Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The presentation of the third year tithe 26:12-15
  This offering and commitment to the Lord (vv. 1-11) was only part of the Israelites' responsibility. They also needed to love their fellow dependent Israelites (vv. 12-15; cf. 6:5)."Every third year the tithe was kept in the ...
• Message10
  Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Isr...
• 5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15
  "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
• Elijah's announcement of God's judgment 17:1-7
  Again God raised up a prophet to announce what He would do. Evidently Ahab's apostasy had been going on for 14 years before God raised up His prophetic challenge.173Normally God gives sinners an opportunity to judge themselve...
• 3. The appropriate response 97:10-12
  97:10 Since God loves righteousness it is only fitting that those who love Him should hate evil. By doing so, they become the objects of His blessing rather than partakers of His discipline.97:11-12 Rejoicing and thanksgiving...
• 4. Hope in God's ceaseless existence 102:23-28
  It seemed as though God was killing the psalmist prematurely. He prayed for a continuation of his life. This request led him to reflect further on the duration of God's existence. To picture God's ceaseless continuance he ref...
• The woe against rebellion by God's children ch. 30
  There are several thematic connections between this chapter and chapter 28.298The general structure of the chapter is chiastic."AContemporary events: Egypt no help (1-7)BComing human events: the refusal of the word, the way o...
• Yahweh's day of judgment ch. 34
  This poem depicts the effects of Yahweh's wrath on the self-exalting nations. His judgment will be universal (vv. 1-4). Isaiah particularized it with reference to Edom, a representative nation (vv. 5-17; cf. 25:10-12)."Here w...
• The comforting Lord 40:1-11
  The first strophe of this poem (vv. 1-2) sets the tone for the rest of the chapter and for the rest of the book. It is an introduction to an introduction. In spite of affliction that lay ahead for the Judahites, God's ultimat...
• Listening to the Servant 51:1-8
  This section of Isaiah, like the preceding one, reflects on the third Servant Song (50:4-9). Here the emphasis is on the expectations of those who will listen to the Servant as well as encouragement to those followers of righ...
• The imminent fulfillment of prophecies of Jerusalem's destruction 12:26-28
  12:26-27 Some of the people were saying that the prophecies about coming judgment were true, but they would not come to pass for a long time."Rebelliousness (v. 25) can take many forms, some of them even quite pious (How do I...
• Coming refining 22:17-22
  22:17-20 The Lord also compared the present Judahites to the base metals that separate from silver in the refining process. He planned to gather them in Jerusalem, His crucible, and subject them to a trial by fire, as refiner...
• The guarantee of Jerusalem's present judgment 24:14
  In conclusion, the Lord promised that this judgment would come as He had predicted. He would not change His mind or mitigate the punishment. He would thoroughly judge the people because of their conduct and actions. They woul...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• Zion's future greatness 4:6-8
  4:6 In "that day"the Lord also promised to assemble His people whom He had allowed the nations to abuse. This will occur when He turns the tide for Israel and begins to bless her, namely, at the beginning of the Millennium.Th...
• Message12
  The key to the Book of Zephaniah is the phrase "the day of the Lord."This phrase appears in most of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. As we saw in Joel, "the day of the Lord"can be a past day, a day in the relati...
• A. The judgment on the world 1:2-3
  1:2 Yahweh revealed that He would completely remove everything from the face of the earth (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-12). This is one of the most explicit announcement of the total devastation of planet Earth in the Old Testament (cf. ...
• E. Judgment on all nations 3:8
  The people of Jerusalem needed to wait a little longer. The Lord would soon rise up as a devouring animal to consume His prey. He had determined to gather nations and kingdoms that were wicked, including Judah, and pour His b...
• Message10
  Haggai is the first in the last group of prophetic Old Testament books. Along with Zechariah and Malachi, these books reveal life in the restoration community. The historical book of Ezra deals with the same time period and t...
• V. Oracle four: the problem of God's justice 2:17--3:6
  That another oracle is in view is clear from the question and answer format that begins this pericope, as it does the others. Verse 17 contains the question and answer, and the discussion follows in 3:1-6. The Israelites' cha...
