October 21, Reading Notes

Jeremiah 37-38

The adventures of Jeremiah!

Jer. 37

This actually took place before Jeremiah bought the property in chapter 32. Today we find out how Jer got put in jail back in 32. But the point today is to show how God saved Jeremiah, what a noodle Zedekiah was, and how God, even in this late, dark hour, gave Zedekiah a chance to save himself and the city.

Vs. 1-5 This is some background. This would have also been the time when they had set the slaves free, but now the Babylonians had withdrawn from the city to fight the Egyptians. The people enslaved their former slaves.

Vs. 6-10 God assured everyone that Nebuchadnezzar would be back.

Vs. 11-15 So this is how Jeremiah got thrown in prison. His visit home was not to look at the property of ch. 32 since that hadn't happened yet.

Vs. 16-21 This is the first of two interactions Jeremiah would have with Zedekiah.

Jer. 38

Vs. 1-4 Being in the king's court gave Jeremiah the freedom to preach and get his message out. That didn't make these guys happy.

Vs. 5-6 We'll see in a few verses what a scared man Zedekiah really was.

Vs. 7-13 Quite an adventure. After this, Zedekiah did a better job of protecting Jeremiah.

Thinking about the "joys" of ministry, thinking about Jeremiah and liking this Elvis song, I rewrote the words and turned it into "Missionary Preacher Blues." Try to ignore Elvis and use my words. I would have sung it myself if I didn't sound like a dying animal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNoiOYGayek&feature=feedu

Vs. 14-26 This is quite a portion of Scripture. Zedekiah was a weak, scared man. If he had listened, I'm sure the Lord would have done what He said. This is very sad. Later we will see a group of people do this same thing.

Vs. 27-28 Zedekiah had reason to worry, but had no faith to obey.

1 Timothy 6

Vs. 1-2 Notice that Paul is concerned here with how non-Christians viewed God as a result of the behavior of the saved slaves.

Vs. 3-5 There is a lot to observe here.

Notice that Paul didn't have an open mind regarding these issues or people. Timothy was to teach them and anyone who taught otherwise was not only in the wrong, they were evil.

It looks like there were available copies of the gospels and Jesus' teachings. If so, there were already teachers disagreeing with Jesus.

Finally, it looks like some people saw Christianity as a good way to make a living.

Vs. 6-10 This looks like the difference between following Jesus and living for yourself as a Christian.

Vs. 11-12 Timothy was to be fully devoted. I think this is meant to be imitated by all of Jesus' disciples who are following Him in the harvest.

Vs. 13-16 This is the primary and strongest charge to Timothy in the book. There is a lot to see here.

Vs. 17-19 This wasn't meant to insure salvation for the rich, but rather to show who was the real Lord and master of their lives.

Vs. 20-21 Paul wouldn't have cautioned Timothy like this if he hadn't seen the possibility that Timothy could get off track. All of us become unfocused or distracted or caught up in something that leads us away from our work in the harvest.

Psalm 89:38-52

Now we get to the real pain of this Psalm. It looks like it was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. We are reading about this destruction. This psalm could have been written in Babylon or in the days of the first groups that returned to the ruined Jerusalem after the exile.

V. 52 As he waits on God to restore and fulfill His promises, the psalmist never forgot the steadfast love of the Lord and to bless the Lord for His faithfulness.

Proverbs 25:28

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. Send comment or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.