Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 13:33-34 — Jeroboam’s continued apostasy 13:33-34 The prophecy of God’s judgment on Jeroboam and its signs (1 Kings 13:4-5) did not lead the king to repentance. The most serious aspect of his apostate system was his disregard for what God had required concerning Israel’s priesthood (1 Kings 13:33). By instituting his new priestly system, Jeroboam became responsible for its continuing practice in Israel, which eventually resulted in the Assyrian captivity of Israel (1 Kings 13:34).

Psalms 119:1-8 — 1. The blessing of obeying God’s Word 119:1-8 The writer rejoiced in the fact that people who obey God’s Word wholeheartedly enjoy His blessing (Psalms 119:1-3). Consequently he wanted to be more consistently obedient himself (Psalms 119:4-6). He promised to be more thankful as he continued to learn more about God’s Word (Psalms 119:7-8). "The love for God receives expression in doing the will of God." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 739.]

Psalms 67:1-2 — 1. God’s grace to His people 67:1-2 The psalmist began by repeating part of Israel’s priestly blessing (cf. Numbers 6:24-26) to request God’s favor on His people. Causing one’s face to shine on others means smiling on them with favor and approval (cf. Psalms 4:6). The writer requested God’s blessing on Israel so that other nations would learn of His favor, turn to Him in faith, and experience His salvation themselves (v.2).

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 — 3. Solomon’s investigation of pleasure 2:1-11 "After having proved that secular wisdom has no superiority to folly in bringing true happiness to man, he [the writer] seeks his happiness in a different way, and gives himself up to cheerful enjoyment." [Note: Delitzsch, p. 232.] "Solomon . . . decided to test his own heart to see how he would respond to two very common experiences of life: enjoyment (1-3) and employment (4-11)." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 487.]

Song of Solomon 1:15 — literature (cf. Genesis 2:18-25). "According to Rabbinic teaching, a bride who has beautiful eyes possesses a beautiful character; they are an index to her character." [Note: S. M. Lehrman, "The Song of Songs," in The Five Megilloth, p. 4.] "The dramatic image is that of the couple staring deeply and lovingly into one another’s eyes." [Note: Hess, p. 72.]

Song of Solomon 1:8 — If this is Solomon’s reply, he probably was kidding her and meant that she had no reason to feel he would disdain her. However, these are probably the words of the girl’s friends (cf. Song of Solomon 1:4 b). They evidently meant that if she thought Solomon would not want her because of her dark skin and hard work, she was being ridiculous and should go back to her flocks. After all, she was a very attractive woman.

Isaiah 43:8 — Isaiah summoned an unidentified authority to bring out the Israelites: the spiritually blind and deaf (cf. Isaiah 42:18-25; cf. Deuteronomy 29:4; Jeremiah 5:21). The setting of this scene is a courtroom. The prophet was summoning them so God could address them (Isaiah 43:10) as His witnesses. Imagine calling blind and deaf people as witnesses in a court of law! Yet the Lord would use even them to testify to His greatness.

Isaiah 63:11 — Having experienced the chastening of the Lord for some time, the Israelites then reflected on former times when God had fought for His people rather than against them. Watts took the questioner to be the preacher of this section. [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p. 332.] The Exodus is the occasion in view, and Israel’s shepherds were Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (cf. Ps. 77:21; Micah 6:4). Then God’s Holy Spirit was obviously among His people.

Isaiah 9:8 — The prophet announced that God had pronounced a message (Heb. dabar, word) of judgment against the Northern Kingdom. It had all the force of Yahweh’s sovereign power behind it, but it would come subject to Ephraim continuing on the course it presently pursued. Prophetic announcements of judgment usually allowed for the possibility of repentance. If the people under God’s promised judgment repented, the judgment would not fall (cf. Jeremiah 18:7-10; Jonah 3:4-10).

Jeremiah 32:3-5 — King Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah for preaching, in the Lord’s name, that Yahweh was about to turn Jerusalem over to Nebuchadnezzar who would take possession of it. Zedekiah would not escape, Jeremiah had said, but would face Nebuchadnezzar who would take him captive to Babylon (cf. 2 Kings 25:4-7). There he would remain until the Lord visited him, evidently with death. Jeremiah had preached that fighting against the Chaldeans would be fruitless, which sounded like treason.

