Confession

David Cries Out For Mercy. - Psalms 6:1 – 6:10 (commentary)

David begins this psalm by rehearsing the sad condition in which he found himself. We don’t know the cause of David’s pain but whatever the cause, he sought God for the remedy. Here was “a man after God’s own heart” who had not only fallen but who pe …

Peter’s Confession - Matthew 16:13 – 16:20 (commentary)

We find Jesus in Gentile territory in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 120 miles north of Jerusalem (v. 13). This region had been a center of Baal worship and a place where Herod the Great had built a temple to honor Augustus Caesar. Jesus was seeking to lead His disciples …

The peoples need for holiness - Numbers 5:1 – 5:31 (commentary)

In the opening verses of this chapter the Lord reminds the people of His holiness and of their need for holiness if they were to live near His dwelling place. In the Old Testament covenant, the community’s spiritual holiness was linked to and symbolized by physical, bodily, holin …

The Joy of Forgiveness - Psalms 32:1 – 32:5 (commentary)

This chapter records the experiences that David went through as he faced his sins, confessed them, and received God’s forgiveness (vv. 1-2). He was a very miserable man after he seduced the wife of his most loyal soldier, and arranged with Joab for the murder of this man. I …

A Nation Asks For Forgiveness - Psalms 106:1 – 106:15 (commentary)

Psalm 105 covers events up to the Exodus from Egypt, and Psalm 106 covers events from the Exodus to the Babylonian captivity. Like Psalm 105 this Psalm traces the history of Israel but for a different purpose. In Psalm 105 the emphasis was on God’s grace and faithfulness. In this Psalm ...

Foreign Nations Will Attack - Isaiah 5:26 – 5:30 (commentary)

This passage describes what God will do if the people disobey Him (Deut.28). He will summon the Assyrian army and use it to chasten His people. This powerful aggressor did destroy the northern kingdom and scattered the people throughout its own empire. Isaiah injects a wo …

A Call to Repentance - Hosea 6:1 – 6:11 (commentary)

In these verses we find that the people did not understand the depth of their sins. They did not turn from their idols, regret their sins or pledge to make changes (vv. l-2). It seems that they thought ...

Refusing to Be Ashamed of Sin - Jeremiah 3:1 – 3:13 (commentary)

Jeremiah ends his first message by exposing the spiritual harlotry of Judah. The first verse introduces his theme: God’s law (Deut. 24:1-4) forbade a wife, divorced by her first husband and married to another, to return to her first love. Yet Judah, who had separated from h …

Offering of First Fruits And Thanksgiving - Deuteronomy 26:1 – 26:19 (commentary)

When Israel took possession of the promised land (v. 1) they were to celebrate two rituals. There were the “offering of the first fruits” (vv. 2-11) and the “tithe in the third year” (vv. 12-15). It seems that they were to be practiced only one time, the one after Israel’s first harvest and the other after ...