Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 1. An initial statement of creation 1:1
  There are three major views concerning the relationship of 1:1 to the rest of the creation account.1. Verse 1 describes an original creation of the universe. God began fashioning the earth as we know it in verse 2 or verse 3....
• The first day 1:3-5
  1:3 The world came into being by God's word (cf. Ps. 33:9; Heb. 11:3). Each of the six creative days began with God speaking.55Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was the Creator (John 1:3). The theme of God's word (spoken, writte...
• 2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16
  Chapter 4 shows the spread of sin from Adam's family to the larger society that his descendants produced. Not only did sin affect everyone, but people became progressively more wicked as time passed. Verses 1-16 show that the...
• Conclusion
  One of the great messages of the Bible is that God desires to bless people through a relationship with Himself. The message of the Pentateuch is that people can experience this blessing through trust and obedience. Each of th...
• The fruit of peace 3:1-10
  The trust of the wise son (vv. 5-6) comes from heeding sound teaching (vv. 1-4), and it leads to confident obedience (vv. 7-9)."Teaching"(v. 1, Heb. torah) means "law"or, more fundamentally, "direction."Here the context sugge...
• 4. The priority of faith to the promise concerning headship of many nations 4:13-17
  The Jews believed that they had a claim on Abraham that Gentiles did not have. Obviously he was the father of their nation, and this did place him in a unique relationship to his physical descendants. However, they incorrectl...
• The contrast between outward deterioration and inward renewal 4:16-18
  4:16 In view of the reasons just sited, the apostle restated that he did not lose heart (cf. v. 1). However, Paul's sufferings, while not fatal, were destroying his body. Nevertheless even this did not discourage him for even...
• Message16
  We could summarize the message of this epistle in the following words. We will only realize our full eternal reward as believers if we appreciate the greatness of Jesus Christ and continue to trust God rather than turning awa...
• Outline17
  I. The culminating revelation of God 1:1-2:18A. The agent of God's final revelation 1:1-4B. The superiority of the Son 1:5-14C. The danger of negligence (the first warning) 2:1-4D. The humiliation and glory of God's Son 2:5-9...
• I. The culminating revelation of God 1:1--2:18
  Hebrews is a sermon reduced to writing (cf. 13:22; James). Indications of this fact are the writer's references to speaking and hearing (cf. 2:5; 5:11; 8:1; 9:5; 11:32). His epistle is more typical of speech than of writing.V...
• C. The Possibility of Rest for God's People 4:1-14
  The writer returned again from exhortation to exposition. He now posed the alternatives of rest and peril that confronted the new people of God, Christians.127The writer warned his readers so they would not fail to enter into...
• D. The Danger of Willful Sinning (The Fourth Warning) 10:19-39
  From this point on in the epistle the writer made application from the great truths concerning Jesus Christ that he had now finished explaining. He followed his exposition of Jesus Christ's superior high priestly ministry (6:...
• IV. THE PROPER RESPONSE 11:1--12:13
  "In chapter 10:22-25 there were three exhortations, respectively to Faith, Hope and Love. These are elaborated in turn: chapter 11 dealing with Faith; chapter 12 with Hope; chapter 13 with Love."338In this fourth major sectio...
• A. Perseverance in Faith ch. 11
  The writer encouraged his readers in chapter 11 by reminding them of the faithful perseverance of selected Old Testament saints. The section is expository in form but parenetic in function, inviting the readers to emulate the...
• 1. Faith in the Antediluvian Era 11:1-7
  The writer began by stating three facts about faith. These are general observations on the nature of faith, some of its significant features. He then illustrated God's approval of faith with examples from the antediluvian era...
• 2. Faith in the Patriarchal Era 11:8-22
  11:8-10 Like Abraham we should look forward to our inheritance in the coming world and should live as strangers and pilgrims in this world (1 Pet. 1:1).360"Abraham's faith accepted God's promises and acted on them even though...
• 1. The example of Jesus 12:1-3
  One writer posited a chiastic structure for verses one and two."Therefore we,[A] having seated around aboutus such a cloud of witnesses,[B] setting asideevery weight and every clinging sin. . .[C] with patient endurance . . ....
• 2. The superiority of the New Covenant 12:18-24
  The writer proceeded to explain the superiority of the New Covenant by comparing it with the Old Covenant using the figure of two mountains: Sinai and Zion.12:18-21 These verses describe the giving of the Old Covenant at Mt. ...
• B. Life within the Church ch. 13
  The writer concluded his written sermon with specific exhortations, requests, and greetings to enable his readers to continue to worship God acceptably under the New Covenant (cf. 12:28)."The emphasis in this last section of ...
• Instructions Regarding Religious Duties 13:7-19
  "Within the structure of 13:7-19, vv 7-9 and vv 17-19 constitute the literary frame for the central unit of explanatory parenesis in vv 10-16."43713:7 The example of our spiritual leaders is one we should follow (cf. 12:1; 13...
• Bibliography
  Andersen, Ward. "The Believer's Rest (Hebrews 4)."Biblical Viewpoint24:1 (April 1990):31-38.Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.Barclay, William. The Lett...
• B. Scoffing in the Last Days 3:3-6
  Peter warned his readers about the activity of mockers preceding the Lord's return to enable them to deal with this test of their faith."Peter finally brings together two of the most important issues in the letter: the false ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• 2. Sin Here Appears As Having Power To Bar Men's Way To God.
  Much ingenuity has been spent on the question why Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's rejected. But the narrative itself shows in the words of Jehovah, If thou doest well, is there not acceptance?' that the reason lay in ...
• A Battle Without A Sword
  Judges 7:13-23To reduce thirty-two thousand to three hundred was a strange way of preparing for a fight; and, no doubt, the handful left felt some sinking of their courage when they looked on their own small number and then o...
• I. The Metaphor Of The Cloud Of Witnesses' Is Perhaps Intended To Express Multitude,
  And also elevation. It may have been naturally suggested by the thought of the saints of the Old Testament (of whom the previous chapter has been so nobly speaking) as exalted to heaven, and hovering far above and far away li...