Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8
  The primary purpose of this third toledotsection appears to be to link the generations of Adam and Noah. The cursed human race continued to multiply, and human beings continued to die. Yet the record of Enoch gives hope.
• 1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5
  There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-27, 28-31, and 32).1. It shows the development of the human race from Ada...
• The sins of humanity generally 6:5-8
  The second reason for the flood was the sinfulness of humanity generally.6:5 Men's and women's actions were very wicked and their thoughts and affections were completely evil by this time (cf. vv. 11-12; Rom. 1:18-32)."Near t...
• Conditions and events before the Flood 6:9-7:10
  6:9-12 "The same explanation for Enoch's rescue from death (he walked with God') is made the basis for Noah's rescue from death in the Flood: he walked with God' (6:9). Thus in the story of Noah and the Flood, the author is a...
• Abram's ancestors 11:27-32
  "The function of this genealogy is not so much to connect Abraham with the preceding events, as the previous genealogies have done, but to provide the reader with the necessary background for understanding the events in the l...
• 1. Preparation for the Covenant ch. 19
  Moses revealed God's purpose for giving the Mosaic Covenant in this chapter.19:1-6 The Israelites arrived at the base of the mountain where God gave them the law about three months after they had left Egypt, in May-June (v. 1...
• The Nazirite vow 6:1-21
  The emphasis in this section continues to be on the importance of maintaining purity in the camp so God's blessing on Israel might continue unabated.The Nazarite (from the Hebrew root nazar, meaning "to separate") illustrated...
• 2. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-18
  Having received his marching orders from Yahweh, Joshua prepared to mobilize the nation.1:10-11 Joshua expected to be able to cross the Jordan within three days."The Jordan River wanders about two hundred miles to cover the s...
• Message9
  The Book of Ruth is one of the most fascinating and important short stories that anyone has ever written. As a piece of literature it is almost perfect. The German poet Goethe called it "the loveliest complete work on a small...
• 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...
• A. Samuel's Ministry as Israel's Judge 7:2-17
  As a totally dedicated Nazarite who followed the stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant as best he could, Samuel became a source of deliverance for Israel. The writer recorded two deliverances in this chapter.This section sounds...
• Samuel's second warning to the people ch. 12
  The writer wrote chapters 12-15 very skillfully to parallel chapters 8-11. Each section begins with Samuel warning the people about the dangers of their requesting a king (chs. 8 and 12). Each one also follows with a descript...
• 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...
• 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...
• V. DAVID'S TRIUMPHS chs. 1--8
  The first 20 chapters of 2 Samuel are divisible into four units each of which ends with a list of names that is four verses long (1:1-3:5; 3:6-5:16; 5:17-8:18; 9:1-20:26).2The first two units conclude with lists of David's so...
• 2. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a
  "Without doubt this portion [of 2 Samuel, i.e., chapters 2-8] forms the crux of the book. Here the fertility motif reaches a peak. The thesis of the author--that Israel is blessed with fertility when the nation (and the epito...
• 3. David's acceptance by all Israel 5:1-12
  In 1004 B.C. David became king of all Israel and Judah.50This was his third anointing (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4). The people acknowledged David's previous military leadership of all Israel as well as God's choice of him t...
• C. The Establishment of the Kingdom 5:17-8:18
  "As the story of David's accession to kingship over Judah (1:1-3:5) parallels that of his accession to the throne of Israel (3:6-5:16), each concluding with a list of his sons (3:2-5; 5:13-16), so the account of his powerful ...
• 1. David's victories over the Philistines 5:17-25
  God's greatest blessing on David and Israel, the ultimate in fertility, came when God covenanted with David to make his line of descendants everlasting (ch. 7). However before that took place, God blessed His anointed with vi...
• 3. The giving of the Davidic Covenant ch. 7
  In response to David's desire to honor God (ch. 6), God promised to honor David with a line of descendants that would continue to rule Israel (ch. 7). Thus God would not only establish David's reign as long as he lived but fo...
• David's desire to honor God 7:1-3
  It was when God had subdued all of David's enemies that He gave this covenant to him (vv. 1, 9). Those enemies included the Ammonites with whom David was at war when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Ur...
• God's purpose to honor David 7:4-17
  The promises Yahweh made to David here are an important key to understanding God's program for the future.God rejected David's suggestion that he build a temple for the Lord and gave three reasons. First, there was no pressin...
