Bible Commentaries

Genesis 6:5 — left off the mental pursuit of wickedness! It would be difficult to devise a sentence that would any more effectively portray the corruption of humanity than does Genesis 6:5. That this is the result of the judicial hardening prophesied by Genesis 6:3 in which such a condition was foretold in the projected withdrawal of the Spirit of God from "striving with" man, is dramatically evident. THE FIRST HARDENING OF HUMANITY The entire Bible deals with the phenomenon of Judicial Hardening, and this is

Psalms 5:7-8 — and it can be alleged that this casts a reflection upon the ancient tradition that attributes the psalm to David. However, as Maclaren pointed out, The Hebrew word for "temple" used here is also used of the tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Samuel 3:3).Alexander Maclaren, Psalms, Vol. 1 (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1892), p. 38. The word for "worship" in this passage is actually a reference to one's prostrating himself before God.Ibid., p. 44. The comment of Adam Clarke on Psalms 5:7 was that, "David

Proverbs 21:27 — "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; How much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind." The thought here is very similar to that of Proverbs 21:3. See the comment there. The Anchor Bible has it this way: "A sacrifice offered by wicked men is an abomination, all the more so if one bring it with a shameful purpose."Ibid. Some of the shameful purposes that may prompt the wicked to offer a sacrifice

Proverbs 5:1 — Jamieson's short summary of this chapter is: "Here is a warning against the seductive arts of wicked women, enforced by considering the blessings and advantages of chastity, and the miserable end of the wicked,"Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 392. Walls subdivided the chapter as follows: (1)    the teacher's appeal for strict attention (Proverbs 5:1-2), (2)    a description of the loose woman (Proverbs 5:3-6), (3)    an injunction

Lamentations 3:19-21 — II JEREMIAH REMEMBERS GOD IN HIS CRY FOR HELP (Lamentations 3:19-39) "Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope." "Remember" This should be understood as an appeal to God.

Ezekiel 13:1-9 — the prophets" "Ezekiel had already prophesied against Jerusalem, against the cities of Judah, against the priests and against the king; and now he directs the prophecies against the false prophets."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 73. Howie noted that there were at least three reasons for these denunciations: (1) they were prophesying out of their own subjective desires and imaginations and were not following God's Spirit at all; (2) they were doing nothing whatever to help Israel,

Amos 3:11 — sayings,"Henry McKeating, op. cit., p. 29. should be rejected as unfounded and unproved. The repetition of such expressions is merely characteristic of Amos' style, a fact that cannot be denied. Look at the repeated questions that are propounded in Amos 3:3-6. Repetition was also a characteristic of the teachings of Jesus our Lord. "There shall be" It will be noted that these words are italicized in the ASV and in the KJV, but they should nevertheless be retained. "The KJV here makes sense of the awkward

Amos 3:7-8 — p. 59. are effectually denied and refuted by the sheer necessity of this thought in relation to what has preceded it. The whole passage gives the prophetic view of history as a drama in which sin is punished and righteousness rewarded; omitting Amos 3:7-8 would have been subject to the objection in Amos' hearers that such calamities as those foretold would have been "unfair without adequate warning." Very well, Amos here affirmed the validity of such a forensic objection, but set it aside by the

Habakkuk 3:15 — "Thou didst tread the sea with thy horses, The heap of mighty waters." "The imagery here is taken from Exodus 1-19."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 54, In this whole passage (Habakkuk 3:3-15), the backdrop against which all of it is written is God's dealings with Israel in the Exodus, as has been repeatedly emphasized above. Habakkuk's reason for calling all of these things to remembrance is to inspire hope on the part of the people

Matthew 11:9 — wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. John was the last and greatest of the prophets, foretelling: (1) the near approach of the kingdom of God, (2) that Jesus would take away the sin of the world, and (3) that the Jewish nation would be destroyed for rejecting him (see under Matthew 3:10). He was more than a prophet in that he did not merely foretell the Messiah but presented him to the people and identified him. He was greatest also in his proximity

