Recent Commentaries

Some of Paul’s religious assailants in Corinth were no doubt Jews. They hurled the charge at Paul that he was no true Hebrew. They said he had apostatized from the faith and that he could not possibly be a faithful minister of God. What Paul does here is demonstrate the depth of his …

These religious leaders knew that they were the ones Jesus had just referred to as murderers in the parable He had given (v. 19). Jesus comments were veiled, but the religious leaders had no trouble interpreting them. They immediately wanted to arrest Him. When they had p …

A messenger told David that everyone in Israel is following Absalom (v. 13). David was in Jerusalem when he heard this and he told all of his officials that they need to leave quickly or none of them will be able to escape from Absalom (vv. 14-15). David left ten of his wives behind…

It is probable that the events of this chapter occurred right before or during the invasion of Jerusalem by Sennacherib. God sent Isaiah to announce to Hezekiah that he was gong to die and should arrange for the handling of his personal affairs (v. l). Hezekiah did not want to …

Jesus told a parable of a demon who had been driven out but finding no place to rest returns with seven other spirits (vv. 43-45). In other words, it is not enough to clean house: we must also invite in the right tenant. The Pharisees were proud of their “clean house”, but their hearts were empty …

It has been two years since Israel left Egypt. Having received God’s travel instructions through Moses, Israel set out from Mount Sinai into the wilderness on their way toward the promised land. The people of Israel had camped at Mount Sinai about eleven months. They had be …

Acts of kindness and sharing are particularly pleasing to God, even when they go unnoticed by others (vv. 15-16). The task of church leaders is to help people to mature in Christ. Cooperative followers greatly ease the burden of leadership (v. 17). We find the writer emphasizing the …

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 …