Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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...
• Cyrus' edict 1:1-4
  "It is not strange according to the Semitic style to start a book with a waw["And"or "Now"], especially when the author intended to write a continuation of the history of his people. He connects the history which he wants to ...
• Tattenai's compliance 6:13-15
  Several factors resulted in the completion of the temple that the writer brought together in verse 14. The reference to Artaxerxes (v. 14; cf. 4:7-23) does not mean that he had a part in completing the temple. As I pointed ou...
• A. Job's Character 1:1-5
  Uz (1:1) was probably southeast of the Dead Sea (cf. vv. 3, 14, 19; 42:12).15Some scholars place it in Bashan south of Damascus, but the writer of Lamentations (probably Jeremiah) associated the land of Uz with Edom (Lam. 4:2...
• 1. The introduction of Elihu 32:1-5
  A short prose pericope (32:1-6a) breaks into the poetic body of the book. Its purpose is to introduce Elihu, as the prose prologue to the whole book (chs. 1-2) introduced the other characters.Elihu may have been a relative of...
• 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 ...
• Historical Background
  The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
• 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 ...
• Theological Emphases
  The Book of Jeremiah is not theologically organized in the sense that it develops a certain theological emphasis as it unfolds, as Isaiah does. Rather it presents certain theological truths in greater or lesser degree through...
• 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...
• A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3
  Most of the prophetical books begin with some indication of authorship and date to put them in their historical contexts, and this is true of the Book of Jeremiah.1:1 The words (Heb. debarim, writings, prophecies, deeds, and ...
• 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....
• The vision of the boiling pot 1:13-19
  This vision may have come to Jeremiah immediately after the preceding one or at some other time.1:13 The Lord next directed Jeremiah to view a boiling pot (cauldron used for cooking or washing, Heb. sir) that was tipped so th...
• 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.
• The worthlessness of circumcision 9:25-26
  Trust in religious ritual is just as wrong as trust in human achievements."Just as the knowledge of God is more important than wisdom, power, or might, even so faith that springs from the heart is more important than any outw...
• The special conditions of Jeremiah's life 16:1-13
  Sometimes God used the events in the lives of His prophets to speak to the people as well as their messages."Hosea's unhappy marriage (Hos. 1-3), Isaiah's family (Isa. 7-8), the death of Ezekiel's wife (Ezek. 24:15-27), and J...
• A collection of burdens on many nations chs. 24-25
  The four message that follow concern Judah (ch. 24), Babylon (25:1-14), other surrounding nations (25:15-29), and all the earth (25:30-38)....
• The length of the exile and Babylon's fate 25:1-14
  Chapter 25 serves as a capstone for all of Jeremiah's previous prophecies. The prophet's perspective now broadens quickly to include the whole world and divine judgments ordained for it.25:1-2 Jeremiah received another prophe...
• Yahweh's cup of wrath for the nations 25:15-29
  25:15 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to take from His hand, figuratively, a cup of His wrath and to cause all the nations to whom the Lord would send him to drink from it. The cup is a common figure for the wrath of God in Scri...
• 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...
• Jeremiah's warning against making a coalition to resist Nebuchadnezzar ch. 27
  This chapter contains three parts: Jeremiah's warning to the foreign messengers (vv. 1-11), his appeal to King Zedekiah (vv. 12-15), and his appeal to the priests and people of Jerusalem (vv. 16-22).27:1 Jeremiah received a m...
• Jeremiah's conflict with Hananiah ch. 28
  Jeremiah's symbolic act of wearing a yoke led to another symbolic act, the breaking of that yoke. Jeremiah's act brought a false prophet into direct confrontation with the true prophet.28:1 The following event took place in t...
• Jeremiah's first letter to the exiles 29:1-23
  29:1-3 Jeremiah sent a letter to all the Judahites who had gone into exile in Babylon with King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) in 597 B.C. We do not know the date of its composition, but Jeremiah probably wrote it within a few years o...
• Israel rebuilt and planted by a loving God 31:2-6
  31:2 When the Israelites would seek rest from the attacks of their enemies (cf. 6:16; Exod. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; Josh. 1:13, 15; 22:4; Isa. 63:14), they would find it in the wilderness (cf. 2:2; Rev. 12:14-16).401They will find...
• 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 rebuke of the Judahites 35:12-17
  35:12-13 After this experience, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to speak to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. He was to ask them if they would not receive instruction from Him.46135:14 The Rechabites had faithfully obeyed their...
