Recent Commentaries

This vision is about the Messiah, the King-Priest. In the days of the kings and after the exile Judah’s government was ruled by two distinct persons; the king ruling the political life and the high priest, ruling its religious life. This section opens with three Hebrews arrivin …

Part of God’s covenant with David included the promise that the enemies of Israel would be defeated and would no longer oppress them (I Sam. 7:10-11). God fulfilled this promise by helping David defeat the opposing nations. The peoples and places discussed in this chapter are tho …

In addition to repairing the walls, the builders repaired the gates. The porters, singers and Levites were given the responsibility of opening and closing them. Nehemiah, knowing that his enemies were still around, ordered these security measures. All the work on the wall would h …

Shifting to the events in Judah we find Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel in control. She came to Judah in a marriage alliance, and established a power base during her husband Jehoram’s role and continued to hold this power during the brief reign of her son, Ahazi …

A person may be rich and have all kinds of material things but have nothing spiritually. Another person may be poor materially speaking but rich spiritually (v. 7). It is sad to see but those who posses riches often put their trust in their possessions. The rich man may need to u …

Jesus taught two lessons in this passage (vv. 7-14). First He spoke to the guests, telling them not to seek places of honor (vv. 7-11). Service is more important in God’s kingdom than status. Second, he told the host not to be exclusive about whom he invites (vv. 12-14). It i …

The Ephraimites had played an important role in Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (Judges 7:24-25). When Gideon called on them, they came, defending the Jordan River and slaying Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of Midian. But despite their great victory, the Ephraimites were provoked, wishing …

The tabernacle was one long building made into two parts. The first room was called the Holy Place. Only the priests were allowed to come in here. There were three pieces of furniture here. One was a table covered over with gold and with poles put through rings at each end for ca …

One of the extraordinary things about the great Christian leaders in the New Testament was they were not afraid to confess what once they had been. In the presence of the king, Paul frankly confessed that there was a day when he had tried to blast the Christians out of existence. In this …

Angered that Jesus would claim equality with the Father, these Jews “took up stones to kill Him” (v. 31). Jesus asks why his good work deserved such cruel treatment (v. 32). They claimed that they did not have a problem with His works. They objected to Him, a mere man, claiming to be …