A couple of thoughts before we begin.
My plan is to send out some thoughts prior to the daily reading. That's the plan and we'll see how reality shapes this. A year is a long time. You'll have to determine how you want to use the thoughts I send. You can read them before you read, after you read, or disregard them altogether.
I'm doing this with a discipleship cell in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading. This would mean that if we were to meet in a cell on any given evening, we could discuss the reading up to and including that day, regarding our walk as disciples.
When the year is done, I'm hoping, with your ideas and mine together, we will have a guide for discipleship to lead a group through one year of using the One Year Bible as a discipleship tool. Every year I read like this, I glean more from the reading. The Spirit uses our growth and our life situation to put His finger on words and thoughts that take on importance as we follow Christ. So, this will always be new because of our changing walk and the lives of the new people who will be in these groups.
In doing this, going through the Bible like this, we are modeling, for others, the importance of reading the Word and learning from the Lord. We are also equipping them and helping them become disciples who will feed themselves from the Word and be able to reproduce this in the lives of others. What a great privilege.
Genesis 1-2:25
A couple things stand out to me here.
In reading the creation account, a disciple is faced with a challenge of faith and trust. How big will we allow God to be in our lives?
The creation account is very "matter of fact." God doesn't present Himself figuratively. A literal, plain sense reading understands this simply and descriptively with nothing suggesting that this account is not literal. Our rationality or fear of seeming irrational sneaks in and says, "But God could have made all of this over millions of years and the 7 days could be figurative." True. But is saying this really necessary to help God, or ourselves out? If God is God, could He have done things just this way? Can we put total trust in God even when things don't "appear" to follow what everyone says? How big will we allow God to be?
Some examples: The angels that came to Abraham later were in human form. They made the bodies from the spiritual, without effort. These were full, normal looking human bodies, with teeth and tongues and fingerprints, made immediately, not requiring a billion-year process.
When Jesus raised the young man in Nain, or Lazarus, both men had decayed. Their bodies and every cell had died. They weren't somehow in suspended animation. They were dead and decaying. For Jesus to have raised them, it not only meant calling back the spirit, but their bodies had to be made new and able to sustain life. To call the spirit into a decayed body couldn't work. For Jesus to have made the body new, it would have been on the level of a creation…a re-creation of the body. And it happened in a second and Jesus didn't break a sweat.
The point being, the spiritual is infinitely more powerful than the physical. God creates out of nothing, without exertion, instantly. Also, the fact that the sun, moon and stars were made on the 4th day does not hint to the fact that the "primitive" writers got mixed up, but simply that the almighty God called them into existence, in a moment, at the right time, in His planning.
This all powerful, sovereign Creator is the Lord we follow. All things were made through Him and without Him was nothing made that was made. Surely there are reasons He doesn't answer every prayer the way we ask, but for the disciple, there is never a doubt to the greatness of our Lord and Savior, or His ability, at any time, to do what is amazing and to do far more abundantly than we can ask or think. We serve and follow with confidence in His power.
Genesis 1
V. 1 What a way to begin a book. If you were reading last year, this verse should sound familiar since it is just like Revelation 21:1.
Vs. 14-19 All of the days up to now are pretty straight forward, but there are some questions about this day. First, it comes after God made the plants. Second, it has a specific purpose, to separate and to be for signs and seasons and for days and years.
This would mean that the sun, moon, other planets and galaxies were made on the fourth day and they were made for us. Their purpose was to give a "natural" day and night and for counting time. Of course there were other reasons God made these, but these are the said reasons. We'll see in Revelation, that life can exist without them; in fact, it will. It seems that these things were made for this time during the history of the earth.
Vs. 20-25 One interesting thought here is that although the plants were fine before the sun was made to provide energy and heat, the animals needed the universe to be there even more than the plants. Birds and insects, (bees, for example) need the angle of the sun and the other "signs" for guidance. Probably all of the animals are much more instinctively aware of the sun, moon and stars than we know.
V. 26-31 This is the creation of us.
V. 26 Notice that this is the purpose statement. In so much of what we see with God, He always creates with a purpose and with a sense of giving purpose and responsibility. This, and being able to talk personally with God, would have given mankind purpose, fulfillment and responsibility. It would have been cool and eventually we would have known and built and developed more than we have at present. Sin ruined a lot of things.
V. 27 This is a huge verse. Every person on this planet fails to thank God for His image. It is the thing we take for granted. It is the thing we twist so we can sin intelligently and deny His existence. Cool. When God pulled the "image" from Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4, he didn't think it was cool; in fact, he didn't think. He just mooed.
It was a very good day.
Note the real division between chapters 1 and 2 is between 2:3 and 2:4. This is a good time to learn or be reminded that the verse and chapter divisions were made by Stephen Langton in 1205. He did an amazing job, but the divisions are not inspired and many of them are not good. The general creation of chapter 1 is revisited in, and focused upon, in chapter 2, giving some specific detail to the creation of man and woman.
Regarding the creation of woman: As followers of Christ we know that our world and society is "sex" saturated. We also know that we, like King David (and countless Christians and ministers), can fall prey to sexually related malfunctions. What I'm about to say might not have applied to Paul or to 1% of the population, but I believe it applies to everyone else.
This account, true and literal, shows that "sex" is not the issue with "sex." The issue is completeness. There is a huge difference. Generally speaking, sexual urge is something we "think" we can harness, but the human need for completeness is an irresistible human need built into us from creation. Ignore it, and it will run you over. Deny it, and it will find a way of expression that will create dysfunction and pain. Completeness may be expressed as sexual, but the real driving power is the spiritual need to be complete as man and woman, as God made us. This is the reason God later grants a concession for remarriage. The need He built into us is a part of us. On this earth and especially with our spiritual sickness (sin) it will not be denied.
All this to say, that in the world of discipleship, this reality has to be faced. Many couples are ruined and many men maimed in their walk with Christ because they don't take their need for being complete seriously. It becomes spiritualized or put in the category of scratching an itch. Sexually, they end up wounded and sidelined. Much more to say in the context of discipleship, but this passage is an important one every day in our world.
Genesis 2
Vs. 1-3 These verses really end the general description of creation from chapter one.
V. 4 This verse is huge. In a sense, it is telling us that the Bible will be an account of the fallen history of man until this history is ended. Remember, God had Moses begin writing this well after the fall. The purpose of the book is to record the redemptive history of God's working with man to save man. The conclusion of this book will be in Revelation when God does away with these heavens (sky, space, galaxies) and earth and creates the new heavens, new earth and the eternal world.
Vs. 5-9 Now the account of creation will be retold with the focus on the creation of man.
Vs. 5-6 Notice how the order is given again, but relative to man. The earth was planted and God watered the earth from a mist that went up. Apparently there was no rain until the flood. This would have been complete, including the garden, before man would have something to eat. Just like a baby, once it's out of mom, it has to have air to breath and food to eat.
Vs. 7-9 The focus here is the garden and the provision. God planted the garden, but Adam would have been the landscape architect.
V. 9 Here are the two trees. What a solemn verse. Death and life were both present. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not magic. The decision made there would give that knowledge regardless of whether Adam and Eve had obeyed or disobeyed. The decision would either break their relationship to God or it would prove their love for Him. Had they made the right decision, God would have led them to the tree of life, where they would have received eternal life and their "innocent" nature would have been transformed into a mature, sinless "spiritual" nature. God could have then turned around and judged Satan and the entire sad tragedy never would have been.
Vs. 10-14 This geography shouldn't make too much sense to us. Moses and God are giving the people some general bearings. The creation of man and the garden was between these rivers. However, the earth changed after the flood. In those generations after the flood it is supposed that the continents drifted, creating the continents and thereby distributing mankind all over the place. Some of the continental drift theories make the Persian Gulf the center of a flower that spread out east and west. Also, there would have been people in Moses' day who would have still known about this event as history. (Remember, Moses was well educated, meaning that nations back then had recorded historical events). Today it would be the same as telling children that Germany used to be divided. They'll find that hard to believe.
Vs. 15-17 Notice that "work" was not the curse. Adam would have been smart and energetic and creative. I'll bet he had all sorts of ideas on what to do. And then of course, the test. Imagine, Adam had hundreds of square miles and every imaginable tree to eat from. I'm sure staying away from one tree couldn't have been that big of a deal, right?
V. 18-25 Notice that in the creation of Eve, God was very intentional. He made Adam feel his need. Notice that God made Adam so that even in a perfect environment, with all his needs met, with a sense of fulfillment in being able to make his mark on God's creation, and with being able to walk daily with God in the cool of the evening, according to God's plan, Adam was not complete without Eve.
V. 20 In naming the animals there wasn't just the idea of "lordship," but rather connection. Adam would have felt personally responsible for all of this creation that was given to him to protect and develop.
Adam eventually probably felt lonely.
V. 22 I wonder if Adam thought it was Christmas! God brought her. This was the first wedding and I'll bet it was God the Son who was officiating.
V. 23 What an amazing declaration. Again, the naming of woman is connection. She would now be under his care, figuratively speaking, casting his garment over her (Malachi) although they were both naked.
V. 24 Don't let the simplicity of this verse fool you. God is saying through Moses that this is what began that feeling in man, that force of nature, that event of life that is so close to us and is still so unexplainable. God did it and it will be an irresistible part of human history until the end. Our need is not sex, it is completion.
These were good days on the earth. Redemption was not yet needed, but tomorrow it will be a bad day and the beginning of all bad days on earth. It will show us why God has left us here as disciples to follow our Lord in the harvest.
Matthew 1-2:12
Now, the beginning of the redemptive work of our Lord.
Matthew 1
Vs. 1-17 Notice that Matthew not only uses the lineage of Joseph, but Matt. only records God speaking to Joseph, the son of David. Matthew is doing this for his very Jewish audience. In emphasizing David here, there is an emphasis on grace. It was God's grace that made the covenant with Abraham. It was God's grace that chose David and promised the Christ would be born in his lineage. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ in its full revelation. Although ages changed and the object of saving faith was different for Abraham, David under the Law, and for the believer in Christ, it has always been by Grace, through faith. Note later that Paul mentions both Christ and His resurrection and descent from David as a part of his gospel….grace and fulfillment. And in all of that grace, the salvation of man has been the goal. As disciples we have received grace and it is now our mission to tell those around us that this grace is fulfilled in Christ.
Vs. 18-25 Matthew is being led by the Spirit to focus on those events of His birth that fulfilled the predictions of the Law and the prophets. Again, notice that everything is being directed through Joseph.
V. 18 In Luke we know that Mary was with Elizabeth, south in Judah, for 3 months, helping Elizabeth during the birth of John. When Mary returned home she was 3 months pregnant and showing, and I'm sure her explanation sounded great.
V. 20 I think this is kind of the angel to address Joseph as "son of David." Notice that the angel tells Joseph to name the baby( V. 25, too).
Matthew 2
Vs. 1-2 Notice that Matthew skips the shepherds and the manger. The wise men have no names. They came from the east, supposing the area around Babylon. It is thought that the inspiration for their waiting and observing came from the influence of Daniel.
V. 3-4 Herod was evil and religious. What a combination. He believed enough to be very dangerous. He claimed to have some Jewish connection to Israel and to have the right to claim the throne, thus being a king. If the Messiah was to have been found, it would have been a major threat to Herod. Sin is pretty irrational.
Vs. 5-6 This is Micah 5:2. Again, Matthew is proving to the Jewish mind, that Jesus fulfills these prophesies.
Vs. 7-8 Wait until you see what comes of this. Herod was really an evil genius.
Vs. 9-12 It will be fun one day to meet these guys. I remember the first time I read this as a disciple of the Lord and realized that they found Jesus in a house, not the stable and manger. I just kept reading this, stunned. I'm happy to say I got over it.
Tomorrow, Joseph & family are really going to need those gifts. Stay tuned.
One of the benefits of reading a One Year Bible is to keep the perspective of what all this history is working toward. The OT is going to get hard to read, but in the gospels and Acts, we stay focused on the unfolding of God's mission to reach a lost world. Having the New Testament along with the Old Testament will help us see the very wise and subtle way God uses those people in the OT to lay the foundation for our salvation.
Psalm 1
What a tremendous promise of the power of the Word in our lives. Yet, for the disciple, it begins with the "delight" in Christ and the saving plan of God. The appreciation of salvation, of His grace to us, draws us to His Word and in these our lives are rooted. This is the strength of abiding in Christ as a disciple.
It is easy to read this psalm and enjoy the imagery and say, "Amen!" But how many of us will really believe that we need to be in the Bible every single day, drawing our life from Him? If you believe that, do it. Make time and do it. No excuses. Just do it. It has been the best time of my life for the past 17 years and I don't know where I'd be without it.
Proverbs 1:1-6
It is always sad for me to begin Proverbs knowing that the wisest man in the world stopped loving God, began to love everything else and died a bitter fool. If it could happen to him, are we any better, even with the Spirit? No, the strength of a disciple is to love and follow Christ and abide in His word. The "wise and understanding" (Matt. 11:25) don't get to see what babes see if they simply and humbly hear God's Word and do it.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/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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