8:13 "A curse" – Deut 28:37; Jer 24:9; be seen in those things too. Compare Hos

8:13 "A curse" – Deut 28:37; Jer 24:9; be seen in those things too. Compare Hos

ZECHARIAH 8:13 1242

its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the sky will give its dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah, and house of Israel, so you will be a blessing, for I will save you. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

happen that people and the inhabitants of many cities will come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, 'Let us go quickly to pray in the LORD's presence, and to seek the LORD of hosts. I also will go.' 22 Yes, many people and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray in the LORD's presence.

23 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days it will come about that ten men from every language of the nations will take hold of the sleeve of a Jew, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"

14 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: Just as I decided to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the LORD of hosts, and I did not relent, 15 so again I have decided in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Every one of you must speak the truth to his neighbour. Administer justice in truth and peace in your gates. 17 And let none of you plot evil in your hearts against his neighbour. And do not love any false oath. For all these are things that I hate, says the LORD."

The burden of the word of the LORD

is against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus, its resting place

(for the eyes of men, as of all

the tribes of Israel will be on the LORD); 2 And against Hamath which is on its border,

and against Tyre and Sidon,

though they are very wise, 3 And Tyre built a stronghold for herself,

18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth month will be times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts to the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.

and heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the mire of the streets.

4 "See, the Lord will cast her out

and he will strike her power in the sea; and she will be consumed by fire. 5 Ashkelon will see it, and be afraid.

20 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: It will yet

"Joy and gladness" – the future will be so bright that the sad things of the past will be forgotten, or else God's goodness will be seen in those things too. Compare Hos 2:15; Isa 61:3. "Therefore" – Rom 12:1; Eph 4:1. "Love truth" – Ps 51:6. This is an extremely important command. By nature people do not do this. They prefer lies which please them to truth which does not. Compare Rom 1:18,25; 2 Thess 2:10. 8:20-23 See 2:11; 14:16; Isa 2:1-4; 11:10,12; 14:1; 19:23-25; 55:5; 56:6,7. This happens after God makes Israel a "blessing" (v 13). The knowledge that God is with the Jews will cause people of other nations to seek Him. 9:1 "Burden" – or "oracle" – note at Isa 13:1. Hadrach is a region north of Damascus in Syria. Damascus is the capital of Syria. 9:2 Hamath was an important city in Syria. Zechariah is saying that the word of the Lord is against the whole country of Syria, that God will judge and punish it. Compare Isa 17:1,3; Jer 49:23-27; Amos 1:3-5. "Tyre and Sidon" – see Isa 23:1-18; Jer 25:22; Ezekiel chapters 26-28; Joel 3:48; Amos 1:9,10. 9:3 "Stronghold" – Isa 23:4. "Gold" – Ezek 28:4,5. 9:4 Isa 23:1; Ezek 26:3-5. 9:5,6 The cities mentioned here were all in the land of the Philistines along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Israel.

28:11,12. "To possess" – Isa 58:14; 60:21; Obad 17. 8:13 "A curse" – Deut 28:37; Jer 24:9; 25:18. "Blessing" – vs 20-23; Gen 12:1-3. To have God's blessing is good; having it to be a blessing to others is even better. Notice God says this of the whole nation, Judah and Israel combined.

"Strong" – compare Deut 31:6; 1:6,7; 23:6; Ps 27:14; Eph 6:10. 8:14,15 "I decided" – if God purposes to bring disaster on an individual or a nation nothing can stop it. And if He purposes to do good to them no one can stop that either (Eph 1:11; Rom 11:36; Dan 4:35; Ps 115:3). 8:16,17 Since God purposed to bless them and make them a blessing they had a responsibility to live according to God's instructions.

"Speak the truth" – this is something God commands all through the Bible and is of the utmost importance (Ex 20:16; Ps 15:2; Eph 4:25; Col 3:19).

"Gates" – where town elders met to discuss and make decisions.

"Things that I hate" – Prov 6:16-19; Isa 29:20,21; Ps 52:3-5; Rev 21:8. 8:18,19 "Fourth" – in remembrance of the event in 2 Kings 25:3,4.

"Fifth, seventh" – 7:3,5. "Tenth" – 2 Kings 25:1.

1243 ZECHARIAH 9:16

Gaza also will see it, and writhe in

and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the

anguish, and Ekron too; for her expectation will be put to shame, and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will become uninhabited. 6 And a mixed race will dwell in Ashdod,

ends of the earth. 11 And as for you, because of the blood of your covenant I will release your

prisoners from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Today I declare that I will restore

and I will cut off the pride of the

Philistines. 7 And I will take the blood out of his mouth,

double to you, 13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion,

and his abominations from between

his teeth. But he who remains, will be for our God, and he will be like a leader in Judah,

and Ekron like a Jebusite. 8 And I will camp around my house

against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a mighty man."

because of an army, because of him who comes and goes back. And no longer will an oppressor pass

14 And the LORD will be seen over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning, and the Lord God will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds from the south. 15 The LORD of hosts will defend them, and they will destroy and subdue

through them any more, for now have I seen with my eyes.

9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you. He is just and has salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey,

with sling stones. And they will drink, and roar as

from wine; and they will be filled with blood like bowls, and like the corners of the altar. 16 And the LORD their God will save them in that day as the flock of his

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be removed. And he will speak peace to the nations,

people; for they will be like the stones of a crown,

9:11 "Blood of your covenant" – Ex 24:3-8; Matt 26:28; Jer 31:31-34.

For other prophecies about the Philistines see Isa 14:28-32; Jer 47:1-7; Ezek 25:1517; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph 2:4-7. 9:6 "I" – God. 9:7 "Blood" and "abominations" speak of sacrifices offered to idols. Philistia would come to an end as a nation and its survivors would be absorbed among the people of Judah. This had happened to the Jebusites, the people who lived in Jerusalem at the time of David (2 Sam 5:6-10). 9:8 "I will camp around" – v 15; 2:5; Ps 125:1,2. "No longer" – Amos 9:14,15; Joel 3:20,21. 9:9 Several hundred years later these words were literally fulfilled. See Matt 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-38; John 12: 12-16. "Daughter" – 2 Kings 19:21; Ps 9:14; Isa 1:8.

"Your" – He is speaking to the people of Judah.

"Prisoners" – Isa 42:7; 51:14; 61:1; Ps 68:6; 146:7. Though this probably refers to the people of Israel exiled among the nations, it has a spiritual application now (Luke 4:18,21). 9:12 "Stronghold" – Jerusalem or God Himself in Jerusalem (Joel 3:16).

"Prisoners of hope" – captives in other lands but hoping God will restore them to Israel.

"Double" – Isa 61:7. 9:13 "Ephraim" – represents the northern kingdom of Israel (Isa 7:2; Hos 4:17; etc). God will be like a warrior. Judah will be His bow and Israel His arrow. This speaks of the future uniting of those two kingdoms. See Isa 11:12-14; Jer 3:18; 31:27; Ezek 37:15-23; Hos 1:11. "Greece" – may here represent Gentile nations in general, just as Ephraim represents all the tribes of the northern kingdom. 9:14,15 God Himself will come and fight on the side of the people of Israel and protect them from their enemies. Compare 12:29; 14:3; Joel 3:16. 9:16 "In that day" – may mean the day of the Lord (Isa 2:12; 13:6; Joel 1:15; 2:31,32).

"Shout" – Matt 21:9; Luke 19:37. "King" – Isa 9:6,7; Matt 2:2; 25:34; John 18:37; Rev 19:16.

"Just" – John 18:38; 19:4,6; Acts 3:14; Heb 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22; 3:18.

"Salvation" – Luke 1:69,77; Acts 4:12; 13:47; 16:31; Rom 1:16; 10:9,10. 9:10 Verse 9 refers to the first coming of the Lord Jesus. This verse refers to His second coming. Compare Isa 2:4; 9:5-7; 11:1-10; Hos 2:18; Ps 72:8-11.

"Stones of a crown" – jewels in a crown –

ZECHARIAH 9:17 1244

lifted up like a banner over his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men cheerful,

is with them, and the riders on horses will be put to shame.

6 "And I will strengthen the house of Judah,

and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back, for I will have mercy on them,

and new wine the maids.

Ask the LORD for rain at the time of the latter rain; so the LORD will make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, and grass in the field for everyone. 2 For the idols speak falsehood,

and they will be as though I had

not rejected them; for I am the LORD their God,

and will hear them. 7 And Ephraim's people will be like mighty men,

and their heart will rejoice as if with wine; yes, their children will see it, and be glad. Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. 8 I will whistle for them,

and the diviners see a lie,

and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people go their way like sheep;

and gather them, for I have redeemed them. And they will be as numerous as they

in trouble, because there is

no shepherd. 3 "My anger burns against the shepherds,

were before. 9 Though I scatter them among the people,

and I will punish the goats; for the LORD of hosts will visit his

they will remember me in far countries, and they will live, along with their

flock the house of Judah, and make them like his majestic horse

children, and will return. 10 And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria, and I will bring them into the land of

in battle. 4 From him will come the cornerstone,

from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together. 5 And they will be like mighty men,

Gilead and Lebanon, and enough room will not be found for them.

who trample down their enemies in

the mire of the streets in the battle; and they will fight, because the LORD

11 "And he will pass through the sea of trouble,

a symbol of beauty and glory. Compare Isa 6:3; 62:3. 9:17 A picture of the peace and prosperity that Israel will enjoy. Compare Isa 62:812; Jer 31:11-14; Hos 2:21-23; Joel 2:18,19,24-27. 10:1 "LORD" – Jehovah God, the God of Israel, is the only God there is. All nature is in His control and He sends rain or withholds it as He wills – Lev 26:4; 1 Kings 8:36; 17:1; Ps 135:6,7; Amos 4:7,8; Acts 14:17. 10:2 Neither idols nor the gods behind them can send rain or any other blessing – Ps 115:4-8. "The idols speak" – idols cannot literally speak, but false prophets can speak in the name of an idol or false god. And it is all deception.

"Cornerstone" – Isa 28:16; Eph 2:20. "Nail" – Isa 22:23,24. "Bow" – 9:13; Ps 7:12; 45:5. "Ruler" – Gen 49:10; Rev 5:5. 10:5 12:6-9. 10:6 "Joseph" – the father of Ephraim here represents the whole of the northern kingdom of Israel – 9:13; Amos 5:6,15; 6:6.

