July 22, Reading Notes

2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10

These are great chapters. We have read all of this before, so I only want to mention a few things.

Keep in mind the purpose of Ezra in writing this. He could have told everyone to refer back to 1 Kings where this is recorded, but it is repeated here for this generation. What is Ezra's purpose? Here again we have a great king, Solomon, taking spiritual leadership for his people. But more than that, Ezra seems to be pointing them to God's eternal promises and how that has undergirded their history, from Abraham, to the establishing of the Davidic covenant, through being preserved in the exile, to the return by command of Cyrus…all according to the promise (and steadfast love) of God. What we are witnessing here today, and what Ezra is showing the people, is that based on the work of David and Solomon in leading the people in making the temple, God makes an eternal promise to them, right here. God heard and honored Solomon's prayer of dedication. Because of the promise God makes here (among other promises) Israel is allowed back into its land.

2 Chr. 6:12-42

Notice the references to the promise God made to David.

Notice how often the word "servant" is used.

Notice the references to God's love.

V. 19 Notice the intensity of this prayer.

What are the "ifs" and "whens" that Solomon mentions?

I love verses 29-31.

V. 40 Notice that this is the climax of the prayer.

2 Chr. 7

V.3 This was Israel's praise of God because of David.

V. 11 Remember the timing here. It took Solomon 7.5 years to build the temple and another 13 to finish his palace and residence. The dedication of the temple would have been after the temple's completion. God is now speaking to Solomon, not that night, but a night 13 years later. I think the point is that Solomon was on a mission for God. Now he was done. From this point on, Solomon could do what he wanted to do. And what would that look like? Would he serve God or would he drift from God? That is why this is such a crucial point in his life. God honored Solomon's prayer and devotion, but not just for Solomon's sake.

V. 14 is kind of a famous verse.

V. 16 Notice the eternal nature of this promise. Daniel, in particular, held on to this promise, which means he had to have read in 1 Kings, since this wasn't written until after the exile.

Vs. 19-22 Notice again the warning to Solomon.

2 Chr. 8:1-10

It's one thing to build buildings and a name for yourself. It is another thing to build character and build into the hearts of a nation. Solomon kept building stuff.

V. 2 Note that Solomon received a gift of cities from Hiram. Solomon gave Hiram cities too, but he didn't repay Hiram in kind and fancy them up. Solomon gave him raggedy, tired little towns that Hiram called "Kabul," worthless.

As disciples our true devotion to following Christ in the harvest is seen not when it is our job or we're on a summer missions trip, but it's seen when the "mission" is over and we can do anything we want. This was Solomon's downfall, and why he never measured up to be the "man after God's own heart" that David was. Thankfully, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Romans 7:14-8:8

Rom. 7:14-25

Enjoy reading this. This is the clearest statement in the Bible about the power of sin. This short section is like a theological "power bar."

The flesh is our old nature which somehow is bound in and with this body. This is why the resurrection is such a great hope for us. It is not just that we will live forever in a body. It is, as said in Romans 6 and again in Romans 8, that we will be free of this body of death. For us as believers, the resurrection is our hope in Christ only if we are sick of sin. If have the attitude that sin isn't so bad, then the resurrection is just carnival ride: thrilling but unnecessary. We need to grasp the deadliness of sin, every day.

Vs. 23 and 25 express the futility of this battle apart from Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives us forgiveness and the new spiritual creation and the Holy Spirit give us help to live following Him. This help is explained in chapter eight, but chapter seven ends without hope.

V. 24 is not a dramatic cry from an unbeliever. It is Paul expressing the depth of his fight. If you don't understand how deep the need is, you don't correctly seek the help offered. That is true everywhere in life and it is especially true here. As disciples working in the harvest following Christ, this understanding needs to be vital and important to us. We are not just weak, we are sick and hopeless without the resources God makes available to us. The world is filled with the wreckage of Christian men and women and marriages and families and churches. We have more media than any other generation that has walked this earth. We have more resources, yet sin doesn't seem to respond to podcasts and Kindle, to traditional or contemporary worship, to amazing missional vision and positive attitude. Sin is still winning. The fight is the same as it was in Paul's day and the answer is the same. The tragedy is that the answer is right here in the Word, in these chapters and in the next.

Rom. 8:1-8

Vs. 1-3 This is salvation in Christ. This is repentance, turning your back on your sin and turning to Christ to receive His forgiveness and His deliverance. It created a new nature, a new spiritual life in us. We are no longer responsible to the law. We are no longer under God's condemnation. God is satisfied and we are free.

But that is not enough for now. We are still weak and need tons of help

Vs. 4-8 Now we follow the Spirit. Before we knew Christ, we tried to follow a lot of things, religion, good ideas, etc. Now, we say things like "following Christ," which is accurate in as much as the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. Still, to give credence to John 14-16 and what Paul and the Spirit are writing here, it is really the Spirit that we follow. And, this following is very intentional. It isn't an accident like something we instinctively do without thinking. We have to surrender our will and willingly be aware of following. We have to do it actively, seeking the Lord, reading His Word, but all the time understanding that it is the Spirit who is given to help us through this life and lead us against this nature that is still alive within us.

As disciples it is all very simple. We surrender our will and our feelings and follow the Spirit. We realize that we have a desperate need and we live with it. If we were bi-polar, we'd live with it and take our meds. If we were terminally ill and treatments kept the illness at bay, we'd report for our transfusions and not pretend something different. The difference for us is our hope in our salvation and the resurrection of Christ. This body is terminal, but we will not only live forever with Christ, but it will be in a new body without sin. Without sin! And all that makes our mission following Christ in the harvest more important than ever. We've found the cure for this sickness and madness.

We haven't quiet gotten to "all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." That's tomorrow. What is interesting to me is that the model for following the Spirit is actually Jesus. Read John 5:17-24 as Jesus talked to Jews. Jesus' entire argument is that He had to do what the Spirit was showing Him that the Father was doing. I don't believe Jesus woke every morning knowing what would happen, but He lived aware of God's working and He was expectantly ready every moment to follow the lead of the Spirit.

This is a cool song that says this. If you don't like the repetition, hit the stop button. Here are David, Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman and his family again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2U3PU-E32E&feature=feedf

Psalm 18:1-15

Today's reading is only about half of Psalm 18. The occasion of this Psalm is probably sometime after David had become the king of the entire nation and after victories had been won against the Philistines. Only then was Israel secure and David at peace. This Psalm is also 2 Samuel chapter 22, placed there at the end of David's life as his personal testimony to God's deliverance from all that came against him. Placing this psalm at the end of 2 Samuel gives it the added significance of also seeing how God rescued David from his family, friends, himself and Satan.

For me the key verse of this portion is verse six. It is not until we have exhausted all of our resources and ideas and "connections," and have realized that only God can help us, that we cry out. This is what Paul learned in his suffering as he says in 2 Corinthians 12:10, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Proverbs 19:24-25

V. 24 It is easy to put this one off as not applying to us, but I know that there are some areas in my life where I'm a workaholic, and some areas where I'm a sluggard. I think that's true of everyone.

V. 25 This looks like a challenge to interpret. Is the scoffer the simple one? Or is this saying that if you strike a scoffer, he doesn't learn because he's a fool at heart, but it's not wasted because the simple will take notice and learn prudence. On the other hand, if you reprove a man of understanding, he himself will learn and gain knowledge. I don't know, but I think this might be the best way to interpret it.

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.