10; Hebrews 8:10; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6;

Zephaniah 3:1-7 — D. Judgment on Jerusalem 3:1-7 Having announced that divine judgment would come on the nations around Judah (Zephaniah 2:4-15), the prophet returned to the subject of Yahweh’s judgment on the Chosen People (cf. Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3), but this time he focused more particularly on Jerusalem. Though he did not mention Jerusalem by name, it is clearly in view. "Like

Matthew 4:12-25 — A. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry 4:12-25 Matthew gave much prominence to Jesus’ teachings in his Gospel. The first of these is the so-called Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7). To prepare the reader for this discourse, the writer gave a brief introduction to Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 4:12-25). In it Matthew provided a résumé of His work.

Matthew 5:4 — "Those who mourn" do so because they sense their spiritual bankruptcy (Matthew 5:4). The Old Testament revealed that spiritual poverty results from sin. True repentance produces contrite tears more than jubilant rejoicing because the kingdom is near. The godly remnant in Jesus’ day that responded to the call of John and of Jesus

Matthew 9:23-26 — Matthew of all the Gospel writers who recorded this incident mentioned the flute players because he wanted to stress Jesus’ complete reversal of this situation. Even the poorest Jews hired flute players to play at funerals. [Note: Mishnah Kethuboth 4:4.] Their funerals were also occasions of almost unrestrained wailing and despair, which Matthew 9:23 reflects. The crowd ridiculed Jesus by laughing at His statement (Matthew 9:24). They thought He was both wrong and late in arriving, too late. They

Mark 7:14-15 — [16] What Jesus had to say was so important that He urged the crowd present to listen carefully to His words (cf. Mark 4:3). His response so far had been to His critics primarily. Mark 7:15 states the general principle. It clarifies what does not and what does cause uncleanness. Food does not, but thoughts do (cf. Isaiah 29:13). Obviously Jesus was speaking morally and

John 6:8-9 — seems to have felt embarrassed that he had even suggested such an inadequate solution to the problem. John may have intended his unique inclusion of the details of this boy and his lunch to remind his readers of Elisha’s similar miracle (2 Kings 4:42-44). The same Greek word for "boy" occurs in the Septuagint translation of that story (2 Kings 4:38; 2 Kings 4:41). The main point, however, was the lack of adequate food and Jesus’ ability to feed a multitude with such meager resources.

Acts 5:29 — This verse clarifies that the authorities had arrested other apostles besides Peter and John. Peter as spokesman for the apostles did not attempt to defend their civil disobedience but simply repeated their responsibility to obey God rather than men, specifically the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:19; cf. Luke 12:4-5). This is Peter’s fourth speech that Luke reported.

Romans 4:4-5 — Romans 4:4-5 contrast faith and works. Work yields wages that the person working deserves. Faith receives a gift (Romans 4:4; lit. grace, Gr. charin) that the person believing does not deserve. Incredibly, God justifies those who not only fail to deserve justification

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 — 4. The immature and carnal conditions 3:1-4 The apostle proceeded to tell the Corinthians that they had not been viewing things from the spiritual point of view. He was referring specifically to their exaltation of one or another of God’s servants above the others (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Paul urgently appealed to them to change.

Ephesians 5:1-6 — 3. Walking in love 5:1-6 In addition to calling his readers to walk in unity (Ephesians 4:1) and holiness (Ephesians 4:17), Paul urged them to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2). He first advocated positive love (Ephesians 5:1-2) and then negatively warned to abstain from evil (Ephesians 5:3-6).

Philippians 4:4-9 — 2. Maintaining tranquillity 4:4-9 Paul gave his readers five other brief positive exhortations, all of which are vitally important for individual and corporate Christian living. They all result in the maintenance of peace in the body so the saints can work together effectively as partners in the gospel even in the midst of opposing unbelievers.

1 Timothy 6:3-5 — The apostle first described the actions of the false teachers (1 Timothy 6:3), then their attitudes (1 Timothy 6:4 a), third the fruits of their ministry (1 Timothy 6:4-5 a), and then their motivation (1 Timothy 6:5 b). "As Paul elaborates on those who teach ’otherwise,’ it becomes clear again (cf. 1 Timothy 1:4-7) that the problem is not simply

1 John 5:3 — God’s commands are not burdensome (oppressive, so as to crush love) because every believer has already exercised the faith in God that is essential for obedience (cf. Matthew 11:30; 1 John 4:4). "The reason why God’s commandments are not heavy is the power that comes with the new birth from God." [Note: Robertson, 6:238.]

2 John 1:4-6 — A. Practicing the Truth vv. 4-6 John wrote this epistle to urge his readers to continue to be obedient to God by responding positively to the truth of His revelation. He also wanted them to resist the inroads of false teachers who sought to distort this truth. He dealt with the first purpose in 2 John 1:4-6.

Revelation 16:7 — The Tribulation martyrs offer their "amen" from under the altar (Revelation 6:9; Revelation 15:3-4). The altar was the personification of those associated with it earlier in John’s vision (cf. Revelation 9:13; Genesis 4:10; Luke 19:40; Hebrews 12:24). God always judges consistently with His character, which these martyrs describe as being almighty, true, and righteous.

Revelation 2:7 — 2:7 An invitation preceded the promise, as in all the letters to follow (cf. Revelation 1:3). Jesus was the only person to issue this invitation in Scripture. The Gospels also record Him doing so seven times (Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9; Matthew 13:43; Mark 4:9; Mark 4:23; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35). This invitation always occurs where Jesus appealed to His hearers to make a significant change. In addition to the implied promise of the whole church’s continuance if obedient (Revelation 2:5), Jesus