Welcome to March. If you have kept up, keep
it going. Remember, it is more important to read your Bible than to read these
notes. If you have a friend or two who will do this with you, it will help you
to have the accountability. Then on the 17th you can meet together and
celebrate your effort by eating something with corned beef and drinking some
appropriate beverage. (For example, a McLeprechaun and a Shamrock Shake?)
Leviticus 24:1-25:46
Leviticus 24
Vs. 1-9 Along with the feasts and holy days,
there were these two things mentioned. Although the emphasis has been on the
yearly feasts, the people would remember too that each day, there were
provisions being made for them that should lead to celebration.
I guess you don't have to be Einstein to
figure out the symbolic nature of these. The light symbolized God's leading of
the people and the twelve loaves
symbolized His provision for the people. The people knew there were two things
the Lord always provided for them. The one thing not mentioned here that also
stood in the Holy Place was the altar of incense. This was probably to signify
the prayers of the people constantly coming before God in gratitude for His
provision symbolized on the other tables.
Notice that the people had to provide the oil
for the lamps. I wonder where they got this oil in the wilderness. Maybe olive
trees grow wildly, or maybe they bought it from merchant caravans. At this
point they had been in the wilderness about a year, so I don't think they would
have had a lot left over from Egypt. Since the people had to provide the oil,
it might signify that they were grateful for the light that God gave them.
For us as disciples we don't have to bring
olive oil or flour to the church for weekly symbolic ceremonies. God provides
us with light and our daily provision and care. To receive God's light, all we
have to do is come to Him and sit with Him and His Word. But therein lies the
rub. Try to convince the average believer that they should sit for 20 minutes a
day reading the Word and for 20 minutes praying and they will nod. Some may give
a grunt of assent. But most will not do it. If you make this a requirement for
leaders, you might have a mutiny or angry leaders. Most Christians are too busy
to come to the light and sit quietly before the Lord. That cannot be the heart
of a disciple. We don't bring a cow or lamb or oil. We bring ourselves,
renounce everything and follow our Lord every day in the harvest. We all have
busy lives, but how can we be too busy to spend time with the Lord? Read Luke
14:25-35.
Vs. 10-23 It seems to me that as Moses was
writing this, on that day, this situation arose. It would be a case in point of
obeying the commandments.
I don't think this guy said anything more
than something you'd hear on TV or expect someone to say in a fight with
emotions running high. God is a "good old boy" and just sort of
shakes His head when we do this, right? Wrong. Here, God is stressing the point
of His holiness among the people. They needed to remember (as we do) that He is
always close and that He always hears this stuff.
Some interesting things here:
First, the man's father was an Egyptian. This
might have had something to do with the lack of respect or the cause of the
fight. Later we'll hear that the Egyptians who traveled with Israel created
some discontent and rebellion that some people in Israel had to be punished
for.
Second, the tribe of Dan is mentioned. In
Judges, Dan will be the first tribe to fall into total idolatry. Probably for
that reason, Dan is not listed among the tribes in the book of Revelation that
compose the 144,000. This guy is the first person put to death for violating
one of the Ten Commandments. And he is of the tribe of Dan. L
Third, the repetition of for I am the Lord your God.
Finally, the people did as the Lord commanded
Moses. Obedience, for now.
Leviticus 25:1-46
Actually this will all flow into tomorrow's
reading. This is an awesome chapter, in that what is commanded here was never,
ever done in the land, not once. No king did it, not even David or Josiah. The
amount of dependence on God that this required was more than anyone could
humanly muster up.
If we were doing a Bible study, I'd ask you
to break this chapter into two main divisions and then each division into two
parts. That's just an exercise to help people see the flow of a chapter (and
keep them awake).
The main division is after v. 17. Verses 1-17
give a general description of the Sabbath year and the year of jubilee, and vs.
18-55 give specifics as to how to deal with various situations that might
arise.
Vs. 1-7 and 18-22 have to do with the
Sabbatical year. Everything else has to do with the year of jubilee.
