May 1, Reading Notes

Although they are not linked in our reading, both Samson and Samuel lived during the same time and both are listed as judges in Israel. I mention this because both of these judges share some common elements and one very strong similarity. They both have unusual birth stories that God takes a lot of time to describe. I wonder why.

Judges 13-14

Judges 13

Notice that this entire chapter is the birth story of Samson. That really interests and surprises me. I've never noticed this before.

Notice who the angel is who speaks to Samson's parents.

Vs. 4-5 Notice that the mother is forbidden to drink wine or strong drink, and the only Nazirite condition given to the child is that his hair wouldn't be cut. Samson will violate every Nazirite condition except the cutting of his hair until, well, you know the story.

V. 14 Apparently the parents obeyed this.

V. 25 It is hard to understand what this stirring of the Spirit was, since among other things, Samson was not a moral man or devoted follower of God. It looks like the Lord used Samson in spite of himself. This is not a good role model for kids, even if he had "superhero" strength.

I think the lesson I would see here, for me or us, is that God's blessing and privilege do not determine obedience or gratefulness. These parents were blessed and they obeyed, but Samson will not obey. He is listed in the Hebrews 11 for his faith, and God used him, but his faith was mingled with deep rebellion and selfishness. I think the lesson for us following Christ in the harvest, during this very dangerous time on earth, is to be very careful, like Paul says in Ephesians 5:15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

It is instructive to see how great faith and great disobedience can exist in the same heart. It is scary to see how this caused Samson's own downfall and limited the impact he had in serving God and the nation.

Judges 14

V. 4 God didn't sanction this behavior, in fact, the parents were right. But in a case like this, God is accomplishing His own purposes, using a disobedient servant.

Both in killing the lion and in getting the honey, Samson defiled himself by touching something dead. Also, he must have been given tough skin or amazing reflexes not to have been cut or stung.

Vs. 10-18 I'm always amazed by the creativity of Samson. In a way, he was an artist. Also, I'm struck by his raw confidence, being in very aggressive and hostile situations and remaining there without apparent fear.

V. 17 This is our "hero's" fatal flaw. This is the same thing that will finally break him with Delilah.

V. 19 It is interesting to see that when the Spirit rushes upon Samson, there is a spirit of judgment and anger. Samson isn't the only one this happens to.

This uncontrolled and undefeatable strength is what will keep the Philistines so terrorized that they will not extend their rule over Israel for the 20 years that Samson is a judge.

None of the judges in the book of Judges takes an interest in directing the people to the Lord and encouraging the nation to be unified around their worship. Samuel will begin to do that, yet Samuel's judgeship will be one of conflict with the Philistines too. Here, a guy like Samson, with all this potential, is used, though very sadly, in spite of his selfishness and arrogance. Here and elsewhere, God will use his appetites and pride to put him in places to strike fear into the enemy. As followers of Christ, this story teaches us that God will use us in spite of our disobedience. As disciples in the harvest, that is the last thing we want. We want to be trained in every way to follow Christ, carrying our crosses as obedient servants in the harvest, making disciples who make disciples who make disciples into the next generations. I wouldn't mind the strength and creativity, but I'll settle for the obedience and humility.

John 1:29-51

Vs. 29-34 This testimony is the fulfillment of John's ministry.

Vs. 35-42 This is how it all began. What is amazing to me is that many of John's disciples did not follow Jesus. Even here listening to John, it took faith and obedience to leave John and follow Jesus.

Since John, the writer of this Gospel, doesn't refer to himself directly, I suspect that John was the other disciple.

As far as I know, these are the only words we ever hear from Andrew, yet it was his faith in following that brought Peter to Jesus.

I wonder, at this point, if Jesus had some supernatural insight into Peter's future when He said, "So you are Simon, the son of John."

Since this happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan (near Jericho), it means that Andrew and Peter, who lived near Capernaum on the sea of Galilee, had traveled a long way and left their father's business to hear the words of John the Baptist. In that sense, they had a very deep spiritual interest to begin with. Jesus was looking for people with this kind of faith to build upon.

Vs. 43-51

Within two days of John's testimony, Jesus has 3 disciples. Now Jesus leaves this area and goes straight up the Jordan river to the north side of the sea of Galilee and gains two more disciples.

Notice that Jesus must have known Phillip and that Phillip probably knew Simon and Andrew. These were not huge cities. Phillip was another man of faith, waiting for the Messiah and he sought out a similar man, a friend named Nathanael.

V. 47 There has to be more to this statement by Jesus than meets the eye. It might have involved a nickname or even something deep in Nathanael's heart that only he himself knew he was seeking. Nate's reply, "How did you know me," would seem sort of insincere unless, in fact, Jesus hit on something that was important to Nathanael.

Vs. 50-51 might allude to what Nathanael was reading or thinking about under the fig tree. The image is where Jacob rested at Bethel and saw angels ascending and descending from heaven. It might illustrate Nathanael's own seeking to be close to God, to understand His interaction with humans, desiring to interact with God.

If that's the case, Jesus is telling Nathanael that he's about to get his desire and then some.

Not that we fully make use of our privilege, but the Spirit living in us, gives us exactly what Jacob saw and Nathanael desired, full and open communication with God.

Psalm 102

With this psalm, I find I'm back to psalms I can deeply identify with, calling out to God for His answer and help.

It is a long psalm with different parts which you'll notice if you use a pencil to mark where the thought changes.

For me, I saw the force of verses 25-28. Though everything else will perish, God remains. Therefore, our hope is secure because we set our hope on God who remains.

Proverbs 14:15-16

We talk about simple faith and the faith of the simple. Apparently simple faith is prudent and careful, full of growing discernment regarding God's will. The faith of the simple seems based on feeling and is reckless and careless. This doesn't answer all the questions, but it does provide some guidelines for the wise.

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.

April 30, Reading Notes

Some of what is written here in Judges isn't so much "the history of the nation" as it is biographical sketches of how being lost on earth damages the soul. There is a price tag associated with living far from God, whether you are a believer or an unbeliever. Our sickness is so grave and deep that to think we can live a day without God, connected intravenously to His Word, listening every moment to His Spirit to be led by the Spirit, is just crass foolishness and unbelief. It shows us for what we really think: that all this Jesus stuff is good, but not really vitally necessary. And so we can easily end up like the men we are about to read about, and not realizing that God put their stories here, publicly, in plain view, so that we could learn the lessons and avoid their tragic mistakes.

Notice too that almost nothing is said about Israel as a unified nation. The further you go, the more provincial things become. Rather than tribes banding together to help one another, they are a nation in name only. So where was that unity supposed to be if they didn't have a king? They were to be unified around their common worship at one place where all the men of Israel were to gather three times a year: At the Tabernacle. Once they lost their worship, they lost their unity. The same thing happens to us, but we are smarter in our disobedience. They worshiped idols, visibly, and neglected the only true worship that united the nation and people. We worship Sundays, often singing the same songs that everyone else is singing. But our worship isn't supposed to be around a building or a service, it is around a savior and His mission, the Great Commission.

Israel's worship was daily, in the offerings for sin, reminding them of the kindness of God and the depth of their need, and their worship on the feast days was in remembrance of their history of deliverance.

Our worship and following Jesus in the Great Commission does all of this for us. As we go out we are reminded of grace and kindness in our salvation, and we bring the message of the work of our savior, the power of which brings fruit and redemption as we speak. To worship on Sunday, and not worship in going forth in the harvest, might mean there are other things more important to us, that fill our needs and desires, and you can guess what the Bible calls those things. And so we end up in the same place as the people we're reading about. We need to constantly fight against that happening.