• David's prayer of thanksgiving 7:18-29
  "The heartfelt response of King David to the oracle of the prophet Nathan is one of the most moving prayers in Scripture . . ."126Structurally the prayer moves from thanksgiving for the present favor (vv. 18-21) to praise for...
• 4. The security of David's kingdom ch. 8
  "From the religious heights of chapter 7 we descend again to the everyday world of battles and bloodshed in chapter 8. The military action picks up where the story left off at the end of chapter 5."130Chapter 8 evidently desc...
• 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-...
• The counsel of Ahithophel and Hushai 16:15-17:29
  This is the central unit of chapters 5-20, and its central focus is the judgment that Hushai's advice was better than Ahithophel's (17:14). This advice is the pivot on which the fortunes of David swung in his dealings with Ab...
• David's administrators 20:23-26
  "With Joab's return to the king in Jerusalem, the grand symphony known as the Court History of David reaches its conclusion for all practical purposes (at least as far as the books of Samuel are concerned . . .). The last fou...
• 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 ...
• 2. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-53
  Adonijah was David's fourth son (2 Sam. 3:4) and the eldest one living at this time. Evidently he believed it was more important that the eldest son succeed David, as was customary in the Near East, than that the king of Yahw...
• God's promise to bless Solomon's obedience 6:11-13
  Evidently this word from the Lord came to Solomon during temple construction. Note that this was a conditional promise based on obedience to the Mosaic Covenant. God would establish Solomon's kingdom forever (i.e., it would r...
• 1. God's covenant with Solomon 9:1-9
  God responded to Solomon's dedication of himself and his nation as He had responded to David (2 Sam. 7) and to Solomon earlier (ch. 3). He offered Solomon continued blessing for continued dedication.First, God promised He wou...
• Solomon's internal adversary 11:26-40
  Jeroboam, who would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was from Ephraim, the most prominent tribe in the North (v. 26).Part of Benjamin affiliated voluntarily with Judah eventually (v. 32; cf. 12:21; 2 C...
• 5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24
  Jehoshaphat appointed his son Jehoram coregent the year Jehoshaphat went off to do battle with Ahab at Ramoth-gilead (853 B.C.). For the next five years Jehoram served with his father. In 848 B.C. he began ruling alone and di...
• God's preservation of a legitimate king 11:1-12
  Athaliah was the mother of the Judean king Ahaziah whom Jehu assassinated (9:27-29). She was a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and the sister of the Israelite kings Ahaziah and Joram who had succeeded Ahab. She was the wife of J...
• 3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13
  Hezekiah's response to this crisis was to turn to Yahweh in prayer and to His prophet for an answer. He sensed his position under Yahweh's authority, humbled himself, and sought God's help (cf. 2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8). God rewar...
• I. The Captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30
  Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar's commander-in-chief, returned to destroy Jerusalem more thoroughly and to preclude any successful national uprising in Judah.His burning of Yahweh's house (v. 9) was a statement that the Babylonia...
• The promises of the Davidic Covenant 17:1-15
  The main reason God did not allow David to proceed with his plans to build Him a house (temple) was that God, not David, was sovereign. A secondary reason was that David was a man of war (22:8; 28:3). God reserved the right t...
• Preparations for temple construction ch. 22
  This chapter is unique to Chronicles. It records David's plans to assemble building materials and workers for the construction of the temple. He instructed Solomon carefully in what God had promised so his son would carry out...
• 3. The king's declaration 2:7-9
  Verses 6 and 7 are the climax of the psalm, the answer sought in verses 1-5 and expounded in verses 8-12.212:7 David's reference to the Lord's decree declaring David God's son goes back to the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:14). ...
• 2. Praise for God's holiness 5:4-7
  5:4-6 David was aware that the One whom he petitioned was absolutely upright. Consequently those who are boastful and presumptuous cannot count on standing before Him and finding favor in His eyes. God hates and destroys liar...
• 3. God's blessings 18:30-50
  The psalmist rejoiced over God's character and His blessings to him (vv. 30-45), and he vowed to continue to praise Him forever (vv. 46-50). The purpose of the psalm is praise, not boasting.18:30-31 God's way is perfect, and ...