"Bring them back" – Ezek 36:24-28. "Mercy" – Ex 34:6; Ps 103:13,14; Lam 3:22,23. "Hear them" – Deut 4:29-31; Isa 30:19; 65:24. 10:7 "Ephraim's people" – 9:13. "Rejoice" – Isa 60:4,5; Joel 2:23. 10:8-10 "Redeemed" – note at Ps 78:35. "I scatter them" – they had already been scattered by Assyrians and Babylonians and some had returned to the land of Israel. So this must speak of a scattering and regathering after that. For the scattering see Luke 21:20-24. For the regathering see Isa 11:11,12; Ezek 37:21-28; Amos 9:14,15. "Remember me" – Ezek 6:9; Deut 4:30. "Enough room will not be found" – 2:4; Isa 49:19,20. 10:10 "Assyria" – note at 2 Kings 15:19. 10:11"Sea of trouble" – compare Isa 44:2-7.

"Diviners" – Isa 44:25; Jer 27:9,10. Such people try to get guidance and information from the spirit world by the use of omens or contact with an unseen spirit. God forbids this. See Deut 18:9-14.

"Dreams" – Jer 14:14; 23:16,25-32. "No shepherd" – Jer 23:1-4; Matt 9:36. 10:3 Jer 25:34-38; Ezek 34:1-16. "LORD of hosts" – note at 1 Sam 1:3. "Battle" – 12:8. 10:4 "From him" – from Judah – Gen 49:10; Jer 30:21; Mic 5:2.

"Dry up" – compare Isa 11:15; 19:5-8;

1245 ZECHARIAH 11:15

and will strike the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Euphrates

will hand over each one of them to his neighbour, and to the his king; and they will attack the land, and I will not deliver them out of their hand."

River will dry up. And the pride of Assyria will be

7 So I fed the flock designated for slaughter, especially the poor of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs. One I called Favour, and the other I called Union, and I fed the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also hated me.

brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt will depart. 12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD, and they will walk up and down in his

name," says the LORD.

9 Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let the dying die, and let what is to be cut off be cut off, and let all the rest eat each other's flesh."

Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. 2 Wail, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen,

10 And I took my staff called Favour, and cut it in two, to break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken on that day. And so the poor of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the dense

forest has come down. 3 There is a sound of the wailing of the

shepherds, for their glory is ruined; a sound of the roaring of young lions,

12 And I said to them, "If you think it is good, give me my pay; but if not, withhold it." So they weighed out as my pay thirty pieces of silver.

for the pride of Jordan is ruined.

13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which they priced me!" And I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

4 Thus says the LORD my God: "Feed the flock designated for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them, and consider themselves not guilty, and those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD! For I am rich!' and their own shepherds take no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity for the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD, but, see, I

14 Then I cut my other staff, called Union, in two, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the LORD said to me, "Take again for

51:10. "Pride of Assyria" – Zeph 2:13-15; Isa 2:12-18. "Sceptre of Egypt" – Egypt will lose its sovereignty and power. 10:12 "Will walk" – Micah 4:5; Isa 26:8; Ezek 36:27,28. 11:1-3 This seems to indicate an army invading Israel from the north – from Lebanon through Bashan east of the Jordan and then into the region of the Jordan – destroying as they come. This is in great contrast with the preceding chapter, but vs 4-17 give the reason for it. The people of Israel were going to reject their coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and would be punished for it. See Matt 24:1,2; Luke 19:41-44; 21:23,24. 11:4 "Slaughter" – the "flock" is the people of Israel (Ps 77:20; Jer 10:21; 13:17; Ezek 34:2). The words here indicate great destruction. 11:5 "Those who buy them" – foreigners who lead them away captive.

"Favour" – God's favor toward Israel. The Hebrew word could also be translated "grace" or, possibly, "beauty."

"Union" – indicating the unity of the people of Judah and Israel (v 14; compare Ezek 37:15-28). 11:8 "Hated me" – compare Isa 53:3; John 1:11; 15:24; 19:15. 11:9 This speaks of God's judgment on a stubborn rebellious people who would not listen to Him. Compare Luke 19:41-44. 11:10,11 "Covenant" – the meaning of this is not clear, but it may refer to the old covenant God made at Mt Sinai with Israel for the benefit of the world. Christ revoked this covenant and established a new one – Matt 26:28. 11:12 "Give me my pay. . .withhold it" – Zechariah, as a type or picture of Christ, refused to continue to be their shepherd. Compare Matt 23:38,39.

"Thirty pieces of silver" – in Israel this was the value of a slave (Ex 21:32). This is the value the Jewish leaders put on Christ. See Matt 26:14,15. 11:13 "Potter" – see Matt 27:3-10. "Magnificent price" – irony mingled with sadness. 11:14 "Cut. . .in two" – signifies the breaking up of the nation Israel after their rejection of Christ. 11:15-17 Because Israel rejected Christ the good Shepherd, God in judgment will see to it that they get a very bad

"Those who sell" – their leaders. "Blessed be the LORD" – see the twisted nature of their minds. They do evil and thank God for the seemingly good result. We still see such perverted thinking today. 11:6 "Land" – the land of Israel. 11:7 "I" – Zechariah. In the verses which follow he represents the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of Israel. What Zechariah does and says is a prophecy of coming events.

ZECHARIAH 11:16 1246

on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the nations with blindness. 5 And the leaders of Judah will say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.'

yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, see, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those cut off, or search for the young, or heal the broken, or feed the one standing. But he will eat the flesh of the fat ones, and tear their hooves in pieces.

6 "In that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire pot in a woodpile and like a fiery torch among the sheaves, and they will consume all the surrounding peoples, on the right and on the left, while Jerusalem is again inhabited in her own place, in Jerusalem.

17 "Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will strike at his arm,

and at his right eye. His arm will be completely withered,

7 "The LORD will also save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. 9 And this will happen in that day: I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 "And I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication. And they will look on me whom they have pierced, and will mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will weep bitterly for

and his right eye will be totally blinded."

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel: The LORD speaks, he who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him: 2 "See, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, when they besiege both Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples. All who try to lift it will be cut in pieces, when all the peoples of the earth are gathered together around it. 4 In that day, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with confusion, and his rider with madness. And I will keep watchful eyes

shepherd. Israel has had many worthless shepherds. But since the Lord here speaks of only one this one may be the final "worthless shepherd", the coming antichrist, or his helper. See John 5:43; 2 Thess 2:3,4; Revelation chapter 13. In contrast with the good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11-15) the coming worthless shepherd will try to tear life from the sheep. But God will judge and punish him in due course – v 17. 12:1 "Burden" – 9:1. The one who gave this revelation, and in it declares things to come, is the great Creator of the universe and the Maker of man – Gen 1:1; 2:7; Ps 104:1-5; 139:13-16; Isa 42:5. He is well able to do what He says He will do. 12:2 "Cup" – this word in the Bible sometimes signifies God's judgment or a preparation for judgment. See Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15; 49:12; 51:7; etc. The Lord is saying that He will use Jerusalem as a means of gathering the nations of the world and judging them. Compare 14:2,3; Joel 3:9-16; Rev 16:12-14. 12:3 "In that day" – this phrase is used very often in this and the next two chapters and binds these three chapters together and points them to a time still future – vs 4,6,8,9,11; 13:1,2,4; 14:4,6,8,9,13, 20,21. Various nations from time to time have besieged and conquered Jerusalem. But this verse has not yet been fulfilled. All the nations have not yet surrounded Jerusalem and that city has not been like an immovable rock. For example, in 70 AD the

Romans besieged it and completely destroyed it. 12:4 God Himself will fight for Israel against the enemies coming to destroy it.

"Horse" – see Ezek 39:3 and notes there. 12:5 The Jewish leaders in that day will at last realize that their strength is not in themselves or their weapons of war. This may mark the beginning of their turning back to God. 12:6 "Woodpile", "sheaves" – Israel's surrounding enemies. 12:7 "Tents of Judah" – the people living in the country outside of Jerusalem. "House of David" – the rulers in Jerusalem. 12:8 "Like David" – 1 Sam 17:50; 18:7. "Like God" – God will be with them so that their strength will be His irresistible strength (v 5).

"Angel of the LORD" – note at Gen 16:7. "Before them" – compare Ex 14:19; 23:20. 12:9 1:21; 14:3; Isa 29:5-8. 12:10-13 It seems quite clear from the Scriptures that Israel as a nation will repent of its age-long rejection of Christ and wholeheartedly turn to God. See Isa 59:20,21; Jer 23:5-8; 31:31-34; 32:3740; Ezek 20:40-44; 37:21-28; Dan 12:1; Hos 3:4,5; 14:1-4. See also notes on Rom 11:25-29; Rev 7:3-8. 12:10 "Spirit" – some think this means here a mind to repent and turn to Christ. Much more likely, it means the Holy Spirit. Compare Joel 2:28-32.

1247 ZECHARIAH 13:8

him, as one weeps bitterly for his firstborn. 11 In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land will mourn, each family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 of all the remaining families each family apart, and their wives apart.

speaking lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and his mother who gave him birth will pierce him through when he prophesies.

4 "And in that day it will happen that every one of the prophets will be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; nor will they wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive. 5 But he will say, 'I am no prophet. I am a farmer. For from my youth a man taught me to keep cattle.' 6 And someone will say to him, 'What are these wounds in your hands?' Then he will answer, 'The wounds I received in the house of my friends.'

"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is my

companion, says the LORD of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will

2 "And it will come about on that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. And I will also cause the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness to depart from the land. 3 And it will come about that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who begot him will say to him, 'You shall not live, for you are

be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the

little ones. 8 And this will take place throughout the land, says the LORD: Two-thirds in it will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it.