• Its writing 36:1-8
  36:1 The Lord sent a message to Jeremiah in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim's reign, sometime between April of 605 and April of 604 B.C. (cf. 25:1)36:2 Jeremiah was to write on a scroll (Heb. megillath sepher) all the proph...
• 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...
• C. The oracle against Moab ch. 48
  This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
• 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...
• IV. Conclusion ch. 52
  This chapter has many similarities to 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 with the exception of 25:22-26, the story of Gedaliah's assassination (cf. chs. 40-41). This chapter forms a fitting conclusion to the book since it records the fulfil...
• 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...
• The interpretation of the parable 21:1-7
  21:1-2 Again the Lord told His prophet to speak a message of judgment against Jerusalem, the pagan sanctuaries, and the whole land of Israel (i.e., Judah). This would be a clarification of the figures used in the previous par...
• Jerusalem's judgment for prostitution 23:22-35
  Four messages announce God's judgment on Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness (vv. 22-27, 28-31, 32-34, 35).23:22-24 Because of her behavior the Lord promised to turn Oholibah's soldier-lovers against her, even the Babylonians, C...
• A. Oracles against Judah's closest neighbors ch. 25
  This chapter ties in very closely with the preceding one. Evidently all the messages in these two chapters date from the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (24:1-2). Even though this chapter begins a series of mes...
• 3. Judgment on Edom 25:12-14
  25:12 The Edomites had taken vengeance on the Judahites rather than helping them (cf. 36:1-7; Gen. 25:30; 27:41-46; 32:4; Lam. 4:21-22; Amos 1:11-12).25:13 For this reason the Lord promised to send judgment on them. He would ...
• 4. Judgment on Philistia 25:15-17
  25:15-16 The Philistines to Judah's west had also scorned the Israelites and had sought to destroy them (cf. Judg. 13-16; 1 Sam. 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam. 5; 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 21:16-17; 28:18). Therefore the Lord would stretch o...
• 3. The destruction of Egypt and her allies 30:1-19
  Of the seven oracles against Egypt, this is the only one that is undated. Most of the commentators assumed that Ezekiel gave it in 587 B.C., the same year as the first, second, and third oracles. But he could have given it in...
• The accusation against Israel's unfaithful rulers 34:1-7
  34:1-2 The Lord gave Ezekiel a message for the shepherds (leaders, rulers, cf. Ps. 23) of Israel. Ancient Near Easterners often referred to kings and leaders as "shepherds"(e.g. 2 Sam. 5:2; Isa. 44:28; Jer. 2:8; 10:21; 23:1-6...
• A. Historical background 1:1-2
  1:1 The book opens with a synopsis of the first Jewish deportation in 605 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 21:35; 2 Chron 28:2-3).25Daniel and his three friends were part of the nobles and royal families taken from Jerusalem as captives 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...
• B. Theme 1:2
  This verse summarizes the message that Amos received from the Lord. Amos reported that Yahweh roared from Zion, as a lion roars before it devours its prey or as thunder precedes a severe storm (cf. 3:4, 8; Jer. 25:30; Hos. 5:...
• Audience and Purpose
  Since Obadiah's concern was Jerusalem, and since it seems likely that he lived in Judah, the original audience that received his prophecy may also have been the residents of Judah.Obadiah wrote to announce coming divine judgm...
• B. The Explanation of the Charge vv. 11-14
  v. 11 God cited one specific instance of Edom's violence against her brother, but as I explained in the introduction, which instance is unclear. Edom's treachery against Judah had taken place on a particular "day"in the past....
• A. The Judgment of Edom and the Nations vv. 15-18
  References to the work and word of the Lord frame this section. Obadiah announced that a reversal of rolls was coming for Edom and all the nations.v. 15 "The day of the Lord"here is a future day in which God will reverse the ...
• 1. Micah's personal response 1:8-9
  1:8 In view of this coming judgment, Micah said he felt compelled to lament and wail. He would express his sorrow by going barefoot and naked, a common way of expressing it in his culture (cf. 2 Sam. 15:30; Isa. 20:2; 22:12; ...
• 2. Micah's call for the people's response 1:10-16
  The prophet used several clever wordplays in this poem to describe the desolation that God would bring on Judah. He selected towns and villages near his own hometown in Judah's Shephelah whose names were similar to the coming...
• Judgment for rapacity 2:15-17
  2:15 God would judge Babylon because the Babylonians had deceived their neighbor nations with the result that they were able to take advantage of them. The Babylonians had behaved like a man who gets a woman drunk so she will...
