Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 4. The conquest of the kingdom of Og 3:1-11
  This record is also very similar to the previous account of this conquest in Numbers 21:33-35, though Moses provided more information here. Again Moses interpreted Israel's history to emphasize God's faithfulness. The land of...
• David's enemies and agony 22:12-15
  22:12-13 The psalmist felt he was at the mercy of his enemies as a person is in the presence of a dangerous bull or lion. Cattle grew large and strong in Bashan, the territory east of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee; cf. Num. ...
• 1. Praise for the bridegroom 45:1-9
  45:1 The psalmist claimed to be full of joy and inspiration as he composed this song. He said what he did out of a full heart.45:2 To him the king was the greatest man he knew. One evidence of this was his gracious speech for...
• 1. God's desire for Israel 2:1-4
  2:1a The presence of another superscription to the following prophecies (cf. 1:1), the only other one in Isaiah, bears witness to the composite nature of the book; it consists of several different prophecies. Probably one app...
• The oracle against Moab chs. 15-16
  "The Babylon oracle revealed that world history, even in its most threatening and climactic forms, is so organized that the people of God are cared for. The Philistia oracle confirmed this by insisting that the Davidic promis...
• The woe against Ephraim and Judah ch. 28
  "The section begins (1-6) and ends (23-29) with double illustrations drawn from nature and agriculture. Between lies a meditation in eight broadly equal parts on how Jerusalem's leaders refused the word of invitation and inhe...
• Future blessings following imminent judgment 16:14-21
  The following three pericopes bracket assurance of imminent judgment for Judah with promises of distant blessing for Israel and the nations. This passage promises deliverance from the captivity for the Israelites. It appears ...
• Its burning 36:21-26
  36:21 The king proceeded to send Jehudi to get the scroll from Elishama in the scribe's room. When Jehudi returned with it, he read it to the king and his officials.36:22 Since it was winter, the king was sitting in his winte...
• Their practices 13:17-19
  13:17 The Lord also directed Ezekiel to speak judgment to the female false prophets who were concocting their own messages and passing them off as divine revelations (cf. Isa. 3:16-4:1; 32:9-13; Amos 4:1-3).13:18 He was to an...
• Historical Background
  These were times of political stability, material prosperity, and geographical expansion for both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms (cf. 1:6; 6:2, 13; 2 Kings 14:23-29; 2 Chron. 26:1-15). Jeroboam II and Uzziah were two ...
• Message8
  The Book of Amos is distinctive from the other prophetic books of the Old Testament in two respects.First, the prophet Amos was not a prophet in the same sense that the other prophets were prophets. He was not recognized as a...
• Outline
  I. Prologue 1:1-2A. Introduction 1:1B. Theme 1:2II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3-6:14A. Oracles against nations 1:3-2:51. An oracle against Aram 1:3-52. An oracle against Philistia 1:6-83. An oracle against Phoe...
• II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3--6:14
  The Book of Amos consists of words (oracles, 1:3-6:14) and visions (chs. 7-9), though these sections also contain short sub-sections of other types of material....
• A. Oracles against nations 1:3-2:16
  An oracle is a message of judgment. Amos proceeded to deliver eight of these, seven against Israel's neighbors including Judah (1:3-2:5) and one against Israel (2:6-6:14).12The order is significant. The nations mentioned firs...
• B. Messages of Judgment against Israel chs. 3-6
  After announcing that God would judge Israel, Amos delivered five messages in which he explained more fully why God would judge the Northern Kingdom. Appeals for repentance and explanations of how to avoid judgment appear wit...
• 1. The first message on sins against God and man ch. 3
  Amos' first message explained that God would judge His people because they had oppressed others in spite of their uniquely privileged relationship with Yahweh. The prophet addressed this message initially to both Israel and J...
• Israel's unique relationship with Yahweh 3:1-2
  Amos called all the Israelites to hear a message from their Lord. He referred to them as those whom Yahweh had redeemed from Egypt reminding them of the unique privilege they enjoyed. He also mentioned that the Israelites, am...
• Israel's unparalleled oppression from God 3:9-10
  3:9 Amos called for announcements to be made to the large buildings (i.e., to the people living in them) of Ashdod in Philistia and to those in Egypt.39Amos may have chosen these nations because they had previously oppressed ...
• Israel's coming catastrophe from Yahweh 3:11-15
  Amos' announcement of Israel's coming judgment came in three waves (vv. 11, 12, and 13-15).3:11 Sovereign Yahweh announced that an enemy that would surround the land of Israel would destroy and loot its impressive fortresses....
• 2. The second message on women, worship, and stubbornness ch. 4
  This message consists of seven prophetic announcements each of which concludes, "declares the LORD"(vv. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). Verse 12 is a final conclusion and verse 13 a doxology....
• Economic exploitation 4:1-3
  4:1 Amos opened this second message as he did the first (ch. 3), with the cry, "Hear this word."He addressed the wealthy women of Samaria, calling them "cows of Bashan."Bashan was a very luxuriant region of Transjordan east a...
• The inevitable outcome 4:12-13
  4:12 The Israelites should prepare to meet their God because they had failed to repent (cf. Exod. 19:10-19; 2 Cor. 5:10). He would confront them with even greater punishments (cf. 3:11-15). They should prepare to meet Him, no...
• Another description of inevitable judgment 5:27
  Because of this hypocritical worship, Yahweh, the God of armies, promised that the Israelites would go into exile beyond Damascus. They did go into exile in Assyria, to the northeast of Damascus, after 722 B.C. (cf. 4:3)."The...
• The complete devastation of Samaria 6:8-14
  6:8 The prophet announced further that the sovereign Yahweh of hosts, even He, had sworn by Himself (cf. 4:2; 8:7). He loathed the pride of Jacob. "Jacob"refers to the Northern Kingdom (cf. 3:13), and "the pride of Jacob"is p...
• 1. The swarming locusts 7:1-3
  7:1 Sovereign Yahweh showed Amos a mass of locusts swarming in the springtime after the first harvest and before the second. The Lord was forming this swarm of locusts. The very first crops harvested in the spring went to fee...
• 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 ...
• A. The question from the delegation from Bethel 7:1-3
  7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
• 2. The first disciples of the Servant 1:16-20 (cf. Matt. 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11)
  The account of the calling of these first disciples clarifies that to repent and believe the gospel (v. 15) should result in abandoning one's former life to follow Jesus from then on. This is the appropriate response that Mar...