Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19
  Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respective patriarchal ancestors, Abraham and Lot, with an obvious moralistic intent (i.e., a demonstration that human initiatives--Lot's choice--always lead to catastrop...
• 1. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-46
  Moses began his recital of Israel's history at Horeb because this is where Yahweh adopted the nation by making the Mosaic Covenant with her. The trip from Egypt to Sinai was only preparation for the giving of the covenant. Th...
• 1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17
  Eli's sons were not only evil in their personal lives, but they flagrantly disregarded the will of God even as they served as leaders of Israel's worship of Yahweh. They neither knew the Lord (in the sense of paying attention...
• 4. David's loyalty 139:19-24
  139:19-22 With these thoughts in his mind, David turned his attention to his present situation. His enemies were attacking him. He prayed that the Lord would slay those who were trying to kill him (v. 19). These enemies were ...
• The witness to redemption 43:8-44:20
  Isaiah continued to show that Yahweh was both willing and able to deliver His people, a theme begun in 42:10. He confronted the gods, again (cf. 41:21-29), but this time he challenged them to bring forth witnesses to their de...
• The present possibility 48:12-22
  In a sense verses 12-22 are the second verse of the song of which verses 1-11 are the first verse. God was making much the same point though with a slightly different emphasis.48:12 This segment opens like the first one (cf. ...
• The basis of acceptance and blessing 56:1-8
  This transitional pericope introduces the problem that the previous sections of the book posed, which I have tried to explain just above. It also begins the explanation of the solution by placing in stark contrast two opposin...
• Humility rather than sacrifice 66:1-6
  This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
• 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...
• Future blessings following imminent judgment 16:14-21
  The following three pericopes bracket assurance of imminent judgment for Judah with promises of distant blessing for Israel and the nations. This passage promises deliverance from the captivity for the Israelites. It appears ...
• Prophecies about false prophets 23:9-40
  Having given a true prophecy about the future, Jeremiah proceeded to announce God's judgment on the false prophets who were misleading His people with false prophecies (cf. v. 1). This section consists of six different messag...
• 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...
• The elimination of claimants to the land ch. 35
  What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
• The restoration of the Davidic kingdom 9:11-12
  The rest of the book is quite different from what has preceded because of its positive message. As is true of other eighth-century prophets to Israel and Judah, Amos included hope in his prophecy (cf. Isa. 40-66; Hos. 1:10-2:...
• 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...
• Message11
  The very fact that this book consists of only one chapter should alert us to its importance. If it was unimportant, God would not have preserved it, and it would have disappeared long ago. Its length also simplifies our task ...
• 3. The King of Zion 5:2-5a
  This section introduces another ruler of Israel who, in contrast to Zedekiah, his foil, would effectively lead God's people."This royal oracle is obviously intended to be the central peak of the range of oracles in chs. 4 and...
• 2. Judgment coming on Moab and Ammon 2:8-11
  2:8 Probably Zephaniah linked Moab and Ammon because both nations descended from Lot (Gen. 19:30-38) as well as because both lay to Judah's east. Both nations had taunted and reviled the Israelites from their earliest history...
• 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...
• Title and Writer
  The name of the writer is the title of this book."Malachi"means "my messenger."We know nothing of the prophet's parentage, ancestral or tribal roots, geographical origin, or other vocation. All we know is that he received and...
• Date
  "Haggai and Zechariah . . . are noteworthy for the chronological precision with which they related their lives and ministries to their historical milieu. This is not the case at all with Malachi. In fact, one of the major pro...
• Historical Background
  Malachi was one of the three post-exilic writing prophets along with Haggai and Zechariah, and he was quite certainly the last one chronologically, even though we cannot be dogmatic about a date for his writing.The first grou...
• Literary form and characteristics
  Malachi's style is quite different from that of any other writing prophet. Instead of delivering messages to his audience, he charged them with various sins, six times in all. His was a very confrontational style of address. ...
• Message11
  Malachi prophesied during the times of Nehemiah. The dates of Nehemiah's ministry were about 445-420 B.C. Possibly Malachi ministered during the time when Nehemiah returned to Babylon following the completion of Jerusalem's w...