Jeremiah 39:1-2 — Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army captured Jerusalem and began its siege in 588 B.C. It took the Babylonians about eighteen months to breach the walls of the city, which they did in 586 B.C. (cf. Jeremiah 52:4-6). [Note: For discussion of the dates, see Feinberg, "Jeremiah," p. 621. Dyer, "Jeremiah," p. 1185, argued for the siege lasting just over 30 months. This was the total length of the siege including the period of respite previously mentioned.]

Lamentations 3:4 — Jeremiah’s suffering included sickness and pain, as when someone does not get enough food to eat or breaks a bone (cf. Psalms 42:10; Proverbs 5:11). Fever pains sometimes resemble the pain of a broken bone (cf. Lamentations 1:13-14; Job 30:17; Psalms 32:3-4; Psalms 51:8; Isaiah 38:13). He may have experienced these physical ailments, or he may have simply described his inner pain in terms of physical afflictions.

Ezekiel 10:2 — Ezekiel saw the Lord instruct the man in linen (Ezekiel 9:2-4; Ezekiel 9:11) to go among the whirling wheels under the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:15-21) and to collect coals of fire from between them (Ezekiel 1:13). He was then to scatter the coals over the city symbolizing its judgment and cleansing (Genesis 19:24; Psalms 18:10-15; Isaiah 6:6; Isaiah 33:14; Revelation 8:5). The man obeyed as the prophet watched.

Ezekiel 16:26-27 — She committed adultery with her lustful neighbor, the Egyptians, and multiplied the instances of her harlotry thus angering the Lord further (2 Kings 17:4; 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 30:7; Isaiah 36:1). As punishment, the Lord diminished her support. He also gave her into the hands of the Philistines, pagan people who nonetheless were repulsed by her lewd behavior (2 Chronicles 21:16-17; 2 Chronicles 28:16-19; Isaiah 1:7-8).

Ezekiel 28:25-26 — D. Israel’s restoration from the nations 28:25-26 As in numerous other prophetic Scriptures, promises of Israel’s restoration accompanied predictions of judgment on the nations (e.g. 34:27; 38:8; 39:26; Isaiah 65:21; Jeremiah 23:6; Amos 9:14-15). "The words of hope inserted in 28:24-26 function as a fulcrum, dividing Ezekiel’s oracles against foreign nations into two sensitively balanced halves, virtually identical in length

Zephaniah 3:4 — treacherous in deceiving the people into thinking that their words were authoritative. The priests did not observe the laws of holiness that God had prescribed for worship, and they twisted the meaning of the Mosaic Law to suit their purposes (cf. Zephaniah 1:4-5).

Matthew 12:25-26 — Probably Jesus’ knew His critics’ thoughts as anyone else who had suffered such an attack would (cf. Matthew 9:4). Alternatively this may be a statement of Jesus’ omniscience. Any kingdom, city, or household that experiences internal conflict will destroy itself eventually if the strife continues. This holds true for the domain over which Satan rules as well. For Satan to cast out demons would amount to his casting out himself since the demons do his work.

Matthew 13:54 — Jesus’ hometown was Nazareth (Luke 4:16). The local synagogue attendees wondered where Jesus obtained His authority. The wisdom in His teaching and the power in His miracles demonstrated remarkable authority, but where did He get it? Did it come from God or elsewhere (Matthew 12:24)? This

Matthew 9:3 — Some of the teachers of the law who were standing by took offense at what Jesus said. He was claiming to forgive sins, but God alone can forgive sins since it is He whom people sin against (Psalms 51:4; Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22). They called Jesus’ words blasphemy because they viewed them as a slanderous affront to God. This is the first instance of this charge in Matthew, but it will become a prominent theme.

Mark 6:1-6 — 2. Jesus’ rejection by the Nazarenes 6:1-6a (cf. Matthew 13:54-58) Even though Jesus gave ample evidence that He was more than a mere man (Mark 4:35 to Mark 5:43), those who knew Him best on the physical plane still refused to believe in Him (Mark 6:1-6 a). This refusal led Jesus to turn increasingly from the multitudes to the training of His disciples (Mark 6:6 to Mark 8:30).