Recent Commentaries

The Christian is not merely enlightened; he is the light of the world (v. 8). He is to walk in the light and by so doing expose the sin and darkness around him just by living as a Christian should. Have you ever experienced walking into a room where a group of peopl …

Few people were more religious than young Paul of Tarsus. He knew all about religious orthodoxy and how it can make a sincere and zealous person the very enemy of Christ. Orthodoxy in religion requires both access to the truth and accountability to the truth. Paul was speaking to Jews who …

How many times have you been tempted by some type of a get rich quick scheme? It is said that two out of three adults participate in some form of gambling. Out of these 80% never receive anything in return. Even if you were to win, verse 11 says wealth that is gotten in a fraudu …

The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod, which was located about thirty miles west of Jerusalem (v. 1). When the Philistines captured the ark, they thought they had something good in their hands. They took it into the house of Dagon, which was …

We find Jesus in Gentile territory in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 120 miles north of Jerusalem (v. 13). This region had been a center of Baal worship and a place where Herod the Great had built a temple to honor Augustus Caesar. Jesus was seeking to lead His disciples …

To a devout Hebrew, the land of Canaan was the Lord’s sanctuary, the place where the Ark and Tabernacle rested and where the presence of Jehovah dwelt. To live outside the limits must have been very difficult for David and his followers. With this in mind, you can understand how …

Hananiah was one of the false prophets who confronted Jeremiah (vv. 1-4). Hananiah’s home, Gibeon, was in Benjamin, about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The Gibeonites deceived Joshua into making  a treaty with them (Josh. 9:1-15). It was at Gibeon that Joab killed Am …

The fall of Damascus was a warning to Ephraim in the Northern kingdom of Israel. Both Ephraim, representing Israel, and Damascus, representing Syria, would be defeated (vv. 1-2). The emphasis in this chapter is on the God who controls the armies of heaven and earth (v …

All three of Job’s friends made the mistake of assuming that Job had committed a great sin that was causing his suffering. Neither they, nor Job, knew of Satan’s conversation with God (1:6). Eliphaz spoke of Job as a fool who had begun to prosper, but was cursed by God, a …

All during Jesus’ public ministry, He exposed the self-righteousness and unbelief of the Pharisees (v. 9). This happens again in the case in this parable. The people who lived near Jerusalem often went to the temple to pray. The temple was their center of worship. On this …