Judges 11-12

Judges 11

Notice that Jephthah's life history seems similar to Abimelech's, and that he also surrounds himself with worthless company. That he "went out," means he and his merry band robbed people and towns outside of Israel. He gained a reputation and part of his résumé said he was good at fighting and leading men.

Notice, too, that more is said about Jephthah and what he knew or didn't know, than about his battle. The battle against the Ammonites is only verses 32-33.

Vs. 4-11 You don't read anywhere here that the elders of Gilead sought God regarding their decision.

Vs. 12-28

Notice that Jephthah seeks a peaceful solution first.

Notice that his understanding of events and time (300 years) is pretty accurate.

V. 24 I like the way Jephthah makes this a duel of the gods. This reasoning works good if Israel is obedient. If they are ignoring God, God ignores them and it makes it look like the other gods are bigger.

Vs. 29-40

It is hard to find any verses in Scripture, next to each other, that are so stunning and frightening, than verses 29 thru 31. The Spirit came upon Jephthah. That's good. Jephthah makes a vow to God to offer the first person that comes out of his house as a burnt offering to God. How can that be? It shows that religious sincerity can be totally wrong and ignorant of God, even in the service of God.

I have done all the gymnastics with these verses trying to get Jephthah off the hook, imagining that there was a corp of people dedicated to God, like Samuel, who served at the temple for life as virgins, like nuns…but these people didn't exist. Also, vows could be broken that were in violation of the law. The most simple and obvious reading of the text is that Jephthah had mixed paganism into his sincere understanding of God. The worship at the Tabernacle had failed and the Levites were not doing their jobs. Jephthah was a victim of extreme ignorance in his worship of God.

I say this is all tragic in light of these guys, like Jephthah and Samson, being in Hebrews 11:32 in the "Hall of Faith." Their faith made them acceptable and pleasing to God, and they did amazing things, but their ignorance and sin ruined their lives.

I think God is trying to make a strong point here and in the three stories that follow. People can call upon God sincerely and follow Him sincerely, and, even His own people can still be ignorant of Him. When Jesus says that we need to hear His words and do them, He is commanding us with profound simplicity. We need to know His words. The Bible is meant to teach us about God, about our Lord, to know His heart and mind and plan and will. Then, we need to do what He says. The reality is that many believers don't know His word, but they know something about it, so they assume they know Him and His will. This "feeling" about God actually becomes an extension of their wills and desires and plans, baptized by good intensions and feelings of love and grace. Being a disciple means having one Lord, one Word, one Spirit and one command to follow.

Judges 12

Remember the Ephraimites who came after Gideon to make trouble? Their concern in verse 12 is that they wanted a share in the plunder. This time they picked on the wrong guy.

V. 6 Can you imagine losing 42,000 people in a single battle? There was no unity around worship, before God. This tragedy in Israel should have been mourned and wept. Here, it is symptomatic of the damage of sin and losing touch with God.

V. 7 just seems sad to me.

Vs. 8-15

These guys are all localized even though it says they judged Israel. Notice that two of these men were rich.

Notice that Abdon was buried in the hill country of the Amalekites. The Amalekites should have been gone.

John 1:1-28

This is one of the most amazing chapters of the Bible.

V. 1 The Jehovah's Witnesses insert an "a" in "…and the Word was a God." It is totally wrong, but they use it to support their view that Jesus was once Michael the Archangel who was turned into a god.

John's point in all of this is that the preexistent member of the Trinity, God the Son, became man and dwelt among us.

So, what does all of this mean for you as a disciple in the harvest? This is a rich chapter.

Psalm 101

This psalm begins sunny, but ends darkly in judgment, or does it?

We tolerate wickedness both in our lives, and out of necessity, in our towns, cities and world. But shouldn't there be a desire to see wickedness done away with? That may not be our heart, but it is the heart of God to judge all wickedness. Here is something that Jesus said regarding this judgment, and you'll see that the result is kind of unexpected. Unexpected in that none of us realize the dampening power that sin and wickedness actually have on a person, a family, a town, city, country or on the world in general.

Matthew 13:41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Removing the wicked allows the righteous to shine like the sun.

Proverbs 14:13-14

When I read this, I think of what Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." By reading through the Bible like this, learning more about God and His heart, the Spirit is changing you and giving you a different treasure in your heart, out of which you learn to speak and live. Again, it is all about hearing and doing.

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.

April 29, Reading Notes

So, we are at a landmark. With today's reading, you have made it a third of a year, you have read 100 psalms, you have finished Luke, the last of the synoptic Gospels (summary, parallel accounts), plus you've read the first six books of the Bible. Even if you're behind and your "regular reading" muscles are not yet toned and strong, you've probably done better than you did last year. More importantly, you've given the Spirit lots to work with. You've already had insights and grown stronger in the Lord, but there is something the Spirit does with what you've read, that you think has gone in one eye and out the other. When you don't expect it, a word will come to you or a story will come to mind and you'll see the Spirit giving you insight or leading you in the situation you are in. That's what being a child of God and a disciple in the harvest are all about: growing in Him. All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. And He leads through His Word.

Judges 9:22-10:18

Judges 9:22-57

There is an expression, "God doesn't always pay on Friday," meaning that He doesn't always pass judgment according to our sense of timing. I wonder what it was like for Jotham to have to wait three years to see God finally work things around like this.

V. 24 God didn't forget what had happened and He included those who lent moral support. Since God knows the heart, you can still be guilty without pulling the trigger. It's good to keep your heart cleansed of this kind of guilt.

With all of this betrayal going on, it is interesting that Abimelech knows, but doesn't do anything until he is incited to action by the anger of Zebul (the city's mayor) in verse 30.

V. 38 Zebul (one guy with a funny name) goads Gaal (another guy with a funny name) to take the fight to the open fields. A bad move for Gaal.

Like medieval castles, in the center of the grounds of the castle they had a tower for refuge and defense. It sounds like they started a fire on the roof of the tower and everyone died of smoke.

Vs. 50-57 The same trick didn't work at Thebez. In God's justice and ridicule in death, a woman throws a small millstone about the size of a brick on the troops and beans Abimelech. God's justice was complete.

Judges 10:1-18

Vs. 1-5 The only things I see with these two judges is that Tola was on the west side of the Jordan and Jair was on the east side of the Jordan. It seems that they were sort of like local forces to be reckoned with, but it never says who they fought against. Jair was a rich man with sons and donkeys.

Vs. 6-17 I have some questions and observations.

The people here are crying out and repentant. It seems that this time, they understand, as a people, that they are really in trouble and know that their trouble is because of idolatry.

The two peoples mentioned here will be the focus of the next two judges. Jephthah will go after the Ammonites and Samson will go after the Philistines; although in Samson's case, it's hard to say he went after anything but Philistine women. He was a judge by arrogance and intimidation only.

I wonder how this conversation with the Lord took place. I wonder if the people gathered together at the Tabernacle in Shiloh.

Vs. 13-14 God gave the people what they deserved.

Vs. 15-16 The people were genuinely ready to follow God.

One of the benefits of being close to God in His Word and following, is that we don't need God to use hard times to push us to repentance, obedience and the putting away of idols.

