August 13, 2012 Reading Notes

August 13, 2012 Reading Notes

Today's Reading in the ESV One-Year Bible

Nehemiah 5:14-7:60

The Three Returns from Exile, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT, p. 652

Chronology of the Post Exilic Period, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT, p. 654

Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT has a map on p. 679

Nehemiah 5:14-19

We had not been told this previously, but sometime during this year, Artaxerxes made Nehemiah the governor of Judah, and he remained in this capacity for 12 years. In a way, it was probably because of the threat of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, and his friends Tobiah and Geshem. Nehemiah was not only a trusted Persian official, but he had true blue Persians with him. The hi-jinks we'll hear about in the next chapter took place within the first two months Nehemiah was in Jerusalem. When word got back to Artaxerxes that the surrounding governors were nuts, he must have installed Nehemiah as governor to bring stability into the area.

As we have seen in so many situations, when the Lord allows opposition, He is often setting things up for His glory and for the progress of His plans.

Tomorrow when you read chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, think of what Paul says there, and compare it to what Nehemiah did here. It could be that Paul was inspired by the selflessness of Nehemiah's leadership. In any case, this kind of maturity and sacrifice seems to run in God's family of followers.

V. 19 In this description and summary of Nehemiah's sacrifice and service to the Lord and to the nation, notice the mentions of God and how this love for God made him so sacrificial and generous. Nehemiah was a human like all of us are human. I'm sure he had his moments of rage and distress. But in all of it, before the Lord, all he wanted was the fellowship and comfort of God.

Nehemiah 6

Vs. 1-14 These are the traps that the rats set for Nehemiah. The wording is kind of ironic, isn't it. Since the wall took 52 days to build, and since there was violence threatened when they were halfway through the building, all of these three attempts must have come toward the very end, just as they were preparing to set up the gates.

Vs. 1-4 The old, "Let's get you away from Jerusalem and kill you" trap. Notice that they never offered to meet in Jerusalem. Gene Getz, in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT, page 685, points out that Nehemiah never confronted the obvious motives of these men. By keeping things politically correct and peaceful, they revealed their hate and intent. This would have been obvious to the Persians who were with Nehemiah, and it would have been reported back to the king.

Vs. 5-9 The old, "You're really trying to take over" ploy. The people were united around Nehemiah and knew this couldn't be true. Nehemiah's trust in God for all that had happened wasn't about to be shaken. Again, the Persians who were with Nehemiah would only have reported the irrationality of the governor of Samaria and the instability he brought into that region.

V. 9 Apparently all of this history was taken out of Nehemiah's journal. It gives you an idea of how closely Nehemiah lived with God every day.

Vs. 10-14 The old, "You think you can violate God's law and order" trick. This one was a little more subtle, because Shemaiah was someone Nehemiah apparently trusted. Shemaiah was apparently confined to his house saying that God had given him a prophetic vision. When Nehemiah went to visit him and heard the message, he knew it was not from God. Tobias had men on the inside. Obviously we've seen Uzziah and others violate God's order. A godly man didn't go where he wasn't supposed to go, even if he was the king or governor. This was supposed to create disunity between Nehemiah and Ezra and the priests and Levites. Remember, Ezra was a main leader and the priests and Levites were heavily involved in the work on the wall.

Vs. 15-19 Doing this in 52 days was a miracle of unity and God's favor. Now we see how deep Tobias's influence in Jerusalem was. This is sort of a last desperate measure to show Nehemiah who is really in control.

Even in this exchange of letters and lobbying for influence, the messengers who reported this would only have underscored for Artaxerxes how unstable the region was. Art needed a good governor to look out for the interests of Persia.

Nehemiah 7:1-60

Vs. 1-4 The threats only made Nehemiah more determined to make Jerusalem secure.

V. 2 This is literally Nehemiah's brother. We met him in chapter one. He was a lover of God and someone Nehemiah could trust.

Vs. 5-60 At this point very few people lived in the city. Nehemiah was now going to "stock" the city with true-blue Jews. That's why the genealogy, basically Ezra's list, is given here.

