Recent Commentaries

Two things distinguished Israel’s history from that of all other nations.Divine presence – (vv. 7, 8) – Picture Israel marching out of Egypt wrapped in a Shekinah cloud. When, in all of history, has this world ever seen anything like this?Divine providence – (vv. 9, 10) – For man …

Jesus knew that before the day was done He would die, and not just die but die a very painful death. Oh sure, he was God and He could make it so it wouldn’t hurt, but that wasn’t a part of the plan. Dying would be the easy part and Jesus Christ, the son of God knew th …

The early church was faced with a big problem involving money (v. 1). There were two groups: the Hellenistic Jews (Greek speaking) and the Hebrew Jews (Aramaic speaking). The Hellenists said that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. Tension developed …

After the priests and Levites had made things right in their own life and cleansed the temple Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple (v. 20). They brought with them bulls, rams, lambs, and goats to offer as sacrifices (v. 21). These were offered …

Judgment would sweep through Judah like a raging forest fire (vv 1-7). In bringing the Babylonians toward the land, the Lord would draw His sharp and polished sword. Flashing like lightning, this sword would bring destruction throughout the land. Since the people refused …

We are introduced to a young man from Bethlehem who is later identified as the grandson of Moses (vv. 7-9). His name was Jonathan, son of Geshom, son of Moses (18:30). It is not for certain why he was wandering alone, away from his family but it seems he was looking for a job and …

In order to get the attention of the people, God sometimes asked the prophets to do unusual things. In the case of Jeremiah, the Lord forbade him from participating in three activities. The first restriction was not to marry (vv. 1-4). God’s purpose for this was to show that …

After Ezra had been in the land for a period of time, he was informed by some of the princes that many were involved in sin. This grievous sin involved not only the people in general but even the priests and Levites who should have been the spiritual leaders (v. 1). This lack of …

1. David assigns the Priests their Duties. (vv. 1-19) Aaron’s descendants were divided into work groups (v. 1). Aaron had four sons but two died (Nadab and Abihu) (v. 2). That is why Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests …

The inadequacy of the legal and Levitical system and how it had to be replaced with something better is pointed out. If the Levitical priesthood could have brought access to God or salvation it would have not been necessary for God to provide another priesthood. As long as …