This looks like a good day to celebrate. You've completed
six months of reading your one-year Bible. Sounds like a good day for a Frappuccino©
or a Chiller. Keeping up on the Bible is the goal, not these reading notes. The
Lord will bless your effort and the Spirit will give you what you need to
follow the Lord in the harvest.
2
Kings 18:13-19:37
These are two great chapters of the Bible. As disciples we
need to be inspired by these. We need to be inspired by King Hezekiah, a great
lover of God, leading his nation in the darkest of times facing an unstoppable
world power. There are probably a million ways to apply what we have here, but
there is one application that is going to repeat again and again: When God
allows us to be pushed into a corner where there is no hope, He might be on the
verge of giving a deliverance that is not only for us, but is also a sign for everyone
else. Hezekiah is facing total annihilation by Assyria. Unknown to him, soon
all nations would be praising the God of Israel and sending Hezekiah
"Thank-you" notes.
2 Kings 18:13-37
Vs. 13-16 Notice that Hezekiah tried to avoid a fight. The
reason Hezekiah said he had sinned is that the local nations, including Judah,
had banded together to resist Assyria. Now, all of these nations were either
conquered or they had withdrawn. Egypt was a weaker world power and unreliable.
Hezekiah and Jerusalem were standing alone.
Vs. 17-18 Apparently the Assyrians were not happy with the
tons of precious metals they had just received. They wanted everything and were
ready for a long siege of Jerusalem. Hezekiah and his leaders had already
anticipated this.
Vs. 19-25 This is the intimidation part of Rabshakeh's
speech. As you read, notice how often the Rabshakeh tries to use a religious
argument to defeat the morale of the people. It will happen three more times.
Vs. 26-27 I'll bet they wished afterward that they hadn't
asked Rabshakeh not to speak in Hebrew.
Vs. 28-35 But now that he was excited, Rabshakeh revealed
more of his disdain for Hezekiah and for the Lord.
This morning I was reading over the temptation of Jesus and
realized for the first time that the temptation to throw Himself off the temple
was really based on God's promise of help to Jesus. Satan was trying to get
Jesus not to wait for the Father to help Him, but to force the promise and get
help "now." In essence Satan was telling Jesus not to wait, but to
press the "easy" button. Now that is a temptation I can relate to. One
of the hardest things we do as disciples is to hope in God and wait on Him in
the harvest. And the temptation to "give up" doesn't come from the
lost, but from believers. It might come from believers who are not living for
Christ in the harvest, telling us that we're being impractical or whatever
sounds like it might be from God, but has nothing to do with living to glorify
the Father by bearing much fruit and so proving to be His disciples. It might also
be coming from disciples who don't understand the irregular way God is leading
us in the harvest. This is what will happen to Paul today in Acts. No one will
be expecting the Lord to lead a choice servant like Paul into such grave
trouble.
I'll bet Hezekiah was tempted too. That offer of "a
chicken in every pot" that the Rabshakeh was making must have sounded
good. Instead, against all reason, they hoped in God and waited.
Vs. 36-37 Notice the obedience.
2 Kings 19
Vs. 1-4 This is a godly man leading the people in worship
and fasting and crying out. This is how the northern kingdom and its kings and
people should have come to the Lord. That's what all those miracles were meant
to encourage.
Vs. 5-7 Isaiah said that God did indeed hear. The faith here
is incredible. They are still surrounded, but they understood Isaiah to be a
prophet of God and his words were the Word of God. Imagine the contrast here to
what happened in Israel for years during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha.
Vs. 8-13 Rabshakeh should have left well enough alone. This
turn of events must have made him think he would lose face and that the people
in Jerusalem "might think" this was from God. So he decided to put
his arrogance and ignorance in writing, just to make sure everyone knew.
Vs. 14-19 We haven't seen this kind of faith and godliness
since David. Close your eyes and try to visualize what this might have looked
like, the king coming before the Holy Place dressed in sackcloth, spreading the
letter out on the ground, himself lying on the ground before that Holy Place
that held the bread of God's provision, the lamp of God's presence and leading,
and the incense of prayers constantly being heard by God. Hezekiah realized
that just beyond the veil were two golden cherubim, and between them was the ark
of the covenant, but that this only represented the reality of God upon His
throne, carefully listening to every word that Hezekiah was saying.
V. 19 This is amazing and inspiring. Hezekiah, in this
darkness, had a glimpse of God's redemptive purpose.
V. 20 God hears prayer.
Vs. 21-28 Much of this sounds like the book of Isaiah,
obviously. It also sounds like what God said to Pharaoh, But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so
that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Ex. 9:16) This is how God
uses the arrogant.
Notice God's commitment to Zion and to Jerusalem. In 100
years God would have these places destroyed because of Judah's disobedience,
but God promised Solomon that His eyes would always look there and that His
name would someday dwell there forever.
V. 28 This reference to hooks is referring to how the
Assyrians used hooks to lead away their captives.
Vs. 29-31 After this, this small remnant of Judah would
prosper. Even though the people hadn't been able to work the fields, God would
supply what they needed. He would make the land produce enough food all by
itself. That was the sign, and really, that would be nothing compared to
providing manna for forty years.
