Bible Commentaries

Genesis 50:15-21 — Jacob had not. The brothers feared because of their uneasy consciences rather than Joseph’s behavior (cf. Genesis 50:19). Joseph’s response to his fearful brothers reveals his attitudes toward God and them (Genesis 50:18-21; cf. Genesis 27:41). He humbled himself under God’s authority. He regarded God as sovereign over him and the One who had providentially guided all the events of his life. He knew that God’s purposes for him, his family, and all people were good (cf. chs.

Psalms 112:1-10 — Psalms 112 This wisdom psalm is also an acrostic. It focuses attention on the blessings those who fear God enjoy, especially their final exaltation. "However, the psalm gives a realistic portrayal of wisdom as it brings out, not only the blessings of honor, children, and riches, but also the reality of adversities (’darkness,’ Psalms 112:4; ’bad news,’ Psalms 112:7; ’foes,’ Psalms 112:8)." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 706.]

Psalms 126:4 — 2. Petition for complete restoration 126:4 The streams in the south of Israel, the Negev, dry up in the parched summer months-but they become raging torrents during the rainy season. The psalmist used these streams as a figure of what the highways from Babylon could become with God’s further blessing. They could become flooded with travelers moving back into the land that God wanted His chosen people to occupy.

Psalms 129:3-4 — Israel’s enemies had, as it were, plowed deep furrows on Israel’s back. This was a vivid figure of speech in an agricultural economy. It pictures the land as a human being. However, righteous Yahweh had cut the cords to Israel’s oppressors. The cords in Psalms 129:4 may represent the reins that the plowman of Psalms 129:3 used, or they may simply stand for the things that bound Israel.

Psalms 69:22-28 — "Up to this point, Christ and His passion have been so evidently foreshadowed (see on Psalms 69:4; Psalms 69:9; Psalms 69:21) that we are almost prepared now for a plea approximating to ’Father, forgive them’. The curse which comes instead is a powerful reminder of the new thing which our Lord did at Calvary." [Note: Kidner, p.

Ezekiel 1 overview — attention on the importance of Ezekiel receiving revelations from the Lord (Eze_2:8 to Eze_3:3). [Note: Henry van Dyke Parunak, "The Literary Architecture of Ezekiel’s mar’ot ’elohim," Journal of Biblical Literature 99 (1980):61-74.] A    Circumstances of the vision (Ezekiel 1:1-3) B    Divine confrontation: the chariot’s approach (Ezekiel 1:4-28) C    Introductory word (Ezekiel 2:1-2) D    First

Amos 8 overview — C. Two more visions of impending judgment chs. 8-9 Amos received two more visions from that Lord that he continued to preach to the Israelites in spite of Amaziah’s threats. 1. The basket of summer fruit ch. 8 The vision with which this chapter opens (Amos 8:1-3) gave rise to three prophetic oracles that follow and expound it (Amos 8:4-14).

Numbers 16:4-7 — Moses fell on his face (Numbers 16:4) in great distress and took the matter to God in prayer (cf. Numbers 14:5). The test involved offering incense because this was the most holy responsibility of the priests that brought them closest to God. God had already shown how He felt about those who took this privilege on themselves in the case of Nadab and Abihu (Numbers 10:1-3).

Numbers 32:33-42 — the region north of Gilead, defined more precisely as Og’s kingdom of Argob. It presumably extended as far north as Mount Hermon and was bordered on the south by the little kingdoms of Maacah and Geshur, just above the Yarmuk (Deuteronomy 3:13-14). A third entity, Nobah, has no apparent connection with Manasseh, but took in Kenath and the surrounding villages (Numbers 32:42). Kenath (Qanawat) was located about sixty miles due east of the Sea of Galilee, deep in the Hauran Desert." [Note:

Zechariah 13:7 — when Israel would be scattered among the nations because of her rejection of the Good Shepherd. Almighty Yahweh personified a sword, the instrument of violent death, which he commanded to execute His Shepherd, the royal Good Shepherd of Zechariah 11:4-14. This is a figure of speech called apostrophe: a direct address to an impersonal object as if it were a person. Yahweh further described this Shepherd as the man who was very close to Him, even His Associate. "The expression ’who stands

