Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Isaac's blessing 27:1-28:5
  Here we have the third round of Jacob's battle with Esau. The first was at birth (25:21-28) and the second was over the birthright (25:29-34). In all three incidents Jacob manipulated his brother."This chapter [27] offers one...
• 7. Jacob's marriages and Laban's deception 29:1-30
  The long account of Jacob's relationship with Laban (chs. 29-31) is the centerpiece of the Jacob story (chs. 25-35). It is a story within a story, and it too has a chiastic structure. At its center is the account of the birth...
• Samson and Delilah 16:4-21
  The first three verses present Samson sowing "wild oats."Verses 4-21 picture him reaping a bitter harvest (cf. Gal. 6:7).Samson allowed a woman to seduce him again. She lived in the Sorek Valley between Samson's home area of ...
• David's cutting off of Saul's hem 24:1-7
  Engedi lay near the Salt Sea's western shore close to its mid-point north to south. Even today it is a refreshing oasis with waterfall, tropical plants, and wild goats. The Hebrew word means "spring of the kid."It may have be...
• David's response to his sins 11:26-12:15a
  At first, David piously tried to salve Joab's conscience for his complicity in Uriah's death (11:25). The Hebrew word translated "displease"literally means "be evil in your sight."David was calling what was sin something othe...
• Amnon's murder 13:23-29
  Absalom patiently and carefully plotted revenge on Amnon.". . . As the sheep of Absalom would lose their wool (vv. 23-24), so David's firstborn, the potential shepherd of Israel, would lose his life (vv. 28-29)."223Absalom fi...
• The aftermath of Amnon's murder 13:30-39
  The writer may have devoted so much text to straightening out the rumor that Absalom had killed all the king's sons to stress God's mercy in not cutting off all of them. At first report David probably thought God had judged h...
• 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 reaction to the news of Absalom's death 18:19-19:8
  Ahimaaz wanted to be the first to tell David the news of his victory since messengers often received a reward for bringing good news. Joab discouraged him thinking he would also report that Absalom was dead. David would not h...
• Ahab's judgment for his rebellion against Yahweh 21:17-29
  Again God told Elijah to "go"(v. 18; cf. 17:3, 9; 18:1; 19:15). As a faithful servant, he went to confront the king again.226Ahab was not in Samaria then (v. 18) but in Jezreel (v. 19). The mention of Samaria was evidently an...
• 5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37
  God sent Hezekiah the news of what He would do and why through Isaiah. The "virgin"daughter of Zion (v. 21) refers to Jerusalem as a city that a foreign foe had never violated. The "Holy One of Israel"(v. 22), a favorite name...
• D. God's Blessings and Curses 7:11-22
  God responded to Solomon's prayer with a special revelation. He promised to grant the petitions of the people, as Solomon had requested, if they manifested a true heart for Him (vv. 12-14). Verses 13 and 14 are a short summar...
• 4. Description of justice 7:10-17
  7:10-11 David counted on God to defend him as a shield since God saves the upright in heart, and David was upright. His confidence lay also in God's righteous character. God would judge justly, and injustice touches His heart...
• 2. God's deliverance 18:4-29
  In this extended section David reviewed how God had saved him in times of danger. In verses 4-19 he described God's supernatural deliverance and in verses 20-29 he explained it as he saw it through the lens of his faith in Go...
• 3. Prospect for future richness 126:5-6
  For the returned exiles farming was a painful pursuit since the ground had become hard and wild because no one had cultivated it. However the farmer who worked hard could expect a rich harvest in the future. Future joy would ...
• The Babylonian embassy ch. 39
  39:1 The phrase "At that time"(cf. 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illn...
• 2. The consummation of Egypt's judgment 29:17-30:19
  29:17 Ezekiel received another message from the Lord about Egypt's judgment in 571 B.C. (on his New Year's day). This was probably the second to the last recorded prophecy of Ezekiel, and the prophet would have been about 50 ...
• 5. Daniel's deliverance and his enemies' destruction 6:19-24
  6:19-20 Evidently spending a night in the lions' den was the minimum that the law required because early the next morning Darius set out to free Daniel if he might have survived. Uncertain about the prophet's fate the king ca...
• 1. The announcement of judgment 3:1-8
  3:1-3 When God would restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem in that future day (cf. Deut. 30:3), He would gather the other nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat (lit. "Yahweh judges"). This is the only passage in Scriptur...
