We've made it a quarter of a year! Don't worry about getting behind, just keep toning those "read the Bible every day" muscles. Eventually it will get a lot easier.
This also means that you've read about a quarter of the Bible. That's something to celebrate. I'd suggest taking your Bible (and wife) and going out to McDonalds, getting a Senior Coffee © and their Cinnamon Melts ©
Deuteronomy 16-17
Deut. 16:1-17
These are the feasts again. Thanks to Laura, I'm seeing "at the place (He) will choose," all over the place. I never saw that before. Remember, these feasts and festivals were meant to focus their hearts on God and His love and deliverance. They really needed this help and what a neat way to remember God's love.
What also stands out to me more and more, is how God keeps mentioning that He brought them out of Egypt and their slavery and made them the most honored nation under heaven.
Deut. 16:18-22
The mention here of the judges and officials seems logical since these guys would be models of obedience to the community and they would make sure that the people held to these feasts.
Deut. 16:21-17:1
This must be referring to what the Canaanites placed next to their altars and the type of animals they offered. It didn't matter how artistic and beautiful the poles were, Israel was not to imitate the Canaanites. Neither were they to skimp on what they offered.
Deut. 17:2-13
To understand this section, we need to remember that for the past 38 years Israel has been averaging 400 funerals a day. Why? Because someone rebelled against the Lord and many were swept with them into bitterness and sin. This wasn't an open license to conduct "witch hunts," but rather this was a way of keeping the nation pure. If any Israelite wanted to live in another country and not hold the Sabbath, and eat pork chops, and worship other gods, all they had to do was leave and they were free. It was a big world and Israel was only a small piece of real estate. No one had to live in Israel.
Notice v. 8. If they had a big question and needed an answer, they just had to go to the place the Lord chose to set up the Tabernacle and ask the priest. What was so special about the priest? He had a special pouch on his ephod (bib apron) where he had the Urim and Thummim, remember? Amazingly, you never hear of Israel using this except on a couple of occasions. Probably, they didn't believe it, or didn't want God's answer, and didn't want the hassle of having to travel all the way to the Tabernacle.
Deut. 17:14-20
Vs. 16-17 Solomon, the wisest man in the world, broke all of these. In fact, the first thing Solomon did was make a marriage alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Vs. 18-20 When it says "Law," it is probably referring to the five books of Moses. Under the supervision of the Levites, the king was to make his own copy of the Law and he was to read from it every day of his life. I doubt that the wisest man in the world did that. I would say that David definitely did when he was king in Hebron for seven years and that Psalm 119 was a byproduct. I would also bet that Josiah did.
So what would writing out and reading the first five books of the Bible do for a king? At this point, we can ask that of ourselves. What does it give you? You get creation, the fall, and the redemptive plan of God working though Noah, to Abraham , to Israel. It gives you a perspective of life and this world, and it fills you with mission. More than everything else you see God's love in working to free men from sin and death.
As I was reading this morning, I thought of how important it is for us as disciples to be in the harvest and remember that God has rescued us. The further we get from the harvest, the less we remember what it was that God freed us from. Our salvation seems like a dusty trophy on a shelf. In Deuteronomy God constantly reminds them that He is the Lord their God who led them out of slavery. The same is true for us and Jesus tells Simon the Pharisee, "he who is forgiven little, loves little." How do we remember the value of our own salvation and where we were? By making disciples of lost people, we are constantly reminded of what it was that God freed us from and how needy we are of His grace and help.
Israel needed to remember their chains, and as disciples, so do we.
Luke 9:7-27
As you read all of this section, you can see how the parts fit together. Herod's question eventually leads to Jesus' question to the disciples regarding His identity. What you miss in all of this is that immediately after Jesus fed the 5000, the people and many disciples left Him as recorded in John 6:60-71. John doesn't have the specific questioning of the 12 that Matt., Mark and Luke have, that is, "Who do men say that I am?" But as the crowds and many of His disciples were turning away from Him, at that moment in John 6, He asked the 12 if they were going to leave too. Peter came up big in John 6. Here in Luke 9, it is sometime later (that same day or week?). Jesus asked them directly, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter shines again and Jesus makes him the pope (JUST KIDDING!!!).
Notice that Luke omits Jesus' words to Peter as seen in Matt. 16:18-19. Believe it or not, in Acts, there is a lot of tension in the Christian church, especially coming out of Jerusalem. You see this tension in Galatians 2:12 and in Acts 15:1. It might be that because Luke hung with Paul, and Paul was being constantly hounded by Christians from the "circumcision party," Luke didn't want to confuse his Gentile readers with Peter being the "big boss" and Jerusalem being the center of the world.
Vs. 21-27 have a bit different ring to them if you understand that many, perhaps hundreds of Jesus' disciples have left Him as a result of His "Bread of Life" sermon. I've had sermons like that too (JUST KIDDING!!!). A disciple sticks with Jesus even when it looks stupid to do so. The question is not what others think of Him (and think about us as a result), but the real question is "Who is He?" For us, there is no one else.
One more little thing. Notice what Jesus was doing before He asked the 12 this question. Luke is the only one who mentions that. This means that this question was very important and that He discussed it with the Father. This moment launched the 12 into a new level of their discipleship.
Psalm 72
This psalm is supposedly from Solomon. Sounds like he was having a good day. Some think that this psalm has a prophetic element looking at Jesus' millennial reign because of the absolute language used that couldn't be referring to Solomon.
I know this psalm is inspired, but knowing Solomon, I get the feeling reading this that I get from a preacher preaching on forgiveness who has never been deeply harmed by another person. Everything he says is true, but it lacks the reality of experience. Or being led in worship by someone who has never lived in poverty or pain, who has never waited in darkness and hopelessness for God and then experienced the miracle of His deliverance in the morning. The words are true, but there's something missing.
Proverbs 12:8-9
In some versions, verse nine is expressed differently, indicating that there's something in the Hebrew that isn't clear. There seems to be a play being made on the word "despised" (Greek "turn up your nose") in verse eight so that it is immediately reflected in the word for "lowly" (Greek "dishonor") in verse nine. It isn't clear if the good man in verse nine has a servant or is a despised common worker. The RSV, Luther and Einheits (both German) give this other sense. The proverb might look like this;
8 A man is commended according to his good sense,
but one of twisted mind is despised.
9 Better to be despised as a lowly servant and do your work
than to play the great man and lack bread.
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 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 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.
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