February 18, Reading Notes

Leviticus 6:1-7:27

Lev. 6:1-7 probably belongs to the previous section. Note the reoccurring words, “realizes his guilt,” etc…

Notice that this is not “unintentional” but when the person’s conscience gets the better of him, he voluntarily seeks to make restitution. Notice also, it is restitution to the neighbor, plus the cleansing for his own sin.

In David’s sin against Uriah, I don’t see restitution to his neighbor. I wonder if that is why Ahithophel hated him.

Lev. 6:8-7:21

If we were just doing broad strokes, this section seems held together by the words, “this is the law…” All the main sacrifices are described, and certain rights and stipulations are added to them. Notice the difference in the sacrifices and who can eat them. Notice also that a couple of them have are given to Aaron and his sons forever. Try to see what you can observe.

Lev. 7:22-27

This again is the very strong, life or death, prohibition of eating (raw?) fat or blood. Anyway, I understand the part about the blood, but I’ll have to ask Him about the fat when I get to heaven.

Mark 3:7-30

To this point, Mark has blazed through 12-16 months of Jesus’ ministry.

There are three major things in this section.

First, Jesus’ popularity has skyrocketed. Vast multitudes followed Him. It shows that His ability to heal was the first attraction. It think God was OK with this, but only as a means to confront people with the truth. In John 6, after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus will confront the crowds about using Him as a mobile food service and healing station.

Second, Jesus selects twelve disciples and calls them apostles. I love the description of this in verse 14, and the part that really hits me is where it says, “to be with him.” I think this is why a lot of discipleship doesn’t work. You can’t become a disciple via a large class. Jesus brought them to Him. He spent time with them. He involved them in all His ministry and they learned on the job. This slower, more personal, investment doesn’t fit our model of ministry by overburdened, multi-tasking, leaders.

Third, as mentioned in Matthew, the Jews finally figured out how to “explain” Jesus’ power. Of course, He was possessed by Satan. Seeing His power first hand, and attributing it to Satan, thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit, was unforgivable. As I said in Matthew, my take on this is that the unforgivable sin could have only occurred back then, witnessing Jesus’ power first hand.

Psalm 37:1-11

This Psalm looks like the companion to Psalm 36. There are some great, great memory verses in this Psalm that speak to humbly waiting on the Lord and trusting Him.

What verses would you encourage others to memorize?

If I said that Jesus apparently knew this Psalm well and quoted it, what verse would it be?

I think that for a disciple, working in the harvest, meditating on some of these verses is like having a quiet cup of coffee with the Lord, just soaking in His love.

Proverbs 10:3-4

Ok, lets try this again.

The Lord gives the righteous a diligent hand , and so, does not let him go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked with a slack hand that causes poverty.

Again, this is just a suggestion, looking for a connection in thought.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

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. 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, 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.