Joshua 16-18
Joshua 16-17
This might be a good place to find a map, on-line or otherwise, to figure out where these tribes were situated. You could Google "map of the tribes of Israel."
I find it interesting that normally you would give the firstborn his birthright. Legally, it should have gone to Joseph, but they must have understood that Judah was the honored tribe. Next came the tribes of Joseph.
It says in Joshua and Judges that the people obeyed until the last of the elders who served with Joshua had died. This means that the two references you find saying, "the Canaanites were not driven out, but put into forced labor," were written as historical notes.
Joshua 17:3-6 show the fulfillment of the situation with the daughters of Zelophehad.
Notice in 17:16-18, the people are already making excuses for not driving the people out. It is almost as if God has done the big work through Joshua, and now "the disciples" have to live by their own faith. Tragic as it is, left to their own faith and their own initiative to seek after God, they failed; not because God failed, but left to themselves, they really had no faith, if you will, "no root in themselves."
Joshua 18
This is pretty interesting how they decided to divvy up the rest of the land. You wonder if the other tribes felt bad because so much was given to Judah, Manasseh and Ephraim?
V. 1 This is the first mention of Shiloh. Apparently they set up camp there and that is where the Tabernacle was for about 300 years, until the Ark was lost to the Philistines during the lifetime of Samuel.
Luke 19:1-27
I've never noticed this before, but it seems that all of this takes place at Zacchaeus' house.
Luke 19:1-10
It is interesting that just recently, God brought Jesus into contact with the rich young ruler. Here, you have a tax collector. He was rich and he hadn't been a completely honest guy (since he had people to pay back), but he was repentant and willing to give everything away for the sake of knowing Jesus. Funny how the religious guy backs away from Jesus, and the sinner is ready to follow.
Notice that this is the second story in a row of someone willing to "seek" Jesus and to endure shame for doing it. Zaccheaus, like the blind man, wasn't blind to who Jesus was.
Notice too, that over half of the story has to do with Zacchaeus seeking Jesus. The remainder of the story is the proof of his sincerity and salvation. Jesus didn't have to ask Zacchaeus to give anything because he was already ready to do so. Money didn't own his heart like it did the rich young ruler.
V. 10 I read today, "A disciple is not above his teacher….it is enough that a disciple is like his teacher…." If this was Jesus, it should be me / us too.
Luke 19:11-27
Luke tells us why Jesus is telling this parable here. This story is similar, but not the same as the parable of the talents that Jesus will tell in Jerusalem the Wednesday before He dies. You probably have a note telling you how much a "mina" was. That would be a hefty amount.
In light of the purpose of the story, what is Jesus trying to get across to the twelve and to the others who are following Him? Everyone was hoping He was about to overthrow the Roman government and bring the religious corruption to an end (everyone knew the chief priests were no good).
For us as disciples, there is an application. We are entrusted with something. There also seems to be variable rewards based on fruit. Fruit is relative and all fruit is rewarded. Fruitlessness is not celebrated here. It seems that the lack of trying was the real issue. Is it fair to say that if someone has been "given" forgiveness and grace, they will see it as their mission to see that that forgiveness and grace is "invested" in the lives of others who have not found it?
V. 26 This saying has been used by Jesus often, particularly in training His disciples. It is almost like He's saying, "use it or lose it." It might be like saying that a truly believing person will strive to understand and bear testimony to Christ, whereas a "professing" but lost person will not strive or be passionate about making their life count for Christ.
V. 27 does not have to be a disciple, but the general masses who didn't want this man to rule over them. It seems that the servant who didn't try was one of those who didn't really want his master to return. I find it hard to accept Jesus applying the words, "wicked" and "condemn" to a disciple in verse 22. On the other hand, if this parable is being applied to unbelievers, I can't see Jesus entrusting them with His truth, if that's what the mina means. We know from 1Cor. 3:15 that there will be a "test by fire" for disciples to see what they have built on the foundation of their faith and God's truth. My view here is that the "wicked" servant is a real believer who will be tested by fire and will find that everything he built in this life got burned away.
Psalm 87
This is a very interesting psalm. Basically it says that Zion (Jerusalem) is not only God's city, but will be the great city of the world.
Rahab stands for Egypt and Babylon is Iraq, both places where God led Israel. These two nations hosted Israel and will apparently be blessed for that and, with these other nations mentioned here, will someday be adopted and included in Israel's worship as part of Israel. It will be said that they were born in Zion. Verse 6 says the same thing. The Lord will include them in the register of those who have been born in Zion, belonging to the blessing of that kingdom.
This all sounds like a fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. Also, since this event has never happened to this point in history, I'd say it is referring to the Millennial Kingdom, where Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years.
Notice that verse 3 gave birth to a song, a hymn "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken, Zion, City of our God." Imagine my surprise when we moved to Germany and, watching a soccer game, discovered the melody of that Hymn is the melody of Germany's national anthem. Now, when I hear that melody, I get goose bumps and my foot begins to twitch.
Proverbs 13:11
I guess the stories we have of lottery winners being ruined by their wealth bears this out. The real virtue here is steady diligence in work, rather than chasing after wealth, fame or success.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment