Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16
  Chapter 4 shows the spread of sin from Adam's family to the larger society that his descendants produced. Not only did sin affect everyone, but people became progressively more wicked as time passed. Verses 1-16 show that the...
• 14. The rape of Dinah and the revenge of Simeon and Levi ch. 34
  After Shechem the Canaanite raped Dinah, Simeon and Levi gained revenge by deceiving the Shechemites into being circumcised as the condition for Dinah's marriage. Then they murdered the incapacitated men of the city."The stor...
• The birth of Benjamin, death of Rachel, and sin of Reuben 35:16-29
  Jacob was not disobedient to God in leaving Bethel. God's instructions to go to Bethel and "live there"(v. 1) were evidently directions to dwell there while he fulfilled his vow. God did not command permanent residence there....
• The seventh commandment 20:14
  Adultery is sexual intercourse when one or both partners are married (or engaged, under Israelite law; cf. Deut. 22:23-29) to someone else. Adultery destroys marriage and the home, the foundations of society (cf. Matt. 5:27-2...
• Message9
  Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
• Outline
  I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
• I. INTRODUCTION: the Covenant setting 1:1-5
  This brief section places the events that follow in their geographical and chronological setting. It introduces the occasion for the covenant, the parties involved, and other information necessary to identify the document and...
• IV. MOSES' SECOND MAJOR ADDRESS: AN EXPOSITION OF THE LAW chs. 5--26
  ". . . Deuteronomy contains the most comprehensive body of laws in the Pentateuch. It is clearly intended to be consulted for guidance on many aspects of daily life, in sharp contrast with the laws of Leviticus, which are ver...
• The seventh commandment 5:18
  This commandment deals with adultery only. Whereas murder violates life itself, adultery violates the most important and sacred human relationship, marriage.88God dealt with other forms of sexual sin elsewhere (cf. chs. 22-25...
• 2. Exhortation to love Yahweh ch. 6
  Another writer suggested that chapters 6-26 expand the Decalogue with the intent of addressing the spirit of the law.92He believed the structure of the book supports his contention that the writer chose exemplary cases. Moses...
• 3. Examples of the application of the principles chs. 7-11
  "These clearly are not laws or commandments as such but primarily series of parenetic homilies in which Moses exhorted the people to certain courses of action in light of the upcoming conquest and occupation of Canaan. Within...
• The consequences of obedience and disobedience ch. 11
  The section of Deuteronomy dealing with general stipulations of the covenant ends as it began, with an exhortation to covenant loyalty (5:1-5; cf. 4:32-40)."This chapter is to be understood as a re-emphasis of these principle...
• B. An exposition of selected covenant laws 12-25
  Moses' homiletical exposition of the law of Israel that follows explains reasons for the covenant laws that arose from the Ten Commandments. This address concludes with directions for celebrating and confirming the covenant (...
• The marriage relationship 22:13-30
  Moses considered seven types of cases in these verses.The first case (vv. 13-19) is of a man who marries a woman and then falsely charges her with being a harlot (not being a virgin when he married her). If the girl could pro...
• 1. Laws of covenant celebration and confirmation 26:1-15
  This section concludes the "purely legal material."284The ordinances with which Moses concluded his second address (chs. 5-26) not only specified the Israelites' actions in further respects but also focused their thinking on ...
• 2. Summary exhortation 26:16-19
  "The presentation of the commandments and the statutes and ordinances that will guide Israel's life in the land is over now. Verse 16 serves as a concluding bracket around chapters 5-26, matching Moses' introduction to the wh...
• 2. The seventh year covenant renewal ceremony 31:9-13
  "Moses assigned the priests and elders the duty of regularly republishing the law of the covenant. The effect of this was to associate the priests and elders with Joshua in the responsibility of rule and in the esteem of Isra...
• 2. Ruth's encouragement and Boaz's response 3:6-13
  Ruth carried out Naomi's instructions exactly, further demonstrating her loyal love to her mother-in-law, and encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (vv. 6-9)."Note that the threshingfloor was a public place an...
• 2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27
  Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
• Jerusalem's incurable wickedness 13:20-27
  13:20 The Lord called Jerusalem to look north and she would see people coming.238The city was about to lose the flock of special people over whom the Lord had made her responsible, namely, His people of Judah.13:21 What would...
• Covenant unfaithfulness 22:1-16
  22:1-2 Another message came from the Lord instructing Ezekiel to remind the residents of the bloody city of Jerusalem about all their abominations (cf. 20:4). A list of specific sins was necessary for him to pronounce judgmen...
• B. The King's birth 1:18-25
  The first sentence in this pericope (section) serves as a title for the section, as the sentence in verse 1 did for 1:1-17. Matthew recorded the supernatural birth of Jesus to demonstrate further His qualification as Israel's...
• 4. The woman caught in adultery 7:53-8:11
  The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900 ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important e...
• Paul's judgment of this case 5:1-5
  5:1 "Immorality"is a general translation of the Greek word porneia, which means fornication, specifically sexual relations with a forbidden mate. The precise offense in this case was sexual union with the woman who had marrie...