• Message11
  The very fact that this book consists of only one chapter should alert us to its importance. If it was unimportant, God would not have preserved it, and it would have disappeared long ago. Its length also simplifies our task ...
• 1. Sins of the wealthy 2:1-5
  "It is in 2:1-5 that the prophet establishes the basis for the national crisis and the future collapse of the nation. It was not the imperialism of Assyria or the fortunes of blind destiny that brought the house of Israel to ...
• Judgment for exploitation 2:6-8
  2:6 Because of the Babylonians' sins it was inevitable that the righteous would taunt and mock them. They would pronounce woe on them for increasing what was not theirs just to have more and for making themselves rich by char...
• The destruction of oppressing enemies 2:6-9
  2:6-7 The Lord called His people to flee from the land of the north (cf. Jer. 3:18; 16:15; 23:8; 31:8) where He had scattered them as the four winds (cf. Isa. 43:5-6; 49:12). Most of the Israelite exiles had gone into captivi...
• The conduct of disciples 6:27-38 (cf. Matt. 5:43-48; 7:1-2)
  Jesus' explanation of the importance of true righteousness was the heart of the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew narrated it (Matt. 5:17-7:12). He reported that Jesus spoke of true righteousness in relation to three things: the...
• E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15
  Paul concluded his exhortation regarding the collection by reminding his readers of the benefits God inevitably bestows on those who give liberally. He did this so they would follow through with their purpose and believe that...
• Outline8
  I. Introduction 1:1-10A. Salutation 1:1-5B. Denunciation 1:6-10II. Personal defense of Paul's gospel 1:11-2:21A. Independence from other apostles 1:11-241. The source of Paul's gospel 1:11-172. The events of Paul's early mini...
• II. PERSONAL DEFENSE OF PAUL'S GOSPEL 1:11--2:21
  The first of the three major sections of the epistle begins here. We could classify them as history (1:11-2:21), theology (chs. 3-4), and ethics (5:1-6:10).". . . Paul was . . . following the logic of the Christian life: Beca...
• 2. Living without license 5:13-15
  Paul urged his readers to live unbound to the Law of Moses (5:1-12). He also warned them against using their liberty as a license to sin to prevent them from overreacting."The theme of love . . . informs all of Paul's exhorta...
• B. Responsibilities of the Christian life 6:1-10
  Being free from the Mosaic Law does not mean being free from responsibility. In this section Paul explained various responsibilities that Christians have to one another to clarify the will of God for his readers. Manifesting ...
• 2. Toward burdened Christians 6:2-5
  6:2 In view of the context probably the burden Paul had in mind was an excessive burden of particular temptation and struggle with the flesh (cf. Rom. 15:1). This could be a burden caused by social, economic, spiritual, or ot...
• 3. Toward teachers 6:6-9
  6:6 Here is a specific example of mutual burden bearing. Perhaps the Judaizers were telling the Galatians not to support financially those who taught them. Under Judaism pupils paid a tax, and the teachers' pay came through t...
• E. Individual behavior 5:16-24
  The preceding exhortations led Paul naturally to focus on other individual responsibilities to enable his readers to perceive their personal Christian duty clearly (cf. Gal. 6). However all these things are the duties of Chri...
• 4. The goodness of God 1:16-18
  James now defended God before those who doubted His goodness or reliability or who had given up hope in a time of testing and had concluded that this was their "fate."551:16 James wanted his readers to have no doubt about God...
• C. The Conduct of False Teachers 2:10b-19
  Peter next emphasized the conduct of false teachers to motivate his readers to turn away from them.2:10b "Daring"means bold to the point of being presumptuous, and "self-willed"is arrogant."They are concerned about doing thei...
• D. The Condemnation of False Teachers 2:20-22
  Peter focused his discussion next on the false teachers' final doom to warn his readers of the serious results of following their instruction.2:20 To whom does "they"refer? Some interpreters believe the antecedent is the new ...
• 5. Ascriptions of angelic and martyr praise 16:5-7
  John heard praise of God in heaven that interrupted his narration of the outpouring of the bowls of wrath briefly.16:5 The "angel of the waters"evidently refers to the angel responsible for the sea and fresh water, the superi...
• The call for God's people to leave Babylon 18:4-8
  18:4 Another voice from heaven instructed God's people to separate themselves from the system that the city symbolizes so they would avoid getting caught in her judgment. The being speaking is evidently an angel who speaks fo...