"Me" – Jehovah God is speaking. "Me whom they have pierced" – the Lord Jesus (Ps 22:16; Isa 53:5; John 19:34,37). In other words, Jesus is the incarnation of Jehovah. See also Gen 16:7; Ex 3:14; Ps 23:1; 24:7-10; 96:10-13; Isa 6:1; note at Luke 2;11.

they will turn back to Him and receive the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice for sin (12:10; Rom 11:25-27). Then they will wash in that fountain God has provided. 13:2,3 "Idols" – anything that Israel puts in the place of God (compare Eph 5:5). Some in Israel in the last days will worship the "beast" of Revelation chapter 13 and his image (Rev 13:8,15). After that God will abolish all idolatry in Israel forever. "Prophets" – the Lord Himself will come (13:3,9,16), so there will be no further need of prophets. God will abolish this office altogether, and it will be plain that anyone who claims to be a prophet will be lying (v 3; 1 Cor 13:8-10). "Pierce him through" – Deut 18:20. False prophets will then no longer be permitted in Israel. 13:4-6 False prophets, or those who think they are prophets, will try to hide the fact. Verse 6 is obscure. If it is joined with vs 4,5 the person here seems to be the prophet of vs 4,5 who is ashamed to say so; but if it is separated from those verses and joined with v 7 it could refer to Christ. 13:7 See Matt 26:31. The shepherd is the Lord Jesus. The sheep were His disciples. The sword was God's judgment against sin and the punishment for it Jesus bore in our place – Isa 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18. But the words "I will turn my hand against" and vs 8,9 indicate that the nation of Israel as a whole is also in view. A partial fulfillment in the case of Christ's disciples does not exhaust the full meaning of this verse. 13:8,9 These verses probably refer to the end of this age. Compare 14:2,3. In the future there will be a time of terrible trouble for Israel – Dan 12:1; Matt 24:15-22; Jer

In this verse the Trinity clearly appears – My "Spirit" is the Holy Spirit; "I" means God the Father; "Him" means the Son of God, the Messiah. Notes on Trinity at Matt 3:16,17; etc. "Mourn. . .weep" – at last their proud and stubborn hearts will be broken and they will weep for their great sin of rejecting their Messiah and Savior Jesus Christ. 12:11 "In that day" – v 3. "Megiddon" – perhaps a reference to the death of king Josiah on Megiddo's plain. See 2 Chron 35:22-25. 12:12-14 "Land" – the land of Israel. "Family" – the clans mentioned here are from the tribes of Israel. "David" represents the ruling family (Nathan was a son of David – 2 Sam 5:14). "Levi" represents the priests (Shimei was the grandson of Levi – Num 3:17,18). Does not the mention of these clans or families signify that the Lord is speaking about literal tribes of Israel and no one else? 13:1 "On that day" – 12:3. "For uncleanness" – 3:9; Ezek 36:2429; Heb 9:14; 1 John 1:7,9. The basis of their future cleansing is the sacrifice of Christ made two thousand years ago. That "fountain" is open now for anyone who wishes to wash in it. But Israel in general has always rejected that sacrifice. Opening the fountain to them seems to mean that God will work in that nation in such a way that

ZECHARIAH 13:9 1248

9 And I will bring that third through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name,

the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley in my mountains, for the valley in the mountains will reach to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. And the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.

and I will hear them. I will say, 'This is my people,' and they will say,

'The LORD is my God.'

6 And it will happen on that day that no light will appear, the splendour will grow dark. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day, nor night. But at evening this will take place: it will become light.

"See, the day of the LORD is coming, and your plunder will be divided in your midst. 2 "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished. And half of the city will go into captivity, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city."

8 And this will happen on that day: Living waters will go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. This will occur in summer and in winter.

9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. In that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only one.

3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought on the day of battle. 4 And on that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will split in its centre from east to west, and a very great valley will form, and half of the mountain will move toward

10 The whole land will be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be raised up and inhabited in her place, from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of

of verse 5 may also be translated "My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah".

30:7. But God will bring a remnant through that trouble and they will be a redeemed people in the land of Israel.

"Fire" – Isa 4:4; 43:1,2. "Silver" – Ps 12:6; 66:10-12; Dan 11:35; Mal 3:2,3. "I will hear them" – 12:10; 10:6. "My God" – Jer 30:22; 31:33. 14:1 "Day of the LORD" – verses 4, 6, 8, 9; Isa 13:6,9; Joel 1:15; 2:31; 1 Thess 5:2.

"The LORD my God" – Jesus, the incarnation of Jehovah, will come. See Rev 19:11-16. Compare Isa 29:6-8; 66:15,16. "Holy ones" – may refer to either angels or to saved human beings or to both (Matt 25:31; 1 Thess 3:13; 4:14; Jude 14; Rev 19:14). 14:6 "No light" – compare Isa 13:10; Amos 5:18. 14:7 At the end of this age there will be strange things happening both on earth and in the heavens – things difficult for us to understand now (Joel 2:30,31; Rev 6:1214; 8:12; 16:8-10). 14:8 Compare Ezek 47:1-12. "Eastern sea" – the Dead Sea. "The western sea" – the Mediterranean. 14:9 "The LORD will be king" – this points to the future. In a sense, of course, He is now king over the whole earth – Ps 47:2; Rev 1:5. But His rule is hidden and most of earth's peoples reject it and do not have a mind to obey Him. A great change will occur when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. See Isa 11:1-9; Matt 19:28; 1 Cor 15:24,25; Rev 11:15; 19:15; 20:4-6.

"Your midst" – refers either to the land of Israel (13:8) or Jerusalem. 14:2,3 "I" – God Himself is speaking. "Will gather" – compare Ezek 38:4. "All nations" – v 12; 12:3; Rev 16:12-14. "To battle" – this is not a description of what happened when the Romans captured Jerusalem in 70 AD. Half the people then were not left in the city, and the Lord did not go out and fight against the Roman armies. Instead He permitted them to be completely victorious and destroy the city. The fulfillment of these verses is still in the future.

"Day of battle" – for example, Ex 14:14; 23:31; Isa 37:33-37. 14:4 This also did not happen when the Romans captured Jerusalem, or at any other time up to the present. The Mount of Olives is still in one piece to this day.

"On that day" – v 1; 12:3. "His feet" – the feet of Jehovah God (v 3), the Lord Jesus.

"LORD" – Jehovah the one true God. 14:10 There will be great changes in the topography of the land of Israel (also v 4). Geba was a village about 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem; Rimmon was nearly 60 kms south. From Geba to Rimmon is the area containing the hills of Judea, but it will become flat country.

"Faces Jerusalem on the east" – Ezek 11:23; Matt 21:1; 24:3; 26:30. From there Jesus left earth and ascended to heaven – Acts 1:9-12. To the same mountain Jesus will return at the end of this age. 14:5 "You" – those then living in Jerusalem.

"Raised up" – when the area around Jerusalem sinks and becomes a plain,

"Azal" – a place not now known. "Earthquake" – Amos 1:1. The first part

1249 ZECHARIAH 14:21

the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses. 11 And people will live in it, and never again will there be destruction there ; but Jerusalem will be inhabited in safety.

up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And there will be no rain on those, whoever they may be of all the families of the earth, who will not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not set out and come, they will have no rain. They will have the plague with which the LORD will strike the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt, and the punishment for all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

12 And this is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot away while they are standing on their feet, and their eyes will decay in their sockets, and their tongue will decay in their mouth. 13 And this will happen on that day: A great panic from the LORD will occur among them, and each of them will seize the hand of his neighbour, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbour. 14 And Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together, gold and silver and clothing, in great abundance. 15 And the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and on all the animals that will be in those camps, will be like that plague.

20 In that day there will be engraved on the bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And the pots in the LORD's house will be like the sacred bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and take them and cook in them. And in that day there will no longer be the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

16 And it will come about that everyone left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem will go

Jerusalem itself will rise to a higher elevation. Verses like these seem to point clearly to changed conditions in the present earth when Christ returns and begins His reign, and not to a completely new earth and heaven and His eternal reign. 14:11 "Inhabited in safety" – 2:4,5; Ps 48:8; Jer 31:40; Ezek 48:35. 14:12 "Fought against Jerusalem" – v 2; 12:3. The plague God will send is a punishment for their crimes against Him and His people. The "rot" that will come to them will be very sudden – they will still be on their feet when it strikes. 14:13 Compare Jud 7:22. 14:14 "Judah" – 12:6-8. "Wealth. . .will be gathered" – compare Isa 18:7; 60:5-11; 61:6. 14:15 "Horse" – 12:4. 14:16 "Worship" – Ps 86:9; Isa 2:2,3; Zeph 2:11; 3:9; Hab 2:14. They will "go up" to Jerusalem.

Israel the one true God. 14:17-19 The language seems to indicate conditions on earth which are less than perfect. See notes on Isa 65:18-25. It does not seem possible that verses like these can refer to the new heaven and earth and Christ's eternal reign. However, they would fit into Christ's millennial reign when He will rule the nations with "an iron sceptre" (Ps 2:9; Rev 19:15). 14:20,21 Everything in Israel will be fully dedicated to the Lord and set apart for Him. See note on "holy" at Lev 20:7. At last the people of Israel will become what God always wanted them to be (Ex 19:6; Lev 11:45). "Sacrifice" – see notes on Isa 60:7; Ezek 40:38-43; 45:13-17. "Canaanite" – the original inhabitants of Canaan were a depraved people. See Deut 7:1-6; 18:9-12; Lev 18:24-30. Often in the history of Israel people in the temple – priests, Levites and people – were as bad as the Canaanites had been (Isa 1:1017; Ezek 8:6-18). When Christ reigns on earth things will be entirely different – Isa 35:8; Ezek 43:7; 44:9. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

"LORD of hosts" – note at 1 Sam 1:3. "Feast of Tabernacles" – see Lev 23:3336 and notes. This was the last of the Jewish festivals. It speaks both of the final gathering of Israel and the gathering of the nations of the world to worship the God of

MALACHI

Author:

According to tradition Malachi was a Levite and a member of the synagogue called "The Great Synagogue".

Date:

Probably sometime about 430 BC, while Nehemiah was still the leader of the people in Jerusalem.

Themes:

The evil ways of the people; the coming of John the Baptist, Elijah and Christ; the Day of the LORD.

Contents:

The Jews questioned God's love .................................................................... 1:1,2 God's judgment on Edom ............................................................................... 1:3-5 The disrespectful way the Jews acted toward God ........................................... 1:6-9 The Jews unholy worship .............................................................................. 1:10-14 The unfaithfulness of the Jews toward God..................................................... 2:1-9 Profaning the covenant and temple of God ..................................................... 2:10-12 The unfaithfulness of the people in the matter

of marriage........................................................................................... 2:13-16 The people's words brought grief to God ......................................................... 2:17 The coming of John the Baptist and Christ,

and their work ...................................................................................... 3:1-4 God's justice will be at work, an appeal to

turn back to God ................................................................................... 3:5-7 The people robbed God, and paid the penalty ................................................. 3:8-12 Arrogance revealed in the words of the people................................................ 3:13-15 God heard the words of those who feared Him ................................................ 3:16-18 The Day of the LORD ................................................................................... 4:1-3 The coming of Elijah before the Day of the LORD ............................................. 4:4-6

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The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. 2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say,

LORD will be exalted beyond the borders of Israel.'

