Bible Commentaries

Exodus 23:1-9 — Justice and neighborliness 23:1-9 This section appeals for justice toward all people. The subject of the legislation now shifts from love for all to justice for all. The Israelites should treat all people justly, not only the rich but also the poor (Exodus 23:3), the enemy as well as the friend (Exodus 23:4). Jezebel later did to Naboth what Exodus 23:7 warns against (cf. 1 Kings 21:9-14).

Leviticus 19:1-18 — Holiness precepts 19:1-18 "This section . . . consists of a list of twenty-one (3x7) laws. These laws are broken up into smaller units by the sevenfold repetition of the phrase ’I am the LORD (your God)’ (Leviticus 19:3-4; Leviticus 19:10; Leviticus 19:12; Leviticus 19:14; Leviticus 19:16; Leviticus 19:18)." [Note: Sailhamer, p. 349.] The clause "I am the Lord" reminded the Israelites that God was their ultimate judge.

Isaiah 66:1-2 — Yahweh reminded His people that He is sovereign over His universe (cf. Isaiah 65:17). They should not assign too much importance to the temple and its service, since they built the temple for God (cf. 2 Samuel 7:4-14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 11:4; Psalms 103:19; Jeremiah 7:12-14; Jeremiah 23:24; Matthew 5:34-35). It was a symbol of Him. They should consider more important that He had created all things Himself (cf. Acts 7:48-50). It is people who are not self-assertive

Ezekiel 22:1-2 — Another message came from the Lord instructing Ezekiel to remind the residents of the bloody city of Jerusalem about all their abominations (cf. Ezekiel 20:4). A list of specific sins was necessary for him to pronounce judgment on them. Jerusalem was bloody because of all the blood its residents had shed, the blood of innocent people (cf. Nahum 3:1). Shedding blood was Jerusalem’s primary offense,

Ezekiel 40:5-20 — 2. The millennial temple 40:5-42:20 Earlier Ezekiel hinted that there would be a future temple in the restored Promised Land (Ezekiel 20:40; Ezekiel 37:24-28). Now he described it in considerable detail. [Note: See also the drawings in Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, pp. 231, 233, 234,

Ezekiel 43:13-24 — 4. The temple ordinances 43:13-46:24 Instructions (statutes) designed to maintain holiness in the new temple follow. The Lord specified how His people were to construct the new altar to accommodate sacrifices (Ezekiel 43:13-17) and how they were to dedicate

Daniel 1:18-20 — faithful friends received a final examination that included an oral testing by the king himself (cf. Proverbs 22:29). They passed at the head of their class (cf. 1 Samuel 2:30). They were probably close to 20 years old at this time. [Note: See Walvoord, p. 41.] Nebuchadnezzar proceeded to give them positions of significant government responsibility, which their education had equipped them for. In these positions they proved far superior to any of the other officials. "Ten times better" (Daniel

Amos 1:2 — B. Theme 1:2 This verse summarizes the message that Amos received from the Lord. Amos reported that Yahweh roared from Zion, as a lion roars before it devours its prey or as thunder precedes a severe storm (cf. Amos 3:4; Amos 3:8; Jeremiah 25:30; Hosea 5:14; Hosea 11:10; Hosea 13:7). Yahweh was about to judge. "Yahweh" is the first word in the Hebrew sentence-usually a verb comes first-and so is emphatic by position. The Lord spoke from Zion (Jerusalem, also

Luke 3:1-2 — of Jesus’ ministry. The other references place these events in a broader historical context. Pontius Pilate was governor (prefect) of Judea from A.D. 26 to late 36 or early 37. Herod Antipas ended his reign as tetrarch of Galilee that began in 4 B.C. by deposition in A.D. 39. His brother Herod Philip, who ruled territories to the northeast of Palestine from 4 B.C., died in A.D. 34. Present historical evidence does not enable scholars to date Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene, an area northeast

Acts 12:21-23 — judgment from God and gave a more medical explanation of his death than Josephus did. One writer suggested that Herod suffered from appendicitis that led to peritonitis complicated by roundworms. [Note: Marshall, The Acts . . ., p. 213; cf. Longenecker, p. 413.] Another diagnosed him as having a cyst caused by a tapeworm. [Note: Neil, p. 152.] More important than the effect was the cause, namely, Herod’s pride (cf. Isaiah 42:8; Daniel 4:30). "The pride of man had ended in the wrath of God."

