Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Hannah's lament and Eli's response 1:9-18
  These verses provide some insight into the godly character of Samuel's mother and her personal relationship with Yahweh. That she would offer her son to God's service for life was similar to asking that God would lead your ch...
• Solomon's prayer of dedication 8:22-53
  This great prayer centers on the Mosaic Covenant. That is its heart. Solomon introduced seven petitions with a backward look emphasizing God's faithfulness (vv. 23-26). He concluded with a forward look stressing God's mercy (...
• 2. Haman's promotion 3:1-6
  The events we read in chapter 3 took place four years after Esther became queen (cf. 2:16; 3:7).Agag was the name of an area in Media that had become part of the Persian Empire.54However, Agag was also the name of the Amaleki...
• 1. The psalmist's need for God's help 57:1-5
  57:1 David began by comparing himself to a little bird that takes refuge from a passing enemy by hiding under the wing of its parent (cf. 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4). The side to the cave in which David hid may have reminde...
• 2. The deliverance God provides 91:3-13
  91:3-8 God saves us from those who insidiously try to trap us and from deadly diseases. He does this as a mother bird does when it covers its young with its wings, namely tenderly and carefully. He provides as sure a defense ...
• 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...
• Theology
  Theologically the book stresses the sovereignty of God."The absolute sovereignty and transcendence of God above all angels and men literally permeates the book."11"The theme running through the whole book is that the fortunes...
• Message22
  The Book of Daniel contains many unique and significant emphases. I would like to point out some of these first before we organize them into an explanation of what God has given us this book to reveal.Theologically Daniel str...
• Outline
  I. The character of Daniel ch. 1A. Historical background 1:1-2B. Nebuchadnezzar's training program for promising youths 1:3-7C. Daniel's resolve to please Yahweh 1:8-13D. The success of the test 1:14-16E. God's blessing of Da...
• II. The Times of the Gentiles: God's program for the world chs. 2--7
  Daniel wrote 2:4b-7:28 in the Aramaic language. This literary change gives the reader a clue that this part is a distinct section of the book. The content of this section also identifies it as special. It concerns the future ...
• 2. The failure of the king's wise men 2:4-13
  2:4 The Chaldeans took the lead in replying to the king. They responded in the Aramaic language that was widely used in business and in government throughout the empire. This reference to Aramaic introduces the section of the...
• 7. Daniel's rise and Belshazzar's fall 5:29-31
  5:29 Belshazzar kept his promise (v. 16) though Daniel's honors only lasted a few hours at most, typical of the honors of this world. The king's response is surprising. We might have expected him to execute Daniel for confron...
• E. Darius' pride and Daniel's preservation ch. 6
  Even though this chapter is one of the most popular in all the Bible, it has also been the target of strong critical attacks because of the problem of the identity of Darius. The chapter shares motifs with Psalm 2 and recalls...
• 2. The conspiracy against Daniel 6:4-9
  6:4 The text does not say why the other officials wanted to get rid of Daniel. Perhaps his integrity made it difficult for them to get away with graft and political corruption. Maybe since he was quite old they wanted to elim...
• 3. Daniel's faithfulness and Darius' predicament 6:10-15
  6:10 The new decree did not deter Daniel from continuing to pray for the welfare of the city where God had sent them into exile and for the Jews' return from exile. That this was the subject of his praying, among other things...
• F. Daniel's vision of future world history ch. 7
  "As interpreted by conservative expositors, the vision of Daniel [in chapter 7] provides the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events to be found anywhere in the Old Testament."235"The vision's setting in the...
• 1. Jeremiah's prophecy of Jerusalem's restoration and Daniel's response 9:1-3
  9:1 What Daniel did and saw in this chapter dates from 538 B.C., the first year of Darius the Mede's (Cyrus') rule as king over the former Neo-Babylonian Empire (cf. Ezra 1:1).347This means that Belshazzar's feast (ch. 5) occ...
• 4. God's response to Daniel's prayer 9:20-23
  God began responding to Daniel's prayer as soon as he began praying (cf. v. 19; Luke 11:10-13). Clearly the prayer recorded in the preceding verses was only a summary of what the prophet prayed since he prayed long and hard (...
• Historical Background
  The Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including Solomon's temple, in 586 B.C. and took most of the Jews captive to Babylon. There the Israelites could not practice their formal worship ...
• The healing of a lame man 3:1-10
  Luke had just referred to the apostles' teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (2:43-44, 46). Now he narrated a specific incident ...
• Peter's vision 10:9-16
  "Though Peter was not by training or inclination an overly scrupulous Jew, and though as a Christian his inherited prejudices were gradually wearing thin, he was not prepared to go so far as to minister directly to Gentiles. ...