Joshua's Farewell Address and Death

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 23:1) And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old, stricken in age.

Israel had divided the land of Canaan among the tribes, and the people lived in peace and rest from all their enemies surrounding them.  Several years had passed, and Joshua had become very old.

(2) And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old, stricken in age."

Joshua called to him all the elders and chief people in Israel, including heads of the tribes, judges, and officers.  He began by telling them that he had become very old.

(3) "And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you."

He reminded them that they had seen all that the Lord had done to the nations of Canaan for His people Israel.  He had fought for His people and had brought them to this point of peace and rest.

(4) "Behold, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the Great Sea westward."

I believe Joshua's point was that all of Canaan had been divided by lot to them, even the nations that remained unconquered.  Those unconquered parts, along with all the nations Joshua had cut off with the sword, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, had been divided as an inheritance to the tribes.

(5) "And the Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you and drive them from out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God has promised you."

Joshua encouraged the leaders of Israel that the Lord willed that they should inherit all of the land of Canaan, and He would drive the rest of the Canaanites out of their land, and they would be able to possess all of it, as their Lord had promised them.  It has been discussed before that they never did fully possess all the land that God had promised them because they were not obedient to the Lord to hold up their side of the covenant.  However, God said they would possess their land, and a passage in the book of the prophet Amos confirms that they eventually will possess it (Amos 9:15).

(6) "Be therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left."

Joshua was giving the leaders of Israel the same words he had received from the Lord when the reins were handed over to him after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:7).  He cautioned them to be courageous in keeping the commandments of the law, that they not turn aside from it.

(7) "That you do not come among these nations, these that remain among you, neither make mention of the name of their gods nor cause to swear, neither serve them nor bow yourselves to them."

Specifically, Joshua cautioned them against going among the pagan nations of people that remained and acknowledging their gods.  They were not to even speak their names, much less swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.

(8) "But cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day."

They were to cleave only to their Lord God through their obedience, service, and worship of Him alone, as they had done since their time in Canaan to that point.  It can't be said that they were always so faithful while in the wilderness.

(9) "For the Lord has driven out from before you great nations and strong, but you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day."

The reason Joshua gave for them always cleaving to their Lord was because of the good things He had done for them.  He had driven out great and strong nations from before them so that no man was able to stand before them even to that day.

(10) "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you."

One man of them would be able to chase a thousand of his enemies only because it was their Lord who fought for them as He had promised He would (Leviticus 26:8, Deuteronomy 1:30).

(11) "Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God."

Joshua impressed upon them the need to be careful and on guard that they always love, honor, and obey their Lord God.

(12) "Else if you do in any way go back and cleave to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them and go in to them and they to you, (13) Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out these nations from before you, but they shall be snares and traps to you and scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you."

For if they turned away from their Lord and attached themselves to the remnant of the pagan nations in their land and made and consummated marriages with them, they could know for absolute certain that their Lord would no longer go before them to drive out those remaining nations.  They would remain as snares and traps to them, very troublesome and distressing, drawing them into idolatry and immorality.

(14) "Behold this day, I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all have come to pass to you, and not one thing of it has failed."

Joshua told them that he was going to die just as all living things eventually do.  He was about to leave them without a human leader, but he reiterated why they should put all their love and faith and trust in their Lord God to lead them.  They knew in their hearts that He had not failed to give them any good thing He had promised.  All He had promised had come to pass; therefore, they should continue to have total faith in Him.

(15) "Therefore it shall come to pass, as all good things have come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you evil things until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. (16) When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God which He commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed yourselves to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which He has given to you."

However, Joshua warned them, just as the Lord had given them all good things as He had promised, He also most assuredly would bring bad things to them until they were destroyed off that good land if they turned away from Him and their covenant with Him to serve idols.  If they did that, His anger would burn against them, and they would perish quickly from off their good land that He had given them.  Just because they had all good things at that time, didn't mean they could keep them always if they chose to turn from their Lord.

I take note here that the number one sin that will always kindle God's anger against His people is idolatry.  It is just one of ten big commandments of the Lord, yet it is the one He always mentions that will cause Him to turn away from His people.  However, is not every sin rooted in idolatry?  It may be idolatry of money or power or even self, but there is always something that we choose to make more important than God and His commandments when we sin.  And when we choose something else over God, He may let us have our way, and He will turn away from us.  He will never force Himself on us; He gives us a choice.  However, we must live with the consequence of our choice.  When we begin to see all good things in our lives as blessings from Him, we naturally want to love and follow Him.  Why would we want to follow after some empty idol that can never give us more than some brief pleasure?  In God there is a lifetime of joy and fulfillment and eternal life.  Money and power or anything that we build of ourselves can never do that.

Joshua's farewell address continued in the next and last chapter of Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua then gathered all the tribes, and especially the leaders of Israel, the elders, the judges, the officers, and the heads of the tribes, to Shechem, and they presented themselves before God.  Shechem was a significant place in Israel's history as it was the place where the Lord made His promise to Abraham that He would give his descendants that land, and he built an altar there (Genesis 12:6-7).  Jacob had also built an altar there (Genesis 33:18-20).  Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where they shouted blessings and cursings (Joshua 8:33), were at Shechem.

(2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.'"

Joshua spoke prophetically to the people the words of the Lord.  He began by telling them about their ancestors on the other side of the flood, or rather river, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nachor, who served other gods.  The original word translated as "flood" most often meant "river" and was most of the time transcribed that way by the KJV translators, but for some reason they translated it as "flood" this time.  Perhaps the meaning might be that the people's ancestors since the flood had served other gods.  It was understood that before the flood all people except Noah and his family had served other gods, but for their fathers more recently to have turned to false gods would be a very grievous thing.  However, most Biblical scholars believe the meaning should be river rather than flood, and that Joshua spoke of their ancestors who had lived on the other side of the Euphrates River.

Some Biblical scholars think that the verse should read that their fathers, Terah, Abraham, and Nahor, served other gods.  Of course, it is possible that Abram served other gods as he saw his father do until God called him away from his family, but I saw no actual example of his serving other gods.  I read the verse as your fathers, including Terah, served other gods.  "The father of Abraham and Nachor" just described who Terah was.

(3) "'And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.'"

The Lord took Abraham out of that idolatrous family and place, telling him to get out of his country and away from his family and his father's house (Genesis 12:1).  He took him through the land of Canaan and told him He would give his descendants that land (Genesis 12:7).  The Lord indeed gave Abraham many descendants, and he had given him his son Isaac.

(4) "'And I gave to Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.'"

Isaac had two sons, twins, Jacob and Esau, who had been "two nations" in their mother's womb (Genesis 25:23).  God gave Esau an inheritance in Mount Seir, leaving the promised land of Canaan to Jacob's descendants alone.  However, first Jacob and his children went to Egypt.

(5) "'I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them, and afterward I brought you out.'"

God sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt also to demand the release of His people who were in bondage in Egypt.  He plagued Egypt with ten plagues because they refused to let His people go, and then He brought them out.

(6) "'And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.'"

The Lord brought His people out of Egypt, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and horsemen which would suggest they would soon be able to overtake the people on foot.  They chased them to the Red Sea.

(7) "'And when they cried to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them, and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.'"

The people cried out in distress at the Red Sea.  The pillar of cloud that led them then went behind them and was a cloud of darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites.  He then parted the sea and after His people crossed the Red Sea on dry land, He then let the waters back down to cover the Egyptians.  Many of the people who had been children at the time had seen what their Lord had done in Egypt.  They had been in the wilderness a long time, forty years, because of the unbelief of their fathers, and until those fathers had died in the wilderness.

(8) "'And I brought you into the land of the Amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.'"

The Lord brought His people to the kingdoms of Sihon and Og on the eastern side of the Jordan River.  Those nations fought with them, but the Lord had delivered their enemies into their hand and destroyed them so that they might possess that land.

(9) "'Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.'"

Then Balak, the king of Moab, warred against the Israelites.  He called for the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites.

(10) "'But I would not hearken to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still, so I delivered you out of his hand.'"