Luke 24:13-53

I don't know who isn't inspired in some way by the story of the guys going to Emmaus. I love to have been there. There is a lot to observe in this account. Have fun.

Vs. 34 On Easter many Christians in all countries have a greeting and response when they see each other on Easter morning. One says, "He is risen!" and the other person says, "He is risen indeed." That response is taken from this verse.

Vs. 36-43 This is Luke's "proof" that Jesus was risen and not just a mass mirage of some kind.

Vs. 44-53 When I read this, I get the feeling because it is such a quick summary, that Luke might not have had the writing of Acts in mind. If he had, I think he would have made a smoother transition between books. The first part of Acts covers this section in much greater detail.

I wonder if Theophilus got this book and said, "Luke, this is great, but you can't stop here. Here, I'll stake you a couple hundred thousand drachma to write the continuing story."

Even beyond the book of Acts, we are the continuing story, following those who have gone before us, following Christ in the harvest while it is still day.

Psalm 100

A beautiful song.

Proverbs 14:11-12

I wonder if the way that seems right is the one that convinces you to make heaven here and live in houses, as opposed to realizing that we should choose to live in tents here and work in the harvest, until the master calls us in from the fields.

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.

April 28, Reading Notes

Judges 8:18-9:21

Judges 8:18-35

Vs. 18-20 Apparently there is something going on here. Normally Gideon would have had these kings killed anyway, but his words indicate that these two kings were responsible for killing his brothers in time of peace. Gideon is taking the responsibility as the blood avenger as he does this.

I have never understood why Gideon did this to his young son. I'm sure there was some cultural meaning, but every year I think what a bad idea this was.

Vs. 22-28 This was an understandable gesture by the people, wanting Gideon to be their king. I wonder why Gideon didn't ask the Lord and I wonder where the Levites were. Since Gideon asked for help in other places, why didn't he ask for guidance by the priests?

Gideon was very firm on the idea that God ruled Israel. Of course, this only worked if the Levites were in place and the people obeyed God. Then, they were untouchable. Now, they would easily slide back into idolatry.

Apparently Gideon did more leading, than collecting of treasure, so for the main part of his pay, he asked the people to donate an earring. This way Gideon would be blameless if any accusations were brought against him, saying he took the biggest share. Up to here, this is all good thinking by Gideon.

V. 27 This is the only negative that God mentions against Gideon. I think too, this explains why there were no Levites present. If the only understanding of ephod we have is used here, it is the apron worn by the high priest in worship in which the Urim and the Thummim were held. Why would you want this unless you wanted to represent yourself before God and obtain answers without using the tribe that God had designated for this? The land was full of corruption and I have a feeling that Gideon had no respect for the Levites. Why go to them? Later, King Uzziah will be stricken with leprosy for disrespecting the priests and Levites and trying to represent himself before God.

V. 28 This will be the last time we will read of the land having rest in the book of Judges. The next rest will come during the judgeship of Samuel. The next true rest will come during the reign of David.

Vs. 29-35 This next report about Gideon isn't written in a negative way, but, in my heart, indicates that not all was well with Gideon. His wealth allowed him to live in extravagance. We will see another judge with lots of sons who rode on lots of donkeys. It is another way of saying that he had money. You notice that when the people wanted Gideon to be their king, they mention him having a small family. In the years that passed, Gideon was a busy guy.

It seems to me that what you learn from Gideon, as a disciple, is that he had no lasting influence. When the battle was done, he lived for himself, not the Lord and not for building the future generations of Israel. If the future of Israel had meant anything to him, he would have gotten the Levites involved.

The test of a disciple is living for Christ, before, during, and after the "battle." The harvest goes on. People are still lost, needing to know Christ, and disciples need to keep being made and equipped for the next generation. Regardless of the critics, the church is still the bride of Christ and entrusted with the harvest. I say we stop criticizing others and just do the work of disciples of our Lord in the harvest.

Notice what happened to Gideon when there was no goal or battle to fight. It is the same thing that happens to us. We might not have an army of spouses (what madman would want that?), but our cars and TVs and phones and apps and computers and everything else have us flabby, fat and unfocused as the storm approaches the harvest.

Judges 9:1-21

Gideon's concubine in Shechem is mentioned in 8:31. This "wife" and her son lived with her parents in Shechem and not with the other wives and sons. Gideon would have visited on occasion.

In Genesis, Shechem is a notable place, for good and bad. And in Joshua, Shechem is the place, between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, between the blessing and the curse, where Joshua renewed the covenant with Israel before he died.

Abimelech (melech is a form of the word king) is not only using the need for a king to push his proposal, but also the resentment he has toward being rejected from his father's family. This looks like a bad episode from a TV show.

V. 5 The mention of killing them on one stone suggests a public execution.

V. 6 Notice that it wasn't until Abimelech had done this, that the men of Shechem made him king.

Vs. 7-21 This is a long story by Jotham, but you get the point. If this was a fictional event, you would have placed Jotham over on Mt. Ebal, the mount of the curse, but in reality, he needed to be on Gerizim to make his escape.

Jotham was predicting the events to follow. Whatever happened here with the family of Gideon, Israel would never be the same and they wouldn't see rest. Verses 16-19 are a charge, not only against the people of Shechem, but against all of Israel. Notice, there is no outcry from the other tribes when they learn that Gideon's family was slaughtered like this. The people, all the tribes, should have risen up as one man to seek justice, but nearly everyone was corrupt and serving idols. How different this is from the end of Joshua when the tribes gather together because they think something was done wrong in building that altar. There will be justice, but justice isn't always "instant." In the first verse of tomorrow's reading you'll see how long Jotham had to wait to see God finally move in and judge Abimelech and the people of Shechem.

Luke 23:44-24:12

Luke 23:44-49

It was dark from noon to 3pm. It was dark, but doesn't mention a storm. The curtain in the temple hiding the holy of holies was rent, but not as the result of an earthquake. Luke doesn't mention the earthquake. The people who came for the "spectacle" left disappointed, beating their chests in sorrow (of not seeing a sign). At this point, those who loved Jesus were watching from a distance.

Luke 23:50-56

We don't hear of Joseph until now. He, like Nicodemus, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the group that plotted Jesus' death. Nick and Joe were against what had happened. The grave was Joseph's and apparently Pilate and Joe knew each other, so the request was granted.

Luke 24:1-12

Verse 11 is interesting. Even though they knew these women well, and even though the women were pretty excited, "these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." What is also interesting is that one of these women is Mary's sister, the mother of James and John. But we know that Peter and John took off.

Psalm 99

This psalm is focused on worshiping the Lord in Jerusalem, in the Temple (where He rests His feet), before the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat, the throne of God. With this imagery in mind, see if you can find all of this. Since it mentions the peoples, it is another indication of Israel's part in the plan of redemption, leading all peoples to God. That is still to come.

Proverbs 14:9-10

What an interesting couplet. In verse ten, a heart that is locked up by a lack of confession remains closed and isolated. The fool in verse 9 doesn't realize the freedom that having an open and cleansed conscience gives. The wise person openly confesses guilt, receives God's acceptance and knows the joy of having a cleansed and open heart. These few words could keep a disciple from developing heart problems.

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.

April 27, Reading Notes

Judges 7:1-8:17

Judges 7

This chapter has one of the more "well-known" stories or children's stories of the OT. It also gets used for management and discipleship pointers all the time.

Vs. 2-8

Note that since God was doing this, He didn't need the numbers. Actually, God could have fought this war completely without Gideon. So, why did God need anyone at all? There are some good things for us as disciples here.

