Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.

2:22 made he a woman. This remarkable record of the formation of the first woman could hardly have been invented by human imagination. Neither can it be interpreted in the context of theistic evolution, even if one could interpret the formation of Adam’s body from the dust in evolutionary terms. Its historicity is confirmed in the New Testament (I Timothy 2:13; I Corinthians 11:8). All other men have been born of woman, but the first woman was made from man.

3:16 multiply thy sorrow. Had Eve not sinned, the experience of childbirth would have been easy and pleasant, like every other experience in the perfect world God had made. The Curse, however, fell in a peculiar way on Eve and her daughters, and the pain and sorrow of conception and birth would be greatly multiplied. Nevertheless, the bearing of children, especially by a woman who loves God and seeks to obey Him, is a time of blessing and rejoicing even though accompanied by a time of suffering (John 16:21). In the experience of giving birth, every woman experiences by proxy, as it were, the privilege granted Mary when she became the mother of the promised Seed. Furthermore, she even becomes a type of Christ, who “shall see His seed...He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:10-11). The suffering is submerged in the rejoicing, and this in itself goes far toward mitigating the physical pain (note I Timothy 2:15).

9:6 blood be shed. This establishment of capital punishment, administered judicially by man, has never been changed or withdrawn. It is still God’s law today, and forms the basic authorization of the institution of human government. It implies also the enactment and enforcement of regulations for those human activities (e.g., stealing, adultery) which if unrestrained, would lead to murder. It does not stipulate the form, but only the fact of government. It extends the primeval mandate by giving man the responsibility to control not only the animals but his own society also. The original commission in effect had authorized the natural sciences and technologies; this new extension incorporated in God’s covenant with Noah in effect authorizes the social sciences and their technologies (e.g., psychology, law, sociology, anthropology, political science, government, police, criminology). Although capital punishment is the proper prerogative of human society (“every man’s brother”) in so far as strict justice is concerned, mitigating circumstances (especially sincere repentance and restitution) may warrant extension of mercy in individual cases. Nevertheless, the basic right of governments to exact capital punishment as penalty for murder cannot legitimately be abrogated as far as God is concerned. This is clear even in the Christian dispensation. The eating of meat (I Timothy 4:3,4), the abstinence from blood (Acts 15:19, 20) and the authority of the governmental sword (Romans 13:4; Acts 25:11) were reaffirmed to the early church, making it clear that the Noahic mandate still applied.

18:8 did eat. It is significant that not only Abraham, but also the three visitors–two of whom were angels, the other being Christ Himself in a theophany–all ate the meat prepared by Sarah and the servant. Whatever nutritional merits vegetarian diets might or might not have, they are not required by Biblical commandment. Note Genesis 9:3,4; I Timothy 4:3-4.

18:11 they dealt proudly. This is the first mention in the Bible of the sin of pride, and it is significant that it is referring to the primeval sin of “the gods”–that is, the supposed deities of the pagan nations. The first sin was that of Lucifer, or Satan, who aspired to dethrone God (Isaiah 14:12-15; I Timothy 3:6).

19:8 we will do. Moses, as the mediator between God and His people, is here a distinct type of the Lord Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:5). Note that the people promised, both before and after the giving of the law (Exodus 24:3) to do everything the Lord commanded. 19:17 out of the camp. This is the first of more than thirty references to events that took place outside of the camp of the Israelites in the wilderness. Anything unclean was to be “burned without the camp” (Hebrews 13:11). As He bore our sins, the Lord Jesus “suffered without the gate,” and thus we are exhorted to “go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:12,13).

24:10 the God of Israel. This appearance of God to the elders was a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Note John 1:18; I Timothy 6:16.

33:20 shall no man see me. Note John 1:18; I Timothy 6:16; etc. No man can see God in the glory of His triune personal presence, but He often revealed Himself through “the angel of His presence” (e.g., Isaiah 63:9), that is, a pre-incarnate “theophany” of Christ.

11:2 beasts which ye shall eat. This remarkable 11th chapter of Leviticus is controversial, not only because of its division of animals into clean animals (suitable for eating and for sacrifice) and unclean animals, but also because a great uncertainty exists among Hebrew scholars regarding the identity of many of the kinds of animals as named. The dietary restrictions no doubt were mainly for health and sanitation reasons, as well as ceremonial applications. The latter uses have been removed in the present economy (Acts 10:9-15; I Timothy 4:3-4), but the health and esthetic factors may still be worth consideration.

23:21 shout of a king. It would be many years before Israel would have an earthly king. Balaam’s prophetic description could only apply to a coming King who would bring final victory to the people of God (Zechariah 9:9; 14:9,16; I Timothy 6:14,15).