• Psalm 89
  The writer of this royal psalm was Ethan, another wise Levitical musician in David's service (1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chron. 15:17-18).The occasion of writing is unclear. Judging from the content of the psalm it appears to have been ...
• 1. God's character and covenant with David 89:1-4
  Ethan announced two major themes of this psalm in verses 1 and 2. These are the loyal love (Heb. hesed) and faithfulness of Yahweh. References to God's loyal love occur in verses 1, 2, 14, 24, 28, 33, and 49. He referred to G...
• 3. The promises of God 89:19-37
  89:19-20 The psalmist now reminded God that He had chosen David to be His anointed servant king. God's "godly ones"(v. 19) were the godly in Israel.89:21-25 God had promised to bless David with success and power. He had said ...
• 1. The prayer to remember David 132:1-5
  132:1 This verse expresses the theme of the psalm. It is a cry to God to remember David's afflictions that he experienced concerning his desire to glorify God by finding a suitable place for the ark to dwell.132:2-5 Specifica...
• 3. The Lord's promises to David 132:11-18
  132:11-12 God promised David that He would raise up a dynasty of David's descendents that would follow him on Israel's throne (2 Sam. 7:12-16). If they were faithful to the Lord, He would give them an unbroken succession. Of ...
• 1. Longing for the boyfriend 1:2-4
  As the book begins, the young woman and young man have already met and "fallen in love."In verses 2-4a the girl voices her desire for her boyfriend's physical affection."It is significant to this work that the girl speaks fir...
• The sign of Immanuel 7:10-17
  Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
• The faithful king to come 9:2-7
  In contrast to Ahaz, who refused to listen to and obey God, the Lord would raise up a faithful king who would be born and reign in the future (the Millennium). This pericope climaxes the present section (7:1-9:7) dealing with...
• The response to the letter 37:14-35
  37:14-15 When Hezekiah received Sennacherib's letter, he took it with him into the temple and laid all the enemy's words before the Lord in prayer.37:16-20 Hezekiah began his prayer--did Isaiah witness it?--by acknowledging Y...
• Hezekiah's illness 38:1-8
  38:1 The phrase "In those days"identifies the reign of Hezekiah, the Judean king mentioned in the preceding chapters. Since the Lord added 15 years to Hezekiah's life (v. 5), and since Hezekiah died about 686 B.C.,373the time...
• Free salvation 55:1-5
  The people would need to listen to and rely on God's unconditional promise, but their salvation would cost them nothing.55:1 "The introductory particle (hoi) is mainly an attention-getting device, but it expresses a slight to...
• Humility rather than sacrifice 66:1-6
  This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
• Jeremiah's Temple Sermon 7:1-15
  This message demonstrates a structure that is quite typical of many others in the Book of Jeremiah (cf. 11:1-17; 17:19-27; 34:8-22). First there is an explanation of Yahweh's will (word, law; vv. 1-7), then a description of I...
• Promises about the future of the Davidic line and the people 23:1-8
  "After the oracles against wicked kings, there is a promise of a righteous one, the Shoot of David."313Jeremiah just announced that none of Coniah's descendants would ever rule as kings. Now he went on to clarify that a David...
• The New Covenant 31:31-34
  Many commentators believe that Jeremiah's revelation of the New Covenant was his greatest theological contribution. They view it as the high point of the book, the climax of the prophet's teaching."The prophecy of Jeremiah ma...
• The restoration of David's dynasty and the legitimate priesthood 33:14-26
  This section consists of a small collection of messianic prophecies.33:14 Future days would come, the Lord promised, when He would fulfill His promises concerning the restoration of all Israel."The predicted restoration (the ...
• A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11
  Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem's destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.1:1 Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so g...
• The assurance of restoration in the future 11:14-21
  11:14-15 The Lord then replied that many of the Jews in Jerusalem were saying that the Judahites who had gone into captivity were the ones that God was judging. They believed that the Jews left in Jerusalem were the remnant t...
• The song of the sword 21:8-17
  21:8-10 Another of Ezekiel's messages was to be poetic. He was to announce that a sword had been sharpened and polished and was now ready to go to work slaughtering people quickly."A sword, a veritable Excalibur with a life o...