6 "A son honours his father, and a servant his master. Then, if I am a father, where is my honour? And if I am a master, where is my respect? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise my name.

'How have you loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 and I have hated Esau, and laid waste his mountains and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness."

"And you say, 'How have we despised your name?'

7 "You offer defiled food on my altar, and you say, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying, 'The table of the LORD is contemptible.' 8 And when you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to your governor! Would he be pleased with you, or accept you favourably? says the LORD of hosts.

4 Though Edom says, "We have been beaten down, but we will return and build the desolate places", thus says the LORD of hosts:

"They will build, but I will tear down; and they will be called, The Wicked Territory, and The People With Whom The LORD Will Be Angry Forever. 5 And your eyes will see it, and you will say, 'The

1:1 "Burden" – note at Isa 13:1. "Through Malachi" – Heb 1:1; 2 Pet 1:21. The name Malachi means "My messenger." 1:2 "Loved you" – Deut 4:37; 7:7,8; 1 Kings 10:9; Ps 44:3; Jer 31:3. Compare Rom 5:8; 1 John 4:8-10.

the people of Esau by forcing them from their land. See what other prophets have to say about Esau (Edom) – Isa 34:5-15; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15. 1:4 "We will return and build" – pride, selfconfidence, and ignorance of God's will.

"Yet you say" – vs 6,7; 2:14,17; 3:7,8,13. In unbelief the people questioned everything God said to them through His messenger. This is always the way of fallen, sinful humanity.

"LORD of hosts" – note at 1 Sam 1:3. "I will tear down" – Isa 34:11; Jer 49:16. "The Wicked Territory" – evidently Esau's descendants were particularly wicked people – reason enough for God's hatred.

"How" – God had shown His love for Israel in innumerable ways, but they refused to see it. They were just like people of our own day.

"Angry" – Num 25:3; Ps 90:7-11; John 3:36; Rom 1:18. 1:5 "You" – the people of Israel. Were some of them doubting that God was a great King over all the earth (Ps 47:2)? God's actions would prove that He is. 1:6 From this verse to 2:9 God rebukes the priests in Israel.

"Esau" – Gen 25:24-26. "Loved Jacob" – Rom 9:13. Jacob here also means the nation of Israel (Gen 32:28). 1:3 The behavior of Esau's descendants toward God, and toward His people Israel, made them worthy of God's loathing. See Amos 1:11; Obadiah; etc.

"Father. . .master" – Ex 20:12; Lev 20:9; Isa 1:2,3; 63:16; 64:8.

"Hated" – compare Ps 5:5,6; Lev 26:30; Prov 3:32; 11:20; 16:5. Esau here also means the nation called Edom. God loves all men – John 3:16; 1 John 4:8. That is, He desires the highest spiritual good of every person. He has compassion and pity for the whole world. If anyone, whoever he may be (including any Edomite), will repent of his sins and turn to God He will save him and make him His own dear child (John 1:12,13; Rev 22:17). But when people will not do this His anger rests on them – John 3:36; Rom 1:18, and He will hate their ways and their nature, and will judge and punish them for their sins. "Hate" in the Bible sometimes means to "love less." John 3:16 and John 3:36 are both true. This does not mean that His anger is less real or His punishment of sin is less terrible. Compare Luke 14:26; Matt 10:37. The Bible reveals that in Old Testament days God had a special love for the nation Israel, and that He now has a special love for believers in Christ. Believers have a special family relationship with God and God loves them as a Father (John 14:21; 17:6; 1 John 3:1,2).

"Priests" – note at Ex 28:1. "Despise" – Lev 22:9; Num 14:11; 16:30; 1 Sam 2:17; Prov 14:31; Hos 12:14; Rom 2:4. People show their real attitude toward God not just by what they may say but by their attitude toward His Word, by what they do and do not do. 1:7,8 "Defiled" – the offerings they brought were contrary to God's Word (Deut 15:21), so they were unholy. See notes on offerings at Lev 1:2. Why did they bring blind, crippled or diseased animals? They wanted to keep the best for themselves and give to God the worst. This is how they showed contempt for Him. Many people today do likewise – but still want God's blessings and grumble if they don't receive them.

"Food" – Lev 3:11,16; 21:6,8. God does not get hungry and He needs nothing from men's hands – Ps 50:9-14; Acts 17:24,25. But as food satisfies our bodies so do the holy offerings of His people given in love satisfy God's heart.

"Governor" – they would not even dream of acting toward human beings whom they considered important as they acted toward God. Note and references on giving at 2 Cor 9:15.

"Jackals" – God showed His "hatred" for

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9 "'And now beg God to be gracious to us,' you say. With such offerings from you will he accept you favourably? says the LORD of hosts.

"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.

10 "Who is there among you who will shut the temple doors so that you do not kindle fire in vain on my altar! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the place of the rising of the sun to the place of its going down my name will be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense and a pure offering will be offered to my name; for my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

3 "See, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and you will be taken away with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with Levi, says the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear me. And he did fear me and showed reverence toward my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from sin.

12 "But you profane it, by saying, 'The table of the LORD is defiled, and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.' 13 You also say, 'See, how tiresome!' And you sniff at it, says the LORD of hosts. And you bring what is torn, and the lame, and the sick. This is the way you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand? says the LORD. 14 But cursed be the deceiver, who has a male in his flock, and vows to give it, then sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations.

7 "For the priest's lips should preserve knowledge, and the people should seek the law from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. 8 But you have departed from the way. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. 9 Therefore I have also caused

1:9,10 "Accept you" – Jer 6:20; 14:10,12; Amos 5:22-24; 1 Pet 2:5.

pronounced on the people (Num 6:23-27), or both. If God turns what we think are our blessings into curses how terrible our condition! And if God did this then does He not do it now when conditions demand it? 2:3 "Rebuke your offspring" – this could be translated "spoil your seed grain" (the same Hebrew word means both offspring and seed grain. See note at Ps 14:6,7.

"Shut the temple doors" – worship that is not in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24) is worse than no worship at all. Far better to close any place of so-called worship where God is dishonored than for people to deceive themselves there with meaningless ceremonies. Compare Isa 1:11-17. 1:11 Ps 47:7; 113:3; Isa 19:21; 24:15,16; 56:6,7; 60:6,7; Zeph 2:11. "Gentiles" – peoples other than Jews. 1:12,13 God will be great among the nations of earth but His own people treated Him as if He were a nobody. To them His worship was tiresome and useless, and worthy of contempt (vs 7,8). They were not the last to think and act so. 1:14 Did these worshipers expect a blessing from God? God Himself pronounces a curse on them. Compare Deut 27:15-26; Gal 3:10; Heb 6:8. "Deceiver" – by not giving God what was due to Him, by refusing Him their best, they were trying to deceive Him, cheating Him. The same principle applies today. The Lord Jesus wants our best, not our worst.

"Spread refuse on your faces" – signifies disgrace. Compare Nahum 3:8. 2:4,5 "Covenant. . .with Levi" – Num 3:1113; Neh 13:29. Priests were of the tribe of Levi.

"Covenant. . .peace" – Num 25:10-13. 2:6,7 God describes what a priest should be and what some had been.

"He walked with me" – compare Gen 5:22; 6:9; 17:1; Amos 3:3. "From sin" – Acts 26:18; Jam 5:19,20. "Messenger" – someone whom God raised up to teach people the truth. In this New Testament era all believers in Christ are priests and should be the kind of people described here. See Heb 10:19-22; 1 Pet 2:5,9; Rev 1:6. 2:8 "The way" – the way God revealed. "To stumble" – surely one of the worst sins priests and teachers can commit. Compare Matt 23:13-15; Luke 11:52. 2:9 They had treated God with contempt; so He made them appear contemptible to the people. Compare Ps 18:25,26; Gal 6:7.

"King" – Ps 47:1-9. "Feared" – notes at Gen 20:11; Ps 34:11-14; 111:10; Prov 1:7. 2:2 "Take it to heart" – Prov 4:23. "Give glory" – 1:6; Matt 15:7-9; John 5:23. "Curse your blessings" – this could mean either the privileges and advantages the priests had, or the blessings they

"Partiality" – see Lev 19:15; Deut 10:15; Prov 24:23; 1 Tim 5:21; Jam 2:1,9.

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you to be despised and abased before all the people, because you have not kept my ways, but have shown partiality in the law."

15 And did he not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. Therefore keep watch over your spirit, and let no one act treacherously against the wife of his youth.

10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why does each of us act treacherously against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce; for it is like covering violence with one's garment, says the LORD of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not act treacherously.

11 Judah has acted treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD which the LORD loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 The LORD will cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the master and the scholar, though he brings an offering to the LORD of hosts.

17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, "How have we wearied him ?" When you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them"; or, "Where is the God of justice?"

13 And you have also done this: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and wailing because he no longer regards the offering, or receives it with pleasure from your hand. 14 Yet you say, "Why?" Because the LORD is a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have acted treacherously, though she is your companion, and your wife by covenant.

"See, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in. See, he is coming," says the LORD of hosts.

2 "But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like a washerman's soap. 3 And

2:10 "Father" – 1:6; Isa 43:1. Breaking faith, lying or practicing deceit were the same as breaking the covenant God gave them through Moses (Ex 19:5). 2:11 "Which the LORD loves" – Ps 87:2. The Lord loved the sanctuary because it was in the midst of His people whom He loved. See note at Ex 25:8. "Daughter of a foreign god" – means a woman of one of the idolatrous peoples around Israel. See Ezra 9:1,2. God forbade His people to do this – Ex 34:15,16; Deut 7:3,4. Compare 2 Cor 6:14-18. 2:12 Intermarriage with unbelievers was an abomination and the prophet wanted God to show them that by taking severe action against the guilty. See also Ezra 9:1,2; Neh 13:23-27; 2 Cor 6:14. "Tents of Jacob" – the Jews. "Brings an offering" – they who do detestable things sometimes bring offerings to God. Vileness and a certain kind of religion sometimes go hand in hand. But see Prov 15:8. 2:13 Because they did not repent and obey His Word, God was not pleased with their tears. They vainly thought they could get God's blessings by their offerings and tears even though they trampled God's law underfoot. See what God wants in Isa 1:1619; 2 Cor 7:10,11. 2:14 As long as they were unfaithful to their wives, or guilty of other evils, their weeping and wailing came to nothing. 2:15 "One" – Gen 2:24. "He was seeking godly offspring" – faithfulness in the family relationship will increase the possibility of godly offspring growing up in it. Divorce makes it less likely

that there will be godly offspring.

