Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 7. Moses' return to Egypt 4:19-31
  4:19-23 Moses did not return immediately to Egypt when he arrived back in Midian following his encounter with God at Horeb (v. 19). God spoke to him again in Midian and sent him back to Egypt assuring His servant that everyon...
• Moses' intercession 32:7-14
  God's recounting the news of the golden calf to Moses gives the reader the divine perspective on Israel's sin. Moses stressed three points in this pericope."These three points--idolatry of the golden calf, Israel's stiff-neck...
• 5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15
  "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
• H. Joash ch. 24
  Joash's life, as the writer narrated it, proves again the principles that Chronicles stresses. God was faithful to His promise to provide rulers over His people from David's descendants. Each king's success depended on his su...
• Message14
  Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther have much in common. Among other things, they all deal with God's dealings with Israel following the captivity. Jeremiah had spoken of these years before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem (Jer. 25...
• 1. The title 1:1
  The author identified himself by his titles. These titles as well as other references to the writer in the book (cf. 1:12, 16; 2:4-9) point to Solomon more than to any other person.10Later he claimed divine authority for this...
• Two woes against Jerusalem ch. 29
  There are two more "woes"that deal with Jerusalem in this chapter (vv. 1-14, 15-24) in addition to the one in chapter 28. The first of these is similar to the previous "woe"(cf. vv. 1-8 with 28:1-6, and vv. 9-14 with 28:7-13)...
• The instrument of redemption 45:1-13
  This section begins with God's promise to Cyrus (vv. 1-8; cf. Ps. 2: 110) and concludes with a vindication of God's right to use whom He will (vv. 9-13). The promise to Cyrus was, of course, for the benefit of the Israelites ...
• The appeal 64:8-12
  64:8 Yet Isaiah did appeal to God for help. He appealed on the basis that Yahweh had brought Israel into existence and was, therefore, responsible for her regardless of her condition (cf. 63:16). She was just inert clay, but ...
• Writer
  The composition and structure of Jeremiah, discussed below, have led many scholars to conclude that an editor or editors (redactors) probably put the book in its final form. Many conservatives, however, believe that Jeremiah ...
• Purpose
  Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
• Outline
  I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
• 1. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-10
  1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
• A. Warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem chs. 2-25
  Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to the Judahites in view of their sins and the consequences of those sins.
• An attempt to kill Jeremiah 11:18-12:6
  This pericope contains one of Jeremiah's "confessions,"a self-revelation of the prophet's own struggles to cope with God's actions (cf. 10:23-24; 15:10-12, 15-21; 17:9-11, 14-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18).219The heart of this on...
• The linen waistband 13:1-11
  This is the first of several symbolic acts that Jeremiah performed to communicate divine messages (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 32:1-15; 43:8-13; 51:59-64). Other prophets did the same thing (cf. Isa. 20:2-...
• A collection of Jeremiah's personal trials and sayings 15:10-20:38
  This section of text is highly autobiographical. It contains, among other things, most of Jeremiah's so-called "confessions"(15:10-12, 15-21; 17:9-11, 14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18). This section can be a great help and encouragem...
• The lesson of the potter's vessel 18:1-12
  There are indications in this message that God might yet avert judgment (vv. 7-8, 11), so Jeremiah evidently delivered it before the Babylonians invaded Judah.18:1-2 The Lord told Jeremiah to go to the potter's house where He...
• Israel's unnatural behavior and its consequences 18:13-17
  In this message Jeremiah contrasted the unnatural apostasy of the people with the constancy of nature (cf. 2:10-13).18:13 Yahweh indicted the people of Judah through His prophet asking if any other nation had ever done what I...
• Jeremiah's reaction to a plot against his life 18:18-23
  This is another section that contains one of Jeremiah's "confessions."Evidently there were several separate plots against the prophet's life (cf. 11:18-23; 12:1-6). People hated him because he brought bad news and called them...
• The broken jar object lesson 19:1-20:6
  This message to the people involved another symbolic act (cf. 13:1-11). This incident may have occurred between 609 and 605 B.C.19:1 Yahweh told Jeremiah to take some of Judah's elders and senior priests and to go and purchas...
• A collection of Jeremiah's denunciations of Judah's kings and false prophets chs. 21-23
  This section of the book contains some of Jeremiah's messages concerning Judah's kings (21:1-23:8) and false prophets (23:9-40) that he delivered closer to the time of Jerusalem's invasion than the previous chapters.300Beginn...
• The two baskets of figs ch. 24
  24:1 This prophetic message came to Jeremiah after Nebuchadnezzar had taken King Jehoiachin (Coniah, Jeconiah, cf. 22:24) and many of the other royal counselors, craftsmen, and smiths (or artisans) captive to Babylon in 597 B...
• Universal judgment to come 25:30-38
  25:30 Jeremiah was also to announce that God would prepare to judge all the inhabitants of the earth (v. 29). As a lion announces its intent to attack with a roar, so Yahweh would one day announce His attack on earth dwellers...
• B. Controversies concerning false prophets chs. 26-29
  These chapters contrast the true prophet of Yahweh with the false prophets. Distinguishing between them was difficult for Jeremiah's contemporaries, but their essential difference is clear. The true prophets proclaimed the Lo...
• 1. Conflict with the people ch. 26
  This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
• Jeremiah's purchase of land 32:1-15
  This was another of Jeremiah's symbolic acts (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 43:8-13; 51:59-64).32:1 A message came to the prophet from the Lord about 587 B.C., the year before Jerusalem fell.32:2 Jerusalem w...
• D. Incidents surrounding the fall of Jerusalem chs. 34-45
  The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
• The remnant's flight to Egypt 42:1-43:7
  This chapter continues the narrative begun at 41:4. The remnant leaders asked Jeremiah to obtain the Lord's word concerning their proposed flight to Egypt (vv. 1-6).42:1-3 Then Johanan and his fellow leaders of the refugees a...
• Baruch's despair and consolation ch. 45
  This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
• A. The oracle against Egypt ch. 46
  This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
• A. The fall of Jerusalem and the capture of Zedekiah 52:1-16
  This is one of four accounts of the fall of Jerusalem in the Old Testament (cf. 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36:11-21; Jer. 39:1-14). The repetition underlines the importance of the event.52:1 Zedekiah (Mattaniah, 2 Kings 24:17) was ...
• Bibliography
  Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
• A call for individual repentance 5:4-6
  This pericope is also chiastic (Bethel, Gilgal, Beersheba, Gilgal, Bethel).5:4-5 Yahweh invited the Israelites to seek Him so they might live. Even though national judgment and death were inevitable, individuals could still l...
• C. Jonah's displeasure at God's mercy 4:1-4
  The reader might assume that the Lord's deliverance of the Ninevites from imminent doom is the climax of the story. This is not the case. The most important lesson of the book deals with God's people and specifically God's in...
• B. Yahweh's answer about Judah 1:5-11
  Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
• 4. God's mercy toward Israel 9:19-29
  Next Paul dealt with a question that rises out of what he had just argued for, namely God's freedom to extend mercy to whom He will. Is it not logical that if God is going to show mercy to whom He will in spite of human actio...
• The triumph of the 144,000 14:1-5
  14:1 "And I looked"(Gr. kai eidon) introduces three scenes in chapter 14 (vv. 1, 6, 14), as this phrase did twice in chapter 13 (vv. 1, 11). "Behold"(Gr. idou, cf. v. 14) calls special attention to the greatness of the sight ...