Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19
  In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
• 16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23
  Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
• The atonement money 30:11-16
  The directions regarding the tabernacle opened with instructions concerning contributions for its construction (25:1-9). They close with this directive that every Israelite 20 years or older was to pay a flat fee of half a sh...
• Moses' intercession 32:7-14
  God's recounting the news of the golden calf to Moses gives the reader the divine perspective on Israel's sin. Moses stressed three points in this pericope."These three points--idolatry of the golden calf, Israel's stiff-neck...
• 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...
• VII. MOSES' LAST ACTS chs. 31--34
  Having completed the major addresses to the Israelites recorded to this point in Deuteronomy, Moses needed only to make a few final arrangements before Israel was ready to enter the land. The record of these events concludes ...
• Date and Writer
  Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
• Scope
  The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
• 1. Hannah's deliverance ch. 1
  "I Samuel 1 is presented as a conventional birth narrative which moves from barrenness to birth. Laid over that plot is a second rhetorical strategy which moves from complaint to thanksgiving. With the use of this second stra...
• 2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a
  These verses summarize Samuel's continuing ministry as a prophet in Israel. Samuel qualified for this privilege by his faithful obedience to God's will as he knew it. God sovereignly chose Samuel for this ministry, but his di...
• Saul's selfishness 14:24-35
  Saul's improper view of his role as Israel's king comes through clearly in verse 24. The Philistines were not Saul's enemies as much as God's enemies. This was holy war (cf. Judg. 16:28), but Saul viewed the battle too person...
• 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...
• IV. SAUL AND DAVID 1 Sam. 16--31
  The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
• David's anointing 16:1-13
  This time God's choice was not a king for the people according to their desires, but a king for Himself (v. 1) who would put Yahweh first (13:14; cf. Gal. 4:4-5). Saul would have perceived Samuel's anointing another man as ki...
• David's flight to the forest of Hereth 22:5
  Gad appears to have been a prophet who remained with David throughout his reign (cf. 2 Sam. 24:11). Samuel had died, but God provided another prophet through whom He communicated to the king-elect. The forest of Hereth was so...
• Outline
  (Continued from notes on 1 Samuel)V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8A. The beginning of David's kingdom 1:1-3:51. David's discovery of Saul and Jonathan's deaths ch. 12. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a3. David's overtures to Jabesh-g...
• The second move 6:12-23
  David also observed that the ark's presence in Obed-edom's house resulted in blessing for its host. This made him more eager than ever to install the ark in Jerusalem.Verse 13 probably means after the priests had taken six st...
• VI. DAVID'S TROUBLES chs. 9--20
  Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
• VII. SUMMARY ILLUSTRATIONS chs. 21--24
  The last major section of the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 21-24) consists of six separate pericopes that together constitute a conclusion to the whole book (cf. Judg. 17-21). Each pericope emphasizes the theological message of the...
• F. Pestilence from David's Sin ch. 24
  This last section of the book records another occasion on which God withdrew his blessing from Israel this time because of David's sin (cf. 21:1-14). When David stopped trusting in Yahweh for protection and placed his confide...
• 1. David's sin of numbering the people 24:1-9
  David probably ordered this census about 975 B.C."After the revolutions of both Absalom and Sheba it would have been reasonable for David to reassess his military situation against the possibility of similar uprisings or othe...
• 2. David's confession of his guilt 24:10-14
  Apparently the census was complete before David acknowledged that he had sinned. Finally guilt for his pride penetrated his heart, and he confessed his sin and asked God for forgiveness (v. 10). This response shows David at h...
• 3. David's punishment 24:15-17
  An angelic messenger from God again brought death to many people throughout all Israel (cf. Exod. 12:23). The Angel of the Lord may have been the preincarnate Christ, but he could have simply been an angelic messenger whom Go...
• 4. David's repentance 24:18-25
  David proceeded to offer sacrifices in response to Gad's instructions (v. 18). David needed to commit himself again to God (the burnt offering) and to renew his fellowship with God (the peace offering, v. 25). God instructed ...