"Keep watch over" – Prov 4:23; Luke 12:15; 1 Cor 16:13; 1 Tim 6:20. 2:16 "He hates divorce" – Matt 5:31,32; 19:4-9. If Christians ignore this statement, it will be at their own peril. And it is a very shameful thing that many of them do ignore it and do as they please about the matter of divorce. But it is surely both foolish and sinful to do something God hates. 2:17 "Wearied. . .with your words" – what people (even His own people) sometimes say is hard for God to endure.

"Delights in them", "Where. . .justice?" – seemingly those people were ignorant of the most basic matters. Compare Ps 5:4; Ezek 18:25. 3:1 "My messenger" – compare Isa 40:3; Matt 3:1-3; 11:10,14. John the Baptist was this first messenger. He appeared before Christ began His ministry. The nation of Israel did not receive him. Before Christ comes the second time a second messenger, Elijah, will appear (4:5). Mal 3:1-6 may possibly refer to either Christ's first or second coming. Indeed some features of these verses may refer to both comings. As in some other prophecies of the Old Testament there may be a spiritual application to the Church of this era and a literal fulfillment at the end of this age. See note on Isa 60:1-22.

"Messenger of the covenant" – the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare Isa 42:6; Jer 31:31-34. 3:2 The language here suggests judgment rather than grace. Compare 4:1-5; Isa 2:10-18; Joel 2:11; Rev 6:15-17. "Refiner's fire" – Isa 1:25; Zech 13:8,9. 3:3 "Purifier of silver" – Ps 66:10-12; Dan

MALACHI 3:4 1254

he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

"But you say, 'How shall we return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me.

"But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you, this whole nation, have robbed me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this, says the LORD of hosts: See if I will not open the windows of heaven for you, and pour you out such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 And for your sakes, I will rebuke that which devours, and it will not destroy the produce of your ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its fruit before time, says the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the LORD of hosts.

5 "And I will come near you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against perjurers, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who turn aside the foreigner from his right, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

6 "For I am the LORD. I do not change. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. 7 Even from the days of your fathers you have gone astray from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.

13 "Your words have been harsh against me,

12:10. This is a process that has gone on throughout this age of grace and is still going on. But the Lord is doing this work in His believers, the priests of this New Testament era, not in the Levites of Israel. His purification of the Levites still awaits the future – Jer 33:18-22; Ezek 40:46; 44:1016; 45:5; 48:11-13. "Offering in righteousness" – this is what the Lord wants in every era. Compare Rom 12:1,2; Heb 13:15,16; 1 Pet 2:5. 3:4 This seems to mean Judah and Jerusalem as a whole. This was not fulfilled at Christ's first coming. Compare Matt 23:37-39. 3:5 "Judgment" – v 2. The Lord Jesus did not come the first time to judge the world – John 12:47. At His second coming He will be a judge – Acts 17:31; 2 Tim 4:1.

did this in the matter of tithes and offerings. See Lev 27:30; Num 18:21,24. Tithing is not a command given to Christians now. Believers are not under the law but under grace – Rom 6:14. So God appeals to us to give on the basis of grace – 2 Cor 8:12; 9:6,7. But surely grace and love working in our hearts will not teach us to give less than Jews under the law (1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 8:1-4). A tenth is the very least believers should give to God and His work. They should recognize that they and all they have belong to the Lord – 1 Cor 6:19,20, and give accordingly. Notes on giving at 2 Cor 9:15.

"Curse" – see 2:2. All breakers of God's law were under a curse (Deut 27:26; Jam 2:10), and they had broken God's law. 3:10 "Storehouse" – rooms by the temple for storing grain, etc (Neh 13:12). This is not an instruction to Christians now to give all their offerings to one church or denomination. In Christ there is freedom to give toward His work anywhere.

"Sorcerers" – Deut 18:9-13; Gal 5:19-21. "Adulterers" – Ex 20:14; Heb 13:4. "Perjurers" – Ex 20:16; Lev 19:12; Rev 21:8. "Oppress the wage earner. . .turn aside the foreigner" – Lev 19:13; Jam 5:4; Ex 22:21,22; Deut 24:19; Isa 1:17; Ezek 22:7; Amos 2:6,7. "Do not fear me" – Jer 2:19; 5:22; Rom 3:18. 3:6 "Change" – Heb 13:8; Jam 1:17. "Consumed" – Israel had been unfaithful to God and deserved to be destroyed. The reason God did not destroy them was that He had made promises to them which He determined to keep and had plans for them which He would not change. Compare Rom 11:29. 3:7 "Return to me" – Isa 44:22; Jer 3:12,14,22; 4:1; Hos 14:1; Joel 2:12,13; Zech 1:3; Jam 4:8. "How" – 1:2,7. 3:8,9 In 1:14 God called some of them "deceivers". Now He calls all of them robbers. They had robbed God by keeping for themselves what belonged to Him. They

"Test me" – we must not test God in unbelief (Ex 17:2; Deut 6:16; Ps 78:18,41,56; 106:14; 1 Cor 10:9). God here speaks of a different kind of test. He tells Israel to believe His promise, obey Him, and see what the results would be. He has given us all a similar promise – Luke 6:38. God loves to bless believing, obedient, generous people. If we have none of these qualities we have no right to expect His blessings.

"LORD of hosts" – note at 1 Sam 1:3. He is well able to arrange all matters and all events for the good of His faithful people. 3:11 God has many ways of blessing His people. All nature is completely in His control. 3:12 Isa 61:8,9; 62:4; Hos 2:21,22; 4:5-7. 3:13 "What have we spoken" – they resisted everything God said about them instead of confessing and repenting.

1255 MALACHI 4:6

says the LORD.

"For, see, the day is coming that will burn like

"Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against you?'

a furnace; and all the arrogant, yes, and all evildoers, will be like stubble, and the day that is coming will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts. It will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. And you will go out, and grow up like calves in the stall. 3 And you will trample down the wicked. For they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, says the LORD of hosts.

14 "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God,' and 'what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? 15 So now we call the arrogant blessed. Yes, the evildoers are established. Yes, those who test God escape.'"

16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke often with one another, and the LORD listened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written in his presence for those who feared the LORD, and who thought about his name.

4 "Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, along with its statutes and judgments.

5 "See, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

17 "And they will be mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 Then you will again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve him.

Luke 1:78,79. The righteousness of the Lord Jesus is as bright and shining as the sun.

3:14 "Vain to serve" – could a more harsh thing be said to God by His people? It is the same as denying that He is good and loving and that He rewards faithful service. Even good people can fall into this wrong way of thinking and speaking. Compare Ps 73:2,3,13,14,22. See 1 Cor 15:58. 3:15 Job 21:7-15; Ps 73:3-12. Men make mistakes like this in their thinking because of ignorance of God's coming judgment. 3:16 "Feared the LORD" – Gen 20:11; Ps 34:11-14; 111:10; Prov 1:7. "Heard" – 2:17; Ps 19:14; 94:9; 139:4; Matt 12:35-37. "Book" – Ex 32:32; Ps 56:8; 97:6; Rev 20:12. 3:17 "Mine" – Isa 43:21; John 6:37; 17:6; 1 Cor 6:19. They showed they belonged to the Lord by the way they talked with each other and the Lord will publicly confirm it.

"Healing" – His second coming will mean complete healing to those God has chosen (Isa 32:1-4; 35:5,6; Jer 30:17; Rom 8:21-23; 1 Cor 15:52,53. "Wings" – the Hebrew word also means "edges", "ends" or "extremities". When the Sun of righteousness rises healing will come to those even at the furthest reach of His rays. 4:3 Ps 148:6-9; Zech 12:6-9. The wicked will not always have the upper hand in this world. 4:4 "Remember" – Deut 4:9-14; 8:11; Ps 119:52; Isa 64:5.

"Moses my servant" – Ex 14:31; Deut 34:5; Heb 3:5. "Horeb" is Mt Sinai where God gave His law – Exodus chapters 19,20. 4:5 "Elijah" – Matt 17:11. Compare Rev 11:3-12. Apparently this coming of Elijah is just before "the day of the LORD" which is still in the future (1 Thess 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10). If so, "Elijah" here cannot refer to the coming of John the Baptist which was in the past. 4:6 "He will turn the heart" – John the Baptist was partially successful in this (Luke 1:16,17), but only partially. Israel as a whole rejected the Lord Jesus. In the future the nation will repent and receive Him – Zech 12:10-14; Rom 11:25-29. "Curse" – the Old Testament ends with a reference to the law of Moses (v 4) and the threat of a curse coming on the land of Israel and on the earth. The New Testament (and the whole Bible) ends with a promise of the coming of the Lord Jesus and a reference to His grace which removes the curse and restores all things (Rev 22:20,21).

"Jewels" – or "treasured possession" – Ex 19:5; Deut 7:6; Ps 135:4; 149:4. Of everything in the world, God treasures most His redeemed people who trust and serve Him.

"Spare them" – when He rises to judge the world. 3:18 The time of judgment will make this distinction clear. Compare Matt 25:31-46; John 12:26. Observe that the righteous serve God, the wicked do not. So we can see what God thinks of a person's character by what he is doing or not doing. Then is a person who has no desire to serve God, no matter how moral and ethical he may be in many matters, actually wicked in God's sight? 4:1 "The day" – the day of the Lord (v 5; Isa 13:6,9; Joel 1:15; 1 Thess 5:2.

