1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17
1 Chr. 16:37-43
This is a continuation from yesterday showing that David, as king, took the lead in organizing and designing the worship. One mark of all godly kings in Judah will be that they personally invest in and organize the worship of the people.
For the rulers of Israel, returning to the land after the exile, Ezra is emphasizing the need for them to model spiritual involvement and worship for the people.
1 Chr. 17
In this very select history for the returning exiles, comes the Davidic promise. David sought the glory and honor of God, and God honored David with this promise. The importance of this promise in the OT is rivaled only by the promise to Adam and Eve and the promise to Abraham. These were redemptive promises even if, at times, Israel only understood them as nationalistic. Even in Roman chapter one, as Paul introduces himself, he includes David's name in the description of the Gospel. The Messiah is the eternal ruler from the house of David.
Vs. 11-12 The obvious "near" fulfillment of these verses was Solomon, but the Spirit was also referring to Jesus.
Ephesians 2:20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
We are the temple that this Son of David built.
So, as you read this chapter, what do you think Ezra was trying to say to the new generation entering the land of promise? What was it about God that they should learn? What was it about David that they should be like? What was it about Israel that made them like no other people?
1 Chr. 18
Now we've seen that David fought battles and God gave him the victory, establishing David's house. But, we haven't seen verses 8 and 11 before. What is Ezra trying to emphasize about David that these people should model?
Vs. 14-17 Here is David again, leading, guiding, organizing and serving Israel, the people of God.
When David comes and sits before the Lord in 1 Chr. 17:16, he asks the question every disciple of Jesus should ask, "Who am I?" When we read those first few verses of Romans 1, we realize that we have been called to belong to Christ and appointed to take the news of this salvation to the lost and dying. That should be a cause for feeling just as David felt when he was told that God would pour out kindness and honor upon him. In many ways, the kindness and honor God has shown us is so much greater. Jesus told His disciples, "But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. Truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it." We are those disciples of honor who have been saved, who see and hear and get to work with our Savior in the harvest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_rTX23V7Q
Romans 2:1-24
In this chapter Paul is working toward what he's going to say in chapter three, that we are all condemned and guilty before God because that we are all under the power of sin. The only answer will be faith in Christ.
In your observations, notice how Paul is building an atmosphere of coming judgment.
Vs. 6-11 might give the "idea" that there might be something someone could "do" for acceptance before God, but this is just Paul setting up his argument for hopelessness in chapter 3. Notice the condition of v. 16. Judgment is according to Jesus Christ. That will mean "by faith in Christ." I was reading this morning that when the people asked Jesus, "What must we do to be doing the work of God?" He answered, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He (the Father) has sent." That is the only "work" that works: believe in Jesus, welcoming Him as savior and Lord. In John 6, Jesus is taking their view of works and saying that there is no work, only faith in Him.
V. 16 Notice that judgment was a part of Paul's gospel.
Vs. 17-23 Now, although there is a tone in this letter as if Paul is writing to a completely Jewish audience, he is not. This is one of a few instances where Paul addresses and names a particular group in the church in Rome. Paul will again address the Jews in chapter seven and then the Gentiles in chapter 11. It was a mixed congregation of people. The point here is that the Jews are so shot through with sin, the spiritual disease, that there is no way they should feel safe or better or saved because they are Jews.
You get the idea in reading this, that there were Jews in the church who were either not yet saved, or were Jewish Christians who were still very rooted in the Law. These "law abiding Christians" were a deep threat to understanding the grace of the Gospel and the saving faith in Christ alone. Paul is doing some very thorough theological re-orientation here for those stuck on the Law. Paul will level the playing field and show that neither Jew nor Gentile has any hope without faith in Christ, and that even in the OT, salvation was based solely on faith.
One trap that we fall into as Christians is thinking that we are better than "sinners." That attitude will keep a person from becoming a disciple following Jesus in the harvest. Disciples know that the disease of sin still rages in this body of death. It is only by grace, by the daily cleansing of the Word, by following the leading of the Spirit that we are able to do anything that is half-way honoring and glorifying to God. It is pure grace. Paul said to the Corinthians, "What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?" Knowing the gift, draws you in love to the savior, who is in fact, still working in the harvest.
Psalm 10:16-18
This is the very intense ending of the psalm. There is a kind of spiritual affliction that comes from seeing the harvest, and sensing our call to serve God in the harvest. The work is important and it is desperate. That is why Jesus could tell His disciples, in Luke 6:21, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." We don't have to be afflicted now, unless we understand the grace given to us, the amazing grace and love in the Gospel and the coming judgment on those who have not yet responded.
Proverbs 19:8-9
Truth or lies. Living according to reality or closing your eyes to reality. Christians get ruined too. And pretending that there is no harvest is the same as saying there isn't one. Jesus said, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God, and do it." For a disciple, the "it" always involves following their savior into the harvest.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
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