However, the Lord would not allow Balaam to speak curses to Israel, and he instead blessed them; thus the Lord had delivered His people out of the hand of Balaam and likewise, Balak.

(11) "'And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.'"

Then the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and came into their promised land where the men of Jericho fought against them, but the Lord delivered their enemies into their hand.

(12) "'And I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, not with your sword nor with your bow.'"

The Lord sent hornets before them to drive out the Canaanites including two kings of the Amorites.  I'm not sure if these were actual hornets or figurative speech about how the Lord drove out their enemies, not by the Israelites' swords or bows, but by the Lord's power only.  Twice the Lord spoke prophetically about sending hornets to drive out their enemies (Exodus 23:28, Deuteronomy 7:20), and here the Lord through Joshua said that He had done just that.  However, in the actual battles, it doesn't say that the Lord sent hornets.  Joshua 10:10 told how the Lord discomfited their enemies and chased them, but it said nothing about Him sending hornets.  However, it did say that He then sent hailstones.  Again in Joshua 11:8 it says the Lord chased their enemies, but it doesn't say it was with hornets.  Of course, that might be an ideal way to chase soldiers and kings, but I think if actual hornets were sent, scripture would have specifically said so.  In many other places in the Bible, scripture said specifically what sort of pest was being sent, and immediately after Joshua 10:10, scripture was specific about sending hailstones, so I just believe it would have been specific about sending hornets, as well, if He had sent them.  I truly believe this was figurative speech or perhaps a word that the translators were not familiar with, and it just meant that God Himself chased and drove out the enemy by His own power.

(13) "'And I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant, you do eat.'"

The Lord had given His people a ready-made land that they did not have to dig and cultivate, and He had given them cities they did not have to build, and He had given them fruits of the land that they did not plant.  He had given them, as He had promised, a land flowing with milk and honey and many good things.

(14) "Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."

Having concluded the words of the Lord in verse 13, these are the words of Joshua telling the people that because of their Lord's mercies and goodness in all that He had done for them, they should reverence Him and serve only Him in sincerity with no hypocrisy and in the truth found only in His word.  He had told them in verse 2 about how their fathers since the flood had served other gods, and he urged them to put away those false gods and serve their Lord God.

(15) "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua challenged the people that if it seemed evil, or say just burdensome and unpleasant, to serve the Lord, then they should choose whom they would rather serve.  Did they wish to serve the gods of their fathers or the gods of the Amorites who had been in their land before them?  Let their choice be whatever they wished, but as for Joshua, he was resolute in the fact that he and his house would serve the Lord.

(16) And the people answered and said, "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods."

The people answered that they would never think of forsaking their Lord to serve other gods.

(17) "For the Lord our God, He who brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way in which we went and among all the people through whom we passed, (18) And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land; we will also serve the Lord for He is our God."

The people went on to explain why they would never think of forsaking their Lord, because of all the great things He had done for them.  He had freed them from bondage, preserved them wherever they went among enemies, and then drove out the enemies who had dwelt in the land He was giving them.  They declared their choice was to also serve the Lord their God.

(19) And Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (20) If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt and consume you after He has done you good."

I believe both verses should be taken as one sentence.  I think Joshua's point was that the people would not be able to serve a holy God jealous that His people be only His and serve only Him, if they continued in sin.  As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "no man can serve two masters..."  They must wholeheartedly choose to serve their Lord or they would be forsaking Him, choosing another master, and then the Lord would turn away from them and that in itself would destroy them.  The Lord God is our only choice for life.  Since the beginning of time, since Adam and Eve brought sin on man, we sinful creatures are unable to stand before such a holy God.  It is only by His love and mercy that He gave us a way to be acceptable in His presence, but if we choose not to go that way, then we are doomed to be left in our sin, and in the righteous judgment of God, we have chosen to accept the consequences of sin, which is death.  God has set before each of us two choices, life and death, and He urges that we choose life if we want to live (Deuteronomy 30:19).  The other choice leads only to death.

(21) And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the Lord."

The people declared that they would not serve other gods but would serve their Lord God only.

(22) And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for you the Lord, to serve Him." And they said, "Witnesses!"

Joshua declared that they would be witnesses against themselves if they should turn away from their Lord after their testimony that day.  They would be self-condemned by their own words.  The people agreed that they were indeed witnesses to that truth.

(23) "Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel."

Joshua told them therefore they were to put away the strange gods among them.  There may have been actual physical small idols of worship that had been kept from their fathers before them, or it might rather be that Joshua spoke of idols of the heart, secret sentiments they had toward some idol.  Whatever the idol that took their hearts away from their Lord, they were to put away, and they were to incline their hearts toward the Lord God of Israel only.

(24) And the people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey."

The people confirmed that they would serve and obey their Lord God.

(25) So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Joshua established that covenant with the people and made it a permanent law that they and their descendants would always bind themselves to God only.

(26) And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

Joshua wrote the words of their covenant established that day in the book of the law that would have been in the ark of the covenant which must have been with him at Shechem that day.  He took a great stone and set it up under an oak tree that was by that holy place of the Lord.  I don't believe this was meant to have been at the actual sanctuary.  The word that was translated as "sanctuary" also means "a consecrated thing or place, holy place."  Joshua had brought the people to Shechem to a holy place of their fathers, and there he placed a memorial stone which wouldn't have been necessary if they were at the actual sanctuary.

(27) And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest you deny your God."

Joshua told the people that that stone would act as a witness of the covenant they had made, as it was a symbolic reminder of the words of the Lord that had been spoken there that day and of the witness against the people should they turn from Him.

(28) So Joshua let the people depart, every man to his inheritance.

With that, Joshua let the people go back to their lands that they possessed as their inheritance from God.

(29) And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died a hundred and ten years old.

It was shortly after this that Joshua died at 110 years of age.  I think now is a good time to reflect on the reason why Joshua is always identified as the son of Nun.  Joshua is such an important figure in the Bible in his own right, and Nun is never mentioned other than being the father of Joshua.  As studied previously, I found that the original words were "Joshua bin Nun" rather than "Joshua ben Nun," which would have meant Joshua was the son of Nun.  "Bin Nun" or "binnun" meant the "understanding one."  From the beginning, Joshua was an excellent student of Moses and wouldn't leave the tabernacle even after Moses did (Exodus 33:11).  Additionally, he always demonstrated complete faith in God when others failed in their faith.  Perhaps this moniker of "Joshua the understanding one" did demonstrate that Joshua was a man in his own right.  

This time, in my study, I reflected on just the word "nun" which means "perpetuity."  The name Joshua, "yehoshua," means "Jehovah-saved."  Jehovah, the name of the Lord, the self-existent eternal God, which is what Jehovah means, saves eternally.  Was Joshua Jehovah-saved in perpetuity?  Biblical scholars often speak of Joshua being an Old Testament type of Jesus.  Actually, their names are the same in Hebrew, but in Greek in the New Testament, Jesus (in English) became Ieous.  Joshua was the one who brought the people into their promised land on earth, but Jesus brings them into the heavenly promised land.  Joshua succeeded Moses who represented the law, and Jesus's gospel succeeded the law.  Joshua made a new covenant with the people before he died, and Jesus brought a New Covenant of grace.  While names are very important in the Bible, and Joshua being eternally saved by Jehovah who saves, and being an Old Testament type of Jesus who was the one who ultimately fulfilled that salvation through His death and resurrection, I have to note that according to the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 7:27, Joshua was indeed the son of Nun.  Perhaps Joshua was always referred to as the son of Nun because all the symbology in both those names was the very essence of who he was.

(30) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

The people buried Joshua in his own inheritance in the mountains of Ephraim in the city which he built, Timnath Serah, on the north side of Mount Gaash in the mountainous region.

(31) And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel.

The Israelites kept their covenant and served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who had lived during the time of Joshua and beyond, men who had known all the things the Lord had done for His people.

(32) And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

The Israelites had brought the bones of Joseph out of Egypt as he had requested (Genesis 50:25) and as Moses directed (Exodus 13:19).  They buried them in Shechem in a parcel of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver (Genesis 33:19), in the land that became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph, specifically Ephraim.