• Outline
  I. Heading 1:1II. Oracle one: Yahweh's love for Israel 1:2-5III. Oracle two: The priests' illicit practices and indifferent attitudes 1:6-2:9A. The priests' sins 1:6-141. Disrespectful service 1:6-72. Disqualified sacrifices ...
• II. Oracle one: Yahweh's love for Israel 1:2-5
  The revelation that Yahweh gave Malachi for Israel consisted of six "heavy"messages. The first one reminded God's people of His love for them and of their ungratefulness.1:2a The Lord's first word to His people was short and ...
• 1. Disrespectful service 1:6-7
  1:6 This second oracle begins like the first one, with a statement by Yahweh and a challenging response (cf. Isa. 1:2-3). The first oracle appealed to the Israelites generally, but this one is addressed to the priests. The pr...
• 2. Disqualified sacrifices 1:8-10
  1:8 Furthermore the priests were offering blind, lame, and sick animals as sacrifices. These were unacceptable according to the Law (Lev. 22:18-25; Deut. 15:21). The Lord asked them if this was not evil. Of course it was. The...
• 3. Disdainful attitudes 1:12-14
  1:11 It was particularly inappropriate for Israel's priests to despise Yahweh because the time would come when people from all over the world would honor His name (person; cf. Isa. 45:22-25; 49:5-7; 59:19). Incense accompanie...
• B. The priests' warning 2:1-9
  Whereas the emphasis in Malachi's argument shifts at this point somewhat from the sins of the priests to their possible fate, there is a continuing emphasis on their sins. In the preceding section (1:6-14) the cultic activity...
• V. Oracle four: the problem of God's justice 2:17--3:6
  That another oracle is in view is clear from the question and answer format that begins this pericope, as it does the others. Verse 17 contains the question and answer, and the discussion follows in 3:1-6. The Israelites' cha...
• VI. Oracle five: The people's sin of robbing God 3:7-12
  The Lord had said that Israel's earlier history was a time when the priests and the people of Israel pleased Him (v. 4). Now He said that those early days were short-lived (cf. Exod. 32:7-9). In contrast to His faithfulness (...
• C. The coming judgment of Israel 3:17-4:3
  3:17 Almighty Yahweh announced that He would honor those who feared Him as His own on the day He prepared His own possessions. This probably refers to the day of the Lord (cf. v. 2; 4:1, 3) when He will resurrect Old Testamen...
• The healing of a centurion's servant 8:5-13 (cf. Luke 7:1-10)
  8:5 Centurions were Roman military officers each of whom controlled 100 men, therefore the name "centurion."They were the military backbone of the Roman Empire. Interestingly every reference to a centurion in the New Testamen...
• God's faithfulness to His people 7:9-16
  Stephen next proceeded to show what God had done with Joseph and his family. He selected this segment of the patriarchal narrative primarily for two reasons. First, it shows how God miraculously preserved His people in faithf...
• 2. God's election of Israel 9:6-13
  Paul's train of thought unfolds as follows in these verses. Because God's election of Israel did not depend on natural descent (vv. 6-10) or human merit (vv. 11-14), Israel's disobedience cannot nullify God's sovereign purpos...
• A. Dedication to God 12:1-2
  Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 12 deal with the Christian's most important relationship, his or her relationship to God. These verses are both parallel to the sections to follow that deal with the Christian's conduct, and they int...
• The exposition of Melchizedek's significance 7:4-10
  In these straightforward verses, which expound verses 1-3, the writer explained further how Melchizedek was superior to Abraham, the ancestor of Levi, the head of the priestly tribe under the Old (Mosaic) Covenant. He said mo...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• A Dialogue With God
  A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a Father, where is Mine honour? and if I be a master, where is My fear? saith the Lord of Hosts unto you, O priests, that despise My Name. And ye say, Wherein...
• Blemished Offerings
  Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of Hosts.'--Malachi 1:8.A WORD of explanation may indicate my purpose in selecting this, I am afraid, unfamiliar text. The Pro...