V. 3 The last sentence where it says "Then 22,000…," the RSV and Luther say first that "Gideon tested them and then 22,000…" Gideon did as God said and people left. Humanly speaking, this says something for Gideon's faith in accepting God's way of doing things, considering he was facing a huge army. Later we will see King Saul break faith with God in following, when the people begin leaving him as he is waiting for Samuel to arrive and sacrifice and encourage the troops. This was just as much a test for Gideon.

I've heard people discuss why the "lappers" were chosen over the "kneelers," and my conclusion is that it had nothing to do with one group being better fighters than the others. God wanted the smaller group.

Vs. 9-25

Notice that it was God who told Gideon to go and listen to the dream (nightmare) being explained. The Lord's encouragement of Gideon was very gracious.

V. 18 When Gideon had the men yell out, "For the Lord and for Gideon," I think he included himself because of what he heard in the explanation of the dream. The enemy army knew Gideon's name.

Notice that once the victory was given, Gideon engaged the help of the other tribes. Gideon, in a good sense, always seemed to be thinking of doing what he did with others.

Judges 8:1-17

Vs. 1-3 are kind of strange and we'll see this kind of situation again, but not with a happy ending. The tribe of Ephraim seems to have an aggressive spirit. The issue is not that they wanted to help, but they wanted the booty, the goods and materials and money and weapons and livestock you got from the plunder. Gideon is the model of diplomacy. And, in fact, Ephraim was called and they were raking it in. In a few pages, Ephraim will pull this stunt again with a guy who has just "lost" his daughter, and he won't think it is funny.

Vs. 4-9 These towns guessed wrong. Since Gideon already had the Midianites on the run, these people should have trusted God and helped him. These should have been Israelite owned and operated, but during this time there was a lot of mixing and no one was really following the Lord. If Gideon was known to the Midianites, he was certainly known to his own people. To not help, was the same as refusing to follow the Lord. It might have been that these towns had seen how many Midianites had retreated, and were now looking at how few men Gideon had. Still, it is always better to side with the Lord and let Him make the final accounting.

Vs. 10-12 Here is where we get the numbers. The enemy began with 137,000 and were reduced now to only 15,000. Gideon only had 300 men and they were about to clean house. Obviously the victory was from the Lord, in fulfillment of what He had spoken to Moses in the blessings and curses. If Israel obeyed, one man would be able to put a thousand of the enemy to flight. It was God who fought. The people were merely representative and there for clean-up.

Vs. 13-17 Gideon, as a judge, also judged Israel. It seems to me that if Gideon killed the people of Penuel, they probably were Canaanites.

Luke 23:13-43

Vs. 13-25 Luke makes it clear that Pilate really did try to release Jesus, including a massive "pre-pre-crucifixion" beating to make the Jews feel sorry for Him and sense that justice had been delivered. The reality is, that if any of us had received that beating, we would have never been the same and might have died from the wounds. It might have been years before we could have done anything public and we would have never been normal. Here and in John's account, you have the sense of Pilate slowly understanding the deep and powerful, supernatural, irrational, spiritual hatred that was flowing through that place.

As disciples, that same supernatural, spiritual resistance and hatred is always at work. Our praying and serving need to be on that supernatural level. Reading books on conflict resolution is recommended. Thinking that we have the wisdom and skill to always succeed is foolish. Both Jesus and Paul said that our conflict is spiritual, both in dealing with the world rulers of this present darkness, and with dealing with the spiritually rebellious and depraved nature of men. This is no "cake walk," and any advances should be regarded as occasions to worship.

Vs. 26-31 Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention Simon of Cyrene. What is significant here is that as Luke writes Acts, the influence from Cyrene is seen. The men of Cyrene were some of the first Gospel preachers to the Gentiles. And I wonder, like you do, if Simon had some hand in this.

Luke is the only one who records Jesus' words to the women. It seems that His words to them foreshadow the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. The destruction among the Jews would be so severe, that the only women who wouldn't lose a child would be the childless.

Vs. 32-43 In keeping with Luke's interest in God's grace and the Gospel, Luke records the salvation of one of the thieves who were crucified with Jesus. The other writers mention that they verbally abused Jesus, at first, just like all the others did. But as the leaders paraded before Jesus expressing their irrational hatred, in those hours on the cross, it must have dawned on one of those men what was happening. All that he had heard about Jesus came to mind, and even on the cross as he witnessed Jesus and the hatred directed toward Him, believed the Gospel. This guy actually understood and believed that Jesus would be coming into His kingdom. That's maybe not how we "define" the gospel, but this guy understood a lot.

To think that among Jesus' final words on the cross, there were words of confirmation of salvation. Even in His death, Jesus gave "soul winning" testimony. Something for us as disciples to think about as we live and die for Christ in the harvest. Jesus did not wrangle or cry aloud, but His Father used His heart, His silence, obedience and gentleness in death to convict others.

Psalms 97-98

Psalm 97

I guess what I get from verses 1-5 is that the earth recognizes that God reigns and responds appropriately. The earth knows how to respond to God when He comes in judgment. Verses 6-9 encourage the world and its peoples to respond to God's righteousness and coming in judgment.

Vs. 10-12 seem to be for His servants and how we, as disciples, are supposed to respond to the Lord. It is interesting here to see the love of the Lord spoken of, but then, it is said that if we really love Him, it will be seen in keeping ourselves from things He hates, hating them too. Our joy is to be in His deliverance and light and joy as we follow Him.

Psalm 98

This song of joy is for the coming of God in judgment. The perspective is clearly that of being completely in love with the Lord. Judgment is only mentioned as being equitable. The real focus is that He will come and all will be complete and everything will rejoice at His arrival. A good thing to remember as we work in the harvest and live in a sad, tragic, dying world.

Proverbs 14:7-8

Verse 7 seems to compliment 8b in that the wise man seeks God in all the events of life to understand God's way and will for Him. For a wise man, there is nothing that helps him find God's will in the presence of a fool.

Apparently, a fool's own folly looks the right way for him.

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.

April 26, Reading Notes

Judges 6

V. 1 Notice that it was the hand of the Lord that moved first.

V. 6 Notice that the people had to be brought very low before their crying out was genuine and unified.

Vs. 7-10 I’m not sure, but it seems to me that the Lord might have sent a prophet first, to see if they would respond with remorse and obedience to a human messenger. If they had said, “Who is he? He’s just a guy like us,” I think God would have let them sit a while longer. Apparently the people were humble.

Vs. 11-24 It is interesting that it is the Angel of the Lord who came.

Note also, that Gideon had heard the stories of God’s working in delivering Israel from Egypt and was struggling with God’s inactivity. Of course, if Gideon had understood enough of the stories, he would have known exactly why they were in such a bad situation.

From this account and what we find later, Gideon was a fearful follower who needed lots of encouragement and direction. But, the Lord is OK with that. That’s something to give us hope as we follow Christ in the harvest.  We don’t have to fit into any mold.

Vs. 25-32

God gave Gideon very specific instructions. Although Gideon was afraid of the people, so that he obeyed God at night, he did it, and he did it with 10 men to help and witness against him. Again, the Lord works with Gideon on all of this.

I love the response of Gideon’s father.

I wouldn’t have liked a nickname like that. At least it wasn’t a tattoo.