(33) And Eleazor the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas his son which was given him in Mount Ephraim.

Eleazar the priest, the son of Aaron, also died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas, Eleazar's son, which had been given to him in Mount Ephraim.  The priests had no land of their own but were given cities in which to live, so the Ephraimites had undoubtedly given this piece of land to either Eleazar or his son, Phinehas.

So ends the book of Joshua.  Obviously, the last five verses couldn't have been written by him but were added after his death.  Once again, I can't help but reflect on what a great man Joshua was and how like Jesus he was, the perfect illustration of the Christ to come.  In addition to the similarities before mentioned, it doesn't appear that Joshua ever married or had any children.  He devoted his entire life to the service of God, from his time as a young man learning from Moses up until his death.  Of course, Joshua was only human and must have sinned sometime in his life, but I don't recall any such thing being recorded thus far in the Bible.  Joshua never worked to provide for himself and never asked for much.  Even the inheritance he had apparently once asked for (Joshua 19:50), he didn't ask for when the time came to divide up the inheritance, but the people gave it to him.  And it wasn't even a choice land but rather a rough mountainous region where he built the city of Timnath Serah.  He lived as a servant of the people and most importantly of his God, and he led his people to their rest in their promised land.  Jesus, about 1400 years later, would bring people to that true eternal rest.

Also notable in the last chapter of Joshua is the retelling of history and of the marvelous things the Lord had done for His people.  Throughout the Bible, the people were retold history so that they would never forget the goodness of the Lord, and so should we always reflect on the good things the Lord has done for us.  No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we can always be thankful for the greatest gift of all, eternal salvation in Him that was only possible through the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord for His Wonderful Works

Following a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who admits, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy," I continue with Psalm 105:

(Psalm 105:1) O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people!

Although this psalm is thought to be made by David, it could have just as easily been made by Moses.  It speaks of the time of Israel from Abraham through the exodus from Egypt.  The psalmist exhorts the people to give thanks to their Lord, call upon Him in prayer, and proclaim His works among the people.

(2) Sing to Him; sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works.

He encouraged the people to sing to the Lord and play music for Him.  The original word "zamar" that was transcribed as "psalms" has a fuller meaning of making music and song.  They were to talk and sing about all their Lord's wonderful works.

(3) Glory in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord.

They were to rejoice in the Lord, those who sought the Lord with all their hearts and souls (Deuteronomy 4:29).

(4) Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore.

The people were encouraged to always seek the Lord, seeking strength and mercy and favor from Him.

(5) Remember His marvelous works that He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

The psalmist exhorted the people to remember all the wonderful things the Lord had done, His miracles and His judgments and commandments.

(6) O seed of Abraham, His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen!

He reminds the people that they are the descendants of God's servant, Abraham, descendants of Jacob, His chosen people.

(7) He, the Lord our God, His judgments in all the earth.

The God of Abraham and Jacob, the one true God, was their Lord God.  And as the one true God, His judgments were executed all over the earth.

(8) He has remembered His covenant forever, the word He commanded to a thousand generations.

The Lord had kept His covenant and promise to His people forever, up to that point and to future generations, even though His people often defaulted on their end.

(9) Which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, (10) And confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, to Israel an everlasting covenant.

The Lord had kept that covenant He had made with Abraham, reiterated with Isaac, and confirmed with Jacob, and promised it to be an everlasting covenant.

(11) Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance," (12) When they were few men in number, yes, very few, and strangers in it.

The Lord's part of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was to give them and their descendants the land of Canaan as an inheritance.  He made that promise when His people were small in number and strangers in their promised land.

(13) When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, (14) He allowed no man to do them wrong; yes, He reproved kings for their sakes; (15) "Do not touch My anointed and do My prophets no harm."

Before they inhabited their promised land, the people wandered from one nation to another with no permanent place to call their home.  While they wandered about, the Lord protected them and even reproved kings for their sakes, telling them not to touch His anointed ones, also called His prophets, to do them any harm.

(16) Moreover He called for a famine on the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.

The Lord called for a famine in the land in the time of Jacob, which was the reason he migrated to Egypt.  The Lord had cut off their supply of food.

(17) He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold for a servant, (18) Whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron, (19) Until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord tried him.

The Lord had sent Joseph before Jacob and Jacob's sons, Joseph's brothers.  His brothers had sold him into slavery, and he was imprisoned until the time that his vision came to pass that he would be exalted above his brothers.  That vision, that word of the Lord, tried Joseph's faith and patience before it was accomplished.

(20) The king sent and loosed him, the ruler of the people let him go free.

At that point, the king of Egypt had Joseph released from prison.

(21) He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance, (22) To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his senators wisdom.

The king of Egypt made Joseph the lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions and affairs.  Even his princes would be under Joseph's command to learn from him.

(23) Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

Jacob (Israel) and Joseph's brothers also came to Egypt when they learned that Joseph was alive, and they all dwelt there in the land of Ham, the father of the Egyptians.

(24) And He increased His people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.

God increased the people of Israel greatly in the land of Egypt.  He also made them stronger than the Egyptians who would become their enemies.

(25) He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal treacherously with His servants.

Whereas the Egyptians had once highly esteemed Joseph's family, the Lord allowed their hearts to be turned against them.  He may have actively turned them against His people in order to fulfill His will to lead them away and into their promised land.  However, I believe He just allowed it to happen naturally.  By enlarging and blessing His people, the Egyptians would naturally become jealous, and God allowed that to happen for His purposes.  The Egyptians made them slaves and put them to hard labor.

(26) He sent Moses, His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.

The Lord then sent Moses as His servant and Aaron, Moses's brother, chosen to be his spokesman (Exodus 4:16).

(27) They showed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Moses and Aaron showed the Lord's signs and miracles in the land of Egypt.

(28) He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against His word.

The Lord commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven to make a darkness fall upon Egypt, and he and Aaron did just as He commanded (Exodus 10:22).

(29) He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.

Continuing to describe the signs and wonders from verse 27, the psalmist tells how the Lord turned the Egyptians' waters into blood which killed all the fish (Exodus 7:19).

(30) Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

The Lord caused a plague of an abundance of frogs that covered the land, even in the bedchambers of their kings (Exodus 8:3).

(31) He spoke and there came diverse sorts of flies and lice in all their territory.

The Lord spoke and brought a swarm of flies that corrupted the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:24), and He brought forth lice from the dust of the land (Exodus 8:16).

(32) He gave them hail for rain and flaming fire in their land.

The Lord caused it to rain hail on Egypt and caused lightning to run along the ground (Exodus 9:23).

(33) He struck their vines also and their fig trees and broke the trees of their territory.

The hail struck "every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field" (Exodus 9:25).

(34) He spoke and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and those without number, (35) And ate up all the herbs in the land and devoured the fruit of their ground.

The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the land of Egypt to bring locusts to eat up every herb the hail may had left (Exodus 10:12).  They were so numerous that they could not be numbered, and they darkened the sky (Exodus 10:15).  Again we are told of caterpillars that were not mentioned among the plagues in Exodus.  I believe these must refer to young locust nymphs.

(36) He killed also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

The Lord killed all the firstborn of both man and beast in the land of Egypt (Exodus 11:5).  The firstborn were called the first or beginning of all their strength (Genesis 49:3).

(37) He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and not one feeble among their tribes.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with silver and gold from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35), and there was not one person feeble and unable to travel.

(38) Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them fell upon them.

The Egyptians were glad when the Israelites left them because they were afraid of what plague might be next.

(39) He spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night.

The Lord spread a cloud over the Israelites by day (Numbers 10:34) and a pillar of fire over them at night (Exodus 13:21).

(40) They asked and He brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

This refers to the first time that the people asked for meat (Exodus 16:13), and the Lord brought the quails to them and satisfied them with manna the next morning.

(41) He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

The Lord opened the rock to bring forth water (Exodus 17:6), and it ran like a river through their dry places.