Vs. 32-34 God is still responding to His promise to David.
Vs. 35-37 Assyria was no longer a world power. In a moment, God
broke them. Years earlier He had done this to Egypt, and they never recovered. There
is rejoicing among nations; there is freedom; there is a vacuum of power in the
world. All eyes are on Israel and their God. And people of all nations are
beginning to send boxes of chocolates to Hezekiah.
Oh yeah. And again, God opened windows in heaven to supply
the needs of His people. When the few survivors of the Assyrian army awoke,
found the dead and left (fled?) for home, they left a tent city full of
supplies, food and precious metals (money). For Hezekiah and the people it
would have been like a super Wal-Mart. God was taking care of His people and
because they followed, ironically, there was “a chicken in every pot,”
compliments of the Assyrians.
Being moved to the brink of despair spiritually and
emotionally is not fun, but God does that for His glory and to teach us what we
could not learn in any other way. As disciples following Christ in the harvest,
we need to bear the weight of faith, showing to others what it means to have
our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and who saves
those who believe.
Acts
21:1-16
Vs. 1-6 Verses like v. 4 have led people to believe that it
wasn't God's will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. Assuming for now that it was in
fact God's will for Paul to go (we'll find proof positive in Ch. 23), why do
you think the Spirit was telling people to tell Paul that trouble was before
him? I don't think the Spirit was telling them Paul shouldn't go, but the
Spirit was telling them that Paul was facing some very hard times. This reminds
me of the sons of the prophets telling Elisha that he was about to lose Elijah.
Vs. 8-9 So we meet Philip again. Notice the words that Luke
uses. Philip was one of the seven. In
the background you can almost hear the theme song of the "Magnificent
Seven."
It is interesting that Paul was a part of the mob that
killed one of the seven.
Vs. 10-11 What I learn here is that if a guy named Agabus
comes into the room, I'll definitely tell him to stay away from my stuff.
What's interesting here is that the Holy Spirit is saying
this will happen. It is not an "if-then" proposition. Paul was
definitely going; this was definitely happening. It was God's will. So why is
the Holy Spirit doing this?
Vs. 12-15 Paul was used greatly by God. Knowing Paul,
because of what the grace of God made him, Paul was actually a great man. Imagine
the shock to the church to have one of your heroes put on ice, in jail, for
over three years on some silly technicality of the law and some political
corruption. You could imagine that people would be discouraged and churches would
be shocked. Paul's opponents would say, "See, we told you." But the
Spirit is warning the spiritually perceptive, that His plan in using Paul is
about to change. I think the Spirit is getting everyone ready. This is not
Paul's mistake. It is God's will and plan.
V. 15 This guy, Mnason (whose name appears to be missing an
important vowel), is from Cyprus, just like Barnabas. It was the believers from
Cyprus who first began to share the gospel with Gentiles. This would be someone
in Jerusalem with whom Paul could feel at home. As we'll see, Paul even had
relatives in Jerusalem, but they might not have been believers or sympathetic to
how Paul had "thrown his life away."
As disciples, sometimes I think we second guess what happens
to others, as if we are God and know better. God's will doesn't always look
smooth and straight. His will for us, for a week, a year or a decade of our lives,
doesn't necessarily have to follow our plan or have to make sense to everyone
else. We only need to follow Christ in the harvest, wherever that harvest is,
whatever the field might look like. We draw near to God every day bearing our
cross. If that's all we know of His will, that's a plan and all we need to do.
Psalm
149
I know it is easy to identify with the "praising"
part of this psalm and not really endorse the "judgment" part of the
psalm. I wonder if the people in Jerusalem who heard the "Rabshakeh Rant"©
would have understood both parts of this psalm?
Vs. 1-4 With the reference to a new song and to Zion rejoicing in its king, you could imagine
this being the day when Jesus walks into Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom to
reign forever.
Vs. 5-9 Notice that the godly
are mentioned three times in this psalm. The reference to the two-edged swords does sound like the
judgment of God at the end of the age.
I would say that vs. 7-9 give this psalm a very prophetic,
forward look to the judgment of the nations at the coming of Christ.
As disciples, we need to remember that a part of the gospel
is judgment. It is not only love's privilege to make an offer of redemption,
but it is also love's duty to warn of impending judgment. And judgment will
come and we will not only welcome it when it does, but we will be a part of
that judgment.
1
Corinthians 6:2-3 Or do you not know that
the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are
you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters
pertaining to this life!
Proverbs
18:8
The words of the Rabshakeh were meant to divide and go deep.
He said that God had sent him. He said God didn't care. He said life could be
good by following him. As a pastor and disciple, after all these years, being
on both sides of whispers and gossip, I think it is always a bad thing when
this happens in a church. If you can't talk openly, sin is around the corner. If
I feel I need to whisper, I might need to leave. We are here to follow Christ
in the harvest and see the lost reached and disciples made. Focusing on being a
disciple who makes disciples can, itself, take away a lot of reasons to
whisper. For the sake of Christ and His work through us, we are told to be
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If we are
whispering at church, there might be something wrong that needs to be
addressed. If it can't be addressed and the Lord has made it important to us,
we might need to leave before we cause upset and division.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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