There are some differences here between Ezra's list and Nehemiah's list; but thankfully for us the scholars have "duked it out" regarding these, and there are good explanations. If you're interested, the Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT, pages 687-688, gives some short, sufficient answers.

Having the Jews themselves occupy Jerusalem would be one of Nehemiah's final steps in making Jerusalem secure. The final step would be the uniting of the people in following God.

1 Corinthians 8

Paul has already raised several issues that he will revisit in this letter. He will bring some of these things together in chapter ten. This discussion in chapter eight will be illustrated in chapter 9 and will then really be addressed and concluded in chapter 10.

Vs. 1-3 This knowledge/logic is what Paul is aiming at. Much of the meat sold in the markets had been offered in sacrifice to pagan gods. If you knew that these gods really didn’t exist, why would it be wrong to eat this meat? Paul will eventually say that it is OK to eat that meat, but the issue here is this proud knowledge and being considerate of those who were still young in faith or weak in this area.

V. 3 is a very challenging verse for me. Paul is already anticipating 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, the chapter on love. Notice that this doesn't say one is known by love. I think the idea here is that it isn't knowledge that makes us known or gives us status, it is loving God. If we love God, He, working in us, makes us known by showing Himself to others through us. In a few verses Paul will use the phrase, "man of knowledge." In the OT because of his devotion to (love for) God, Elijah was known as a "man of God." That's the difference.

Vs. 4-6 This is all good and true theology, but when Paul gets to chapter 10, he will put a very dark twist to this line of reasoning the Corinthians were using.

Notice in verse 6 how the Spirit details our relationship to the Father and to Jesus. This is great stuff. The Father gave the command and the Son carried it out. There is a lot to think about here.

Vs. 7-13 This portion is pretty straightforward. The question is: What does it mean to destroy another Christian? How does wounding their conscience when they are weak destroy them? Paul uses many of these same words in Romans 14. This would be worth discussing in your groups.

One reminder here, when we get to chapter 10, it is obvious that this liberty was being used publicly and with arrogance toward the weak.

Working in the harvest we have this fine line. The Pharisees among us judge and take away our liberty. Paul speaks against these all the time. Yet, there are some who have no freedom in certain areas because of their past life. If they walked into a theater or drank a beer, it would be a total violation of their faith and it would teach them to ignore their conscience. That might take them weeks or months to recover from. (Think of what would happen to your walk and testimony if you fell into adultery. This is the same for a weak person walking into a movie. It is devastating.) We need to speak against the Pharisee, but we need to support and strengthen (not convince) the weak. Sometimes the issues of both of these groups will be the same thing. The focus however is following Christ in the harvest. When Paul was helpless and unable to alter the thinking of groups who were acting out of wrong motives, he said, "Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice." (Philippians 1:18) 1 Corinthians 9:19 is the measure of a disciple following Christ in the harvest, making disciples who make disciples.

Now, chapter 9 will having an interesting spin. Paul had to treat many of the people in Corinth as weaker believers and we'll see why.

Psalm 33:1-11

In the ESV Bible someone wrote, “The Steadfast Love of the Lord,” as the heading for this psalm. That is mentioned a couple of times in Psalm 33, once today and in the second half tomorrow. But for me, in this portion what stands out is “the Word of the Lord,” and “For he spoke and it came to be.” To me, it is interesting that David understood that all that was made came by the word and command of God, from nothing.

Vs. 1-3 This is the call to worship and to be totally enthralled with the Lord. The next verses will tell why.

Vs. 4-5 The two things highlighted here are the Word of the Lord that produced His faithful works. Then there is the love of the Lord.

Vs. 6-7 This is the word of God in creation. His power and wisdom in creation are beyond anything we can imagine.

Vs. 8-11 The response to His Word should be respect and awe. But even when God's Word is met with indifference or rebellion, His Word is still sovereign over mankind, directing the progress of the plan of redemption.

Proverbs 21:8-10

I think the message is that the guilty, the quarrelsome, and the wicked are consistent in their crookedness, quarreling and selfishness. The pure person is someone whose heart is unburdened by unconfessed sin, who is not quarrelsome and who desires what is best for his neighbor.

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 comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.