Vs. 33-40

V. 34 is interesting. It says the Spirit clothed Gideon, which is literal from the Hebrew.

One thing you see with Gideon in the case of the altar, and now in facing Midian, Gideon sought help.

V. 36 I think that when a person has the right heart, the Lord doesn’t mind us asking for confirmation of His will. It might depend too, on what the Lord has already done in our lives up to that point. If He has already shown us great acts of kindness and guidance, we might not need to ask for confirmation in continuing to do what He has already shown us. In this case with Gideon, there hadn’t been a sign of the Lord’s working for some time.  And again, the Lord shows a lot of understanding toward us.

Luke 22:54-23:12

Luke 22:54-62

What is notable about this account of Peter’s denial is that Luke mentions that when the cock crowed the last time, Jesus heard it and turned, and across the distance, met eyes with Peter.

Luke 23:6-12

This incident is also only recorded in Luke. Jesus frustrated the entire situation by just saying nothing. It is interesting that Pilate and Herod became friends after this. That gives you a view of Pilate that makes you feel less sympathetic to him because he was forced to hand over Jesus to the Jews. Apparently Pilate’s remorse passed quickly.

To me, it is interesting that Jesus held to what He taught His disciples. He didn’t cast pearls before swine.  Herod interrogated Him at length.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Jesus to be taunted as long as He was.

Psalms 95-96

Well, these are two “psalmy” psalms. You know; these are what people expect when you read the psalms, because they are exuberant, exalting and positive. These are two great psalms and very positive for the day after Easter.

Psalm 95

My only observation here is that the psalm seems written to Israel. It encourages the people to worship the Lord with openness and abandon. The end of the psalm is a warning against not freely and openly accepting the Lord. These verses, seven and eleven particularly, sound like Hebrews.

Psalm 96

This psalm seems to address the people of the world.

Proverbs 14:5-6

With the pairing here, it is almost as if you could read that a lying false witness will always seek wisdom in vain, but a person who tells the truth will find it easy to gain understanding.

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.

April 25, Reading Notes

Judges 4-5

Judges 4

One of the things that is hard, is to get a sense for the passage of time. I like knowing when things happened. According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC) about 200 years have gone by since the Exodus. I guess if you take the 40 years of wandering + 7 years of war + 10 years of settling into the land up until to Joshua's death + 8 years of oppression + 40 years of peace with Othniel +18 years of oppression under Eglon + 80 years of peace with Ehud, you get about 203 years. Time is ticking away.

So now we add another 20 years of oppression under Sisera.

V. 6 Apparently the cries of Israel reached a certain level of intensity and God sent Deborah a command.

V. 9 Personally, I don't think it was wrong for Barak to want Deborah to go with him, but it is cast in a negative light. According to the BKC, Barak is still honored in Hebrews 11 as a man of faith.

V. 15 According to the song in 5:20-21 there must have been a torrent of rain that made the chariots ineffective.

V. 23 Apparently, it was a huge battle and Jabin was wiped out.

Judges 5

V. 2 has always seemed like the miracle to me: The leaders led. You realize in any endeavor, if it goes bad, the leaders are the ones who are targeted. Here, the leaders came forward and were willing to take responsibility.

Luke 22:35-53

To understand some of what Jesus is saying here, you need to look at verse 53, “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

Vs. 35-38 Jesus tells the disciples to expect the worst, to care for themselves and be prepared to defend themselves. When He sent out the twelve, Jesus told them they could depend on God moving in people’s hearts to provide for them. Now Jesus tells them the opposite. I believe it is because of this special hour on the earth. Except for the Fall of man, this is probably the worst hour on earth and there probably won’t be another like it until during the Tribulation.

Vs. 39-46

Jesus tells the disciples twice what they should be praying for. Even here, Jesus is interested in His disciples.

Jesus was on the edge, humanly speaking, during this prayer. “Being in agony” describes the depth of the human and emotional weight He was under. Submission and prayer, humanly speaking, got Him through. What a great model, and to think, nothing we can face will even come close to what He endured.

Vs. 47-53

Good old Dr. Luke tells us it was the right ear, and that Jesus healed it.

I get the feeling reading this, that the words of Jesus were a distraction of sorts to get everyone focused on Him and to give the disciples a chance to run.

Psalm 94

I think as a disciple, it gives security to know and remember that God has all things in control. Vs. 8-11 confirm that since God made man, He hears and sees and disciplines and teaches. In other words, He keeps track of men and their acts and is in control.

Vs. 12-19 are a great consolation and encouragement. Discipline might hurt, but to be trained to know God and to know His love and consolation makes anything we can face, worthwhile.

Proverbs 14:3-4

So, why did they put both of these verses together? I don’t know but I’ll hazard a guess.

Foolishness hurts and destroys itself. Keeping your manger clean by not having an ox is foolish. A man should be willing to do the work of upkeep. Sitting and avoiding the toil that will bring others closer to the Lord, gives you more time to enjoy life. But if you do the work, you’ll enjoy life more, have the blessing of God and you’ll have an abundance of hope, having seen God work. The wise man welcomes the mess.

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.

April 24, Reading Notes Easter 2011

He is Risen!

Judges 2:10-3:31

Jud 2:10-23 There is a lot of great stuff to observe in this chapter. Have fun. I have a few things.

V. 10 It isn't that they didn't "know about" the Lord, but they didn't "know" Him as their God. They became like the people around them "recognizing" many gods and traditions. It might have been that the parents didn’t teach the children, but more likely, it is because the parents talked about the Lord but were very busy and consumed getting their lives together in the land. The children watched what the parents did and saw that living with the Lord only was not a vital part. More important than building a house, was the parents personal, vital relationship with the Lord, and then taking time to make it real for their kids. Of course too, we’ll see that the parents didn’t take things too seriously either.

Verses 16-23 describe the cycle that will go through the book. Each time, however, the cycle goes deeper and the people become more degraded, ignorant and distant from God until we end up with the final two events in this book. This will continue for over 300 years of Israel's history. It makes you feel bad for God.

Notice verse 22. This will recur in today's reading. God broke the back of the military powers under Joshua, but He purposely left nations there to test Israel's obedience.

Jud 3:1-6

These verses begin to explain the reason for what happens the next 300 years.

Notice the references to testing.

Notice too in verse 2, that the nations were left to teach Israel war. The new generation was just handed the land and didn't appreciate it. They didn't fight for it or have to earn it. God makes sure in every generation that there is opposition that makes us uncomfortable so that we have to contend for our faith.

Jud. 3:7-11

This illustrates what has been said about the cycle of the Judges. Othniel was a transition from the time of Joshua. As Joshua mentioned in his final address, the people were drifting. Within Othniel's lifetime the people were already being punished. He may have been the godliest of all the judges.

V. 8 Notice who gave Cushan-rishathaim power over Israel.

Jud. 3:12-30

V. 12 Notice who does the strengthening.

Ehud was a messenger bringing tribute to this king of Moab. Many of the tribe of Benjamin were left-handed. The word for left-handed means there was something wrong with their right hand. But in Benjamin, it made them very unique warriors. Notice where Paul (also a Benjaminite) says in 2 Corinthians 6:7 "in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,"

No one expected weapons used by a left hander, so if Ehud was patted down, it was for a right hander, that's why he hid the blade on his right thigh. I guess a right-handed person would have put it on the left.