Acts 13:2 — are already serving Him as they have opportunity rather than those who are not serving Him but just sitting by idly waiting for direction. Notice also that the ministry of these men, while to the church, was primarily to the Lord (cf. Colossians 3:24). Fasting in this context undoubtedly involved going without food temporarily to give attention to spiritual matters of greater importance than eating. "Pious Jews of the time fasted twice each week, and early Christians may have continued the

Acts 26:4-7 — Jewish hope, whereas Acts 26:7-8 imply that his opponents are strangely inconsistent; what the people earnestly desire, the focus of their hope, is rejected when it arrives." [Note: Tannehill, 2:318.] When Paul referred to his nation (Acts 26:4), he may have had the province of Cilicia or the Jewish community in Tarsus in mind. Personal maintenance of ritual purity and strict tithing marked the lives of Pharisees primarily (Acts 26:5). Paul’s mention of the 12 tribes of Israel (Acts

Acts 7:59-60 — Stephen called upon the Lord (Gr. epikaloumenon), as Peter had exhorted his hearers to do for deliverance (Acts 2:21). Stephen died as Jesus did, with prayers for his executioners being his last words (cf. Luke 23:34; Luke 23:46; cf. 2 Chronicles 24:22; Luke 6:27-28). However, Stephen prayed to Jesus whereas Jesus prayed to His Father. Luke probably wanted his readers to connect the two executions, but they were not exactly the same. Some commentators have argued

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 — Moreover he wanted to minimize the effect of boasting, which citing such a spectacular experience would have produced. Paul could not tell (did not know) whether God had transported him physically into the third heaven (cf. Acts 8:39; 1 Thessalonians 4:17) or whether his experience had been a vision (cf. Genesis 15:12-21; Ezekiel 1:1). The third heaven probably represents the presence of God. It could be a technical description of God’s abode above the cloudy heavens overhead and beyond the

2 Corinthians 8:20-21 — him of skimming a certain percentage of the large gift off the top as his commission. To guard against any misunderstanding Paul had originally thought that he would not accompany the delegates who carried the money to Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:3-4; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:16; Romans 15:25). He had also insisted that the churches rather than he appoint the delegates (1 Corinthians 16:3) and that two delegates accompany Titus to Corinth before he arrived (2 Corinthians 8:18-19; 2 Corinthians 8:22-23).

Galatians 4:8-9 — of turning back to the same slavery. They might return to a system that was weak (with no power to justify or sanctify), worthless (providing no inheritance), and elementary. "To recognize oneself to be the centre of divine attention [Galatians 4:9 a] is one of the profounder aspects of Christian conversion." [Note: Guthrie, Galatians, p. 116.]   "For all the basic differences between Judaism and paganism, both involved subjection to the same elemental forces. This is an astonishing

James 4:10 — In concluding this section of direct advice (James 4:7-10), James sounded the same note with which he began: submission to God in humility, putting Him before self. This always results in God lifting one up both immediately and eventually. Since this is the condition in which God can use us, He will proceed

2 Peter 2:4 — We could translate the "ifs" in 2 Peter 2:4; 2 Peter 2:6-7 "since." Each one is a first class condition in Greek. A first class condition assumes for the sake of the argument that what the writer wrote is true. In this case each statement describes a situation that is indeed true to

Revelation 1:20 — of these churches, though "angel" is a strange term to describe an elder. These were probably men such as Epaphroditus, Tychicus, and Onesimus, who went to Rome to visit Paul in prison and carried messages from him to churches (Philippians 4:18; Colossians 4:7-9). Such representatives may have come to Patmos to visit John and could have carried Revelation back with them to their respective congregations. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 1-7, pp. 116-19. See my comments on 2:1.] The Greek word

2 Samuel 8:1-18 — 4. The security of David’s kingdom ch. 8 "From the religious heights of chapter 7 we descend again to the everyday world of battles and bloodshed in chapter 8. The military action picks up where the story left off at the end of chapter 5."