Latest Commentaries

1 Chronicles 6:1-15 records the priestly line of Israel from Levi through Kohath, Amram, and Aaron, then traces the succession of high priests generation by generation from Eleazar and Phinehas through Zadok to Jehozadak, who went into exile when the LORD carried Judah and Jerusalem away by Nebuchadnezzar.

1 Corinthians 8:7-13 describes how some believers, shaped by years of pagan worship, still feel sinful if they eat meat offered to idols. What we eat neither raises nor lowers anyone's standing before God, so the informed believer gives up nothing by abstaining out of sensitivity for others. But exercising that freedom in front of a weaker believer can pressure him to violate his own convictions and so wreck his walk with the Lord. Damaging a fellow believer this way wrongs Christ Himself. Paul would rather permanently give up his rightful freedom than trip up someone in God's family.

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 establishes the facts both Paul and the Corinthians accept: a pagan image is a lifeless object with no power behind it, and only the single true God is real. The surrounding culture honors a crowd of invented deities, yet none of them actually governs anything. For believers, everything traces to one source––the Father, who made the universe and gives His people their purpose, and Jesus Christ, the agent through whom creation and our own life came.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 responds to the church's question about meat from pagan temple rituals by shifting the ground of the discussion. Being "in the know," Paul cautions, tends to inflate the ego, while genuine care for people strengthens the whole community. Anyone who thinks knowing things for the sake of knowing things is a moral accomplishment is actually lacking in understanding. The person who directs himself toward God is the one God receives into intimate relationship.

Joshua 13:32-33 summarizes the division of the land east of the Jordan River and explains why the tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance.

Joshua 13:29-31 provides a detailed description of the territory Moses allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Joshua 13:24-28 provides a detailed description of the territory Moses allotted to the tribe of Gad on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Joshua 13:15-23 provides a detailed description of the territory Moses allotted to the tribe of Reuben on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Joshua 13:8-14 recalls the description of the territory Moses gave to the two tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Joshua 13:1-7 records how the LORD charges Joshua to take the remaining Canaanite land and divide it among the other nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh, since two and a half tribes already possessed the land east of the Jordan River.

Ephesians 2:19-22 explains that believing Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens, but are now fellow citizens with God's people, members of His household, and part of the spiritual temple God is building in Christ. Paul concludes his discussion of reconciliation by describing the new identity and belonging that believers have through Jesus. Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone, believers are being joined together into a holy temple and dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ezekiel 38:17-23 records the culmination of the prophecy. The LORD will judge Gog with earthquake, sword, pestilence, and fire so that many nations will know He is the LORD. This long-prophesied enemy will wage an enormous assault against Israel, but God's righteous wrath will destroy this host of aggressors. In doing so, God will be shown to be great, to be holy, and all other nations will understand He alone is God. This may be referring to one or more of the final confrontations between Satan and Israel, where God arrives and defeats Satan and rescues His people, making known to the rest of the earth that He is the LORD.

Ezekiel 38:14-16 records how God asks Ezekiel to relay this message to Gog, that Gog will come from the north with his mighty host, covering the land in darkness, in the last days of history. But this is all as God wills. God is waiting for Gog, bringing him and his evil forces to Israel, to show the nations of the earth that He is God. In defeating Gog, all other nations will come to know God.

Ezekiel 38:10-13 describes how this evil plan of attack will enter Gog's mind. He will decide to attack the villages in Israel that do not have walls. He will set his sights on the vulnerable, unprotected people. Israel will be full of Israelites who have returned home and fill up the country, which God calls "the center of the world," and will be living prosperously. And Gog will aim to kill these people and raid all of their resources.

Ezekiel 38:7-9 continues the prophecy about Gog's war against Israel. The LORD warns Gog to prepare all of his resources, and indicates that this war will happen "in the latter years," the last days of history. Gog's forces will approach Israel like a storm casting a shadow over the entire land.

Ezekiel 38:1-6 describe the coming of Gog of Magog. The LORD directs Ezekiel to observe and prophesy against enemy nations, warning them that He is against them. He will draw them toward Israel with their horses, soldiers, and weaponry. A massive coalition of nations will join together and march against a restored Israel.

Mark 15:39: The Centurion's Confession. Standing directly in front of Jesus, a centurion sees the way Jesus breathes His last and declares: "Truly this man was the Son of God!" The centurion’s confession is especially significant in Mark's Gospel because a Roman soldier recognizes the identity of Jesus as the Son of God after witnessing how He faithfully suffers and dies.

Mark 15:38: The Temple Veil is Torn in Two. A supernatural sign immediately follows Jesus's death. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, signifying that Jesus's sacrificial death had removed the barrier separating sinful humanity from holy God. Mark briefly records this powerful sign, while Matthew provides an expanded account of additional supernatural phenomena that accompanied Jesus's death.

Mark 15:37: Jesus Dies on the Cross. After suffering on the cross for approximately six hours, Jesus utters a loud cry and breathes His last. Jesus's death fulfills Old Testament prophecy, completes His mission as God's Servant, and makes the Gospel possible.

Mark 15:35-36: The Bystanders Mistake Jesus's Cry for a Call to Elijah. Some of the bystanders misunderstand Jesus's anguished cry to God and mistakenly think He is calling for the prophet Elijah. Someone runs to give Jesus sour wine from a sponge placed on a reed, while the bystanders wait to see whether Elijah will come to take Jesus down from the cross.