Lamentations 4-5
Last day in Lamentations, rejoice!
Lam. 4
Jeremiah describes the change in the people and the city because of the devastation of judgment. What is interesting, especially in terms of the treatment of the children, is that the people had already changed. The people had either been offering their kids in sacrifice or were accepting of the practice. The destruction and desperation of judgment just revealed the heart beneath the civilized veneer.
V. 13 Notice that the prophets and priests, who should have led the people, shed the blood of the righteous. This means that the people they killed were probably the people who stood against their sin. Again, it is a sin of the people to allow this in their leaders.
V. 14 Jesus said it. When the blind lead the blind, both fall into a pit.
V. 17 This is the watching of those who had not loved or followed God. People get religious when there is a threat, but have no understanding of God. We've seen this before in Jeremiah.
V. 20 This is referring to King Zedekiah. You don't put your hope in men, particularly ungodly ones.
Vs. 21-22 We mentioned this before and will see it again. Edom was judged for their excessive joy in the destruction of Zion and were also taken into captivity. Israel returned and was restored. Edom never again became an established nation.
Lam. 5
This chapter is different than the others although it doesn't appear so in the ESV. It is written, not as a "poem," but as a prayer.
Vs. 1-18 This is an appeal to God to look and have compassion. Notice that Jeremiah says everything in the first person plural.
Vs. 19-20 Another appeal to God
Vs. 21-22 The final appeal. Notice that this is built on God's promise to write His law on their hearts. The restoration is not to happiness or prosperity, but to God Himself.
Hebrews 2
In reading this section, notice that it still sounds sermonic. Also, notice how the author is using the OT. He had a great understanding of the OT and how it spoke about Jesus.
V. 1 This is a warning, one of about five in the entire book. The author is summarizing everything he has just said about Jesus and God speaking through Him. The message is that if you don't regard the importance of the message and the Messenger, you will drift away. In a way, if you wanted to get picky, it is saying that the message and the Messenger are so important, that if you focus your faith and practice on anything else as the primary focus and essential object, you are in danger of drifting away. I know we tend to look at those in obvious error and agree that they have gotten lost, but I wonder if focusing on the Christian culture, its music and meetings, isn't a log in our eye. I just read a report from people visiting the underground church in China. Those disciples are doing far more with far less in their harvest fields than we in the west are doing in ours. It seems that the message and the Messenger are their only focus and it burns in their hearts. To be a believer in China means you are a disciple. To be a believer here can mean a lot of things and exclude following Christ in the harvest. People can get lost in their Christian culture and drift away.
Vs. 2-4 Do you get the argument here. If those in the law took seriously the message delivered by angels, they had better take seriously this message delivered by the Son. Point: don't go back into the law.
Vs. 5-9 Some Jews believed that at the end of the age the world would be subjected to the good spiritual armies, Michael and his merry angels. The author shoots this idea to pieces. Everything will be subjected to Jesus, the Son of Man.
V. 9 The full subjection will come yet. Wait for it. For Jesus came first to be a sacrifice for sin.
It could be that some were using the argument that now since Jesus, things were no better than they were before in world affairs. Surely God would have changed the political world. Right? The Jews never understood that He needed to die for sin first.
Vs. 10-18 In order for Jesus to "taste death" for everyone, He had to be immersed into the entire human experience. Jesus had to be subject to the same lost world and gravity and temptation as everyone else.
V. 16 Notice that argument about angels again.
V. 17 Jesus had the actual experience so that He could be a high priest to us with full understanding. The flip side is that no one will be able to say to Him, "How would you know? You're God."
V. 18 I've heard people wax elephants on this temptation and how Jesus felt all temptations far deeper because He was perfect. I've never really understood all of that. But there is a very real point here that this audience might have understood. They were being frightened and pressured to return to Judaism. Jesus was under constant pressure to do the same. Because He healed on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders hated Him. He didn't live according to the tradition of the elders, so they despised and shunned Him. Jesus definitely knew what it was like to be shunned and cast out because of not adhering to the traditions of men in the law.
As disciples, following Christ in the harvest means that we might upset the local culture, even Christian culture, and there will always be a pressure to be quieter, more harmless, so that others can feel more comfortable and secure in their way of life.
Psalm 103
Remember David? Doesn't he seem a long time ago? But you remember that David's life was not very easy. And then, he himself complicated it, destroying most of his family and alienating many of his friends. Still, David was a great man because unlike so many of the kings after him, when he was humbled, he still loved God with all his heart. Here he is telling Israel to bless the Lord. Regardless of the challenges in our lives, following Christ in the harvest means we learn to bless the Lord in all circumstances.
There have been many songs, in all generations, written to verses in this psalm. This is new to me and very pretty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJfmqbRtVk8
Proverbs 26:23
You get it, right? The glaze hides what is underneath. This would be like putting whipped cream on a cow pie.
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.
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