(42) For He remembered His holy promise and Abraham, His servant.

The Lord did these marvelous things for His people because of the promise He had made to their forefather, Abraham.

(43) And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen with gladness, (44) And gave them the lands of the heathen, and they inherited the labor of the people.

It pleased the Lord to bring His people out of Egypt to lead them to their promised land, but this may refer more to the joy of the people when they were led out and how they gladly sang praises to their Lord for bringing them out (Exodus 15:1).  The Lord gave His people lands of the heathens in righteous judgment against those countries so that His people were able to dwell in houses already built and fields already worked and wells already dug, etc.

(45) That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws. Praise the Lord!

The Lord did all these things for His people as His part of His covenant with them.  All that was asked of His people was that they should be obedient to the One from whom all blessings flow.  Praise the Lord!  That was the full intent of this psalm.  It is similar to Psalm 78 in that it recited a history of God's people.  However, the 78th psalm pointed out the sins of the people and God's just punishment for those sins, whereas this psalm only pointed to the goodness of God, exciting the people to thanksgiving and praise to and for Him.

The Death of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 34:1) And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead to Dan,

The Lord had previously told Moses he would not be able to cross into their promised land (Numbers 20:12, Deuteronomy 32:51-52), but that He would allow him to see it.  Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab where the Israelites had been for some time and went onto the mountain of Nebo to Pisgah, the highest point of Nebo.  This was across from Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River.  The Lord began to show Moses the promised land as He had promised He would.  First the Lord directed him to behold the land of Gilead on that side of the Jordan where he was, which was the possession of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32), then to Dan, which was not the possession of the tribe of Dan, but rather a city in the farthest north of the promised land as seen in this map:

(2) And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, (3) And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

The Lord showed Moses the promised land from the city of Dan in the north, to the lands of the tribes as they would soon be assigned, Naphtali, down through Manasseh and Ephraim, to Judah, to the sea, and to the southernmost part of the land.  He showed him the valley of Jericho near to them on the other side of the Jordan River.  If you click to enlarge the map, you can see Jericho in the tribe of Benjamin across from Mt. Nebo.  He showed him the whole plain from Jericho, called the city of palm trees, to Zoar, which was at the southern tip of the Salt or Dead Sea, as seen in this map:

As the tribal lands had not yet been assigned in Canaan, Joshua either wrote this chapter some time after the fact, or perhaps he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit about what was to be.

(4) And the Lord said to him, "This the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants,' I have caused you to see with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

The Lord told Moses that He was showing him the land He had promised to his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to their descendants.  The Lord said He "caused" Moses to see it with his eyes.  When you think about it, it would not be possible for Moses to physically see all that land without some supernatural help.  The Lord blessed and allowed Moses to see the entire promised land but told him again that he would not be crossing over into it.

(5) So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Then Moses died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said he would (Deuteronomy 32:50).  

(6) And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no man knows of his sepulchre to this day.

Amazingly, the Lord Himself buried Moses!  He apparently buried him in the land of Moab across from Beth Peor which may have been in the same vicinity of Mount Peor near Mount Nebo and Pisgah.  However, even at the time of the writing of Joshua, no one had ever seen Moses's grave.  Perhaps the Lord hid it so that the people would not be susceptible to idolizing it and Moses himself.  Some think that perhaps Moses was carried away like Elijah, pointing to the transfiguration of Elijah and Moses with Jesus in Mark 9:4, inferring that Moses must have been in the same state after death as Elijah.  However, the two verses above state that Moses died and the Lord buried him.  Some point to an interesting scripture in Jude 1:9 that tells about Michael the archangel contending with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses.  That does seem to suggest something extraordinary about Moses's burial place.  But as scripture states, no one really knows; however, there may be symbolism in Moses's burial place or lack thereof.  John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Bible, "...the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring any into the heavenly Canaan..."

(7) And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Moses was 120 years old when he died, and although he was in advanced age, his eyes were still clear and good, and his mind and body were sharp and strong.

(8) And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

The Israelites mourned and wept for Moses there in the plains of Moab for thirty days, which was the usual time of mourning for someone of high place.  After thirty days, the weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

(9) And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

At that point Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom as Moses had laid hands on him and prayed for such, and the Lord had delivered.  Therefore the people listened to him and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, acknowledging Joshua as Moses's successor.

(10) And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

At the time of this writing, Joshua or whoever wrote this last chapter of Deuteronomy, said that there had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had known the Lord personally and conversed with Him.  "Face to face" is not to be taken literally, because no man could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20), but it is meant to say that Moses had a very familiar relationship with God.

(11) In all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, (12) And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

There had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had done all the signs and wonders which the Lord had sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and his servants and his land.  There had not arisen a prophet with so mighty a hand as had divided the Red Sea or as had done in all the great and terrible things that the Lord enabled Moses to show in the sight of all the Israelites.

So ended the life of Moses and the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Law of Moses.  I believe that we might argue that there never has been another prophet like Moses even to this day.  There would arise great prophets, but I'm not sure any can compare with the long-term familiarity and friendship Moses shared with God.  Moses was probably the most highly privileged prophet in all the awesome signs and wonders that God worked through him.  Moses was allowed to see God's glory and His back only, as again, no one could see God's face and live.  That sight made Moses's face shine like the sun which terrified the people when he returned to them.  Moses was the Old Testament figure who was mentioned the most times in the New Testament.  It is probably safe to say that Moses indeed was the greatest prophet until Jesus Christ, of whom Moses himself said, "The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like me; to Him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15).  God Himself confirmed that prophecy when He said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him" (Matthew 17:5), a probable allusion to "to Him you shall listen."  Moses was an Old Testament symbol of Christ.  God sent him to save His people, and he gave them God's law to live by.  Jesus came to save people from the consequences of the law that they were unable to uphold.  Indeed, Hebrews 3 compares Moses to Jesus, but of course pronounces Jesus as superior to Moses.  However, Moses was worthy to be compared to Jesus!  That is the highest honor and privilege of all.  Moses was a faithful servant and forerunner of Christ the Son of God and God Himself.

Choose Life

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 30:1) "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where the Lord your God has driven you,"

In the last chapter, Moses called all the people together to again enter into covenant with their Lord God in Moab.  He now begins a speech in which he tells the people that when all the things he had told them in the past few chapters came upon them, especially the blessings and curses that had been pronounced and prophesied by Moses, they should remember them in all the nations where the Lord had sent them.

(2) "And shall return to the Lord your God and shall obey His voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, (3) That then the Lord your God will turn your captivity and have compassion on you and will return and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you."

When the people had been scattered to various nations, when they called to mind the things the Lord had told them through Moses about His blessings and curses, and then returned to the Lord and obeyed His commands with all their hearts and souls, the Lord would then turn back to them and have compassion on them and gather them from all the nations wherein He had sent them.

(4) "If you are driven out to the outmost of heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you and from there He will fetch you."

No matter how far the people might be, if they had returned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls, He would gather them from wherever they might be.

(5) "And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it, and He will do you good and multiply you above your fathers."

Their Lord God would gather them and bring them back to the land which their fathers had possessed, that promised land of their forefathers, and they would again possess it.  The Lord would do good for them and multiply their numbers greater than the numbers of their fathers. 

(6) "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Their Lord would then circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their descendants, circumcise the foreskins of their hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16), cut through the hardness of their hearts, that they would love their Lord with all their hearts and with all their souls that they and their descendants might live.

(7) "And the Lord your God will put all these curses upon your enemies and on them who hate you, who persecuted you."

The Lord would then put all the curses recorded in Deuteronomy 28 upon their enemies and those who hated and persecuted them.

(8) "And you shall return and obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you this day."

At that time they would return to the Lord to do all that He had commanded them through Moses that day.

(9) "And the Lord your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers."

Then would the Lord bring upon them His blessings, making them successful in every work of their hands, giving them an abundance of children, a large increase in their livestock and in the harvests of their land, doing only good for them.  He would again rejoice over them as He had once rejoiced over their forefathers.