"Burn" – Isa 1:31; 24:6; 66:15,16; 2 Thess 1:7,8. 4:2 "Fear my name" – 3:16. "Sun of righteousness" – Isa 60:1,19;

The Gospel According to

MATTHEW

Author:

Matthew was one of the original disciples of Jesus Christ. His other name was Levi and he was a tax collector when Jesus called him into His service. See Matt 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32. He himself does not tell us that he wrote this Gospel, but that has been the firm belief of Christians from the first century onwards. When thinking of the authorship of any of the books of the Bible we should keep in mind that God Himself is the real author of them all, making use of human instruments whom He prepared in every way to write just what He wanted them to write. See 2 Tim 3:16,17; 2 Pet 1:21. Often the human authors did not identify themselves. Their object was not to point men to themselves but to the one true God who inspired them. Each of them would have agreed with the writer of psalm 115 when he said “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory” (Psalm 115:1).

Date:

Some years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, about the middle of the first century A.D. The exact year is unknown.

Theme:

Matthew, writing of the birth and life, teachings and deeds, death and resurrection of Jesus, presents Him as God’s Anointed One who had been promised in the Old Testament, as the great King who brings in God’s kingdom. In this Gospel there are about 60 references to Old Testament prophecy, and about 40 actual quotations from the Old Testament. Some key words, used many times, are “king”, “the kingdom of God”, and “fulfilled.”

Contents:

The King’s genealogy .................................................................................... 1:1-17 The King is born of a virgin ............................................................................ 1:18-25 The King is visited by the wise men ................................................................. 2:1-12 The King in Egypt and Nazareth ..................................................................... 2:13-23 The King’s coming announced by John the Baptist ............................................ 3:1-12 The King is baptized and hears a voice from heaven ......................................... 3:13-17 The King is tested in the wilderness ................................................................ 4:1-11 The King begins His public ministry .................................................................. 4:12-25 The King gives the Sermon on the Mount ........................................................ 5:1-7:29 The beatitudes ............................................................................................ 5:3-12 Instruction about various subjects ................................................................. 5:13 - 6:4 The King teaches us how to pray ................................................................... 6:5-13 The King tells us how to live ........................................................................... 6:14-7:11 He gives further instruction on prayer ............................................................ 7:7-11 The King gives “the golden rule” ..................................................................... 7:12 The King speaks of broad and narrow ways..................................................... 7:13-27 The King proves His power and authority by miracles........................................ 8:1-9:8 He heals a leper ........................................................................................... 8:2-4 He heals the a Roman officer’s servant ........................................................... 8:5-13 He heals Peter’s mother-in-law ...................................................................... 8:14,15 He drives out demons ................................................................................... 8:16,17 He gives qualifications for discipleship ............................................................. 8:18-22

MATTHEW 2

He causes a storm to cease ........................................................................... 8:23-27 He heals two demon-possessed men .............................................................. 8:28-34 He heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sin ................................................. 9:1-8 The King calls Matthew to be a disciple ............................................................ 9:9-13 The King speaks of Himself and of John the Baptist .......................................... 9:14-17 The King raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead,

and heals a woman with an issue of blood ................................................. 9:18-26 The King gives sight to blind men.................................................................... 9:27-31 The King chooses apostles, gives them work to do

and teaches them how to behave ............................................................. 10:1-42 The King speaks of Himself and John the Baptist .............................................. 11:2-19 The King pronounces judgment on certain cities ............................................... 11:20-24 The King reveals Himself as the Son of God ..................................................... 11:27 The King promises rest to disciples ................................................................. 11:28,29 The King performs various miracles and meets

with hatred and opposition ...................................................................... 12:1-45 The unpardonable sin ................................................................................... 12:32 The King speaks of His mother, brothers and sisters ......................................... 12:46-50 The King teaches parables about God’s kingdom .............................................. 13:1-54 The King meets with unbelief and rejection in His own town of Nazareth .......................................................................... 13:55-58 The King, king Herod, and John the Baptist ..................................................... 14:1-12 The King feeds five thousand ........................................................................ 14:13-21 The King walks on water ............................................................................... 14:22-33 The King meets further opposition from leaders ............................................... 15:1-15 The King teaches what makes people unclean .................................................. 15:16-20 The King heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter ................................................ 15:21-28 The King feeds four thousand ........................................................................ 15:29-38 The King warns His disciples about Jewish leaders ............................................ 16:1-12 The King reveals who He is and what would

happen to Him ........................................................................................ 16:13-23 The King speaks of discipleship ...................................................................... 16:24-28 The King is transfigured ................................................................................ 17:1-8 The King speaks of Elijah and John the Baptist ................................................. 17:9-13 The King heals a boy and teaches about prayer

and driving out demons ........................................................................... 17:14-21 The King teaches about taxes ....................................................................... 17:24-27 The King and children ................................................................................... 18:1-14 The King instructs His disciples about His Church .............................................. 18:15-20 The King teaches about forgiveness and gives

the parable of the unforgiving servant ...................................................... 18:21-35 The King teaches about marriage and divorce.................................................. 19:3-12 The King and the rich young ruler ................................................................... 19:16-22 The King speaks of rewards for His disciples .................................................... 19:23-30 The King gives the parable of the workers

in the vineyard ....................................................................................... 20:1-16 The King again speaks of His death and resurrection ........................................ 20:17-19 The King teaches about true greatness, and tells

why He came to earth ............................................................................. 20:20-28 The King heals blind men in Jericho ................................................................. 20:29-34 The King rides into Jerusalem on a donkey ...................................................... 21:1-11 The King drives merchants from the temple ..................................................... 21:12,13 The King curses the barren fig tree ................................................................ 21:17-22 The King meets with further opposition from leaders ........................................ 21:23-27 The King gives the parable of the two sons

and the parable of the vineyard ............................................................... 21:28-46

3 MATTHEW

The King gives the parable of the wedding feast .............................................. 22:1-14 The King and the questions of the Jewish leaders ............................................ 22:15-46 The King condemns the ways of the Jewish leaders .......................................... 23:1-36 The King weeps over Jerusalem ..................................................................... 23:37-39 The King reveals the future ........................................................................... 24:1-51 Signs of the end of the age ........................................................................... 24:3-14 The abomination of desolation ....................................................................... 24:15-22 Possibilities of deception ............................................................................... 24:23-28 The second coming of the King ...................................................................... 24:29-44 Being ready for His coming ............................................................................ 24:45-51 The King gives the parable of the ten virgins ................................................... 25:1-13 The King gives the parable of the talents ........................................................ 25:14-30 The King speaks of His second coming

and the judgment of the nations .............................................................. 25:31-46 The King is anointed by a woman ................................................................... 26:6-13 The King’s last Passover................................................................................ 26:17-35 The New Covenant ...................................................................................... 26:26-29 The King in the Garden of Gethsemane ........................................................... 26:36-46 The King is arrested ..................................................................................... 26:47-56 The King before the high priest ...................................................................... 26:57-75 The King denied by Peter .............................................................................. 26:69-75 The King before the Roman governor Pilate..................................................... 27:1-26 The King is handed over to be crucified

and is mocked by the Roman soldiers ........................................................ 27:27-32 The King on the cross suffers, speaks and dies ................................................ 27:33-56 The King is buried ......................................................................................... 27:57-66 The King rises from the dead ......................................................................... 28:1-7 The King appears to His believers and instructs

His disciples ........................................................................................... 28:8-20

MATTHEW 1:1 4

1 Amon begot Josiah; 11 And Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time the Jews were carried away to Babylon.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begot Isaac; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers; 3 And Judas begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and Perez begot Hezron; and Hezron begot Ram; 4 And Ram begot Amminadab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon; and Nahshon begot Salmon; 5 And Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed by Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse

12 And after the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel;and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel; 13 And Zerubbabel begot Abiud; and Abiud begot Eliakim; and Eliakim begot Azor; 14 And Azor begot Zadok; and Zadok begot Akim; and Akim begot Eliud; 15 And Eliud begot Eleazar; and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob; 16 And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

6 And Jesse begot David the king; and David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; 7 And Solomon begot Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begot Abijah; and Abijah begot Asa; 8 And Asa begot Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begot Joram; and Joram begot Uzziah; 9 And Uzziah begot Jotham; and Jotham begot Ahaz; and Ahaz begot Hezekiah; 10 And Hezekiah begot Manasseh; and Manasseh begot Amon; and

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this:

1:1 The name “Jesus”, like the Hebrew name Joshua, means “the LORD (Jehovah) saves.” The word “Christ” is from the Greek language and means “anointed one.” Its meaning is the same as “Messiah” taken from the Hebrew. One great purpose Matthew had in writing this Gospel was to show that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.

(both of whom were of nations other than Israel), reveal something of God’s wonderful grace and mercy toward sinful people. They were both transformed by God’s grace and were brought into the family line of the Messiah. 1:6 “David” – 1 Sam 16:1; 17:12. “Solomon” – 2 Sam 12:24. “Wife” – Bathsheba. The story of David and Bathsheba (found in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12) teaches us again of God’s great grace in overcoming human depravity and sinfulness. 1:8 “Uzziah” – his father was Amaziah. Joram (Jehoram) was his great-greatgrandfather. In the Bible the words “begot” and “father” (like the word “son”) are used to express a variety of relationships, such as grandfather and forefather. Here it means ancestor. 1:11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin).

The Messiah was to be anointed by God – that is, set apart and consecrated by God, to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament. He was to be prophet, king, and priest (Deut 18:15; 2 Sam 7:11; Ps 2:2-9; 89:2729; 110:1,4; Isa 7:14; 9:6,7; 11:1-9; 52:13-53:12; Zech 6:12,13). According to the Old Testament the Messiah had to be a descendant of Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, and of David, Israel’s greatest king. To show that this was true of the Lord Jesus, Matthew gives this genealogy. Genealogies were a matter of public record and could be checked by any Jew who wished to do so.

