Recent Commentaries

Some day you may visit the interesting and historic French-Canadian city of Quebec. There you will see the Plains of Abraham, where the English forces of General Wolfe won Quebec from the French. When you see the steep ascent that Wolf’s men had to make up the face of the great rocky cliffs, you will be amazed that they succeeded. Mere boys should have been able to hold off a force of soldiers from scaling such cliffs and gaining the heights. Yet Wolfe and his men made the ascent and gained the citadel. Why? Because the overconfident defenders became careless and pleasure-loving; and one night, when they were off guard, the enemy saw his opportunity, scaled the heights, and took the city. Quebec fell because its defenders failed to keep watch. (Joseph Harris in Sunday School Times).

In Palestine, a grain of mustard seed was a symbol for the smallest possible thing. (vv. 30-32) Actually it was not the smallest seed known. Palestinian mustard seed is about the size of our petunia seed. However, this tiny seed when it is planted in the ground becomes a tree that …

Israel and Judah had lost sight of God’s plan for them to settle in the land (Gen. 12:7), to drive out the Canaanites (Deut. 7:1-4), and to obey God’s laws (Deut. 8:1). Instead of uniting to accomplish these goals they fought each other (v. 1). More and more people…

Jehoiachin (who was only 23 years old) followed his father Jehoiakim to the throne (v. 24). After a three-month reign Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and he and his mother Nehushta (the widow of King Jehoikim (2 Kings 24:8) was deported to Babylon where they both …

Jesus leaves Capernaum and travels north forty or fifty miles to the borders of Tyre and Sidon which is modern Lebanon (v. 24). Although these cities were a part of Syria they were all independent with their own kings, their own money system, and their own gods. This is Gentile co …

Peter had followed the Lord and gained entrance into the residence of the high priest. While Jesus was on trial inside Caiaphas’ palace, Peter was on trial in the courtyard. As he sat in the courtyard awaiting the outcome of the trial, he had three opportunities to speak up for h …

The Jewish religious leaders wanted to know what authority Jesus had to cast money-changers out of the temple (vv. 1-2). This group of leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus so they tried to trap Him with their question. They wanted to catch Him in His words so that no matter …

Though sexual impurity is a danger to be avoided (verses 3-8), loving other Christians is a practice to be cultivated (verses 9-12). Christians quickly learn that they have a special kinship with other believers that they do not have with those outside of God’s family. You will e …

The first part of this chapter continues with the construction of the tabernacle furnishings (vv. 1-8). Following this is a description of the items placed in the tabernacle courtyard (vv. 9-20). 1. The Altar for Offering Sacrifices…

Firmly committed to build the temple, the people were soon to face some difficult questions. How beautiful would this temple be and how would its glory compare with Solomon’s temple (vv. 1-3)? As work progressed and plans were formed for the new temple, inevitable comparisons wer …