Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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 ...
• 3. Ultimate victory 3:7-8
  3:7 The writer continued to pray for complete deliverance. Evidently David was so certain God would save him that he described his enemy as already defeated. Perhaps he was referring to God's faithfulness in defeating former ...
• 4. Trust in God's favor ch. 12
  This paean of praise concludes the section dealing with Israel's choice between trusting God or Assyria (7:1-12:6). It expresses the trust in God that Isaiah's revelations in this section encouraged. This is a song of redempt...
• A prayer 26:7-19
  Isaiah moved from a hymn of praise to a prayer that has two parts: present waiting for God (vv. 7-10) and future expectation from God (vv. 11-19).26:7 Presently the path of the righteous is smooth in that the trip from justif...
• C. Jeremiah's prayer 3:41-66
  The following section of the lament falls into two parts marked by Jeremiah's use of the plural (vv. 41-47) and singular personal pronouns (vv. 48-66). In the first part he called on the Judahites to confess their sins to God...
• 4. The conclusion of the vision 3:12-15
  "Ezekiel's vision of God's glory had provided the needed perspectivefor his task (1:4-2:7). The messagehe was to deliver was provided by God (2:8-3:11). Then he needed motivationto direct him to the task. That motivation was ...
• Yahweh's inescapable punishment 9:1-4
  9:1 In the final vision that Amos recorded, he saw Yahweh standing beside an altar. The altar at Bethel is probably in view since Bethel was the worship site in view in most of this book and since Amos' encounter with Amaziah...
• Background
  Jonah is the fifth of the Minor Prophets (the Book of the Twelve) in our English Bibles. It is unique among the Latter Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) in that it is almost completely narrative similar to the histories of El...
• Historicity
  Since the rise of critical scholarship in the nineteenth century, many writers and teachers now believe that the events recorded in this book were not historical.8They interpret this book as an allegory or as a parable.The al...
• Outline
  I. The disobedience of the prophet chs. 1-2A. Jonah's attempt to flee from God 1:1-3B. Jonah's lack of compassion 1:4-6C. Jonah's failure to fear his sovereign God 1:7-10D. The sailors' compassion and fear of God 1:11-16D. Jo...
• E. Jonah's deliverance by God 1:17-2:1
  For the second time in this incident God took the initiative to move His prophet to carry out His will (cf. v. 1). This time Jonah turned to the Lord.1:17 The identity of the great fish remains a mystery since the only record...
• F. Jonah's psalm of thanksgiving 2:2-9
  The following prayer is mainly thanksgiving for deliverance from drowning. It is not thanksgiving for deliverance from the fish. Jonah prayed it while he was in the fish. Evidently he concluded after some time in the fish's s...
• G. Jonah's deliverance from the fish 2:10
  Again the writer glorified Yahweh by attributing control of this formidable sea creature to Him (cf. 1:17). The first and the second chapters both close on this note. The Hebrew text says, "The Lord spoke to the fish"(cf. 1:1...
• II. The obedience of the prophet chs. 3--4
  The second half of this book records Jonah's obedience to the Lord following his initial disobedience (chs. 1-2). However, he was not completely obedient in his attitudes even though he was in his actions....
• 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...
• 3. Conflict over Jesus' sign 12:38-45
  The fourth incident and the third type of conflict concerned a sign that Jesus' critics requested.12:38 Matthew's connective again was weak. This incident was not a continuation of the preceding controversy chronologically bu...
• 3. The response to Jesus in Samaria 4:39-42
  The response of the Samaritans to Jesus was considerably more positive than the response of the Jews had been (1:11; 2:23-25). This would prove true as Jesus' ministry continued to progress.4:39 Harvesting followed the arriva...
• A. Thanksgiving 1:3-8
  The apostle proceeded to express his sincere gratitude to God for his friends in Philippi. He did this to assure them of God's continuing working for them and his satisfaction with their partnership in the work of the gospel....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Guilty Silence And Its Reward
  Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me. 3. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the...
• Lying Vanities'
  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.'--Jonah 2:8.JONAH'S refusal to obey the divine command to go to Nineveh and cry against it is best taken, not as prosaic history, but as a poetical representation of I...