Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Samson and Delilah 16:4-21
  The first three verses present Samson sowing "wild oats."Verses 4-21 picture him reaping a bitter harvest (cf. Gal. 6:7).Samson allowed a woman to seduce him again. She lived in the Sorek Valley between Samson's home area of ...
• The price of unfaithfulness 5:7-14
  The price of unfaithfulness is so high that it is unreasonable. Therefore one is wise to avoid tempting himself or herself by continuing to admire the "merchandise."Most marital infidelity occurs because the parties involved ...
• Transforming salvation 55:6-13
  This pericope repeats and refocuses the invitation just extended (vv. 1-3). The offer continues to be to come to God, but the focus shifts from receiving satisfaction to resting in faith and from salvation's freeness to its t...
• A warning to the elders of God's people 14:1-5
  14:1-2 Some of the elders of the Jewish community in exile came to visit Ezekiel. While these men sat with the prophet, a word from the Lord came to him.14:3 The Lord revealed to His servant that these elders (along with the ...
• 3. Warnings about personal danger during persecution 13:9-13 (cf. Matt. 24:9-13; Luke 21:12-19)
  These warnings also occur in other contexts of Jesus' ministry (cf. Matt. 10:17-22; Luke 12:11-12). Jesus evidently voiced them more than once.Mark stressed the idea of persecution by recording the Greek word paradidomithree ...
• The challenge to professing believers 8:31-47
  Jesus next addressed those in His audience who had expressed some faith Him (v. 30).8:31 The mark of a true disciple is continuation in the instructions of his or her teacher. A disciple is by definition a learner, not necess...
• 1. Freedom from sin 6:1-14
  Paul began his explanation of the believer's relationship to sin by expounding the implications of our union with Christ (6:1-14). He had already spoken of this in 5:12-21 regarding justification, but now he showed how that u...
• 3. Conduct in view of our hope 13:11-14
  Paul's thought moved from identifying responsibilities to urging their practice. What lies before us as Christians provides essential motivation for doing so.13:11 "This"refers to the duties urged earlier, not only in this ch...
• B. Spiritual warfare 6:10-20
  That this section is distinct from the five that precede it is evident from two facts. Paul introduced it differently, and the emphasis in it is on God's resources. Earlier Paul urged the strengthening and growth of the body ...
• C. Those committed to Christ 6:11-16
  Paul continued the emphasis he began in the previous section (vv. 3-10) by appealing to Timothy to pursue spiritual rather than physical goals in his life. He seems to have intended his instructions for all the faithful Ephes...
• Message2
  Paul had previously written to Timothy explaining that the local church is a supporting pedestal for God's truth (1 Tim. 3:15). He had said that the purpose of the local church is the proclamation of God's truth in the world....
• Outline
  I. Salutation 1:1-2II. Thanksgiving for faithful fellow workers 1:3-18A. Timothy's past faithfulness 1:3-7B. Charges to remain loyal 1:8-141. Exhortation to be courageous 1:8-122. Exhortation to guard the gospel 1:13-14C. Exa...
• 3. Summary applications 2:22-26
  2:22 Paul urged Timothy to run away from the attractive desires that appeal especially to the young. In view of the context he was probably thinking of the desire to argue, to develop a unique theology, to make a reputation f...
• 4. The importance of resisting the devil 5:8-11
  5:8 Trust in God is not all that we need, however. We also need to practice self-control and to keep alert (cf. 1:13; 4:7) because Satan is on the prowl (cf. Job 1:7; Matt. 26:41; 1 Cor. 16:13). Peter's readers were in danger...
• 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...