• The Lord's intervention for Israel 34:11-24
  34:11-12 The Lord further promised to search for His wandering sheep Himself, to care for them, and to deliver them from the places where they had scattered in the gloomy days of their national distress (cf. Jer. 30:4-7; Luke...
• 5. Reunification in the Promised Land 37:15-28
  37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
• 7. The interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream 2:36-45
  2:36 Daniel carefully distinguished the dream (vv. 31-35) from its interpretation (vv. 36-45) for the sake of clarity. His reference to "we"telling the interpretation is probably an editorial plural. This form of speech allow...
• 3. The Son of Man's kingdom 7:13-14
  7:13 Daniel again saw something happening in heaven. One like a son of man was brought before the Ancient of Days. The angelic attendants in heaven's court probably ushered Him forward. This description glorifies the Ancient ...
• B. A promise of restoration 1:10-2:1
  A promise of future restoration immediately follows this gloomy revelation of judgment. It provided encouragement to Hosea's audience by assuring a glorious and secure future for Israel.1:10 Despite the judgment promised, Yah...
• 2. The response 7:14-17
  7:14 Amos replied that he was not a prophet by his own choosing; he did not decide to pursue prophesying as a career. Neither had he become a prophet because his father had been one. In Amos' culture it was common and expecte...
• The wailing of the sufferers 8:7-10
  The following two passages (vv. 7-10 and 11-14) describe more fully the two results of God's judgment mentioned earlier, namely, wailing and silence (cf. v. 3).8:7 For the third time in this book Amos said that Yahweh took an...
• The blessings of the restored kingdom 9:13-15
  9:13 In contrast to the images of judgment that Amos had painted throughout this book, days were coming when these terrible conditions would be reversed. The land would become so productive that farmers planting seed for the ...
• C. Habakkuk's question about Babylonia 1:12-17
  This section is another lament (cf. 1:2-4).1:12 Power was not Habakkuk's god; Yahweh was. The Lord's revelation of what He was doing in the prophet's day brought confidence to his heart and praise to his lips. Habakkuk affirm...
• III. Habakkuk's hymn in praise of Yahweh ch. 3
  Having received the revelation that Yahweh would destroy Babylon, Habakkuk could understand that He was just in using that wicked nation to discipline Israel. Babylon would not go free but would perish for her sins. Israel's ...
• 3. Israel's regathering 3:18-20
  3:18 In the past Jews who lived far from Jerusalem were very sad because they could not travel to Jerusalem to observe Israel's annual feasts. They suffered a certain criticism from their fellow Jews for living far away from ...
• IV. A prophecy concerning Zerubbabel 2:20-23
  2:20 The Lord gave Haggai a second message on the same day as the previous message (v. 10), the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev 24, December 18).2:21 Haggai was to tell Zerubbabel that Yahweh was going to shake t...
• III. The symbolic crowning of Joshua 6:9-15
  The visions ended and Zechariah awoke from his dream-like state. What follows is a symbolic act that took place in Jerusalem at the Lord's command."The position of this actual ceremony after the eight visions is significant. ...
• A. The King's genealogy 1:1-17 (cf. Luke 3:23-38)
  Matthew began his Gospel with a record of Jesus' genealogy because the Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. To qualify as such He had to be a Jew from the royal line of David (Isa. 9:6-...
• 2. Jesus' baptism 3:13-17 (cf. Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23)
  Jesus' baptism was the occasion at which His messiahship became obvious publicly. Matthew recorded this event as he did to convince his readers further of Jesus' messianic qualifications.3:13-14 John hesitated to baptize Jesu...
• 1. Instruction about the King's person 16:13-17 (cf. Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20)
  16:13 The district of Caesarea Philippi lay 25 miles north of Galilee. Its inhabitants were mainly Gentiles. Herod Philip II, the tetrarch of the region, had enlarged a smaller town on the site at the foot of Mt. Hermon.619He...
• The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 21:33-46
  Jesus proceeded immediately to tell another parable. Luke wrote that Jesus addressed it to the crowds in the temple courtyard (Luke 20:9). The chief priests and elders continued to listen (vv. 45-46).21:33-34 Jesus alluded to...
• Jesus' question of the Pharisees 22:41-46 (cf. Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44)
  22:41-42 Having received several questions from His critics, Jesus now turned the tables and asked the Pharisees one. He wanted them to explain what the Scriptures taught about Messiah. This would face them and the crowd with...
