Bible Commentaries

Genesis 12:4-9 — Abram’s response 12:4-9

Genesis 26:12-33 — 4. Isaac’s wells 26:12-33

Isaiah 34:1-4 — Universal judgments 34:1-4

Jeremiah 8:4-12 — Blind complacency 8:4-12

Ezekiel 18:1-4 — The principle 18:1-4

Hosea 5:15 — As a lion returning to its lair, Yahweh would go away and leave His people until they bore their punishment and sought His forgiveness. When they felt their affliction they would seek Him earnestly (cf. Hosea 5:6; Deuteronomy 4:29). "The language would appear to reach into the Millennium, when the Israelites will indeed repent before God and seek his face (cf. Hosea 1:10-11; Hosea 2:14-23)." [Note: Wood, "Hosea," p. 192.] "Taken with Matthew 23:37-39,

Amos 4:1-3 — Economic exploitation 4:1-3

Zephaniah 1:5 — The Lord would also judge those who worshipped the sun, moon, stars, and planets, which the idolatrous Israelites did on their flat housetops (cf. Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Kings 23:4-5; Jeremiah 19:13). He would also punish the Judeans who worshipped both Yahweh and the pagan gods of the nations (cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6; Jeremiah 32:35). "Milcom," (Molech, the god of

John 7:6 — Jesus replied that it was not the right time (Gr. kairos) for Him to go to Jerusalem, the Father’s time (cf. John 2:4). However, they could go to the feast at any time (Gr. kairos). They were not on a mission and timetable from God as He was. "John’s picture of Jesus is of one steadily moving on to meet his divinely appointed destiny." [Note: Morris,

Acts 7:30-34 — It was in Midian, after 40 years, that God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The angel that appeared to Moses was the Angel of the Lord, very possibly the preincarnate Christ (Acts 7:31-33; cf. Exodus 3:2; Exodus 3:6; Exodus 4:2; John 12:41; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Hebrews

Romans 1:3-4 — identified the gospel’s theme to exalt it further. The gospel centers on God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was both human and divine. The phrases "according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3) and "according to the Spirit" (Romans 1:4) probably do not contrast the natures of Christ but His relationships. [Note: James M. Stifler, The Epistle to the Romans, pp. 24-25; Bruce, p. 69.] He belonged to two realms. As to his human earthly connection, His origin was the highest. He was not

Romans 11:26 — first clause of Romans 11:26 is the storm center in the interpretation of Romans 9-11 and of NT teaching about the Jews and their future." [Note: Moo, p. 719. See H. Wayne House, "The Future of National Israel," Bibliotheca Sacra 166:664 (October-December 2009):643-81, for a discussion of the major views.] "It is impossible to entertain an exegesis which understands ’Israel’ here in a different sense from ’Israel’ in Romans 11:25 ([that is, it is impossible

Romans 16:5-7 — (cf. Romans 16:3; Romans 16:15). The term "kinsmen" or "relatives" (Romans 16:7; cf. Romans 16:11; Romans 16:21) seems to refer to relatives of Paul in the sense of being fellow Jews (cf. Romans 9:13; Philippians 1:7; Philippians 4:14). "Apostles" (Romans 16:7) here must have the general sense of representatives (traveling missionaries) rather than being a technical reference to one of the 13 official apostles (cf. Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14; 2 Corinthians 8:23; 1 Thessalonians

1 Corinthians 12:7 — believer regardless of his or her gifts, ministries, and the manner and extent of God’s blessing demonstrates the Holy Spirit through his or her life. Paul’s point here was not that each believer has a gift, though that is true (cf. 1 Peter 4:10). His point was that the Spirit manifests Himself in a great variety of ways. Gifts, ministries, and effects all manifest the Spirit’s presence, not just the more spectacular ones in each category. Believers who have spectacular gifts, ministries,

Galatians 4:1-7 — The illustration 4:1-7

Ephesians 4:16 — Jesus Christ is both the One into whom we grow (Ephesians 4:15) and the One out of whom we grow as a whole church. The whole body grows as each part carries out its proper function. All parts of the body alluded to in this verse are Christians, except the Head, Jesus Christ. [Note: See Ronald Y. K. Fung, "The

Ephesians 6:9 — their dealings with their slaves even as slaves should try to please Christ as they serve their masters. They should not threaten because our heavenly Master does not threaten us. Threatening means warning that punishment will come immediately (cf. Acts 4:17; Acts 4:29; Acts 9:1); threatening goes beyond just warning. The opposite of threatening is gracious, just, and fair treatment (cf. Colossians 4:1; James 5:4). Masters should also remember that their Master in heaven will not show favoritism to them

Hebrews 4:1-14 — C. The Possibility of Rest for God’s People 4:1-14 The writer returned again from exhortation to exposition. He now posed the alternatives of rest and peril that confronted the new people of God, Christians. It seems that this section ends with Hebrews 4:14 rather than 15 since 14 contains the

Revelation 2:16 — 4. Exhortation 2:16 If the erring believers would not judge themselves and repent, they could anticipate God’s judgment (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:31). "Unwillingness to repent shows that a person is not a faithful believer." [Note: Thomas,

Revelation 21:11 — This city obviously appeared extremely impressive to John. The first and most important characteristic that John noted was its radiant glow. It shone with the splendor of God Himself because He was in it (cf. Exodus 40:34; Numbers 9:15-23; 1 Kings 8:11; 2 Chronicles 5:14; Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 60:1; Ezekiel 43:5; John 12:41; Acts 26:13). John compared the glory of the city to that of a beautiful gem. Jasper stones were very beautiful but not always clear. As mentioned