(10) "If you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

The Lord would bring all those blessings upon the people if they listened to and obeyed their Lord God, to keep all His commandments and statutes that were written in the book of the law recorded by Moses, if they turned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls.

(11) "For this commandment which I command you this day is not hidden from you, neither is it far off."

It would be easy for God's people (and us this day) to listen to and obey the Lord for His commandments were not hidden from them (nor us).  It is not some secret held in a faraway land or in heaven, but God had given it to them, and to us with His Bible still with us.

(12) "It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (13) Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (14) But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."

Indeed, Moses went on to say that God's word and His laws were not stored secretly in heaven nor in a faraway land, but it was very near to them, not only in the written word, but written on their hearts, and recited by their mouths, so that they (and us today) were without excuse (Romans 1:20).  

(15) "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, (16) In that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God shall bless you in the land which you go to possess it. (17) But if your heart turns away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, (18) I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish and shall not prolong your days upon the land which you pass over Jordan to go to possess it."

The Lord through Moses had set before the people the choice between life and goodness and death and evil.  If they loved their Lord God, walked in His ways, kept His commandments and statutes and judgments, they would live and multiply and the Lord would bless them with goodness in their land that He was giving them.  However, if they turned their hearts away and would not listen to and obey Him, but were drawn into other cultures and worshiped other gods and served them, then they would have death and curses.

(19) "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live, (20) That you may love the Lord your God and that you may obey His voice and that you may cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

Moses called upon heaven and earth as witnesses to record that day against the people, that he had set before them, as the Lord had directed He do, life and death, blessing and cursing, both the life and blessings they would have if they chose to obey their Lord, and the death and curses they would receive if they chose to turn away from Him.  Moses exhorted them to choose life that both they and their descendants might live, that they may love and obey their Lord and cling to Him as He was their very life and length of days in the land the Lord had promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What a simple choice we have!  Just choose life that is only found in the Lord God, and in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ!  It makes all our decisions so much easier.  Should women choose abortion?  God said, "Choose life!" That both you and your babies may live!  Should we endorse homosexual marriage that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we encourage transsexualism that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we embrace certain environmental laws that starve and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we remove God from schools and the public square?  God said, "I AM your life!"  Should we support nations that enslave and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we allow drug cartels and sex slave operators and terrorists to pour over our borders unchecked?  God said, "Choose life!"  And yes, we can choose to save the lives of immigrants, but they must come through legal channels and be vetted.  And if those legal channels need to be modified to make it easier for good people to be added to our numbers, then that is what we must do.  The way we are doing it now only leads to death.  Choose life!

Jesus Delivers an Adulteress and Promises Freedom to Those Who Believe in Him

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 8:1) Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  He now went to the Mount of Olives about a mile east of Jerusalem.  It's probable He wanted to rest in a more private place because there was much discussion going on among the chief priests and Pharisees who had wanted to seize Him during the feast. 

(2) And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him and He sat down and taught them.

The next morning Jesus went back to the temple in Jerusalem.  All the people who had likewise come early to the temple came to Him and He sat down and taught them.

(3) And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery, and when they had set her in the midst, (4) They said to Him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. (5) Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say?"

The scribes and Pharisees, some of the same ones who had been seeking Jesus the day before to take Him into custody, brought a woman to Him they said had been caught in the act of adultery.  They surely were testing Him for they had made clear the day before they did not believe He was a great "Master."  They told Him that Moses had commanded in the law that adulterers should be stoned, but they wanted to know what He had to say about it.  Evidently, adultery was so common at that time that they had ceased to put the law in force, but they tested Jesus to see if He would uphold the law.  According to John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible, the Jews had a saying that "if all adulterers were punished with stoning, according to the law, the stones would be consumed," but they were not consumed.  

(6) This they said, tempting Him that they might have something to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

John tells us the scribes and Pharisees were indeed testing Jesus, hoping to catch Him in something of which they could accuse Him.  Because adultery was so common and they no longer upheld the law, if Jesus said she must be stoned, then they could accuse Him to the Roman governor for taking it upon Himself to condemn a person to death.  However, if He did not uphold the law of Moses, they could use that to show the people that He did not uphold God's law.  However, Jesus just stooped down and started writing with His finger on the ground, as if He wasn't even listening to them.

There is much discussion among the old commentaries I study about what Jesus was writing.  We weren't told in scripture, so some suggest it was not important.  It was rather a sign from Jesus that He had not come to condemn the world, so He was not going to meddle in the civil law.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, made an interesting observation.  God had written with His finger only one time in the Old Testament, writing the Law, the Ten Commandments.  Jesus wrote with His finger only once, in fact, it is the only time we read of His writing anything.  God's Old Testament law was written in stone.  Jesus wrote in the dust, which would be blown away by the wind, perhaps representing spirit, the spirit of the law that the people had so corrupted.  Those last thoughts are my own, not John Wesley's.  John Gill wrote that the learned Johann Christoph Wagenseil, a historian who made significant contributions to the study of Hebrew and Jewish texts, mentioned one ancient Greek manuscript he had seen that added "the sins of everyone of them."  If that is true, it could be seen as a fulfillment of a prophecy in Jeremiah 17:13, that said, "they that depart from me shall be written in the earth."  Adam Clarke wrote in his Commentary on the Bible that several of the old manuscripts added "their sins who accused her, and the sins of all men."  Any or all of these could be true, in keeping with the character and purpose of Jesus Christ.

(7) So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

The scribes and Pharisees kept pressing for an answer from Jesus, so He lifted Himself up from His stooped position and told them to go ahead, and the one who was without sin should cast the first stone.

(8) And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Jesus then stooped down again and continued writing with his finger on the ground, saying nothing more.

(9) And they who heard, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the oldest to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Those scribes and Pharisees and all the people who heard what Jesus said were convicted by their own consciences because all have sinned.  They began to walk out one by one, starting with the oldest person and continuing until they were all gone out.  Only Jesus and the woman remained.

(10) When Jesus had lifted Himself up and saw none but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no man condemned you?"

When Jesus again lifted Himself up from His stooped position, He saw that there was no one standing there but the woman.  He asked where her accusers were.  Had no man condemned her?

(11) She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

The woman answered that no man had condemned her to which Jesus said that He did not condemn her either.  He told her to go but not to sin anymore.  Jesus was the only man ever on earth who was without sin.  Yet He did not come into the world to condemn it; He came to save it because it had already been condemned because every man had sinned against God in some way or another (Romans 3:23, 5:12).

(12) Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life."

When the people had gathered together again, Jesus again spoke to them.  He told them He was the light of the world, a spiritual light, a fountain of light and truth.  The one who followed Him would no longer be in the darkness of the world but would have Jesus's light of life.  They would gain spiritual truth and light from Jesus.

(13) The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."

Here came the Pharisees again to denounce anything Jesus said.  They told Him as He was the only witness in His case, His witness was not true.  The law required at least two witnesses to establish a thing as true in a criminal case which is what they asserted Jesus's testimony to be, criminal.  Jesus Himself had said in John 5:31 that if He bore witness of Himself, His witness would not be true.  However, He had gone on to say that God the Father bore witness of Him.

(14) Jesus answered and said to them, "Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you cannot tell where I came from and where I go."

This time Jesus somewhat granted their position that He did indeed bear witness of Himself, but His witness was true because He had come from Father God in heaven and He would be going back to Him, but these Pharisees could not understand that.  They only saw Him as the son of Joseph and Mary from Galilee.

(15) "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no man."

Jesus told them that they judged people according to the flesh like they judged a book by its cover, so to speak.  Jesus did not judge the outward man but judged the heart of man.

(16) "And yet if I judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone but I and the Father who sent Me."

However, if Jesus did judge, His judgment was true because He knew and judged the heart of a man, and He was not the lone witness and judge of a person; He was a literal part of His Father in heaven who sent Him.

(17) "It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true."

Jesus acknowledged that it was written in their law that the testimony of two men was considered to be true.  

(18) "I am One who bears witness of Himself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."