“Babylon” – 2 Kings chapters 24 and 25. 1:16 Notice Matthew’s careful use of language here. Mary was the mother of Jesus, but Joseph was not His father, except in the legal sense. The rest of the chapter makes this clear. It was enough for Matthew to show that in the legal sense Jesus was David’s descendant. Luke’s purpose in his genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) may have been to show that Jesus was a physical descendant of David through Mary. 1:17 “Exile to Babylon” – see 2 Chronicles chapter 36. Matthew left out some names from this genealogy – kings Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah and Jehoiakim. It was not necessary to list all the names in the ancestral line of the Lord Jesus to show that He was descended from David and Abraham. Matthew divided this genealogy into a series of fourteens, possibly for ease of memorizing. Such divisions of names for such a purpose was no new thing among the Jews. 1:18 “Betrothed” – engagement to be married was very binding in Israel. After

As used in the Bible the word “son” may indicate a variety of relationships. Sometimes, of course, it means a literal son, but it may also mean a grandson, or a disciple, or a person much loved, or a descendant. Here it means that Jesus as to His human nature was descended from David who lived a thousand years before Him, and from Abraham who lived nearly two thousand years before Him. 1:2 “Isaac” – Gen 21:3,12. “Jacob” – Gen 25:26. “Brothers” – Gen 29:35. The Messiah was to come through the line of Judah (Gen 49:10; Ps 89:27-29. David was a descendant of Judah). So Matthew passes over the other sons of Jacob. 1:3 “Tamar” – Gen 38:27-30. “Ram” – 1 Chron 2:9,10. 1:5 “Rahab” – Josh 2:1-21; 6:25. “Ruth” – Ruth 4:13-22. The stories of Rahab, a Canaanite, and Ruth, a Moabitess

5 MATTHEW 2:1

After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and unwilling to make her a public example, intended to release her from her vows, secretly.

the prophet, saying,

23 See, the virgin will be with child, and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,

which is, being translated, “God with us.”

20 But while he was thinking about these things, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins.”

24 Then Joseph, after he was aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took her as his wife. 25 But he did not know her until she had given birth to her firstborn son. And he called his name JESUS.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, suddenly wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

22 Now all this took place so there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken by the Lord through

engagement the man and woman did not live together until after the actual marriage ceremony, but engagement legally bound them together and they were even called “husband” and “wife.”

“kurios” is used in two ways. It is used to translate the word Jehovah, a name for God found in the Old Testament more than 6,000 times (see note at Ex 3:14,15). It is also the ordinary Greek word for Lord or master or owner or one in authority. See also the note at Luke 2:11. 1:21 “JESUS” – v 1. The Lord Jesus came to save sinful men, not to destroy them (Luke 19:10; John 3:17). He came to release them from the penalty and power of their sins and to bring them into a state of eternal righteousness, blessedness, peace and joy in God’s presence (Luke 4:18,19; Acts 26:18). This is what salvation is. He saves people from their sins, not in their sins. His people are all those who receive Him by faith as Lord and Savior (John 1:12,13), all those whom God has given to Him (John 6:37; 17:6). 1:22 Much of the New Testament records events which were a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. This in a strong reason to believe in the full divine inspiration of the Bible. For a list of some of these prophecies see the back of this Bible. Notice that God Himself spoke through the prophets. See 2:15; 4:4; 15:4; 22:43,44; Acts 1;16; 4:25; 28:25; Heb 1:1,5,8,10,13; 3:7; 4:3,7; 5:5,6; 7:21; 8:8; 10:5,15; 13;5. See also 2 Pet 1:21; 2 Tim 3:16. 1:23 “Emmanuel” – Isa 7:14. Matthew quotes from the Old Testament nearly 50 times to prove that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus were firmly rooted in Old Testament prophecy. The life of Jesus on earth was the life of Immanuel, God incarnate, revealing God’s nature and works in all their beauty and glory (John 1:1,14,18; Col 2:9; Heb 1:3). 1:24 Joseph showed he was a righteous man (v 19) by his immediate obedience to God’s command. Indeed, there is no true righteousness that does not result in obedience to the true and living God. 2:1 Bethlehem was a small town about 8 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It was the home town of king David, and is referred to many times in the Old Testament (Gen 35:19; Ruth 1:19; 1 Sam 16:4; Micah 5:2). For Jesus to be born there Mary and

“Holy Spirit” – Jesus was the Son of God. Joseph was His legal father, but God was His real father. That is, His human nature was produced in Mary by the creative power of the invisible Spirit of God (v 20; Luke 1:35). This does not mean that God came to Mary in some physical form, some kind of incarnation. This was not necessary and it did not happen. The Lord Jesus had a divine nature and a sinless human nature joined together in one personality. He was both fully God and fully man.

Notes and other references on the Holy Spirit at 3:11,16; Gen 1:2; Luke 1:15,35; 4:1; 11:13; John 1;33; 7:39; 14:16,17,26; 16:7,8; 20:22; Acts 1:5,8; 2:4,38; 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:14; Eph 5:18. 1:19 “Righteous” – the Greek word here means “just, honorable and fair in one’s dealings with others, and upright and pious in one’s attitude toward God and God’s Word.” Joseph believed Mary was guilty of adultery and felt he had to divorce her. But he wanted to treat her with compassion because he was a good man and doubtless still felt affection for Mary. In the case of Mary we can learn that those who do the will of God may be misunderstood, falsely accused, and brought into danger. The penalty for adultery under the law of Israel was death (Deut 22:23,24). 1:20 Note on angels at Gen 16:7. The Greek word translated “angel” means “messenger.” Here it indicates a spirit being from heaven.

“Suddenly” – the Greek word here is the word for “see” and is translated “behold” in the KJV. Speakers and writers of modern English do not use “behold” except occasionally in the phrase “lo and behold.” In Greek it was used to call attention to what follows and need not be translated literally. Sometimes we have put the word in the past tense, sometimes used the word “suddenly,” etc. See also the note at Gen 1:29.

“Lord” – this is a translation of the Greek word “kurios.” In the Greek New Testament

MATTHEW 2:2 6

2 saying, ”Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 And they said to him, ”In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it has been written by the prophet:

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, found out from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search carefully for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again, so that I too may come and worship him.”

9 When they had heard the king, they went away, and now the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced, with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they came into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and prostrated themselves and worshipped him. And

6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of you a Ruler will come who will shepherd my people Israel.”

behaves like this. It is also reasonable to believe that God convinced these magi by His Spirit that this heavenly body was somehow connected with the birth of Christ. See note at v 12.

Joseph had to travel from Nazareth (Luke 2:4), about 120 kilometers north of Bethlehem.

“Herod” – there are several Herods mentioned in the New Testament. They were all related to each other and all descended from this Herod, sometimes called Herod the Great. He was not a Jew but an Edomite (Edomites were descended from Esau. See Gen 25:25,30). He was appointed king of Judea by the emperor of Rome.

The magi did not come merely to see Christ, or to satisfy their curiosity, or to engage in philosophical discussion about Him. They came to bow lowly before Him, to honor and adore Him. 2:3 God had revealed a truth to the far-off magi which the king and people in Jerusalem, 8 kilometers from Bethlehem, did not know. The fact that they were alarmed instead of happy to hear this good news reveals their depraved spiritual condition. They were not ready for the coming of the Messiah, God’s “anointed one.” 2:4 Note on priests at Ex 28:1. The chief priests were in charge of the temple worship and were the religious leaders of the Jews.

“Wise men” – or “magi,” the name given by Persians and Babylonians to a religious and priestly class of people which included astrologers and astronomers, interpreters of signs, and such like. They were regarded as wise men with special secret knowledge. The minds of the best of them were a mixture of knowledge and superstition. Here is the first time after Jesus came to earth that people of another nation and religion recognized His greatness and came to worship Him. They were the first of a great multitude to come.

“Scribes” – these were scholars who interpreted the law of Moses to the people. 2:5,6 This wonderful prophecy, giving the exact place of Christ’s birth about 700 years before the event, is found in Micah 5:2. Observe that these religious leaders and scholars knew that the Messiah would come and knew the place of His birth. But they made no effort, it seems, to find Him or to honor and worship Him. It is not what men know which makes them acceptable to God. The state of their hearts with their motives and desires is all-important. 2:8 Herod’s purpose was evil (vs 13,16). But he, like many people since then, used a cloak of seeming piety to hide the wickedness of his heart. 2:9 “Stood” – no star or planet on its own could stop in the sky over a place, as this one did. This was a special work of God. 2:11 The Lord Jesus was no longer in the stable where He had been born (Luke 2:7). Many months may have passed since His birth. Observe whom they worshiped – not Mary the mother of Jesus, but the Lord Jesus Himself. And they brought their gifts to Him, not to her.

Christ’s Gospel is for all men. He is the Saviour of all who trust in Him, regardless of nationality and background (28:19; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:46,47; John 3:16). 2:2 It is evident that these magi had some knowledge of the Old Testament and its promises of a coming King who would be the Saviour of His people (Isa 9:6,7; etc). This knowledge was probably gained by contact with Jews who lived in various countries of western Asia after the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BC. See the books of Esther and Daniel. The magi could have calculated the general time of Christ’s birth from the prophecy in Dan 9:25-27 (which had been given to Daniel in Babylon).

We are not told what kind of “star” the magi saw or how they came to believe it announced the birth of Christ. The author of these notes believes that it was a heavenly body or other light in the sky specially created or given by God for this occasion. Its movement is evidence for this. It went due west, then due south for a few miles, and then stopped over a single house in Bethlehem, evidently low enough in the sky to indicate that particular house and not any other. No ordinary star or planet

“Worshipped” – the fact that God brought these men to worship Christ, and recorded it for our instruction in His Word, tells us

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opening their treasures, they presented gifts to him: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they went away to their own country by another way.

18 “In Ramah a voice was heard, lamentation, weeping, and great

mourning, Rachel weeping for her children,

and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

13 And when they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up, take the young child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will look for the young child to destroy him.”

