Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The fourth day 1:14-19
  The luminaries served four purposes.1. They distinguished day from night.2. They provided signs.3. They distinguished the seasons.4. They illuminated the earth."The narrative stresses their function as servants, subordinate t...
• Date and Writer
  Moses evidently wrote this book on the plains of Moab shortly before his death, which occurred about 1406 B.C.The Mosaic authorship of this book is quite easy to establish. The book claims to be the words of Moses (1:5, 9; 5:...
• Message9
  Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
• Outline
  I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
• I. INTRODUCTION: the Covenant setting 1:1-5
  This brief section places the events that follow in their geographical and chronological setting. It introduces the occasion for the covenant, the parties involved, and other information necessary to identify the document and...
• The consequences of obedience and disobedience ch. 11
  The section of Deuteronomy dealing with general stipulations of the covenant ends as it began, with an exhortation to covenant loyalty (5:1-5; cf. 4:32-40)."This chapter is to be understood as a re-emphasis of these principle...
• Kings 17:14-20
  Moses recognized that when Israel settled in Canaan and took on the characteristics of other nations (e.g., a homeland, political organization, etc.) her people would desire a king. As he revealed the mind of God here a king ...
• Prophets 18:9-22
  The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
• 2. Summary exhortation 26:16-19
  "The presentation of the commandments and the statutes and ordinances that will guide Israel's life in the land is over now. Verse 16 serves as a concluding bracket around chapters 5-26, matching Moses' introduction to the wh...
• D. The curses that follow disobedience to general stipulations 28:15-68
  In this section Moses identified about four times as many curses as he had listed previous blessings (vv. 1-14). The lists of curses in other ancient Near Eastern treaty texts typically were longer than the lists of blessings...
• E. Narrative interlude 29:1
  Chapter 29 verse 1 is the last verse of chapter 28 in the Hebrew Bible. Moses probably intended it to be a summary statement of what precedes rather than an introduction to what follows. The renewed Mosaic covenant to which M...
• VI. MOSES' THIRD MAJOR ADDRESS: AN EXHORTATION TO OBEDIENCE 29:2--30:20
  "The rest of chapter 29 contains many reminiscences of the Near Eastern treaty pattern. It is not presented in a systematic manner but in narrative form. However, elements of the pattern are clearly discernible, making it ext...
• 2. The purpose of the assembly 29:9-15
  In view of God's past faithfulness the Israelites should keep "this covenant"(v. 9), the Mosaic Covenant, so that they might prosper in the future. Moses assembled the people to commit themselves anew to their covenant with G...
• 3. The consequences of disobedience 29:16-29
  This generation needed to obey the laws of the Mosaic Covenant (v. 21) under which the nation already lived to experience the maximum benefits of this covenant. The maximum benefits included not only ownership of the land but...
• 1. The possibility of restoration 30:1-10
  When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts purposing to obey Him again (vv. 1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to t...
• 1. Moses' exhortation to obedience 32:45-47
  Moses addressed the Israelites again after he had taught them his song. He urged them to take to heart not only the words of the song but all the words of the law, namely, the entire covenant text of Deuteronomy (cf. 17:19; 2...
• Bibliography
  Adams, Jay. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology seri...
• 5. The treaty with the Gibeonites ch. 9
  The residents of the town of Gibeon decided that if they could not defeat the Israelites they would join them. This has been a strategy that enemies of believers have employed for centuries (cf. Num. 25:1-2).9:1-2 Israel is t...
• Bibliography
  Ap-Thomas, D. R. "The Book of Ruth."Expository Times79 (October-September 1968):369-73.Archer, Gleason L. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982._____. A Survey of Old Testament Int...
• Israel's commitment to Saul 11:12-15
  Admirably Saul sought no personal revenge on those who initially had failed to support him (10:27; cf. Judg. 20:13; Luke 19:27). Furthermore he gave God the glory for his victory (cf. Jon. 2:9; Ps. 20:7; Prov. 21:31). He was ...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
• 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 ...
• Bibliography
  Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Building Activities of David and Solomon."Israel Exploration Journal24:1(1974):13-16.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonahl. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.,...