However, Jesus confirmed that He had two witnesses Himself.  He was one witness and His witness was true because of Whom He came from, and the Father Himself had borne witness of Him when Jesus was baptized, and also in the miracles He performed and the knowledge of God that only the Son of God could have.

(19) Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You neither know Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also."

The thick-headed hard-hearted Pharisees asked where Jesus's father was.  Jesus replied that they did not know Him or His Father.  Had they known the scriptures they boasted that they knew so well, then they would have recognized Him as the prophesied Messiah.  Because they didn't know the scriptures or Him, they could not know His Father, as going through Jesus was the only way to know God.  

(20) These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple, and no man laid hands on Him for His hour was not yet come.

Jesus spoke these things in the treasury of the temple, that place where people cast in their offerings (Mark 12:41).  John's purpose in reporting this was probably to show that it was a very public place and may have been a reason why no man attempted to lay hands on Him.  However, they wouldn't have been able to anyway, because it was not yet His time.  Jesus used this public area to prevent them from taking Him.

(21) Then Jesus again said to them, "I go My way and you will seek Me and will die in your sins; where I go, you cannot come."

Once again, Jesus said that He would be going away and they would be seeking their Messiah, but He would not come, because He had already come and they missed Him and would die in their sins.  He told them where He was going, they were not able to come.

(22) Then the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself? Because He says, 'Where I go, you cannot come.'"

The last time Jesus said this (John 7:34) the Jews thought He was going to the dispersed Jews among the Gentiles, but perhaps now they understood Him to mean He was going to die.  That was their reasonable assumption because He had said that where He went, they could not go.  They wondered if He was going to kill Himself.  That seems a rather absurd notion, but it may have been out of malice that they suggested it.  It may have been their way to try to prove He was a deceiver and had broken the law and was mad, and would therefore probably go kill Himself.

(23) And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above; you are of this world; I am not of this world."

Jesus told them that they were from beneath heaven, the earth, but He was from heaven above.  They were of the world and only understood worldly things, but He was not of the world.

(24) "I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." 

Jesus reminded them that He had told them they would die in their sins because if they did not believe that He was the One and only from God, they would indeed die in their sins.  All the Bible translators added the word "He" after "I am," but the original text said only "I AM" telling them exactly who He was, the Great I AM, God Himself come down from heaven to save them from their sins.  However, if they would not believe in Him, they would not be saved, but would die in their sins.

(25) Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "The same that I said to you from the beginning."

Once again their hard hearts could not understand and asked who Jesus was.  He answered that He was the same He had professed to be from the beginning, Son of God, sent by His Father, living bread from heaven, light of the world, etc.

(26) "I have many things to say and to judge of you, but He who sent Me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him."

I believe Jesus's point was that He, being omniscient and knowing their hearts, could say many things that would condemn them and He could righteously judge them right then.  However, God who sent Him was true and Jesus was there to fulfill His will that the world might be saved through Him.  He would only speak according to God's will, although it was certainly in His power to condemn them right then, but that would not have fulfilled God's will in that He must suffer at their hands.  Jesus, the Son of man, would only speak those things that He as the Word of God knew to be His will.

(27) They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

Indeed, their hard hearts could not understand that He spoke of His Father, Almighty God in heaven.

(28) Then Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you shall know that I AM and I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things."

Although they would not believe Him then, He said once they had lifted Him up on the cross, then they would know that He was the Great I AM, and that all He had done and said was from Father God in heaven.  Indeed, some would come to know the truth when they saw Jesus die on the cross and observed all the signs that were done at His death, as the centurion and those with him did (Matthew 27:54).  

(29) "And He who sent Me is with Me; the Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

Father God in heaven who had sent Jesus was always with Him, because He and His Father were One.  He always did what pleased God because He was the Word of God; He was God (John 1:1).

(30) As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

It seemed Jesus's last words pierced the hearts of many and they did believe in Him.

(31) Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, "If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (32) And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Jesus then spoke to the Jews who had come to believe in Him.  He told them that if they continued to receive His words and obeyed them, they would be His disciples, and they would know truth that only comes from God, and that truth would set them free, free from the bondage of sin and free from death.  Truth makes one free from guilt, free from corruption, free from evil desires, free from the bondage of lies and deception; it truly makes one free.

(33) They answered Him, "We are Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man; how can You say, "You shall be made free'?"

This seems to come from other Jews who were standing by, not the ones who believed in Him, for it doesn't seem to be sincere or even factual.  They asserted they were of Abraham's seed and therefore never in bondage to any man.  The Jews had often been in bondage, in Egypt, in Babylon, and even at that present time they were in bondage under the Romans.  This statement could only be made by arrogant and most likely contemptuous Jews who thought of themselves as free already or would have others believe so and were in no need to be made free.

(34) Jesus answered them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, whoever commits sin is the servant of sin."

Jesus patiently explained that whoever committed sin was a slave to sin, in bondage to its consequences.  Only Jesus could set one free from that bondage of sin.

(35) "And a servant does not abide in the house forever; the Son abides forever. (36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

Jesus went on to say that a servant, as one was to sin, could not abide in the house of heaven forever.  However, the Son abode in heaven forever and if He made one free, they would indeed be free and would abide in that house with Him.  I found it interesting that almost every other translation except for the KJV made the "Son" in verse 35 a lower case "son."  While any saved disciple of Jesus might be called a son of God and would indeed be able to abide in His house forever, I do not believe that was the original intent of the verse, judging by the next verse.  If the Son makes one free, he shall be free indeed.

(37) "I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you."

Jesus agreed that He knew they were of Abraham's seed physically and biologically, but the fact that they wanted to kill Him meant they were not sons of Abraham in the spiritual sense.  His word had no place in their hearts, proving they certainly weren't followers of the faith of Abraham.

(38) "I speak that which I have seen with My Father, and you do that which you have seen with your father."

Jesus only spoke according to the will of His Father.  However, He told them that they did a different work from their father.

(39) They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham."

They told Jesus that Abraham was their father, to which He replied that if they were indeed Abraham's children, then they would do the works of Abraham, which obviously, they didn't.

(40) "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this."

Jesus went on to repeat that they wanted to kill Him, the One who brought them truth from God, and certainly Abraham had never done anything like that.

(41) "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God."

As they clearly didn't do the works of Abraham, Jesus indicated that they had a different father of whom they did works.  They answered that they were not illegitimate children, that they had one Father as did Abraham, and that Father was God.

(42) Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."

Jesus contradicted them in that assertion, too.  He told them if God was their Father, then they would have accepted and even loved Him because He had come from God, and He came not of His own will, but of God who sent Him.

(43) "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My word."

Jesus asked them why they couldn't understand what He was telling them.  If they were children of God, they would have certainly understood Him.  He told them the reason they could not understand Him was because they could not really hear His Word because of their stubbornness and pride.  They did not want to hear and understand it!

(44) "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the father of it."

Jesus told them that their father was the devil! And it was the lusts of their father that they did.  Their father had been a murderer from the beginning.  He was the one responsible for the fall of man in the very beginning of creation when he tempted Eve.  He provoked Cain to kill Abel.  He had been more or less involved in every murder since then and certainly was the murderer of the souls of men.  Satan did not abide in truth because there was no truth in him.  He rejected God completely so he did not have the only truth of God.  He only spoke lies and those were from him and him alone.  If he did speak any truth as he might have occasionally when he spoke scripture as he did when he tempted Jesus, he always perverted it.  Satan is a liar and he alone is the father of lies.  Their desire to murder the Son of God and to lie about Him and His mission was to do the work of their father, Satan.

(45) "And because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me." 

I believe this statement is meant to be the conclusion of what Jesus was saying about their father the devil.  Because they like their father had no truth in them and could only tell lies, they could not see the truth that Jesus told and would not believe Him.

(46) "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me?"

Jesus then asked them which one of them could convict Him of any sin.  If He wasn't guilty of the sin of lying, then why didn't they believe him?

(47) "He who is of God hears God's words; you therefore do not hear because you are not of God."