• A. Haggai's First challenge 1:1-6
  1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
• 1. The vision proper 1:7-15
  1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
• A. The question from the delegation from Bethel 7:1-3
  7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
• 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...
• The announcement of doom 11:1-3
  11:1 The prophet announced in vigorous poetic language that Lebanon's famous cedars would perish. The Israelites referred to the royal palace in Jerusalem as Lebanon because it contained so much cedar from Lebanon (Jer. 22:23...
• The fate of the Good Shepherd 11:4-14
  The reason for the devastation of the people and the land just described now becomes apparent. It is the people's rejection of the messianic Shepherd-King (cf. Isa. 42; 49; 50; 53). The Lord would graciously give His people a...
• Israel's deliverance 12:1-9
  12:1 "The burden . . . concerning Israel"introduces chapters 12-14 as "The burden . . . against the land of Hadrach"(9:1) did chapters 9-11. By describing Yahweh as the creator of the heavens, earth, and man, Zechariah remind...
• 5. Instruction about serving 20:20-28 (cf. Mark 10:35-45)
  This pericope shows that the disciples did not understand what Jesus had said (cf. Luke 18:34)."Despite Jesus' repeated predictions of his passion, two disciples and their mother are still thinking about privilege, status, an...
• Jesus' prayer to His Father in Gethsemane 26:36-46 (cf. Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:40-46)
  This pericope illustrates the importance of facing temptation with vigilance and prayer. What is more important, it reveals Jesus' attitude toward what He was about to do. Until now, Jesus seems to have been anticipating His ...
• 2. Jesus' teaching about serving 10:35-45 (cf. Matt. 20:20-28)
  This pericope parallels 9:30-37. Both sections deal with true greatness, and both follow predictions of Jesus' passion. This second incident shows the disciples' lack of spiritual perception and their selfishness even more th...
• 3. The importance of participation 10:1-16
  The theme of discipleship training continues in this section of verses. The 70 disciples that Jesus sent out contrast with the three men Luke just finished presenting (9:57-62). This was a second mission on which Jesus sent a...
• 1. Jesus' preparation in Gethsemane 22:39-46 (cf. Matt. 26:30, 36-46; Mark 14:26, 32-42; John 18:1)
  Luke organized his narrative so Jesus' praying in the garden follows immediately His instructions to the disciples about their preparing for the crisis to come. The present pericope shows Jesus' proper approach to it and the ...
• Jesus' presentation of the figure 10:1-6
  This teaching is quite similar to what the Synoptic evangelists recorded Jesus giving in His parables, but there is a significant difference. John called this teaching a figure of speech (Gr. paroimian) rather than a parable ...
• The exposition of themes in the metaphor 15:9-16
  Jesus proceeded to expound further on some of the themes that He had introduced in His teaching on the vine and the branches (vv. 1-8). The subject moves generally from the believing disciple's relationship with God to his or...
• A. Jesus' presentation of Himself to His enemies 18:1-11 (cf. Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53)
  18:1 "These words"evidently refer to all of what Jesus had said in chapters 13-17 all of which He probably spoke in the upper room. The Kidron Valley formed the eastern boundary of Jerusalem. The Kidron was also a wadior dry ...
• I. Salutation 1:1-2
  Paul began this epistle by identifying himself and his companion and by wishing God's richest blessings on his readers."Almost all letters from the Greco-Roman period began with a threefold salutation: The Writer, to the Addr...
• The survivors' response 9:20-21
  9:20 These three severe judgments (fire, smoke, and brimstone, vv. 17-18) will not move the remaining unbelievers as a whole to repent (cf. Exod. 7:13, 23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:20; 11:10)."In all cases in the apocaly...
• 2. The announcement of the mighty angel 10:5-7
  10:5 The fact that the angel took an oath and swore by God seems to confirm that he is not God. Lifting the right hand toward God was and is a customary gesture when making a solemn oath (cf. Gen. 14:22; Deut. 32:40; Dan. 12:...
• The judgment of the harlot 17:15-18
  17:15 The angel next helped John understand the identity of the waters (v. 1). Water is a common symbol for people in the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 18:4, 16; 124:4; Isa. 8:7; Jer. 47:2). The harlot exercises a controlling infl...
• The second angelic announcement of judgment 18:21-24
  18:21 The angelic act of throwing the millstone into the sea is symbolic of Babylon's fate (cf. Jer. 51:63-64). As it is impossible for that huge stone to rise to the surface, so the economic system that has driven this world...