• God's judgment of the usurper 11:13-20
  Though Athaliah claimed Jehoash's coronation was treasonous, she was the one guilty of treason. Jehoash was a legitimate heir to the throne of Judah, but she was not since she was not a descendant of David but had married int...
• The reasons for the captivity 17:7-23
  In this section the writer catalogued Israel's transgressions of God's Word that resulted in her going into captivity. Ironically Israel's last king had sought help from Egypt from which Israel had fled 724 years earlier.They...
• 2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27
  Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. "An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile: A Study of 2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38-39."Scottish Journal of Theology27:3:(August 1974):329-52.Albright, William F. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pel...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. Arc...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
• 2. Confidence in God 61:3-7
  61:3-4 David's desire for God's protection rested on the Lord's previous provisions of deliverance for him. God had proved to be his refuge and tower of strength. Now the psalmist longed to dwell in the Lord's tent or taberna...
• 3. David's appeal to God in prayer 69:13-28
  69:13-15 David wanted deliverance from a premature death and a word from the Lord that would enable him to know what to do.69:16-18 The king based his petition on the loyal love and compassion of God. He asked God to redeem h...
• 1. Wise and foolish conduct ch. 25
  25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah's reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (1:1-22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomo...
• 2. Israel's condition 1:2-9
  Israel was guilty of forsaking her God and, as a result, she had become broken and desolate.1:2-3 God Himself charged the Israelites with their sin. He called the heavens and earth to listen (cf. Deut. 30:19; 32:1). His peopl...
• B. The prophet's commission 6:9-13
  The Lord proceeded to give Isaiah specific instructions about what He wanted him to do and what the prophet could expect regarding his ministry (vv. 9-10), his historic-political situation (vv. 11-12), and his nation's surviv...
• Yahweh's day of judgment ch. 34
  This poem depicts the effects of Yahweh's wrath on the self-exalting nations. His judgment will be universal (vv. 1-4). Isaiah particularized it with reference to Edom, a representative nation (vv. 5-17; cf. 25:10-12)."Here w...
• The certainty of redemption 42:10-43:7
  God had not forgotten nor was He unable to deliver His people. Their redemption was certain."This vision of what God will accomplish through his Servant is so exciting that Isaiah breaks into the ecstatic hymn of praise (vv. ...
• The witness to redemption 43:8-44:20
  Isaiah continued to show that Yahweh was both willing and able to deliver His people, a theme begun in 42:10. He confronted the gods, again (cf. 41:21-29), but this time he challenged them to bring forth witnesses to their de...
• The present possibility 48:12-22
  In a sense verses 12-22 are the second verse of the song of which verses 1-11 are the first verse. God was making much the same point though with a slightly different emphasis.48:12 This segment opens like the first one (cf. ...
• Jerusalem's ruin 9:10-16
  9:10 The Lord took up a lamentation on behalf of the land that suffered because of His people's sin. The coming invasion would leave the land deserted even by beasts and birds. The rest of this message indicates that the inva...
• The broken covenant 11:1-17
  This passage consists of five short parts (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-14, and 15-17). Most scholars believe it dates from the reign of Josiah, perhaps after the discovery of the Law but before he initiated his reforms (about 621 ...
• 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...
• I. The oracle against Babylon chs. 50-51
  Jeremiah wrote almost as much about Babylon's future as he did about the futures of all the other nations in his other oracles combined. The length of this oracle reflects the great importance of Babylon in his ministry as we...
• The sign of the departing deportee 12:1-7
  12:1-2 The Lord came to Ezekiel with another message.190He told His servant that the people among whom he lived, the house of Israel, were rebellious against Him (cf. 2:3-8). Their blindness to the things that they saw and th...
• Israel's rebellion in Egypt and God's grace 20:5-9
  The Lord's history lesson for these elders described Israel in four successive periods: in Egypt (vv. 5-9), in the wilderness (vv. 10-26), in the Promised Land (vv. 27-29), and in the present time (vv. 30-38).281What the Lord...