19 But when Herod was dead, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”

14 When he got up, he took the young child and his mother at night and left for Egypt. 15 And he was there until the death of Herod, so that there might be a fulfilment of what was spoken about the Lord by the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

21 And he got up and took the young child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and lived in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He will be called a Nazarene.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent men out, and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all of its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had found out accurately from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and

that Christ is God – only God is worthy of worship (see 4:10). And God often commanded that men should worship no one but Himself (Ex 20:2-5). See other references which show that Christ is God at Phil 2:6 and Luke 2:11. 2:12 “Dream” – Gen 15:12,13; 20:3; Num 12:6; Dan 7:1; Acts 2:17. Since God revealed truth to these men after their arrival in Bethlehem, it is not unreasonable to think He did the same before they started on their journey there. 2:13 “Lord” – note at 1:20. “To destroy him” – King Herod did not want any rivals to the throne, and the wise men had spoken of the king of the Jews (v 2). Herod was the kind of man who would kill his own sons if he thought they were a threat to his power. Behind Herod’s evil intention stood Satan, the great enemy of God and man, trying to destroy the Messiah and so prevent Him from bringing salvation to men. But God knows how to work out His purposes and He infallibly does so (Isa 46:9,10; Rom 11:33-36). 2:15 Again we see that it was God Himself who spoke through the Old Testament prophets (1:22). See note at Hosea 11:1. 2:16 This verse suggests that Jesus may have been many months old when the magi came. To make sure of killing Him Herod thought it necessary to kill all male babies up to the age of two. 2:18 Note at Jer 31:15. 2:23 Nazareth was the town of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39). It was a small and insignificant town (John 1:45,46). A Nazarene was a person of Nazareth, so the name came to mean a person who was considered a

nobody. Calling Jesus a Nazarene fulfilled the meaning of the prophets who revealed that Christ would be despised by men. See Ps 22:6; Isa 53:3. Some scholars connect the name “Nazarene” with the Hebrew word “netzer”, which means “Branch.” This was one of the names of the Messiah (Isa 11;1; etc). There is no connection between the words Nazarene and Nazirite. See note at Num 6:7,8. 3:1 Matthew passes over nearly thirty years of Christ’s life and begins to write of the time when He was about to begin His ministry. Other references to John the Baptist – 11:214; 14:1-12; Mark 1:2-8; 6:14-29; Luke 1:5-25,57-80; 3:15-18; 7:18-23; John 1:6-8,15-35; 3:22-36; 5:33-35. The wilderness or desert of Judea was an area east of Jerusalem and Bethlehem running down to the Jordan river and the Dead Sea. 3:2 “Repent” and “repentance” are very important words in the Bible. Noun and verb together are used more than 70 times. Repentance means a complete change of mind and heart which produces a change in behavior. As John and the Lord Jesus and His disciples used the word it means to turn to God from wrong thinking and wrong doing and accept God’s Word and God’s will as the rule of life. True Biblical repentance results in sorrow for sins committed and a desire to be free from all sin. For those who have been rejecting Christ it means to turn to Him and receive Him as Lord and Saviour.

Repentance is linked with that true faith which receives salvation. A person without repentance is without true faith and so without salvation. See Luke 13:3; 24:47; Acts

MATTHEW 3:3 8

Judea, and the whole region around Jordan, went out to him, 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’ For I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 And even now the axe is

saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying,

The voice of one crying out in the

wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord.

Make his paths straight.

4 And John himself had his cloak of camel’s hair, and a leather belt around his waist. And his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all

17:30,31. The person who is not willing to turn from all his sins – especially the sin of not trusting in Christ and putting others or other things above him – will not know salvation from his sins. John preached repentance because the people of Israel were sunk in sin and unbelief and were not ready to receive the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Their condition was like that described in Isa 1:4; etc. For other notes on repentance see v 8; Luke 13:2,3; Acts 2:38; 17:30. “Kingdom of heaven” – see 4:17. “Near” – because the King of heaven (the Lord Jesus) was about to appear and begin His ministry. John was referring to a new and greater manifestation of God’s kingdom than was known in Old Testament days. 3:3 This quotation is from Isa 40:3 and speaks of John’s ministry of preparation for Christ.

usually seen in opposition to the Lord Jesus.

“Sadducees” – another powerful sect among the Jews. In theology they were liberal, denying truth plainly taught in the Old Testament. See Acts 23:8. They were mostly from the priestly class and were in charge of temple worship in Jesus’ day, but their minds were more taken up with the things of this world than the things of God. The origin of the name “Sadduccee” is unknown.

“Vipers” – God had given John great insight into the character of these people. They were the religious leaders of Israel, but in John’s eyes (and God’s eyes) they were like poisonous snakes, injecting their venom into the life of the nation. Compare 12:34; 23:33; Ps 58:4; 140:3; Rom 3:13. The Bible reveals that sometimes the very worst of people rise to the highest place in religious leadership. See Jer 6:13; 23:11; Ezek 34:1-6. “Wrath” – they who are not saved from their sins will have to face God’s anger against their sins. Compare John 3:36; Rom 1:18. Notes on God’s anger at Num 25:3; Deut 4:25; Ps 90:7-11; etc. 3:8 “Fruit” – see also Acts 26:20. Fruit worthy of repentance means such things as ceasing from evil, learning to do good, making restitution to others when wrong has been done to them, restoring what is stolen, etc. In short, true repentance results in a new way of living that will be the reverse of the former ways (see 2 Chron 33:1-20; psalm 51; Isa 1:16-20; Ezek 18:30-32; Luke 3:10-14; 19:7-9; Acts 2:36,37; 9:1,2,19-22). 3:9 See John 8:39,40. The story of Abraham is in Genesis chapters 12-25. The mistake John pointed out here is a common one among religious people everywhere – thinking that God accepts them and regards them as His people because they are of a certain religious community or sect, or because they can trace their ancestry back to some famous religious leader. Abraham was a man of God but that did not make all his descendants men of God. Now a person is not a true Christian simply because his parents or grandparents were true Christians. An individual’s own faith and deeds and character are the important things in God’s eyes, not who his or her ancestors were. 3:10 John meant that God was about to judge the nation. The Messiah was about to

“Lord”– the Hebrew of Isaiah is “Jehovah.” Notes at 1:20; Ex 3:14,15; Luke 2:11. 3:4 Plain clothing, simple food, and a humble style of living were the usual marks of God’s true prophets. They avoided the materialistic outlook and love of ostentation seen in many religious leaders today. 3:6 The word “baptized” comes from the Greek word “baptizo.” A famous GreekEnglish dictionary gives its meaning thus: “Dip, immerse. . .plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm” (Arndt and Gingrich. Other dictionaries and lexicons are in substantial agreement with this definition).

John’s baptism signified repentance and the forgiveness of sins, but it did not produce them. See also Mark 1:4; etc. No water ceremony of any kind or in any place can take away sin or change men’s hearts. Only God can do so. And He does so when men receive His Son by faith (John 1:12,13; 3:3-8; 5:24; Acts 13:38,39). 3:7 “Pharisees” – a strict, conservative, very religious sect among the Jews. They emphasized the law of Moses and the religious traditions that had come down from previous generations. Many of them were very self-righteous and separated themselves from others, thinking they were holier than anyone else (the name “Pharisee” came from the Hebrew word “pharash” which means to separate or set apart). But their deeds did not match their words and Jesus severely condemned them for their hypocrisy (chapter 23). In the New Testament they are

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laid to the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

and gather his wheat into the barn. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 And Jesus, answering, said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is proper for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he permitted him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, immediately went up out of the

11 “I indeed baptize you with water for repentance. But the one who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor,

appear. The people were like individual trees in the forest of Israel. Compare 7:17-20; Luke 13:6-9; Ps 1:3; 37:35; 52:8; 92:12; Eccl 11:3. “Fire” – 5:22; 7:19; 13:42; 18:8,9; Rev 20:15; 21:8. 3:11,12 “For repentance” – this does not mean that John baptized them so that they would obtain repentance. If they had not already repented he would not have wanted to baptize them. The Greek word translated “for” (eis) also means “in”, “into”, “unto”, “concerning”, “about.” John’s baptizing work concerned repentance, pointed to repentance, and was a symbol of repentance. But it did not produce repentance, which is something only the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men can produce. See also the note at Acts 2:38.

Personal relationship with God not based on ancestry

Coming judgments against evil men, but the future blessedness of God’s true people (v 12)

The supremacy of Jesus above all And the giving of God’s Spirit to those who repent and believe the gospel of Christ.

Do those of us who are preachers desire God’s approval? Let us do as John did. 3:13-15 Jesus was now about 30 years of age (Luke 3:23). John’s baptism spoke of repentance and confession and forgiveness of sins (vs 6,11; Mark 1:4). The Lord Jesus was the sinless Son of God (Luke 1:35; John 8:46; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22). He did not need forgiveness. Why, then, did He come to be baptized by John? Commentators have suggested several reasons. The only reason Jesus Himself gave is in v 15 – “to fulfil all righteousness.” What was right for His disciples to do, He did. He also partook of the Passover feast, thought the elements spoke of what He would do for them, not what He needed for Himself (Luke 22:14,15).

“One who comes after me” – John was referring to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and he recognized how far beneath Him he was. True men of God do not claim to be God but humble themselves in the dust before God. The closer a person is to God the less he will think he is worthy to stand before God. No man was greater than John (11:11), but John thought he was unworthy to carry Christ’s sandals. He knew that all he could do was baptize in water, but that Christ could bring people into the depths of God’s life-giving Spirit. And water baptism is nothing without the Spirit baptism Jesus gives. It is God’s Spirit who gives spiritual life to people (John 3:5-8; 6:63; 7:3739). Note on Spirit baptism at Acts 1:5. “Baptize. . .with fire” – here may refer to God’s purging of His people as in Mal 3:2-4. Fire there means a divine energy that would enter them and give force and power to witness to the truth (compare Jer 20:9). Or fire here could signify God’s anger in judgment against sin (v 7. Compare Deut 32:32; Isa 30:30; 2 Thess 1:7,8). This second interpretation seems more likely. The wheat (God’s true people) will be baptized with the Holy Spirit; the chaff (those not God’s true people – Ps 1:4) will be baptized with fire.

Baptism for Him was an act of humble obedience to God’s righteous will, and in taking it (as in His whole life) Jesus was an example to all His followers (compare 11;29; 16:24; John 13:15; Phil 2:5; 1 Pet 2;21). He was sinless, but took the place of sinners. He was our representative. He pointed the way we should go, did what we should do, lived as we should live, and, at last, as our substitute, He took all our sins upon Himself and was baptized into suffering and death (Luke 12:50). He died the death we deserve to die.

In other words all He did, including being baptized, was a fulfillment and manifestation and glorification of God’s righteousness. And baptism was but a picture of His death, burial, and resurrection which were for the purpose of making people righteous. 3:16,17 The God revealed in the Bible, the true and only God, is a Trinity. That is, in the one Godhead there are three persons. Each of the three is spoken of in these verses. Jesus the Son is coming out of the water, the Spirit of God descends on Him, and God the Father speaks from heaven. The Son is not the Father, or the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Son or the Father. The three are distinct from each other but are perfectly united as one God in essence,

John was a model for all preachers of God’s Word. He lived very simply, did not engage in religious politics, sought no fame or material possessions, was humble but bold as a lion. He emphasized certain great truths all preachers should emphasize:

God’s anger against sin The need of repentance and a change of life-style

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