• 7. The King's judgment of the nations 25:31-46
  Jesus concluded the Olivet Discourse with further revelation about the judgment that will take place at the end of the present age when He returns. He had referred to it often in the discourse, but now He made it a special su...
• 2. The baptism of Jesus 1:9-11 (cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-23)
  Mark next recorded two events that immediately preceded the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, His baptism and His temptation. The first of these events signaled His appearing as Messiah and His induction into that office. ...
• 1. The message of the Servant 1:14-15 (cf. Matt. 4:12, 17; Luke 4:14-15)
  This topic sentence summarizes Jesus' whole ministry in Galilee. It identifies when it started, where it happened, and the essence of what Jesus' proclaimed that was the basis of His ministry.1:14 Jesus began His Galilean min...
• 3. The healing of a blind man near Jericho 10:46-52 (cf. Matt. 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43)
  Mark probably included this incident in his Gospel because it illustrates how Jesus would open the spiritual eyes of His disciples that were still shut (cf. 8:22-26). This is the last healing miracle that Mark recorded."This ...
• Jesus' question about Messiah's sonship 12:35-37 (cf. Matt. 22:41-46; Luke 20:41-44)
  Until now the religious leaders had questioned Jesus about His teaching. Now He asked them about theirs (Matt. 22:41). Matthew's account of this incident is the longest.12:35 Jesus responded to the situation before Him. He wa...
• 2. The angel's announcement to Mary 1:28-38
  1:28 The fact that Gabriel greeted Mary as he did and did not greet Zechariah the same way shows Mary's favored position. Gabriel's greeting was customary: Hail! or Greetings! (Gr. chaire). Mary was highly "favored"(Gr. kecha...
• 2. The announcement to the shepherds 2:8-20
  There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel's words and in the symbolism of what happened."In 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same patter...
• 5. The healing of a blind man near Jericho 18:35-43 (cf. Matt. 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
  Luke's primary purpose for including this incident in his narrative seems to have been to show that God, through Jesus, can give insight to those who humbly call on Him for mercy. Here was another humble outcast similar to th...
• 3. The response to John the Baptist's witness 1:35-42
  The writer now turned his attention from John the Baptist's witness to Jesus to record the reactions of some men to Jesus' witness. Two of John the Baptist's disciples left him to follow Jesus when they heard John's testimony...
• Paul's synagogue sermon in Antioch of Pisidia 13:16-41
  Luke recorded three of Paul's evangelistic messages to unbelievers: here in Pisidian Antioch, in Lystra (14:15-17), and in Athens (17:22-31). This is the longest of the three, though Luke quite certainly condensed all of them...
• 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...
• The better covenant 8:6-13
  The writer proceeded to explain the superiority of the New Covenant that Jesus Christ ratified with His blood that is better than the Old Mosaic Covenant that He terminated when He died. He first explained the reason for the ...
• I. INTRODUCTION 1:1
  The writer identified himself for the original recipients of this epistle and greeted them to introduce himself to his readers.James (lit. Jacob) was probably the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ who evidently became a b...
• 2. The address and doxology 1:4-6
  "As is true of NT epistles in general, the address of Revelation contains three elements: the writer, the addressees, and the greeting."181:4 John sent this letter to the seven churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3, which we...
• 2. The resurrection of tribulation martyrs 20:4-6
  ". . . it is not difficult to see why the early church understood John to be teaching a millennium in Revelation 20. Three arguments support this interpretation: (1) the teaching of two resurrections, (2) the binding of Satan...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Promised King And Temple-Builder
  2 Samuel 7:4-16The removal of the ark to Jerusalem was But the first step in a process which was intended to end in the erection of a permanent Temple. The time for the next step appeared to David to have come when he had no ...
• III. The Difficult 2 Samuel 23:5,
  Whether its first and last clauses be taken interrogatively or negatively, in its central part bases the assurance of the coming of the king on God's covenant (2 Samuel 7.), which is glorified as being everlasting, provided w...
• I. There Is A Tone Of Wistfulness In David's Voice As He Tells How His Heart's Desire Had Been Prohibited.
  The account is substantially the same as we have in 2 Samuel 7:4-16, but it adds as the reason for the prohibition David's warlike career. We may note the earnestness and the motive of the king's desire to build the Temple. I...