• Israel's rebellion in the wilderness and God's grace 20:10-26
  20:10-12 So the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness. At Mount Sinai He gave them statutes and ordinances that would result in their welfare if they obeyed them, namely, the Mosaic Law. He also gave th...
• The model of the map 21:18-27
  21:18-20 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to make a representation of two roads coming out of Babylon by which judgment from Yahweh would come. Perhaps he did this by drawing in the dirt or on a tablet. Really there was to be ...
• The attitude of the Jews in Judea 33:23-29
  33:23-24 The Lord informed the prophet about the attitude of the Jews still in the land. The few Jews who still lived in the waste places of the Promised Land were claiming that since God had promised that land to Abraham the...
• The reason for Israel's scattering 36:16-21
  36:16-17 The Lord told Ezekiel that when the Israelites had lived in the Promised Land they had defiled it by the way they lived. They resembled a woman during her menstrual period who defiled everything she touched (cf. Lev....
• The method of Israel's restoration 36:22-32
  "The next verses in the chapter are among the most glorious in the entire range of revealed truth on the subject of Israel's restoration to the Lord and national conversion."46536:22-23 Ezekiel was to tell the Israelites that...
• Judgment on the idolatrous worship 4:15-19
  4:15 The Lord warned the Israelites not to pollute their brethren in the Southern Kingdom with their unfaithfulness. He also warned them not to go to the pagan shrines and take an oath in His name since they did not really wo...
• B. Another assurance of restoration 11:8-11
  As previously, a series of messages assuring Israel's judgment (6:4-11:7) ends with assurance of future restoration. God would definitely bring devastating judgment on Israel, but His compassion for the nation and His promise...
• 2. The Lord's promise of blessing 2:19-27
  Having given His essential response to the people's repentance, the Lord now explained what He would do in more detail. This section is chiastic with the focus of emphasis on verses 21-24. Verses 19 and 26-27 promise a restor...
• Refusal to repent 4:6-11
  4:6 The Lord had brought famine throughout the land to warn His people about their disobedience and His displeasure, but this judgment did not move them to repent (cf. 1 Kings 8:37). Famine was one of the curses that God said...
• D. Israel's restoration to God's favor 8:1-17
  Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, "a decalogueof divine words,"155that make up the two major ones. "Thus says the Lord"introduces each of these minor message...
• 4. The joy of participation 10:17-20
  Luke stressed the joy that the Seventy experienced because they participated in God's program. As we have noted before, Luke often referred to the joy that Jesus brought to people (cf. 1:14, 46; 24:52; et al.). In view of Jes...
• 1. Israel's rejection not total 11:1-10
  The first pericope gives hope for the future by showing that even now some Jews believe.11:1 The opening question carries on the rhetorical style of 10:18 and 19. God has not rejected the Israelites because they have, on the ...
• 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 ...
• 1. The goal of peace 12:14-17
  These verses summarize what the writer said previously about irrevocable loss through disobedience, unbelief, apostasy, and contempt for New Covenant privileges. The fearful warning about Esau brings these earlier warnings to...
• 4. Promise 3:4-6
  Jesus Christ held out blessings for the faithful few in the congregation to stimulate the rest to repent. White garments symbolic of one's works (19:8) are pure and free of defilement (cf. 7:9, 13; 19:14; Matt. 22:11-12). Sar...
• The third trumpet 8:10-11
  Next a great star (meteor or comet?) fell from heaven on the fresh water sources on earth.316It too was on fire (vv. 7, 8). The ancients sometimes used "torch"(this Greek word, lampas) to describe a meteor shooting through th...
• The vision of the system 17:3-6
  17:3 The angel carried John away in the Spirit to a wilderness area (cf. 1:10; 4:1; 21:10). This wilderness may refer to the desert near literal Babylon,558or it may anticipate the desolate condition of the harlot.559There he...
• 2. John's first vision of the New Jerusalem 21:2-8
  21:2 In the same vision, John next saw a city descending out of heaven from God (cf. v. 10; 3:12; Heb. 11:13-16). It was holy in contrast to the former Jerusalem (cf. 11:8; Isa. 52:1; Matt. 4:5; 27:53). As the old Jerusalem w...