• Conclusion
  When 1 Samuel opened Israel was a loosely connected affiliation of tribes with little unity and loyalty. Judges led her many of whom were weak and ineffective. Her worship was in disrepute due to corruption in the priesthood....
• Bibliography
  Achtemeier, Paul J., and Elizabeth Achtemeier. The Old Testament Roots of Our Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.Ackerman, James S. "Knowing Good and Evil: A Literary Ananysis of the Court History in 2 Samuel 9-20 and ...
• Yahweh's plan to terminate Ahab 22:1-28
  Another significant battle occurred between the battle of Ramoth-gilead that the writer recorded in chapter 22 (853 B.C.) and the battles he recorded in chapter 20. Ahab and his Aramean ally Ben-Hadad II (860-841 B.C.) defeat...
• God's provision of a place for Israel ch. 21
  Chapter 21 records the fulfillment of God's second personal promise to David, namely, that He would appoint a place where Israel could dwell securely (17:9). This was a promise of peace for Israel, but as the verses following...
• Appendix
  Numbers in Chronicles That Disagree With Their Old Testament Parallels89HigherSameLowerParallel PassageEvaluation of ChroniclesA.1 Chron. 11:11300 slain by Jashobeam, not 8002 Sam. 23:8Scribal errorB.1 Chron. 18:4Hadadezer's ...
• 1. God's goodness to His people 34:1-10
  34:1-3 David exulted in the Lord and called on his people to praise God with him.34:4-7 The psalmist's recent experience of God's answering his prayer for help and delivering him (vv. 4, 6) was only one example to him. Those ...
• The Lord's deliverance 37:36-38
  Isaiah had predicted that God would break Assyria's power in the Promised Land (14:24-27). This short section records how He miraculously fulfilled that promise. This divine act of massive proportions settled the issue of Ass...
• A lament during drought 14:1-16
  14:1 A message came to Jeremiah from Yahweh concerning some droughts (Heb. plural) that overtook Judah.241Droughts were a punishment for covenant violation in Israel (cf. Lev. 26:18-19; Deut. 28:23-24).14:2 Judah was in mourn...
• The destruction of pagan shrines ch. 6
  ". . . the focus of chap. 6 is on the individual responsibility of the people and prepares the way for the subsequent spoken messages."1216:1-2 The Lord directed Ezekiel to pronounce an oracle of judgment against "the mountai...
• The enemy of restored Israel 38:1-9
  38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
• The prince's gifts 46:16-18
  46:16-17 The prince could give a gift to any of his sons out of his own inheritance from the Lord. This gift was theirs forever. However, if he gave such a gift to one of his servants, it would revert back to him on the year ...
• 1. The challenge 7:10-13
  7:10 Amaziah, who was one of the apostate priests who served at the Bethel sanctuary (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-33), felt that Amos was being unpatriotic in what he was prophesying. So Amaziah sent a message to King Jeroboam II charg...
• The destruction of nations and the preservation of Zion 9:1-8
  The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a refe...
• 3. Disdainful attitudes 1:12-14
  1:11 It was particularly inappropriate for Israel's priests to despise Yahweh because the time would come when people from all over the world would honor His name (person; cf. Isa. 45:22-25; 49:5-7; 59:19). Incense accompanie...
• 3. Jesus' temptation 4:1-11 (cf. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)
  Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
• 3. Mary's visit to Elizabeth 1:39-56
  This section brings the parallel stories of John's birth and Jesus' birth together. The two sons had their own identities and individual greatness, but Jesus was superior. John began his ministry of exalting Jesus in his moth...
• 3. Mary's anointing of Jesus 12:1-8 (cf. Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9)
  In contrast to the hatred that the religious leaders manifested stands the love that Mary demonstrated toward the One she had come to believe in. Her act of sacrificial devotion is a model for all true disciples. This is the ...