Notice where Ehud turns back, at Gilgal. That is where the nation came across the Jordan, where the Stones of Memorial were and where the 2.5 tribes built the altar. That these were referred to as idols, probably means that the people made this a holy place, burning incense and offering sacrifice, which, even if sincere, was a violation of God's commands. It had been converted into a place of idolatry.

Yet, even here, the remembrance of the grace and faithfulness of God might have been the thing that gave Ehud the resolve to turn back and carry out this plan.

Vs. 20-25 You've got to admit. It was a good plan. Just so it’s clear, they were waiting on Eglon because they didn’t want to disturb him going to the bathroom.

V. 30 This was the longest time of peace for Israel during the period of the judges.

V. 31 This guy was probably a contemporary with Ehud. That is assumed because it doesn't give the length of time he delivered Israel. The period of time is marked by Ehud's judgeship. Later, Samson and Samuel were also doing their thing at the same time too.

Also, this might not seem like much from Shamgar, but Samson was the same kind of guy. His strength and a couple of good days of action, subdued the Philistines for years. It was probably the fear of Shamgar (or the sound of his name) that kept the Philistines in control.

Luke 22:14-34

It is clear from Luke's account that Judas was there for the inauguration of the Lord's Supper.

The dispute mentioned in verse 24 is where Jesus would have washed their feet in John 13. Judas would have left after this.

Vs. 31-34

Luke is the only one who mentions Satan's demand to sift or test the disciples here. Jesus' prayer was for Peter personally, that his faith wouldn't fail. Either it was because Peter was their leader or because, as Jesus will explain, Peter's testing would be the most severe of all. The good news here is that even before Peter denies Jesus, Jesus tells Peter that he'll be restored.

Psalms 92-93

These are great, joyous, celebratory psalms. These are the only things in our reading today, being Easter, that celebrate God's greatness and Christ's victory.

Proverbs 14:1-2

Being wise and upright in fearing the Lord makes whatever you build in life good. But those who live by their own devices eventually destroy their own work and lives.

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.

April 23, Reading Notes

Judges 1:1-2:9

Jud. 1:1-21

It doesn't say it here, but when the people inquired in verse one, it was probably the priest using the Urim and Thummim.

Note that Judah cleans house, but not everything they captured remained under control. Some of what they captured was to help the other tribes; for example, Jerusalem belonged to Benjamin (v. 21). Judah took the city, but Benjamin didn't control it. This is the first sense that something is wrong.

Jud. 1:22-36

Now begins the subtle beginning of the end. The people didn't obey. It started like this and ended up in full blown idolatry later.

Jud. 2:1-5

Notice the Angel of the Lord and the way He speaks. This points to His identity as God.

V. 5 The people crying is not the same as the people repenting.

Jud. 2:6-9

This summary of Joshua dismissing the people is a restatement of the end of the book of Joshua. It is just to say that as time went on, after men like Joshua and Caleb were gone, the people immediately drifted from God.

In a very real sense, God allowed this to happen in that He didn't appoint a national leader. At first the people sought a leader, but that didn't last long. It is often God's way to guide a person to a particular place and then to drawback and be silent, to see what is in that person's heart. Will they honor God and follow, or do they drift?

Luke 21:29-22:13

Luke 21:29-36

V. 32 For the people who are present watching things come together for the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD or those present when the temple is desecrated during the Tribulation, there will be a completion within their lifetime.

Vs. 34-36 Very clearly this is referring to the Tribulation. Again, I think the "he who endures to the end will be saved" message is not referring to losing salvation, but salvation from the effects of bitterness and persecution. The way to be "saved" is to remain strong and focused on what is taking place, knowing that it is God's working. This is much the same with us today.

This is a good word for us as disciples. We are surrounded by the wreckage of Christians who have forgotten why we are here. They are simply living among the "natives" to be liked by them and have been ruined by becoming like them. We are here in the harvest as our savior was, to seek the lost and introduce them to Him. If we are just here to live life until we die, we get lost and bitter and careless. The way to remain undamaged is to “stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape…” But we often think we’re here on vacation during this time in history. The danger around us and the need to stay awake is just as grave.

Luke 22:1-13

Interesting that you have four persons preparing for the Passover: Satan and Jesus, and over all God the Father and the Spirit. You see what Satan is doing, and you see what Jesus is doing, and in all of it, even Satan’s madness, God is working all things together for good. This is a good point to remember what Paul and the Spirit wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:8 “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Psalms 90-91

Both of these psalms are written by Moses.

Psalm 90

As you read Psalm 90, imagine that Moses is writing this as the nation is under God's punishment after Kadesh-Barnea. They endured a very long 38 years in the wilderness, as they waited for the rebellious generation of adults to die.

All the psalms are inspired, but when you read this, you can sense the depth of Moses’ person and maturity with God. It’s like every word is gold. Somewhere on our lists of “what to memorize,” psalm 90 should appear.

Notice verse one referring to a dwelling place. We've seen that a lot in the psalms, and here Moses is referring to the fact that though they constantly moved around the wilderness, they only always had one dwelling place.

V. 12 is something we should all do, given the disaster going on on this planet. No nation had a better view of the temporary nature of life than Israel did during those 38 years.

V. 17 is something I pray. Only the Lord can establish the work of our hands. The question is, as a disciple, what do you want Him to establish? How deeply have we invested in reaching the lost and making disciples who make disciples who make disciples?

It is interesting to me that as Moses was ending his ministry to Israel, hoping they would go beyond him and serve God, God told him they would fail. We’ve begun to see this failure today in Judges. The failure comes quickly. Yet, someday, the Lord will establish the work of Moses’ hands as the nation succeeds in the Tribulation and is honored during the Millenium as a place of healing for the world. Also, it is interesting to think that Moses was on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus. Jesus came from the nation that Moses led in the wilderness.

Psalm 91

This psalm has a more victorious and confident tone. I would guess that Moses wrote this for the next generation going into the Land. They should be confident in the Lord.

Notice in vs. 1, 2 and 9, the idea of dwelling in God. Verse two is probably where Elizabeth Elliot got the title for her book, "The Shadow of the Almighty."

Vs. 11-12 Satan quotes these verses to Jesus to entice Him to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple. It kind of amazes me that Satan saw these verses and knew that they referred to the Jew’s Messiah. I don’t think we would have known that any other way. Like it or not, as a spiritual being, Satan’s understanding of the Bible is better than ours. Having the Spirit and a regenerated spiritual life that is drawn to God in love and obedience makes all the difference and gives us the victory. Love and obedience are greater than knowledge.

Vs. 14-16 make me think of Jabez entering the land, and of Jesus in Isaiah 53, making Himself a sacrifice for us and then being honored by God.

Proverbs 13:24-25

This all seems so random. If I was preaching this, I would be looking for the links in these verses with righteousness and food and appetite. It could be that the reason that the poor lose everything to injustice in verse 23, is that righteousness is not instilled into children by their righteous parents. Maybe being driven by personal appetite is what hamstrings discipline and righteousness in a society.

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.

April 22, Reading Notes

Joshua 24

This location had a lot of significance. Shechem was where God met with Abraham and promised his descendants the land. If you do a word search, you'll find this place mentioned often. Now, neither you nor I would know this if not for helps like the Bible Knowledge Commentary, but Shechem is between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim from Joshua 8:30-35. This is where Joshua set up the stones upon which he wrote the Law. The people were on the mountains opposite each other pronouncing the blessing and the curses involved with obeying or disobeying God's Law. So, this is a pretty important place.

