SEPTEMBER 30
Isaiah 60-62:5
When I read
these verses, I thought what it would be like if Israel today believed this
stuff. They would all call on God and say, blessed
is He who comes in the name of the Lord, and the Messiah would come. And He
will come someday, and they will call Him; but it will be in the darkness of
the Tribulation.
As you read
today remember that Israel was chosen to represent God in His plan to redeem
the world. As a result, every power of hell rained upon them to stop them.
Israel failed and became a visual aid of the sin of man rebelling in the
presence of God's help and love. God has shown us how desperately hopeless we
are without Christ and a new birth. In the Tribulation, Israel will carry God's
Word to a visibly dying world and will pay a high price for that. So, we
shouldn't wonder that when the Messiah comes, all nations will understand what
Israel has "borne" for the world. Jerusalem will be in ruins and the
throne of Jesus will be in the temple. The nations will come, and in gratitude
to God and to Israel, they will help rebuild and console this battered
servant/nation of God.
Isaiah 60
Vs. 1-3 This
sounds like the Tribulation and the coming of the Lord. The Lord will rise upon
the Jews at the beginning of the Tribulation and they will become His servant again.
At the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus returns visibly and bodily to
Jerusalem and ends all the fighting, all eyes will be on His people and His
city.
Ironically, as
darkness covers the earth, their fearless devotion to Christ will become a
light of salvation for many people on the earth.
Vs. 3-7 This
looks like the nations coming to Israel to beautify the temple where Jesus will
have His throne.
Vs. 8-9 This
looks like nations bringing wealth to honor Israel. Notice the last part of v.
9. These are the same words found in Isaiah 55:5. This verse shows the future
fulfillment of the promise made in Isaiah 55:5. These will be spectacular days
in the future.
Vs. 10-14
Notice that, as in all of Isaiah, the city is still a major focus of God's
attention. This is the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Tribulation. It will
become the joy of the nations to rebuild Zion.
Vs. 15-16 What
strikes me here is the phrase, from age
to age. Those thousand years of the Millennium will be a long time, but
then comes a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem.
Vs. 17-22 This
is a grand summary of blessing on the city and on the people. Verse 19 is also
described in Revelation 22:5.
Isaiah 61
Vs. 1-2 There
are words similar to these a few chapters back, but this is the portion that
Jesus read in Nazareth in Luke 4:17-21. He told the people as He read these
words, that they were being fulfilled in their hearing. And they took offense
at Him, meaning, they didn't believe that Jesus the carpenter could be this
person. In fact, these people that Jesus grew up with tried to murder Him after
He read this.
Jesus only
read to the word favor in v. 2. And the day of vengeance of our God and
what follows will be fulfilled at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns
to rescue and restore Israel. In this one verse you see the gap of time that is
now the age of harvest for the church.
It is
interesting that it mentions that comfort will come to those who mourn.
Choosing to mourn now shows an understanding of the dire situation the world
and mankind is in. I wonder if Jesus had these verses in mind in Matthew 5:4
when He said, Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Vs. 3-9 This is
what Jesus will do for His people.
Vs. 10-11 This
will be Israel's praise of God.
Isaiah 62:1-5
V. 1 Zion and
Jerusalem again. It seems that God is determined to keep preaching this in
spite of the darkness of the times and the sin of the people, because this
future glory and blessing is coming to Israel.
Vs. 2-5 The
unity between Israel and God will be complete.
As disciples
working in the harvest, we need to keep the vision of the end clearly before
us. God is saying all of this for a reason. It is to give us hope and strength.
In spite of what today looks like, we are to keep working in hope and joy
because we know what the end will look like. I believe this is what made Paul
able to do what He did in following Christ as a disciple in the harvest, making
disciples, who make disciples.
Philippians 1:27-2:18
Philippians
1:27-30
Vs. 27-30 So
why this call to unity? I think disunity and each man becoming absorbed in his
own problems was the effect that the persecution was beginning to have on them.
People may have been threatening them and they may have been very frightened.
Some people might have wanted to draw back and give in.
Vs. 29-30 These
are pretty big verses for a disciple. Staying out of conflict is not a part of
our call to follow Christ. In fact, Jesus said that following Him would bring
conflict. (Matt. 10:34 and Luke 12:51)
As we have just
read in Isaiah, God will bring things to a glorious end. In light of that, the
sufferings now are slight and momentary, and worth enduring, so that men and
women can reach out to Christ while there is still time.
Philippians
2:1-18
Vs. 1-11 These
are great verses. Songs have been written about these. So, I wonder how this
call to unity above fits to the call of unity in vs. 1-2 and rolls into this
description of Jesus.
It seems to me
that the unity of the church is dependent upon a deep connection between
members as they serve together. Especially in this stress the church was
facing, with all sorts of fears and emotions flying around, it couldn't become
"every man for himself;" but rather everyone had to bind together.
But that binding had to be around the same mindset, which I think had to do
with following Christ in the harvest.
Jesus Himself
was the model for the disciples and is the model for all of His followers. In
light of our salvation and the need of mankind to be saved, each disciple is
called upon to serve one another as we serve in the harvest. For even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark
10:45)
Vs. 12-13 This
unity would take some work and be a matter of obedience. They needed to
remember that God was still working, inspiring them, and using them in the
harvest.
Vs. 14-18 At
first, the command to do all things (everything)
without grumbling and disputing seems
like a general duty; but it is related to their witness in the harvest. Since
the grumbling and questioning do not have a clear object, I think it has to do
with each member understanding that what was happening to them (like Job) was
from God, for His purpose. Since they could never be outside of God's control,
the situations they faced were sanctioned and allowed by God. If they followed
Christ in love, those circumstances would put them into situations where they
would be lights as they held fast the
word of life.
Vs. 16-18 I
take this to be Paul's hope as a maker of disciples that those for whom he had
risked so much and for whom he had worked so hard would follow Christ in this
time of stress, bear fruit, and make disciples, who make disciples.
V. 17 Paul
seems to have understood that he might not be released but would be put to
death. When Paul talks like this again at the end of 2 Timothy, he has no
doubt.
Psalm 72
Verse 20 says
this is a prayer of David. David was asking God to bless his son. With that in
mind, I'm seeing David talking more about Jesus than Solomon. God did bless
Solomon. But God really blessed the Son of David, God's own Son. Just for
exercise in Bible study, circle each use of may.
Also, look at what this king does.
You can't fool me (especially after reading Isaiah), this is the Messiah.
Vs. 1-4 This is
a call for God to bless the Son with righteousness and the power to deliver the
needy.
Vs. 5-7 As the
people fear and follow, He will be to them life and righteousness and peace.
Vs. 8-11 This
is asking for God to give the Son of David dominion.
Vs. 12-14
This almost sounds like Isaiah 53:12, Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore
the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Vs. 15-17 His
name will endure forever. How did
David know?
Vs. 18-20 Amen and Amen!
Proverbs 24:11-12
Did you get
this? This is a very strong warning, but it is nothing a disciple in the
harvest needs to fear. That's why we are in the harvest and it is what the love
of Christ compels us to do. We who have been saved know the peril of those who
do not know Christ. Out of love, we know we have to do something, and that
particular "something" is working in the harvest following our Lord.
The last thing a disciple should say or feel is, "Who cares?"
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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