October 5, Reading Notes

Jeremiah 4:19-6:14

One of the challenges with Jeremiah, and you might want to take this up with God when you get to heaven J, is that Jeremiah's prophesies are arranged topically and chronologically, but not primarily chronologically until we get to the end of the book. That's not completely comfortable to a western (consecutive numbers, parallel lines and right angles) way of thinking. Whereas in Isaiah we had to be alert to when God was referring to the near events or the final events and the coming of the Messiah, in Jeremiah we have to ask if what God is saying is prophetic to their near future, or if the events are already happening or have already happened.

Jer. 4:19-31

Assuming that this was said in the early days of Josiah and Jeremiah, God is not only giving Jer a vision, but He is also giving him all the emotions that come with fear.

Vs. 19-21 This is the kind of stuff that gives Jeremiah the nickname of "The Weeping Prophet." Early on, Jeremiah is distressed for his people and doesn't seem to completely understand God. Later, after years of trying to help them, Jeremiah's attitude becomes more like God's.

V. 22 The last part of this verse was used by Paul a couple of times, but in the opposite way, where he says, "be babes in evil, but in thinking be mature."

V. 23 This is Genesis. The people have created their own chaos.

V. 30 It's interesting that Jezebel painted her eyes before she died.

Jer. 5

Vs. 1-2 I've noticed that often the first couple of verses make a statement, and the rest of the chapter works off of that statement.

V. 1 This reminds me of Abraham talking with Jesus about Sodom before the angels destroyed it in Gen. 18:17.

Vs. 3-5 Like Abraham, Jeremiah was hoping there would be someone found who really followed God.

V. 7 When God fed them, they turned away from Him.

Vs. 12-13 We'll see this a lot. The prophets spoke peace to the people, but that is what the people wanted.

Vs. 18-19 Mercy and judgment together. God will save them, but He will give them what they want, making them sick of their own sin.

Vs. 20-24 This sounds a lot like Isaiah.

Vs. 30-31 The leaders were religious and ungodly, but the people had itchy ears.

Jer. 6:1-14

Vs. 1-8 This is a prophetic warning for those in Jerusalem, of the punishment coming against them. Benjamin was the only tribe that stayed with Judah when the nation divided.

Vs. 9-14 This is a prophetic description of that coming punishment. Notice again who are mentioned in verses 13 & 14.

As disciples in the harvest, we need tact and wisdom as we talk to people. Yet, we need to tell people the whole truth. Jesus mentioned the coming judgment often. The disciples were sent out telling people to repent. Inviting people to Jesus to get a better life sounds good in their ears, but the whole truth of God's coming kingdom, our sin and need to turn to Jesus for forgiveness, our need to be saved in Christ is most important. In many places in the world, salvation means that a person might have personal assurance and peace in Christ, but as a result of their decision, it means a "worse" life in their immediate context. People need the truth, not just what we think they want to hear. It's God's Word, not ours.

Colossians 1:21-2:7

Since Paul had not yet visited this church, much of what Paul says has the same tone of introduction as in Ephesians.

Col. 1:21-29

This sounds just like portions of Ephesians, except verse 23 where Paul reminds them that this is the same gospel that is being preached everywhere. Paul had to remind the Corinthians of this too, because of preachers who were adding to the teaching that Paul had brought.

V. 23 In light of all we've read, knowing you can't lose being a "new creation" (salvation), how do you interpret Paul's warning?

V. 24 Nothing was "lacking" in Jesus' suffering with regard to salvation. Yet now, guiding the church, Jesus was using Paul's suffering (He uses ours, too) to provide crucial insights and leadership to others. You see this a little in 1 Cor. 7. Paul gives advise saying, "Not I, but the Lord," because he is referring to something Jesus actually said and taught on. Then Paul says, "To the rest I say, not the Lord," and later, "I have no command of the Lord but give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy." Jesus was using Paul to fill out what He was not physically present to teach. Later after correcting the Corinthians regarding things Jesus never taught about, Paul said, "If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 14:37

V. 27 We've seen this in Ephesians. The mystery is not that the Gentiles would be saved, but that God would make a mysterious "nation" of Jews and Gentiles during this time. That's us, the church.

Col. 2:1-7

V. 1 Paul saw all of his ministry struggles as challenges to strengthen churches. That would be an interesting mindset for us, as disciples, to develop.

Vs. 3-7 are entering into one of the problems at Colosse. Teachers were apparently saying there was hidden knowledge beyond what Paul had shared with them, and that if they wanted the fullness of God, they had to go deeper into this knowledge and philosophy, and , wouldn't you know it, deeper into Jewish custom.

Paul is, and will be, saying that Jesus is as deep as you need to go. And as we saw in Galatians, Paul will tell them that if you begin with Jesus in faith, you stick with Jesus in faith. All the fullness is in Him. He's enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW-toYBiF8o

Psalm 77

So what is the comfort of these psalms? I'm reading this one and identifying deeply with it. In a way, who'd want to identify with such a distressing psalm. But there's a sense of saying you know what the psalmist is going through and realizing that God says it's OK to feel like this. It is, oddly enough, God saying that He knows how we feel. It leads me to believe He wants me to be able to understand that this psalm is true. And then He wants me to find and use the hope in this psalm.

So what do we have? Crying out. Check. Remembering. Check. Verses 7-9, wondering. Check. Appealing, remembering, pondering, meditating. Check. Verses 16-20 are from the Bible itself, viewing the way God redeemed His people. For us too, we know about our salvation, our Lord's rescue and the future we have in Him and need to remember it while we wait on the Lord.

Proverbs 24:23-25

I'm sure this is harder than it sounds, especially if the wicked are in power or pay the salaries. I'm sure King Manasseh didn't rule for 54 years by making friends with the people who rebuked him. It says that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood and I'll bet gallons of that blood came from those people who stood up to him. But who is the real king? Oh, yeah, that's right. God is the real king and His is the real kingdom.

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 comments and feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.