Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 11:2 — Clearly this shoot would be a person, and the qualities of God’s Spirit would distinguish Him (cf. Isaiah 61:1; Exodus 31:3; Judges 14:6; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 16:13; Luke 4:18; John 1:31-34; John 3:34). Isaiah referred to the Holy Spirit more than any other Old Testament prophet (Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 30:1; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 40:13; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah

Isaiah 60:1 — God had called Israel to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 43:10), but presently she was darkness (Isaiah 56:9 to Isaiah 57:13; Isaiah 59:1-15 a). The Lord had promised that He would enable His people to fulfill their calling (Isaiah 57:14-21; Isaiah 59:15-21). Now Isaiah summoned the nation to rise up and shine

Jeremiah 23:3 — After this judgment the Lord Himself would, as a good shepherd, re-gather the remnant of His people that were left from all the countries where He had driven them into exile (cf. Jeremiah 3:16; Jeremiah 24; Jeremiah 31:10; Jeremiah 40-44; Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 37:4; Micah 2:12; Micah 4:7; Micah 5:4; Micah 7:14; Micah 7:18). The Lord was the final cause of the exile, but the shepherds of Judah were the instrumental cause (Jeremiah 23:2). He would bring them

Jeremiah 35:19 — Someone from their family would "stand before" Yahweh forever-because they had obeyed their father, Jonadab. "Stand before" usually describes someone who served Yahweh in some special way (cf. Jeremiah 7:10; Jeremiah 15:19; Deuteronomy 4:10; Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Kings 10:8; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14; 2 Chronicles 29:11). However, it also describes simple worshippers of Yahweh (Jeremiah 7:10; Leviticus 9:5; Deuteronomy 4:10). The promise probably pointed to a continuing

Hosea 14:8 — Ephraim would repudiate her dealings with idols (cf. Hosea 2:8; Hosea 4:17; Hosea 8:4-6), and the Lord would respond with a commitment to care for her. Formerly He lay in wait (Heb. shur) for Israel like a leopard ready to pounce on her in judgment (Hosea 13:7), but now He would care (Heb. shur) for her. He would be the

Hosea 2:8 — Israel failed to acknowledge that it was Yahweh who had provided for her and had given her all she needed when she was pursuing pagan gods (cf. Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 11:14; Deuteronomy 26:10). The Israelites used the silver and gold that the Lord had bestowed on them to make idols of Baal, which they credited with their agricultural blessings. Hosea spoke frequently of knowledge. He traced Israel’s declension back

Jonah 1:9 — It should have been no surprise to the sailors that Jonah was a Hebrew since they had taken him on board at Joppa, a major port in Israel. "Hebrew" is the name by which the Israelites’ neighbors knew them (cf. 1 Samuel 4:6; 1 Samuel 4:9; 1 Samuel 14:11). Jonah probably identified himself as a Hebrew as a preamble to explaining that he worshipped Yahweh Elohim, the heavenly God of the Hebrews. The Phoenicians also thought of Baal as a sky god (cf. 1 Kings 18:24). It

Zechariah 13:2 — land. There would be external cleansing as well as internal. The Jews would "no longer ascribe supernatural powers to mere things, nor worship them as divine" (cf. Zechariah 10:2-3; Jeremiah 23:30-32; Jeremiah 27:9-10; Ezekiel 13:1 to Ezekiel 14:11). [Note: Baldwin, pp. 195-96.] False prophets, as is clear from the context, would not mislead the people (cf. Matthew 24:4-5; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 24:15; Matthew 24:23-24; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4; Revelation 9:20; Revelation 13:4-15). The unclean

Zechariah 14:8 — half of it flowing east into the Dead Sea and half west into the Mediterranean Sea. "Living water" is a metaphor that pictures water as a living thing flowing quickly and sparkling in its constant movement and shifting course (cf. Leviticus 14:5-6; Leviticus 14:50-52; Leviticus 15:13; Numbers 19:17). This water would flow all year round, even in the summer when most streams in Palestine dry up (cf. Psalms 46:4; Joel 3:18). The Israelites divided their year into two seasons instead of four:

Zechariah 3:2 — His representatives (e.g., Job 1-2). The Lord rebuked Satan twice, the repetition adding force to the initial rebuke (cf. Judges 1:9). The Lord then referred to Joshua as a burning stick plucked from the fire, evidently for His future use (cf. Amos 4:11). If Joshua represents Israel, then the fire must refer to the Babylonian captivity from which Israel had come almost destroyed, and the stick refers to the surviving remnant. Israel had experienced another brush with extinction at the Exodus (Deuteronomy

Luke 4:24 — Luke recorded Jesus saying, "Truly I say to you," or, "I tell you the truth," six times (Luke 4:24; Luke 12:37; Luke 18:17; Luke 18:29; Luke 21:32; Luke 23:43). [Note: See J. C. O’Neill, "The Six Amen Sayings in Luke," Journal of Theological Studies NS10 (1959):1-9; and J. Strugnell, "’Amen I say unto you’ in the

John 12:31-32 — because of humankind’s rejection of Him God was about to pass judgment on the world for rejecting His Son (cf. Acts 17:30-31). Jesus’ passion would also result in the casting out of the ruler of this world. This is a title for Satan (John 14:30; John 16:11; cf. Matthew 4:8-9; Luke 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12). The death of Jesus might appear to be a victory for Satan, but really it signaled his doom. The Cross defeated Satan. He only functions as he does now

John 16:33 — The structural marker "these things I have spoken to you" (cf. John 14:25; John 16:1; John 16:4; John 16:25; John 17:1) identifies the conclusion of this section of the discourse. The ultimate reason for Jesus’ revelations about His departure, as far as His immediate disciples were concerned, was that they might

Acts 4:6 — Annas, whom Luke called the high priest here (Acts 4:6), was technically not the high priest at this time. He had served as high priest from A.D. 6 to 15, but since A.D. 18 his son-in-law Caiaphas had been the high priest. However, Annas continued to exert great influence (cf. Luke 3:2; John 18:13-24).

Acts 5:16 — meant that all whom the apostles sought to heal experienced restoration, not that they healed every single individual who was sick (cf. Matthew 8:16). Even Jesus’ healings were limited in their scope (cf. Luke 5:17). [Note: See Deere, pp. 58-64.] This verse is one of the texts that advocates of the "prosperity gospel" appeal to as proof that it is never God’s will for anyone to be sick. Other texts they use include Exodus 15:26; Exodus 23:25; Psalms 103:3; Proverbs 4:20-22;

Romans 12:3 — conduct of his readers. The Romans had not met Paul personally so he urged them to receive his teaching humbly. A humble attitude was also important as they evaluated and exercised the individual abilities that God had given each of them (cf. 1 Peter 4:10). Paul had had experiences with Christians, who were proud because of their spiritual gifts, in Corinth where he wrote this epistle (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:14-31; 1 Corinthians 13:4; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 4:20). The main point of this entire

2 Corinthians 5:1 — "For" (NASB) or "Now" (NIV, Gr. gar) continues the contrast between things presently seen and things not yet seen (2 Corinthians 4:18). Here Paul contrasted our present and future bodies. "The ’clothed upon’ and ’swallowed up by life’ imagery (2 Corinthians 5:2-4), when read alongside 1 Corinthians 15:53-54, leaves little doubt that this ’house’

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 — 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 bear the same relation to each other as do 2 Corinthians 5:2-4. 2 Corinthians 5:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:6 make a statement. 2 Corinthians 5:3 and 2 Corinthians 5:7 are parenthetical, and 2 Corinthians 5:4; 2 Corinthians 5 :2 Corinthians 5:8 expand 2 Corinthians 5:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:6 respectively.Statement2 Corinthians

Revelation 19:17 — John saw next an angel standing in the sun, a conspicuous position in which all the birds could see him. He cried loudly for all the birds flying in mid-heaven to assemble (cf. Ezekiel 39:4; Ezekiel 39:17). Jesus referred to the same battle and mentioned vultures (or eagles, Gr. aetoi) being present (Matthew 24:28; Luke 17:37). After the coming battle, the site will provide a feast for vultures (cf. Ezekiel 39:4; Ezekiel 39:17-20). It

Revelation 20:14 — From this point on there will be no more death (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). God will cast death and Hades into the lake of fire. This is hell, the place of eternal punishment. "Death and Hades are an inseparable pair, as in i. 18, vi. 8 . . ., representing the two aspects of Death, the physical fact and