Matthew 21:13 — unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers. Christ here quoted Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. This was the second time that he cleansed the temple, John's record of the other occasion (John 2:13) standing as supplementary to this one mentioned by the synoptics. This type of activity by Christ was fully in harmony with what was expected of the Messiah from Malachi 3:1-3. Comparison of the two cleansings shows an interval of two years between

John 3:14-15 — And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life. The connection between John 3:14-15 and John 3:13 is in the title "Son of man." John 3:13 gave Jesus' identity as God incarnate, and these cite the necessity for his Passion, i.e., his being lifted up on the cross, and through that, lifted up on High. Moses lifted up the

1 Corinthians 16:6 — But with you it may be that I shall abide, or even winter, that ye may set me forward on my journey whithersoever I go. The intention of spending some time at Corinth was fulfilled. "This he afterward found himself able to do" (Acts 20:2-3). John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 434. Set me forward on my journey … This is not a hint that he would expect to receive traveling expenses, rather having reference

2 Corinthians 3:18 — "beholding" in classical Greek means "looking at one's self in a mirror"; "But that requires steady looking when mirrors are metal, and so the word came to mean simply, TO GAZE STEADILY." David J. A. Clines, op. cit., p. 423. From the Lord the Spirit … McGarvey gave the import of this to be, "Now Jesus is that Spirit, or new covenant of which I have been speaking (2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 3:8); and where that new covenant is, there

Ephesians 4:2 — holy God. It is the fountain from which are derived all of the Christian virtues. Conceit on the part of a child of God is a denial of the faith. There is also a very proper and necessary self-esteem which enters into Christian character (Romans 12:3). Meekness … Martin chose "gentleness" as a synonym for this word; Alfred Martin, Wycliffe Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 739. "It is closely connected with the spirit of submissiveness." Francis Foulkes,

Joshua 1:2 — even to the children of Israel." "Arise, go over this Jordan" A summary of God's orders to Joshua is as follows: (1)    Cross the Jordan River (Joshua 1:2). (2)    Take Israel over the Jordan River (Joshua 1:2). (3)    Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6). (4)    Do not fail to keep the Law of Moses. These dramatic orders came at a time when Israel's enemies probably supposed it was impossible for them to begin the invasion,

1 Thessalonians 3:1 — "we" anyway. Many scholars support the view taken here: Some refer the plural to Paul, Silas and Timothy; others to Paul and Silas, as Timothy had been sent to Thessalonica; but it is to be restricted to Paul, as is evident from 1 Thessalonians 3:5, and inasmuch as Paul was left alone in Athens; the plural being used here for the singular. P. J. Gloat, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 55. Here the "we" is purely epistolary,

2 Thessalonians 3:3 — passage, as follows: Paul writes from Corinth that while everyone has the chance, not all have the desire to arrive at the faith ([@Pistis] here is the faith of the gospel, or Christianity). By a characteristic play upon the word, Paul, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, hurries on to add, "but the Lord is faithful." James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 51. The general idea of the verse is that a trustworthy God is more than a match for untrustworthy men.

1 Timothy 3:9 — holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. The mystery of the faith … Here is the same as "the great mystery" mentioned a few moments later (1 Timothy 3:16). The doctrine of mystery as unfolded in the New Testament is rather extensive, as fully elaborated in The Mystery of Redemption. James Burton Coffman, The Mystery of Redemption (Abilene, Texas: ACU, Press). See more on this under 1 Timothy 3:16. Pure

3 John 1:4 — walking in the truth. Greater joy have I none … The word "greater" here, in the Greek is, "a double comparative as betterer would be in English."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1062. Paul frequently used such expressions, as in Ephesians 3:8; and Shakespeare has, "How much more elder art thou than thy looks!"William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, IV, 1. My children walking in the truth … Some