Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. Love for Jerusalem 137:5-6
  The poet promised to remember Jerusalem forever. He called down imprecations on himself if he ever forgot the city that had been the scene of so much joyful worship in the past. The hand and tongue stand for all action and sp...
• Drunken Jerusalem 51:17-23
  God now turned the tables on His people and called on them to awake (cf. v. 1). They needed to wake up to the fact that He would comfort them and punish their oppressors (cf. 40:2; Lam. 1-2). The fact that the Babylonian capt...
• A lament concerning Jerusalem's terrible fate 15:5-9
  Invasion and war had already overtaken Jerusalem when Jeremiah wrote this lament, but more destruction was to come (v. 9).15:5 The Lord said that no one would have pity on Jerusalem when she had experienced His judgment (cf. ...
• 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...
• The second account of Jeremiah's release 40:1-6
  This account describes other things associated with Jeremiah's being set at liberty. It contains more detail than 39:11-14.40:1 Evidently after Jeremiah's release in Jerusalem Babylonian soldiers rounded him up when they saw ...
• Writer and Date
  This book does not identify its writer. The common view that Jeremiah wrote it rests on a preface in the Greek Septuagint, which the Latin Vulgate adopted and elaborated on. The Septuagint version of Lamentations begins, "And...
• Structure and Genre
  The book consists of five laments (funeral or mourning songs, elegies). All but the third of these describe the Babylonians' destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and its aftermath. Each chapter exhibits its own special qualit...
• Message
  The church at the beginning of the twenty-first century is very similar to Judah at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. Our times are very similar to Jeremiah's times. We minister in a cultural context that is remarkably ...
• Outline
  I. The destruction and misery of Jerusalem (the first lament) ch. 1A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11B. Jerusalem's sorrow over her own condition 1:12-22II. The divine punishment of Jerusalem (the secon...
• A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11
  Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem's destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.1:1 Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so g...
• A. God's anger 2:1-10
  "There are about forty descriptions of divine judgment, which fell upon every aspect of the Jews' life: home, religion, society, physical, mental and spiritual. Some of the blackest phrases of the book appear here . . ."272:1...
• B. Jeremiah's grief 2:11-19
  This section contains five pictures of Jerusalem's condition.302:11-12 Jeremiah had exhausted his capacity for weeping and sorrowing over the destruction of his people; he felt drained emotionally. He observed small children ...
• III. The prophet's response to divine judgment (the third lament) ch. 3
  As mentioned previously, this lament is an acrostic in triplets; the same succeeding Hebrew consonant begins three verses instead of just one, as in the previous chapters. The verses are about one third as long as most of tho...
• 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...
• A. Conditions during the siege 4:1-11
  This section of the poem consists of two parallel parts (vv. 1-6, 7-11). The Judahites had become despised (vv. 1-2, 7-8), and both children and adults (everyone) suffered (vv. 3-5, 9-10). This calamity was the result of Yahw...
• V. The response of the godly (the fifth lament) ch. 5
  This poem, like the one in chapter 3, contains verses of only two lines each. It is the only non-acrostic chapter in the book, though like chapters 1, 2, and 4, it consists of 22 verses. The doleful qinahmeter is also absent ...
• The destruction of pagan shrines ch. 6
  ". . . the focus of chap. 6 is on the individual responsibility of the people and prepares the way for the subsequent spoken messages."1216:1-2 The Lord directed Ezekiel to pronounce an oracle of judgment against "the mountai...
• The youth of Jerusalem 16:6-14
  16:6 The Lord had compassion on Jerusalem in her helpless and undesirable condition and took care of her so she survived. The city remained as an unwanted child until, at the Lord's direction, David captured it from the Jebus...
• The great ship Tyre 27:1-11
  27:1-3 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to write a lamentation over Tyre, though presently it was renowned for its seafaring and commercial leadership in the world. Tyre's neighboring kings sang the first dirge over Tyre's demise ...
• 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....
• 2. The guilt of Israel's religious leaders 3:5-8
  3:5 The Lord also had a message concerning the false prophets who were misleading His people. The false prophets gave benedictions to those who paid them, but people who did not give them anything received maledictions of doo...
• D. The commitment to faith 3:16-19a
  3:16 Habakkuk trembled all over as he awaited the day of Babylon's invasion of Judah, the day of her distress. He could do nothing but wait patiently for the Babylonians to grow stronger and for judgment to come on Israel. It...
• The crucifixion and mockery of Jesus 27:32-44 (cf. Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17b-27)
  Matthew's emphasis in his account of Jesus' crucifixion was on the mocking of the onlookers.27:32 Jesus was able to carry the crosspiece of His cross until He passed through the city gate (cf. Mark 15:21 John 19:17). Normally...
• The crucifixion of Jesus 15:21-32 (cf. Matt. 27:32-44; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17b-27)
  15:21 Probably only Mark mentioned Simon's sons because the Christians in Rome knew them or knew of them (cf. Rom. 16:13). Evidently Simon became a believer in Jesus. Mark mentioned very few people by name other than the Twel...
• 2. Entrance into the kingdom 13:22-30
  Another question led to this teaching. The thematic connection with Jesus' words about the small beginning of the kingdom (vv. 19, 21) should be obvious. As elsewhere, Luke recorded Jesus teaching lessons and using illustrati...
• 5. Jesus' triumphal entry 12:12-19 (cf. Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40)
  The importance of this incident in Jesus' ministry is evident from the fact that all four Gospel evangelists recorded it. Matthew and Mark placed this event before Mary's anointing of Jesus in Simon's house (vv. 1-8). However...
• 1. The temple in Jerusalem 11:1-2
  11:1 "And"(Gr. kai) ties this chapter closely to the previous one. John's first prophetic assignment after receiving his fresh commission was to provide this information.Again John became an active participant in his vision (...
• 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 ...
• Laments over this judgment by those affected 18:9-19
  Three groups of people mourn Babylon's destruction in these verses: kings (vv. 9-10; cf. Ezek. 26:15-18), merchants (vv. 11-13, 15-17a; cf. Ezek. 27:36), and sea people (vv. 17b-19; cf. Ezek. 27:29-36).18:9 World government l...