I'm writing these comments to and for those at New Song who are following a One Year Bible and involved in a discipleship cell. We're meeting weekly and discussing the texts, not necessarily my comments. We're growing together, learning to become and make disciples who make disciples. We will all be leading others in this process and training them to do likewise.
The comments I'm writing are in no way exhaustive, but meant to give some leading thoughts on how the text applies to us as disciples and to encourage and stimulate our growth in reading the Bible, with the effect that we will grow as disciples and encourage the growth of others as disciples growing in the word.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible, in fact, no one in our church reads the version I do, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and 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.
Genesis 20:1-22:24
There are lots of lessons in these passages. What is the Spirit pointing you to?
20:1-18
God protected Abraham from himself. Even a man of faith like Abe had feet of clay, was proud of his "little" trick, had an area of fear and weakness. It is enough to wonder how someone who had seen so much from God and living in the very fulfillment he had longed for could fear man and doubt God. There is a root of trickery here that blooms in Jacob.
But I look at myself, knowing Christ, having the Spirit and the Word and a mission, and I do the same. This passage is a warning to all who earnestly follow Christ.
Sarah was apparently still a "hot chick" at 90. Never give up!
The "unbeliever" is really the hero here, although he had a good, educational encounter with God, that would prove useful later with Abraham and Isaac. The event was used by God for many purposes.
21:1-21
Note that God refers to Hagar as the "your slave woman," not "your other wife."
We could go after Sarah for her attitude toward Hagar and Ishmael, but God doesn't. He tells Abe to go with it. Not all disharmony is outside of God's will, and like the thing that happened with Abimelech, he uses this also within His working.
As disciples working with unbelievers or in churches, things happen relationally beyond our control. People get into conflicts and things break in funny, unexpected ways when there is constant discord. Instead of losing our minds, we need to rest in the Lord and realize He might have a deeper purpose in the thing we're calling a failure or catastrophe.
Note that God was with Ishmael and blessed him. Note also, that there were already Egyptians, Syrians, Assyrians, Canaanites and Palestinians. The place was already crawling with people. I've heard people say that the major mistake that Abe and Sarah made here was the birth of Ishmael, whose people became the enemies of the Jews. However, later, the Edomites and Moabites and Ammonites were all enemies too and none were related to Ishmael. It seems to me, from reading the text, the future enemies of the Jews were already in place and God is blessing Ishmael.
21:22-34
Abraham is still the man of faith. The recording of this encounter will make sense of what happens to Isaac later. Abraham could have taken the land, or at least Abimelech's kingdom. Abraham's camp probably had more people than Abimelech, and needed more territory. He could have "taken" the promised land without waiting. He endured inconvenience and discomfort to pursue God's promise in waiting. What a great lesson for us as disciples, choosing to hunger and work in the harvest making disciples, when we could just enjoy now.
22:1-24
Note that God "tests" Abe. He doesn't tempt him to sin. Apparently it is to be expected that God will "test" us too, to see if what He has given us has become an idol, or if our hearts are wholly His, even with His blessing.
People often wonder if they would have the faith of Abraham, meaning, if God asked them to sacrifice their son if they could do it. Note that Isaac was a teenager, so knowing teens, maybe Abe was tempted. Bad joke.
Testing is "fitted" to us and our lives following God. To answer the above question, if you had had all of Abe's experience with God, had all His faith to wait and believe, lived 25 years without hope and saw the promised child, left home only on the word of God, etc., etc., etc., then yes this test would have been meaningful to you and you would have done what he did. Your name would also be Abraham.
Interestingly here, we are told in Hebrews that Abe knew God could raise Isaac from the dead. Yet with Abimelech, Abe has such fear for his own life. Maybe that is why this test was so great. Abe had to deal with his deepest fear and, in light of all the Lord had done for him, Abe finally submitted his fear of death to the hand of God.
Lots of lessons for a disciple here. God will test us even though it seems unfair, since we are straining to do what others are not. Fruit will endure and lead to more fruit if the branch is wholly connected and abiding in the vine. Your love and devotion to your Savior is more important than making disciples and reaching the lost and all the "Christian" stuff you do. In Ephesus, they lost their first love, but loved the work, and Jesus wasn't pleased and threatened to remove them. It is too easy to make an idol of ministry and blessing.
The little genealogical note is to give us some info that will soon become important.
Matthew 7:15-29
These are Jesus' final instructions, warnings, qualifications to His disciples in the sermon. Note that there were not just the 12 or the 70 but possibly a couple hundred "would be" disciples present.
Jesus is bracing them for the reality of false disciples. He is also getting them to probe their own motives in following Him. This section in Matthew could not have been a better complement to the passage in the OT today of Abraham and Isaac.
Disciples are known by their fruit. Some people come to Christ for themselves, their needs, their name, their comfort, etc. If a person's faith is so private and fruitless as to be invisible, I think James would say, "Faith without works is dead." A disciple has to make sure he is discipling. Following isn't an invisible walk, for as Jesus says, a light is lit to give light to those without it. Jesus doesn't seem to have a category for disciples who are allowed to hide it under a bushel. As disciple makers, we need to be putting it "out there" ourselves and leading others to do the same. Fruit is necessary. Also see John 15.
But activity is not enough, even in the name of Jesus. Look at the list. They prophesied, they cast out demons, they did mighty works. Holy Cow! How did they do that without knowing Christ? I don't know, but it is possible. Note that Jesus doesn't say, "I knew you once, but you got off track." He says, "I never knew you." Never. They came to the light to fulfill their own needs. Not because of Love for Jesus.
We need to be very careful and discerning as disciples, too, even if we do know and love Jesus. We need, like Abe above, to be very careful that the ministry and God's blessings do not become idols to us and remove us from loving Christ. It happens every day.
The key to living as a disciple is so simple: He who hears His words and does them. Hearing is more than reading, but you can't "hear" them if you don't read them. This is why we get people into the Word. But they themselves, like the parable of the soil and so many of Jesus' parables, need to make the effort, to attach the value to His Words and to following Him. All of this issues from our love and desire for Him, to understand and believe and trust His Word. And then we have to do them. We have to do them. The "doing" is not duty if you're grateful and in love. I know it's hard, but it shouldn't be a "duty" to tell the dying where we found life.
A great song to listen to after reading this section in Matthew is Consider the Cost by Steve Camp. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8InK4-Jjgqo
Psalm 9:1-12
As a disciple, note that the adoration and praise of God (vs. 1, 2, 9) are only possible because David was oppressed for following God. We will have this kind of praise, if we pay the price of discipleship, following Christ, reaching the lost, making disciples who make disciples. This is the best way I know to catch "heat" from all sorts of people.
Proverbs 2:16-22
For the disciple, wisdom, being the "wise man" who built the house above, keeps you from a lot of foolishness. One area of danger, that Solomon is about to mention repeatedly, is seeking sexual fulfillment in the wrong places, being enticed by sexual adventure.
What would be more relevant to our culture? Our ignorance of sexuality, its origin and real spiritual irresistibility, its need for proper fulfillment, will have this world, and individual lives, in chaos until Christ returns. A lot of devoted disciples, men and women, are ruined here.
Note verse 17 and the mention of faithfulness to her husband and faithfulness to God. This is the same thing God mentions in Malachi 2:14, and is seen in Romans 1:18ff and in the Fall. The two, the faithfulness to God and spouse are linked.
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