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215 illustrations
He does not merely condemn; He first enumerates the favours which He had shown Israel, recalling the conditions of the covenant: no entangling alliances with the inhabitants, no tolerance for their idolatry.
Exell observed in *The Biblical Illustrator* (1887) that we might divide any land into three parts: open enemies, false professors, and genuine Christians.
Yet names changing need not signal spiritual death; they may herald transformation.
Yet before presenting the king, he made one final appeal to the people—a last attempt, 'all but hopeless,' to persuade them to abandon their rebellious desire for monarchy.
Cyrus the Great, born a prince of a small principality at the head of the Gulf of Oman, rose to conquer the Medes, Persians, Asia Minor including Lydia, and finally Babylon itself.
First, the natural seed of Israel—*sperma* (offspring)—recalls the nation called out of Egypt under Moses.
Matthew Pool's insight reveals why: Israel was not merely a collection of disconnected individuals, but one unified body bound together in corporate worship of the Almighty God.
Against this apostasy, the prophet confronted those who declared, "It is vain to serve God." The nature of God's demanded service comprises five essential marks.
First, they are grounded in a faithful covenant *diatheke*—a binding agreement sealed by Yahweh Himself, not dependent upon the wavering heart of man.
Achan's sin was not mere theft; it was *maʿal* (breach of trust), that treacherous departure from God described throughout the Pentateuch.
The Biblical Illustrator (1887) unpacks four essential truths from this revelation: First, Christ is true God, equal in essence, power, and glory with the Father.
David speaks not of mere bodily existence, but of life in its truest sense—union with Elohim himself.
A son honors his father; a servant fears his master—yet Israel, the son of Yahweh, offers Him what it would not dare present to an earthly ruler.
Those who serve Elohim must continue their gleaning from morning through evening, not merely offering a morning of service before turning to pleasure.
The last king of David's line was captured on the very ground where Israel first entered its inheritance—at Jericho, where unarmed men trusting in Elohim watched the walls collapse.
The prophet presents three essential truths about obedience to Yahweh.
The inmost essence of the law is revealed in a single, lofty conception: 'to love Jehovah thy God.' This is the sovereign commandment, to which even the minute regulations of Leviticus are subordinate.
In what sense does the Almighty cast off His people?
Each was made according to His sovereign purpose, functioning as links between His eternal decrees and His redemptive acts—the voice of the decree becoming the herald of the act.
I am thy part and thine inheritance' (Numbers 18:20).
Initially, when God inscribed the law upon man's heart at creation, the preparation and writing belonged exclusively to Elohim.
They know that what remains unmentioned might be deemed intentionally excluded.
The Lord keeps His people in six distinct ways.
Spurgeon observes that David's sons could never claim ignorance of their obligation.