Jesus answered His own question.  Only people who followed God could hear His words, so they could not believe Him because they were not of God.  God was obviously not their Father or they would have been able to understand and believe Jesus.

(48) Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Did we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a devil?"

Although there is no record of it in scripture, apparently the Jews had accused Jesus of being a Samaritan which they considered to be an insult as the Samaritans were considered half-breeds and heretics.  Because Jesus had taught the Samaritans and one of the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans was how they worshiped God (John 4:20), they must have thought Jesus was siding with the Samaritans since He had told them God was not their Father.  And because of that, He must be the one to have a devil spirit.

(49) Jesus answered, "I do not have a devil, but I honor My Father and you dishonor Me."

Exhibiting incredible patience, Jesus answered that He did not have a demon spirit, but that He only honored His Father.  They, on the other hand, dishonored Him, so they in fact, dishonored His Father God (John 5:23).

(50) "And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges."

I believe Jesus's point was that He did not seek honor nor vindication for Himself, but there was One, His Father, who sought His honor and would judge and vindicate Him.

(51) "Verily, verily, I say to you, if a man keeps My word, he shall never see death."

And most assuredly, the Father would judge Jesus true, and if a man kept His word and believed in Him, he would never die but have everlasting life.

(52) Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and You say, 'If a man keeps My word, he shall never taste death.' (53) Are You greater than our father Abraham who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself?"

The Jews continued demonstrating their inability to really hear and understand Jesus.  They were sure He had a demon then.  After all, Abraham and the prophets were dead, and yet He said if they abode in His word, they would not die.  Just who did He think He was?

(54) Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God."

Jesus told them it was not Him giving Himself that honor to give life to those who believed.  If it were only by Himself, Jesus the man, His honor would mean nothing.  However, it was His Father in heaven who honored Him and it was God's plan that those who believed in Jesus would not die.  The same God they said was their God, and they did not honor His Son.

(55) "Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him, and if I should say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you, but I know Him and keep His word."

They had said the Father was their God, yet Jesus said they obviously didn't know Him.  However, Jesus knew Him intimately; He was one with Him.  If He said He didn't know God, then He would be a liar as they were liars like their father, the devil.  But He spoke truth and He did know God and He kept God's word.

(56) "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw and was glad."

Abraham, whom they called their father, rejoiced in the promise of the coming Messiah, this time of Jesus.  Abraham saw and understood through faith this day and he was glad.  Hebrews 11:13 tells us Abraham was one of the faith greats who died not yet having received the promise but saw it far off and was fully persuaded of it and embraced it.

(57) Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?"

The incredibly thick-headed and hard-hearted Jews couldn't even understand what was said of Abraham in the Old Testament scriptures.  They thought Jesus meant He had personally seen Abraham and they knew He was not old enough to have been able to see him.

(58) Jesus said to them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Jesus told them that before Abraham came into existence, He was.  This time all translations agree that Jesus said, "I AM."  By using this title of God, He was telling them how it was that He was before Abraham, because He was God.

(59) Then they took up stones to cast at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

At that last assertion of Jesus, the Jews took up stones to cast at Him, but Jesus hid Himself.  John then makes it a point to say that Jesus went right through the midst of them to go out of the temple, but they didn't see Him because He had hidden Himself from their view.  Some commentators say that to pick up stones, they would have had to go outside the temple to get them and that is when Jesus made His exit, but by John's specific words, I believe Jesus miraculously hid Himself from them.  

This wound up being a rather long post, but it seemed inappropriate to divide it.  It began with Jesus's not condemning the woman caught in adultery, and then He went into a most patient and extensive explanation of who He was.  With the utmost patience, Jesus fully answered every one of the Jews' questions and objections, but with boldness of the truth.  In His example, we may learn a lot about patience and meekness, but not meekness to the point of compliance.  Although patient, Jesus was bold in that He did not shy away from the truth, even in the face of provocation from others.  Adam Clarke wrote about how well Jesus balanced the two, patience and boldness or fidelity to the truth.  We often may be too meek and are therefore ineffective in relaying the truth of the Gospel.  However, we can also be too bold and zealous and come across as self-righteous and judgmental.  Jesus gave us a beautiful example of the balance of two virtues, patience and fidelity, and I didn't want to interrupt Him.

Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and His Lament Over Her

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 19:1) And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

Jesus and His disciples had been journeying toward Jerusalem and He now entered into Jericho and passed through it.

(2) And behold, a man named Zacchaeus who was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

There was a man there named Zacchaeus who was the head of the tax collectors and was very rich.

(3) And he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the crowd because he was little of stature.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and know who He was but could not get to Him because of the crowd of people around Jesus, and also because he was a short man.

(4) And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was to pass that way.

Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree that was beside where Jesus would be passing.

(5) And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must abide at your house."

When Jesus came to the place at the sycamore tree, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus and spoke to him, calling him by name.  He told him to hurry down because He needed to stay at his house.  

(6) And he made haste and came down and received Him joyfully.

Zacchaeus was surely very happy that Jesus had noticed him and asked him to come down from the tree and prepare for Him to stay at his house.  He hurriedly came down and received Jesus joyfully.

(7) And when they saw, they all murmured, saying that He had gone to be a guest with a man who was a sinner.

When the people saw that Jesus had gone to be with Zacchaeus, they all murmured about his going to be a guest at the home of a sinner, for the Jews considered the tax collectors to be the lowest of sinners.

(8) And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and in the hearing of the people to say that he would give half his goods to the poor, and if he had ever wrongly taken anything from anyone by false accusation, he would make it up to the victim fourfold.  

(9) And Jesus said to him, "This day salvation has come to this house for he is also a son of Abraham."

Jesus said to Zacchaeus in the hearing of the people that salvation had come to his house that day.  Jesus was the literal Salvation; there is salvation in no one else.  Because of his repentance, salvation of his eternal soul had come that day.  As a Jew, he may have been a descendant of Abraham, but being saved by His faith in Jesus, he was then worthy to be called a son of Abraham.

(10) "For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

As if to answer the people who were murmuring about His fellowshipping with sinners, Jesus said that He had come to search out and save the ones who were lost.

(11) And as they heard these things, he added and spoke a parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

While the people were listening and hearing what He said, Jesus went on to add a parable, mainly because they were nearing Jerusalem and He knew the people were expecting a temporal princely kingdom to appear.

(12) He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return."

Therefore Jesus began His parable.  He told of a nobleman who went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then he would return.  In those days a prince or king would have to go to Rome to receive recognition of his right to the kingdom by the Roman emperor.  This is symbolic of Jesus ascending into heaven far away receiving His kingdom from the Father after having done His will and with the plan to return.

(13) "And he called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds and said to them, 'Occupy until I come.'"

The nobleman called his ten servants and gave them each one pound of gold or silver.  He told them to occupy until he returned.  Again this is symbolic of Jesus ascending to faraway heaven and asking His people to occupy until His return.  Each servant of Jesus is given certain gifts or talents to use until His return.

(14) "But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'"

The citizens of that kingdom rejected the nobleman as their king just as the Jews rejected Jesus.

(15) "And it came to pass when he returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called to him, to whom he had given the money that he might know how much every man had gained by trading."

Rejected or not, the nobleman received the kingdom, just as Jesus, whether men want to acknowledge it or not, is Lord of His kingdom, and He will return just as the nobleman did to receive an account of His servants.  The nobleman's servants dealt in money, working to enrich the nobleman's kingdom.  Jesus's servants deal in spiritual gifts that enrich the kingdom of God on earth.

(16) "Then came the first, saying, 'Lord, your pound has gained ten pounds.'"

The first servant came to the nobleman and told him that with the pound he had been given, he had increased it to ten more pounds.  Notice the servant said, "your pound."  This is symbolic of the gifts God gives each of us.  Anything we receive is on loan to us from God as it is all His.  We are to take the gifts we are given and use them to increase the kingdom of God.

(17) "And he said to him, 'Well, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'"

The nobleman told the first servant he had done well, and because he had been faithful in the little he had given him, he would then entrust him with authority over ten cities.  Likewise, our rewards in heaven will be proportionate to our faithfulness in increasing God's kingdom on earth.