V. 1 says they presented themselves before God. This was to be a renewal of the covenant.

V. 2 It is interesting that Joshua speaks in the 1st person as God, or it is God speaking though him.

Note that God goes back to Terah and mentions that they served other gods. Noah was still alive during this time. Noah didn't serve other gods, but sin in man creates an incredible impulse in man to stray from God. I think Abe was chosen because he learned from Noah (Abe might have known Noah since Noah died when Abe was about 65-70) and didn't worship other gods, but rather the true God. It's interesting to think of that possible connection between Noah and Abe in terms of discipleship.

Vs. 6-13 All of these references to God's protection also reflect the inability of the false gods to stand against God. These peoples, particularly Egypt, were known for their gods. Balaam's inability to work against Israel, again, shows that their God is the only God and He's for them.

Vs. 14-15 This seems pretty strong and you notice that Joshua is pushing them to a point of commitment. It seems to me, that Israel was already straying and he knew it. The last part of verse 15 would make a good wall plaque and song.

Notice the interaction between Joshua and the people. What gets me is that they insist in verse 22 that they are witnesses before the Lord and that they are true to Him, but in verse 23 Joshua tells them to get rid of the idols that were already among them.

The covenant in verse 25 is followed very strongly by Joshua setting up a monument and writing out the details of this meeting and covenant. Sadly, Joshua was right.

We never think of idols and worshipping falsely today, especially in the church. Paul accuses the Corinthians of it in 1Cor. 10 and Paul redefines covetousness as idolatry in Ephesians 5. Israel gathered pretty looking stuff, some of which was used in foreign worship before they acquired it. I wonder if this stuff began to entice them. I wonder if the stuff that we have has taken such importance in our lives, that without realizing it, we are no longer devoted to Christ.

I was reading this morning where Jesus says, "whoever loves father and mother, …son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." I wonder if we have lost our affection for Him and don't realize it.

The book of Joshua ends with three burials. Sounds like a movie, "A Covenant and Three Burials." It is interesting that they mention the burial of the bones of Joseph. The land was Israel's so now it was time to bury them. I wonder, since they were buried at Shechem if Joshua did this at the end of that ceremony.

Luke 21:1-28

Vs. 1-4 are an interesting connection between two events. Jesus has just condemned the rich scribes and now is contrasting them to this simple, but fully devout, woman.

Vs. 5-10 Up to verse 10 the two signs given, false Messiahs and wars, will come before the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD and before Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation. Interestingly, in talking about the Tribulation alone, it never talks about that temple being destroyed. Since there is no temple today in Jerusalem it means it would have to be rebuilt, but that could happen easily during the first 3 and a half years of the Tribulation when there is a peace treaty with Israel.

Vs. 11-24 seem to be more focused on the future Tribulation of Israel. Much of what is said here, the disciples have heard before when Jesus sent out the twelve. The same things will be true for His future disciples during those seven years on earth. The call for endurance in verse 19, in my thinking, means saving from the fear and emotional terror of those times.

Vs. 25-28 Of course this time won't be all fun and games and killing God's people. The universe will be out of whack and it will show on the earth, especially in the oceans. These disasters will create mass terror and fear (and probably ruin a lot of good vacation spots), but not for those who understand that it is all exactly as God has planned.

V. 27 However this is to happen, it will be a world event, and it will be evident that there is something strange about those clouds and that lightning.

V. 28 Those followers of Christ will be weighed down with survival, working under cover, praying. Regardless of where they are, they will see the signs and know that their deliverance is close.

Imagine, for most of us, we don't have those conditions to work in as we follow Christ in the harvest. Now is the time to cut loose and go for it.

Psalm 89:38-52

The psalmist is asking God to look down and have mercy. Again, verse 51 could be referring to how David was mocked when He left Jerusalem when Absalom took over.

If this is referring to Israel, destroyed and taken into exile to Babylon, then it is the fulfilling of what Joshua warned the people of as they made the covenant in the valley of Shechem.

Proverbs 13:20-23

For the first three verses I'd just say, "Amen, amen and amen!" But, they you have verse 23. Maybe it is somehow referring to the truly righteous who protect the poor from injustice. In a land of righteous people, the poor would have plenty.

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.

Prayer Needed

We have an offer on our house! Since we're doing a short sale, our mortgage company has a huge say in approving this offer. Pray that the sale would go through and all of this would be blessed by the Lord.

Pray that the Lord would show us soon where He wants us to serve Him.

This weekend we're heading to Milwaukee with my mother. Pray that her health will be good and that she benefits from this visit.

Pray for Laura, developing a sore throat, and me as we try to navigate my mother and her health challenges through this weekend of air travel, strange beds and unfamiliar settings. Pray that we all actually have a good time. We're leaving tomorrow (21st) and return Monday.

Pray for the message I'll be giving on Easter Sunday. It's about our hope for the resurrection and will come out of Romans 6-8. Pray for simplicity, clarity and the anointing by the Spirit. Pray that the message reaps some fruit or at least shakes a few trees.

April 21, Reading Notes

Joshua 22:21-23:16

Joshua 22:21-34

One point of interest I saw today as I was reading my German Bible was the place where the altar was built. In verse 22:10 it says "the region of the Jordan" in the English versions, but in the German it says, "The Stone Circles." The Greek says "Gilgal." This is the place where Israel had crossed over the Jordan seven years earlier. The nation lived there for some time as it began to fight against Jericho and other cities. More importantly, this is where they set up a monument made of "stones" that they brought up out of the waterless bed of the Jordan as the people were passing though.

When they came to this place after seven years of absence from their families and after all the battles and campaigns, the sight of this "literally" monumental place must have stirred them. Not only had they forgotten the events of the wilderness and that amazing day, all of it seeming so long ago, but it was possible that the other tribes would forget that they were all related.

What I find interesting is all the unity. The unity of the nation to find out why the altar had been built, the unity of the 2.5 tribes, and then the unity of the entire nation regarding the resolution. The people had learned lessons in the wilderness, and up to this point, everyone was following God. This unity was a sign of God's blessing

Joshua 23:1-16

This is the first half of Joshua's final address to Israel. Today the message is to the leaders (v. 2). Tomorrow the message will be to the people and the book come to an end.

This is the second time now that we have seen a leader of Israel hang up his sandals. If you were a leading a group of disciples, what would your final address be?

V. 15 Notice how Joshua says that just as God fulfilled the promise of giving them the land, if they disobey, He will just as certainly, fulfill the promise to remove them.

There are three things that stand out to me in what Joshua says.

First, he directs the people to understand that God had blessed them and fought for them. They were to be grateful and focused on God.

Second, in verse 11, Joshua focuses them on God's love. Following as disciples too, has to originate out of love.

Third, Joshua warns them of the danger of leaving the Lord by not obeying. As disciples, there is a lot of distraction in life and in the church. Our mission has always remained pretty simple, personally and as a church. But life on earth and the body of sin we bear tends to blur our vision. Daily refocusing is necessary as well as being with a group of disciples who keep one another encouraged and sharp in Christ.

Luke 20:27-47

We've had these same events before.

Reading verse 42-43, I'll bet the Pharisees and other leaders were really mad when they heard this. They were Jesus' self appointed enemies. They probably assumed that the enemies referred to in that Scripture, were the nations around Israel, not the rulers of Israel.