• 5. The Second Coming of the Son of Man 13:24-27 (cf. Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28)
  These verses do not describe the destruction of Jerusalem but the Tribulation at the end of the present age and the Second Coming that will follow it. The Second Coming is the climax of the Olivet Discourse.32013:24-25 In con...
• The illustration 4:1-7
  4:1-3 Already Paul had compared the Law to a prison warden (3:22) and a baby sitter (3:24). Now he compared it to a trustee appointed to care for a young child and his property, a guardian. The purpose of all three comparison...
• C. Personal watchfulness 5:1-11
  In view of the imminency of Christ's return Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to be ready to prepare them to meet the Lord at any time."The former [paragraph, i.e., 4:13-18] offered instruction concerning the dead in Christ; th...
• E. The problem of apostasy in the church 4:1-5
  In this pericope Paul reminded Timothy of the apostasy that Jesus Christ had foretold to equip him to identify and to deal with it.143"The change that occurs at 4:1 following the hymn of victory, then, is not unexpected. Oppo...
• B. The Superiority of God's Son 1:5-14
  The writer proceeded to explain the exaltation of Jesus Christ to help his readers appreciate the fact that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Son of David. He did this so they would appreciate Him properly an...
• Message12
  Peter wrote this epistle, as he did 1 Peter, to establish believers in their faith. He wrote both letters in obedience to Jesus' instructions to him to "strengthen your brothers"(Luke 22:32). Both epistles contain reminders o...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-2II. The condition of the Christian 1:3-11A. The believer's resources 1:3-4B. The believer's needs 1:5-9C. The believer's adequacy 1:10-11III. The authority for the Christian 1:12-21A. The need for a remin...
• V. THE PROSPECT FOR THE CHRISTIAN 3:1-16
  Peter turned from a negative warning against false teachers to make a positive declaration of the apostles' message to help his readers understand why he wrote this letter. His language had been strong and confrontive, but no...
• B. Scoffing in the Last Days 3:3-6
  Peter warned his readers about the activity of mockers preceding the Lord's return to enable them to deal with this test of their faith."Peter finally brings together two of the most important issues in the letter: the false ...
• C. End-time Events 3:7-10
  Next Peter outlined what will surely happen so his readers would understand what will take place.3:7 God has given orders that the present heavens and earth (vv. 5-6) will experience another judgment yet future. Then God will...
• D. Living in View of the Future 3:11-16
  Peter drew application for his readers and focused their attention on how they should live presently in view of the future.3:11 Peter believed that an understanding of the future should motivate the believer to live a holy li...
• Bibliography
  Alford, Henry. Alford's Greek Testament. 4 vols. New ed. London: Rivingtons, 1884.Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.Barbieri, Louis A. First and Second ...
• The enticements of the world 2:15-17
  John next warned his readers of worldly dangers that face the Christian as he or she seeks to get to know God better. He did so to enable them to prepare for and to overcome these obstacles with God's help."As often in 1 John...
• 3. Exhortation 3:2a, 3
  These believers needed to awake from their spiritual slumber, to examine their condition, and to realize their needs (cf. Matt. 24:42; 25:13; 26:41). Their city had fallen into enemy hands more than once due to the carelessne...
• 4. The judgment of the wicked 20:11-15
  20:11 This "And I saw"introduces something else John saw in this vision (cf. 19:11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 12; 21:1, 2). The continuation of chronological progression seems clear from the continued use of "And"to introduce new info...
• 1. The vision of the new heaven and earth 21:1
  John now saw a new scene that elaborated on the passing away of the present earth and heaven to which he had just referred briefly (20:11). The new earth and heaven will come into existence after the Millennium and the great ...
• Bibliography
  Abbott-Smith, George. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1950.Aldrich, Roy L. "The Divisions of the First Resurrection."Bibliotheca Sacra128:510 (April-June 1971):117-19.Alford, Henry. ...