July 11, Reading Notes

1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18

When you read this history, you should see it as Ezra trying to underscore important events for a generation of Israelites who have never lived in the land promised to Abraham. Israel was exiled for 70 years and it was still years before most of the people returned. I'm going to be "supposing" and suggesting as if I know why Ezra included the information he did. That is a part of Bible study, observing what is there and trying to understand why the Spirit included it and what He is wanting us to learn from it. There is first the context of the original audience to whom this was written, but there is also an application and purpose designed for us.

1 Chr. 11

Vs. 1-3 This seems to be a sort of high point. All of the tribes of Israel going to David after the defeat and death of Saul. Notice that there is nothing here of the conflict between Saul and David. That isn't the point here. The point is that a beaten Israel is rising in unity against its enemies, but it is rising by grasping on to the hope that God has given them. They finally acknowledge and embrace God's will and appointment of David.

Vs. 4-9 This then is the second important high point, the taking of the city of David, the city of God.

Vs. 10-47 Finally, the blessing of God on a people is seen in unity, loyalty and courage: People embracing God's destiny for their lives. Here, that destiny is seen in the men that God led to David, who knew David was to be the next leader of Israel, but who came to him when it wasn't safe or popular to do so.

There are some challenges here if you compare the list of these names to those in Samuel. Ezra is writing years later, using manuscripts that are years old. Not only that, the Hebrew language and pronunciation and spellings have changed. Imagine what your native language looked like 500 years ago. That was Ezra's challenge.

These men would have been folk heroes and the stuff of camp-out stories and bed-time stories. Then, of course, you had all of David's own adventures.

1 Chr. 12:1-18

Notice here when these men came to David and who they were.

Vs. 1-7 Why would Benjaminites coming to David at Ziglag be noteworthy? You can figure that out. And these guys were like the artillery on legs.

Vs. 8-15 This group of men came to David when he was still in Israel, in the mountains of Judah, living in caves. Read what it says about these guys. They were willing to live in hardship and in danger to be loyal to God's anointed king. What an amazing blessing. What should that have said to the people coming to rejoin Israel in hardship, leaving behind the comforts of Babylon and Persia? What should all of this say to us as disciples of Jesus in the harvest. How good are you at living in hardship to be loyal to the Son of David? How skilled are your hands for the harvest?

Vs. 16-18 And then there were Benjaminites who came to live with David in hardship, in caves, in danger, running from Saul, their own countryman and tribesman. You can imagine why David had to give them this warning. Then we have the words of their leader. They were of Benjamin, yet loyal to God and His promise. And David made them all leaders of his troops.

What a fantastic testimony to a new generation of people leaving the comfort of exile, their houses and businesses, to return to the land promised to Abraham and the city of God. Do you see what Ezra and the Spirit are doing? We too have been called to join Christ in the harvest, in the middle of His promise of redemption to the world. The work is now. The party is later.

Acts 28

Greetings to Gary, Helena, Carmen, Jonas and Juliette on Malta!

Vs. 1-6 This is the only instance recorded in Acts where someone is bitten by a snake and Mark 16:18 comes true, "…they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them;" So, even in the book of Acts, this wasn't the norm.

It is interesting to think of the stuff that the Lord had old Julius the centurion put in his report. This would make very interesting reading in Rome. And God wasn't done.

Vs. 7-10 Suddenly Paul is back in the thick of things, healing, preaching, teaching. So what was the difference? It was the will of God. God was doing this, now, to get fruit in that field and to get the report ready for Nero to read in Rome.

V. 15 Notice that Paul was not above discouragement or emotional exhaustion.

V. 16 Paul is now in Rome, but under house arrest again. It is not until 2 Timothy that Paul is in a Roman dungeon awaiting death by this same Nero.

Vs. 17-28 Same old Paul. First he went to the Jews. You can be sure that some of the Jews believed. We also know from the letter to the Romans, that there were thriving churches there and many believing Jews.

Vs. 30-31 This is where Acts ends. Paul has been under house arrest for two years and has had enormous freedom, as he had in Caesarea, to preach and teach. He still hadn't had his trial before Nero. Luke ends Acts here and sends the manuscript to Theophilus. Just for trivia, how long do you think Paul was imprisoned all totaled, between Caesarea and Rome?

Both 1&2 Timothy occur after Acts. In 1 Timothy, Paul and Timothy are flying around fighting fires and doing damage control in churches. It may be that the persecutions under Nero had begun. It was certainly that the internal problems Paul had warned of were beginning to become more of a challenge and churches were splitting. Apparently something happened at Ephesus that tore apart its leadership and one of Timothy's assignments was to rebuild the church. Paul was running off to Macedonia to take care of business in the churches there. In 2 Timothy, Paul has been pursued and caught. Apparently Alexander the coppersmith had something to do with him getting caught. All of the people who traveled with Paul deserted him except Luke. It must have happened with a lot of violence and stress. Paul was in a dungeon. He had given testimony before Nero and the other Roman officials and Paul judged that his time to be "graduated" had come. In Paul asking Timothy to come to Rome, he was asking him to come into harm's way. We never hear anything of Timothy after this, unless Hebrews wasn't written by Paul and was written later. Hebrews 13:23.

Tradition indicates that this time of Nero's persecution not only claimed Paul's life but also Peter's. This would have been about 67AD. Nero died in 68AD. Two years later the Romans would destroy Jerusalem, fulfilling Jesus' judgment of the generation that witnessed His words and works and yet rejected Him as their Messiah. Ironically, the next time Israel will see Jesus, they will accept Him, but Jerusalem will again be on the verge of destruction.

Psalm 9:1-12

It's interesting to think that these songs were sung in worship. I found this psalm by Joel Buckner and he touches on most of the psalm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5diLVsF6Jc&feature=related

Proverbs 19:1-3

Verse one probably belonged better to the proverbs from yesterday. Integrity is worth it even if what you have to pay to gain it is poorness.

Vs. 2-3 As disciples, following Christ is a very simple matter. We complicate it by our Christian culture and many nice but unnecessary things. All we need is joy in our salvation, lost people and following Christ in His harvest. Everything else is unnecessary.

So we serve Christ with stuff, with visions and with great ideas, yet we lack maturity and balance and proper leading and we make haste and we slip and do dumb stuff and blame everyone else.

V. 3 And who gets the brunt of our rage for going too fast, without knowledge? We rant at God or get bitter and give up. Imagine Moses thinking he would free the people when he was 40. He was right. He knew God would use him to free the people, but he did it his way, too fast, without knowledge of God. It took 40 years of serving sheep in the wilderness to get him ready. You notice that when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, Moses was still a little mad at God. It's His mission, we are His servants so we need to learn of Him and go at His pace, with the knowledge of 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.