Notice that the first conflict is with the Sadducees. Then in verse 39 the Scribes (Pharisees) agreed with Jesus against the Sadducees. Then Jesus asked the question about the son of David was to show that the Scribes had a superficial understanding of the Scriptures. Then you have Jesus go after the Scribes in verse 45.

Psalm 89:14-37

This part of the psalm is like reminding of God how He has blessed David and promised him a perpetual reign.

V. 33 is almost like presenting evidence to the Lord. Punishment was promised, but so was covenantal love and loyalty.

Proverbs 13:17-19

As a disciple, the verse 19 hits me. To do what we need to do, we need to be able to say, "No" to our desires not just when they are evil, but also, when they are a silly use of time. For us as followers, the biggest temptation is to fritter away time with little endeavors that are not evil. These things come under our radar and they occupy our time and blur our focus. No longer being a fool, to me, means to stop following the rabbit trails that, while not evil, lead us away from growing hearts focused on Christ, His passion and His mission.

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.

April 20, Reading Notes

I had a little mini insight in today's reading. Mind you, it didn't come because I'm smart, but because I've been doing this for so many years that bell finally went off. Also, it is probably meaningless to you, but the Spirit has made it meaningful for me, so I thought it was cool. I'm saying all this because if you read the Bible like this, year after year, the Spirit will do the same things with you.

So, I'm reading today and realize that one of the cities the Levites were given is a city of refuge: Ramoth in Gilead. Somehow I'm thinking, "I know that name." Then it hits me, there is a place in the Bible where the three words are spelled as one: Ramothgilead. This is the scene of a very spooky portion of Scripture. Actually, a lot of things happen there. You see evil Ahab (not from Moby Dick) getting set up to fall into God's judgment, you see a godly king, Jehoshaphat, making a devastating mistake, and you see a lone, starved prophet named Michaiah, open a window to let us see what actually takes place spiritually before the throne of God in heaven as he uses the demonic to judge the disobedient and rebellious on earth. The entire event is in 1 Chronicles 18, but look particularly at vs. 18-22. You can get some real insight out of this. I have always been intrigued by this story, but I never realized that what Ahab was using to lure Jehoshaphat into fighting with him had once been a spiritual city, a city of the Levites, a city of refuge. What a noble cause to use to entice Jehoshaphat into bonding with him and his evil. Of course God would bless them if they tried to recapture a city from Syria that had once been a godly city in Israel, right?  Wrong! I think that's pretty cool. And it is only because of reading the One Year Bible, year after year.

Joshua 21:1-22:20

Joshua 21

This is the final act of establishing the people in the land. The Levites were large enough to need cities to live in and pasture land. God spread the Levites throughout Israel. Since they no longer needed to pack up the Tabernacle, they would be organized to minister at the Tabernacle in shifts. In the meantime, they were to have a teaching ministry among the people. So, rather than gathering the Levites around the Tabernacle in Shiloh, they were spread out. According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, "someone has estimated that no one in Israel lived more than 10 miles from one of the 48 Levite towns." (p.364)

Now just for something to do, read through the list of these towns and see how many of the six cities of refuge are towns given to the Levites.

Vs. 43-45 state the completion of the administration of Joshua and the essential conquest and division of the land. If only the people would have continued to follow the Lord.

This summary didn't mean that the fighting was over, and it didn't signal the completion of the Abrahamic covenant. Everything here is still partial.

Joshua 22:1-20

This is an interesting event. It hints to future problems, but at this point, it shows Israel's very solid focus on obeying the Lord.

Notice in verse five, that Joshua's command to the tribes was to love the Lord. I thought we didn't hear about loving God in the Old Testament.

V. 8 is a command to share with those who had been left behind to protect their families and property and to begin farming the land.

Vs. 10-20 Tomorrow we'll read the answer of the 2.5 tribes as to why they built the altar.

Notice that the people are totally unified in their response in vs. 12 & 16.

Notice the references to how the sins of a few hurt the entire congregation in 17, 18 & 20.

V. 19 They offered the solution of letting the 2.5 tribes join them on the west side of the Jordan.

Since there is no mention of Joshua, it seems that Joshua was retired and that the new guys like Phinehas were leading the people.

Regarding discipleship, the thing I see in this account is the necessity to constantly be training the next generation of leaders. Phinehas had good family connections, but we also see him in action as a man who had a heart for God. When he mentions the fiasco at Baal-Peor in verse 17, it was because he himself took the lead in that situation when everyone else was paralyzed. It is interesting for me that the priests had an upcoming leader in Phinehas, but the nation had no one to follow Joshua. The next leader we will see is Othniel, who was close to Caleb and who was probably influenced by him. In the case of the rest of the judges, no one looks like they were "discipled" for leadership.

Since our focus in this life is to constantly be making more and better disciples, it shouldn't be rare to find leaders who have come up in a group to assume leadership from the past generation and groom leaders for the next generation. In working in the harvest, making disciples who make disciples, we should be pros at developing men and woman who have a heart for God, and who are convinced that their mission in life is to follow Christ in the harvest making disciples who make disciples. It is hard to break that chain of generational preparation, if we embrace our mission as makers of disciples from and for the harvest.

Luke 20:1-26

We have read these events before in Matthew and Mark. Jesus is close to His crucifixion, and here, He's in the pressure cooker of controversy and conflict.

Luke 20:1-8

So, as a disciple advising other disciples, what principle would you pull from this event that would arm people in your group to give a good answer in this kind of conflict?

Luke 20:9-19

I don't know about this one. Would you advise your guys to be this pointed? It kind of cuts against our cultural sense of being "politically correct."

Luke 20:20-26

I wish I could teach myself to come up with answers like this one. But as a "near" application, I think it is fair to tell the people we are growing as disciples, to stop complaining about government and do the work of a disciple in the harvest, bearing much fruit, glorifying the Father and so proving to be disciples of our Lord. Jesus said that if we seek His kingdom first, He'll take care of the rest.

This is a rather "exhausting" video, but "He'll Take Care of the Rest" by Keith Green is great. The song begins after a minute thirty seconds. Whether it's "success" in our following as disciples in the harvest or waiting for God to meet our earthly needs, we are just to focus on following Jesus in the harvest and to be faithful for our part. God takes care of results and keeping us fed and clothed.

Psalm 89:1-13

Ok, so this is interesting. This guy, Ethan, is the brother to the guy who wrote the psalm yesterday, Herman. Names are hard to track down, especially since the names vary in spelling over years and books. Also, it is hard to know when they lived because sometimes the head of the clan is named and then only the "famous sons" are mentioned with names skipped in between. But check this out, look at 1 Chron. 2:6 and then at 1 Kings 4:31. You find the same names together. These men were known to be wise, and so it's mentioned that Solomon was more of a wise guy than both of them put together.

Now, it says that they were together (if it's the same guys) when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem in 1 Chron. 15:15-19.

This psalm will be spread over today, tomorrow and the next day. If both men were with David during the time he fled from Absalom, I wonder if, and this is just pure speculation, if the psalms were meant to complement each other somehow. The extreme darkness of the days of running and uncertainty (Psalm 88), and the glorious establishment of David and then again, the cry to God to restore David (Psalm 89).

Vs. 51 (April 22) sounds like the verbal abuse David took at the hands of Shimei in 2 Sam. 16:5-9. I'm saying this now to suggest that that event might be the framework of this psalm.

All of this is a bit harder when a psalm is spread out over so many days. Then on the 23rd we get two psalms because they were both written by Moses. Go figure.

Proverbs 13:15-16

Amen!

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.