(18) "And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has gained five pounds.'"

The second servant came to the nobleman and told him that he had increased the one pound he had been given an additional five pounds.  As servants of Christ on earth, some of His servants will do more than others.

(19) "And he said likewise to him, 'You be also over five cities.'" 

The nobleman gave that servant authority over five cities, as Jesus will reward His servants in proportionate amounts according to their faithfulness in increasing His kingdom on earth.

(20) "And another came, saying, 'Lord, behold your pound which I have kept laid up in a napkin. (21) For I feared you because you are an austere man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.'"

Another servant came to the nobleman and gave him back his pound which he had saved in a napkin, doing nothing with it.  He said he had been afraid because he saw the nobleman as a stern and cruel man who took more than his fair share.  This is similar to what some people think about God; they see Him as a cruel God who takes from them more than they think is fair.  They have had no desire to learn the truth about Him, that in everything He asks of us, He gives us the grace and strength to do what He asks, and the benefits we receive are immensely more than anything we feel we have given up.  This servant was symbolic of the person who does nothing with the talents God gave him to advance the kingdom of God, but comes back to Him in the Judgment still possessing the talents, but having done nothing with them of any real lasting value.

(22) "And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow. (23) Why then did you not put my money in the bank that at my coming I might have acquired mine with interest?'"

The nobleman told the servant that he would judge him by the servant's own opinion of the nobleman's character.  If he thought he knew him to be a severe and strict man taking what was not his, then why wouldn't he at the very least put his pound in the bank to at least collect a little interest?  Likewise, if a person considers God to be a cruel God, then by his own logic, he should fear God and do the very minimum not to anger Him.  But, of course, that is merely an excuse to ignore God's laws and to live selfish sinful lives.

(24) "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take from him the pound and give to him who has ten pounds.'"

The nobleman told the others who stood by to take from the wicked servant the pound he had given him and give it to the one who had ten pounds.  Regarding the kingdom of God, this is not to be taken literally in every instance, that the talents of one who does not use them for the kingdom will be taken away and given to another.  However, it is certainly possible that certain grace and blessings that had been given to one in order to do the will of God might be taken away and given to another in order that God's will be done.  But generally, I believe this just means that the one doing the will of God and advancing His kingdom will be given more and more blessings.

(25) (And they said to Him, "Lord, he has ten pounds.")

This is meant to be a parenthetical statement interrupting Jesus's parable.  The bystanders listening to His parable are the ones who pointed out that that servant already had ten pounds, inferring that he had no need for another.  Perhaps their reasoning was that he should give it to one who had fewer pounds.

(26) "For I say to you that to everyone who has will be given, and from him who has not, even that he has will be taken away from him."

Jesus answered saying that anyone who had gifts and blessings of the Lord would be given more, that is if he was using them righteously, and anyone who had nothing to show for himself would lose that which had been given him.  This is similar to what Jesus had said in Luke 8:18, "Take heed therefore how you hear; for whoever has, to him shall be given, and whoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have."  In that instance, it was regarding truths and doctrines they would hear from Jesus; whoever had the spiritual gifts to understand and spread the doctrine of Christ would be given more, but those who did not have true spiritual knowledge would have even what they thought they had taken away, in that case so they would not pass on false doctrines that would endanger the souls of others.  In like manner, whoever had the talents and gifts to increase the kingdom of God on earth would be given more, and those who had none that they used for God's kingdom, would lose even that which they had.

(27) "But those my enemies who did not want that I should reign over them, bring here and slay them before me."

The nobleman in the parable turned his attention to those citizens who hated him (verse 14), and commanded that they be brought before him and slain.  That is what would soon happen to the Jews who hated and rejected Jesus Christ; they would be slain by the Roman soldiers.  Likewise, in a sense, that will happen at the Judgment when Christ's enemies will be cast into hell.

(28) And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

When Jesus finished His parable, He went on ahead on His journey to Jerusalem.  As Jerusalem was built on higher ground, He ascended up to Jerusalem.

(29) And it came to pass when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples (30) Saying, "Go into the village opposite where at your entering you shall find a colt tied on which never a man sat; loose him and bring him."

When Jesus came to Mount Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, near Bethphage and Bethany, two tracts of land that reached from the mountain to Jerusalem, He sent two of His disciples ahead to go into the village opposite them.  He foretold that they would find a colt upon which no man had ever sat, and they were to loose the colt and bring it to Jesus.

(31) "And if any man asks you, 'Why do you loose him?' you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of him.'"

Jesus went on to instruct the two disciples that if someone asked them why they were loosening the colt, they were simply to tell him that the Lord had need of it.

(32) And they who were sent went their way and found just as He had said to them.

The two disciples went into the village as they were commanded and found things just as Jesus had said they would.

(33) And as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why do you loose the colt?"

As the disciples were loosening the colt, its owners indeed asked them why they were doing so.

(34) And they said, "The Lord has need of him."

The disciples answered just as Jesus had told them to, that the Lord had need of him.  Mark 11:6 told us that they indeed let them go with the colt.

(35) And they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus on it.

They brought the colt to Jesus and cast their outer garments over it for Jesus to sit upon.

(36) And as He went, they spread their clothes on the road.

As Jesus went forward on the colt, people spread their clothes before Him on the road.

(37) And when He was come near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, (38) Saying, "Blessed the king who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

When Jesus had come near the other side of Mount Olivet at the descent of it, all of His followers began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had witnessed.  They shouted acknowledgment that Jesus was King who came in the name of the Lord, and there would be peace in heaven because He came to reconcile God to man.  They shouted that glory be given to God for the salvation and life brought by Jesus Christ.

(39) And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said to Him, "Master, rebuke Your disciples."

There were some Pharisees among the people who told Jesus to rebuke His disciples, for they probably found it unbearable that the people publicly bestowed such honor on Jesus.  They would undoubtedly call it blasphemy what the people did and pride and vanity in Jesus to allow such a display.

(40) And He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."

However, Jesus told them that even if those people were to hold their peace and not shout their praises and proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah, the stones would shout it, for it was impossible that these declarations not be made at that time.  One way or another, God would make known at that moment in time who was entering into Jerusalem!

(41) And when He was come near, He beheld the city and wept over it.

When Jesus had come near to Jerusalem, He looked at the city and began to weep over it.  He, of course, knew what was soon to happen to the city and its inhabitants, and He had compassion for it and for them.

(42) Saying, "If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."

As Jesus wept over Jerusalem, He lamented that Jerusalem had not known up to that day what would have brought them, Jerusalem's people, peace.  He had tried to bring them that peace that they had not known for a long time, but they had rejected Him.  Now it was too late; their fate was cemented, and Jesus wept for them.

(43) "For the days will come upon you that your enemies will cast a trench around you and surround you and keep you in on every side, (44) And will lay you even with the ground and your children within you, and they shall not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Jesus foretold how the days would come when Jerusalem's enemies, the Romans, would surround the city and level it to the ground with all the people in it.  There would not be one stone left upon another, it would be so flattened and destroyed, and that was because they had not known and understood, neither did they believe, that their Lord God had come to visit and save them.

(45) And He went into the temple and began to cast out those who sold in it and those who bought, (46) Saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'"

Jesus then went into the temple and began to drive out all the vendors who had set up to sell sacrificial animals and tokens of worship and to cast out the buyers, as well.  The account in John went further to add that Jesus had even made "a scourge of small cords" (John 2:15) to drive them out.  He quoted parts of Isaiah 56:7 that the Lord's house would be called a house of prayer and of Jeremiah 7:11 that it had become a den of robbers.

(47) And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him.

Jesus then taught in the temple and continued to teach every day until the Passover came.  However, the chief priests and scribes and the elders of the people conspired about how to destroy Him.

(48) And could not find what they might do for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

Though they conspired to destroy Jesus, the chief priests and scribes and elders could not find a way to do it because all the people constantly crowded around Him very attentive to what He had to say, and left them no opportunity to do what they wished to do.