Acts 16:14-15 — coins there in the sixth century B.C. Wealthy King Croesus may have been the person behind the legend of King Midas whose touch supposedly turned anything to gold. Luke again emphasized God’s initiative in opening her heart to the gospel (Acts 16:14, cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4) and the hearts of those in her household (cf. Acts 16:33; Acts 11:14). Her "household" included servants as well as her family (cf. Acts 10:24; Acts 10:44; Acts 16:31; Acts 18:8; Romans 16:10-11; 1 Corinthians 1:16).

Romans 16:21-24 — 4. Greetings from Paul’s companions 16:21-24 The men whom Paul mentioned in Romans 16:21 all seem to have been his fellow missionaries who were working with him in Corinth when he wrote this epistle. Lucius may have been Luke, the writer of Luke

1 Corinthians 16:4 — The apostle was open to the possibility of going to Jerusalem as part of the group if this seemed best. After he wrote this letter he decided to go (Romans 15:25-26) and indeed went (Acts 20:16; Acts 20:22; Acts 21:17; Acts 24:17). These few verses along with 2 Corinthians 8-9 and statements in Philippians 4 provide guidelines for individual Christians and churches in giving. The principles Paul advocated were that saving up for giving should be regular and in response to

1 Timothy 1:18-19 — The command to which Paul referred here is the one contained in 1 Timothy 1:3-4. He now returned to the subject that he began there. Sometime in the past someone had given prophecies concerning Timothy’s effectiveness as a servant of Christ (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; cf. Acts 13:2). We have no certain record of who gave

Hebrews 7:4-10 — The exposition of Melchizedek’s significance 7:4-10 In these straightforward verses, which expound Hebrews 7:1-3, the writer explained further how Melchizedek was superior to Abraham, the ancestor of Levi, the head of the priestly tribe under the Old (Mosaic) Covenant. He said more about three of the facts mentioned above: Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham, he blessed Abraham, and he lived longer than Abraham.

1 John 2:3-11 — genuinely Christlike existence, the writer suggests, is the renunciation of sin (1 John 1:8 to 1 John 2:2). The second (positive) condition he now proceeds to discuss: it is obedience, especially to the law of love (1 John 2:3-11)." [Note: Smalley, p. 42.] "Though the immediate effect of the light is to expose sin, its primary purpose is to reveal duty." [Note: Law, p. 209.] From his comments on fellowship with God, John moved to a discussion of knowing God. He did so to enable his readers

Jude 1:12 — worship the early church practiced. The love-feast was a communal meal that included observance of the Lord’s Supper (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:17-22). "Caring for themselves" highlights the apostates’ self-centeredness (cf. Ezekiel 34:2; Ezekiel 34:8; Isaiah 56:11; John 10:12-13). "Jude seems . . . to mean that these men insisted on participating in these love-feasts, not to express mutual love and concern but to gratify their own appetites." [Note: D. Edmond Hiebert, "An

Revelation 14:4 — Three occurrences of "these" (Gr. houtoi) in this verse identify the 144,000 as worthy of special honor. First, with women (emphatic in the Greek text) they had not been defiled because they were celibates (Gr. parthenoi, virgins). Should we understand this word literally or figuratively? Literally the text would mean that

Ruth 4 overview — III. GOD’S PROVISION CH. 4 The climax of this fascinating story, and the resolution of the problem lying in the way of Ruth’s union with Boaz and realization of rest, become clear in this chapter. Naomi and Ruth’s plan (Ruth 3:1-5) comes to a successful completion. "This chapter focuses on three persons: a bridegroom, a bride, and a baby." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 197.]

1 Samuel 16:1-17 — A. David’s Rise as the New Anointed 16:1-19:17 According to Chuck Swindoll, more was written in the Bible about David than about any other character-66 chapters in the Old Testament plus 59 references to his life in the New Testament. [Note: Charles R. Swindoll, David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, p. 4.] This large amount of material reflects his great importance for Bible readers.