Latest Commentaries

Job 6:24-30 shows Job’s willingness to learn and repent of sin, if Eliphaz can explain a specific evil Job has done. Job is teachable and humble, but Eliphaz has spoken in platitudes and moral constructs. Eliphaz applies a misguided logic that says God is transactional (just as Satan thinks); that if we do good, God blesses us, but if we suffer, it definitively means we have sinned and deserve our pain until we repent. But Job has not sinned. He asks Eliphaz to tell him what he has done wrong, otherwise his moral argument proves nothing. Job notes that Eliphaz is mistreating him, and asks him to look upon him honestly, and judge whether Job is lying, or that he cannot discern his own unconfessed sin. But there is no sin to confess. Eliphaz’s words only add to Job’s pain.

Job 6:14-23 is a rebuke toward Eliphaz, for chiding Job as though he had sinned and could reverse his misfortune by simply repenting of his sin to God. Job has not sinned. He is not suffering because of any violation of God’s word. That is not what is going on. But Eliphaz has tried to foist shame and guilt upon Job, as though bad things only happen to bad people, and good things to good. Job had hoped Eliphaz and his friends would be kind to him, to encourage him; instead, they are like a dried riverbed where refreshing water was expected. Job notes that he has made no demands of his friends, but only wanted compassionate words. Instead, they act fearfully and make baseless accusations against Job.

Job 6:8-13 shows that Job’s suffering is so great that the wishes God would end his life. It seems God could end his pain if He put Job to death. Instead, Job is alive and suffering terribly. But, incredibly, Job also offers praise to God. He rejoices, though pained, that he still obeys and reveres God and His commandments. He has not sinned. Even so, he feels no hope for himself, as his body is deteriorating and he has no way to help himself or change his circumstances.

Job 6:1-7 begins Job’s response to his friend, Eliphaz. Eliphaz believes that Job is suffering because he has not repented of sin. But Job has not sinned. Job laments his pain, describing it as heavier than all the sand on the seashore. He feels disoriented by his pain. He feels as though he is wounded by many arrows, due to the tragedies God has allowed in his life. He demonstrates that his pain is real, and undeserved. If he had sin to confess, he would. But Job is righteous.

Ephesians 3:8-12 notes that Paul is the least of God’s holy people, probably due to his past as a persecutor of believers. But Paul, least deserving, was given the task by God to preach to Gentiles about Jesus. There is spiritual wealth that can be found in Jesus that we cannot comprehend, and it is offered to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. That God would offer salvation to the whole world was not expected up until now; it is a mystery God has now revealed to the world. The believers in Jesus are showing God’s wisdom even to angels, who know God by sight and not faith, yet our faith instructs them on a deeper level about God and His character. Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s plans to redeem humankind, giving us free and welcomed access to God, to whom we have been reconciled.

Ephesians 3:1-7 describes Paul as a prisoner of Jesus to serve the benefit of the Gentiles, since God appointed him as a steward of God’s favor which has been extended to the whole world through Jesus. Paul’s sole purpose in life is to teach “the mystery of Christ,” which humans in the past did not know about. The mystery has been revealed through living prophets and messengers of God that Gentiles are invited to share in salvation as well as Jews. Jesus paid the price for sin for all, and both Jews and Gentiles can find forgiveness and reconciliation to God through faith in Jesus. The Ephesian readers knew this well, as many of them were Gentiles.

Luke 9:1-5 records Jesus sending out the twelve disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God, giving them power and authority to perform miracles. He provides instructions for the few items that they should bring with them on the journey. Knowing the disciples will encounter some who are welcoming to their message and some who are not, Jesus tells them how to respond in these situations.

Luke 9:22 shows that after being correctly identified by His disciples as the Christ, Jesus discloses a distressing prophecy that He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, then will raise from the dead.

Luke 9:18-21 depicts how Jesus initiates an essential conversation with His disciples. He asks them who the people say He is, and then directs the same question to them personally. Peter confesses Jesus is the Christ of God, acknowledging His divine identity.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand. Jesus miraculously multiplies five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a crowd of over five thousand people. This act echoes God’s provision of manna to the Israelites during the time of Moses.

Luke 9:10-11 marks the disciples’ return to Galilee after completing the mission Jesus gave them—to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. Jesus seeks solitude, retreating with His disciples to the town of Bethsaida. However, crowds, eager to see and hear Jesus, follow them. Rather than turn them away, Jesus welcomes the multitudes, continuing to teach and heal those in need.

Luke 9:7-9 shows that Herod the tetrarch is troubled by the spreading news of the miraculous works being performed by Jesus and the rumors of his identity.

Luke 9:6 records how, after receiving Jesus’s instructions and empowerment to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal, the twelve disciples leave to carry out this mission.

The defeat of Dagon before the ark of God demonstrates that the God of Israel alone holds true authority and power over the nations.

Appearances can be misleading, since some seem wealthy but have nothing and others appear poor yet possess much.

Righteousness protects the upright, while sin undermines and subverts the one who embraces it.

The righteous hate falsehood, but wickedness produces shameful and corrupt behavior.

Laziness leaves desire empty, while diligence leads to satisfaction and abundance.

Guarding the tongue protects life, but careless speech often leads to ruin and regret.

Wise words bear good fruit, while the treacherous are driven by destructive and violent desires.