Recent Commentaries

Even though Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land, he spent the closing weeks of his life preparing the new generation to enter Canaan and claim the land God promised to give them. In this portion of Scripture, a new census was taken in anticipation of assigning land …

This last of the seven churches, Laodicea, is located about 45 miles southeast of Philadelphia and about 90 miles east of Ephesus the city in the first letter. It was a large city specializing in the manufacture of wool and a center for making medicines. Pride and self-satisfaction characterized …

Nearly every verse in this section contains a case proceeded by the word “If.” The principle established in each case is that proper restitution is made whenever someone causes loss of another person’s property. In this ancient setting, there were no banks so personal pr …

Fear gripped the heart of Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, when he heard of Joshua’s destruction of Ai and that the Gibeonites had entered an alliance with Israel (vv. 1-2). He knew that if the advances of Israel’s armies continued without challenge, Jerusalem would soon be surrounded and …

Solomon’s kingdom was unified, secure, strong, and prosperous, with a large population. Solomon’s rule extended over all the kingdoms from the river Euphrates to the border of Egypt (v. 21). His kingdom was strong, secure, and prosperous with a very large population. Ver …

Judah’s forefathers, now dead, grievously disobeyed God and passed on to their descendants the penalty of their transgressions (v. 7). Although the people now are not innocent they do recognize the previous generations’ sins and their effect. Babylon appointed cruel taskmasters w …

In the remaining verses in this chapter sin is set before us in two graphic illustrations: It is likened to an old king who is now defeated (vv. 12-14) and it is likened unto an old king who is now deposed (vv. 15-23). Three words in this chapter summarize the secret of making the principles of …

Pontius Pilate hits on a brilliant idea which he thought would get him out of this no-win situation. He knew that Jesus was innocent, but he was on the hot seat between the Jewish leaders and what he knew to be the prisoner’s innocence. Every year it was customary for him to release …

One day as Jesus was going out to the Temple, which was built on top of Mount Moriah, His disciples commented on how beautiful it was (v. 1). Josephus in his writings tells us how it was built of beautiful white marble stones that were 40 feet long, 12 feet high, and 18 feet …

God makes it clear to the Israelites that the whole generation which came up to Kadesh-Barnea and turned back in unbelief will die (vv. 32-35). Only two men of the old generation will be permitted to enter the promised land. They are Joshua and Caleb (vv. 36-38). They were different …