I won't make a lot of comments here. Your own
observations will be better than anything I can say. Reading the verses on the
Sabbatical year and particularly 18-22, you understand that if the people
couldn't trust God for this, they would never trust Him for the year of
jubilee.
Vs. 1-7 This is the Sabbath year. Verse 2
says this is the land that God gave them. In all of this talk about the land,
notice to whom the land really belonged. Notice in v. 5 that no one could
harvest or sell the grain or fruit. Everyone was free to go into any field and
take what they needed for that day. If you understand this, it was a year off
from field work with complete dependence and provision from God. To think that
the entire nation was to do this is incredible. Who needs four weeks of
vacation when every seven years you get a year off?
Vs. 8-12 This 50th year was the year of
jubilee. It began on the Day of Atonement in the 49th year, which was also a
Sabbatical year. This means that the 50th year was also a Sabbatical year; that
is, they were given two years in a row in which they were not to work their
fields. This time off from work was one reason it was called the year of
jubilee. They were supposed to celebrate.
Vs. 13-17 If you understand this, the land in
Israel never changed possession, but if a person needed to they could lease the
land. This would always be measured from one year of jubilee to the other,
estimating how many harvests would come until the land was given back.
Vs. 18-22 This information was given for the
people to trust God for every Sabbatical year. He would provide enough in the
sixth year to get them to the ninth year. If Israel had obeyed the Lord, they
would have been the talk of all the nations. This would mean that when the
Sabbatical year was followed by a year of jubilee, God would provide even more
and the people would have to trust even more.
Vs. 23-34 These were regulations regarding the leasing
of land with respect to the year of jubilee when it all had to be returned.
You'll find one interesting exception in this. Notice how v. 23 sets the tone
for these instructions. This reminds me of something I was reading this morning
that Jesus taught His disciples in Luke 16:12, And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
Vs. 35-43 These regulations have to do with
the poor people in Israel. They could become "indentured" servants
until the year of jubilee.
Vs. 44-46 These slaves were real slaves.
Those slaves who would belong to Israel were treated with a respect and with
rights that no other nation gave their slaves. These rules were for Israel as a
nation ruled by God. Eventually, Paul and the Spirit would say that people
should not become slaves, thereby beginning the end of slavery.
In thinking of the Sabbatical year and the
year of jubilee, any of us would have been deeply challenged to do what these
people were asked to do. Thankfully, God no longer requires this. But, true
obedience is always costly and radical. Being a follower of Christ in this
harvest means a dependence on God and a willingness to give things up. Jesus is
our sacrificial example. Because we hold on to things and see our security as
coming from credit cards, jobs and people, I have a feeling that we're missing
very obvious things related to the Great Commission and the harvest. Therefore,
not as many prisoners and slaves of sin get set free.
Mark 10:13-31
Vs. 13-16 Poor disciples. Where are all these
kids coming from? This tells me that when Jesus taught or healed, the disciples
did crowd control. The disciples had all these deeply needy people in lines
like kids waiting to see Santa, and then these moms showed up. This
"kid" situation seemed low priority to them. The kids weren't sick;
they were just kids. They learned a lesson about needs and the value of simple
wide-eyed faith and trust.
V. 15 is a very important verse, and we're
about to see an example of the danger mentioned here.
Vs. 17-22 This is the rich young ruler.
Again, what great training for the disciples.
You could have a class on "the dangers of riches and idolatry" and
never get the point across like here. Here the Father is showing the disciples
what happens when someone loses their childlike faith.
V. 20 Notice that this guy was serious and
had lived a good life according to the requirements of the law.
V. 21 Somehow in this, Jesus actually
communicated love so that Peter (Mark's source) noticed this. Jesus put His
finger on this man's real god.
Vs. 23-31 Notice now that Jesus teaches the
disciples from this incident that the Father arranged.
V. 24 Notice that the disciples fully
understood Jesus and realized that salvation would be next to impossible if v.
23 were true. Notice that Jesus calls them children.
Look back up to vs. 13-16. Very interesting.
V. 25 This is a sewing or surgical needle.
Vs. 26-27 Now if these verses are a true
picture of the reality, then "stuff" really is a problem. Money is
bigger than we think. Being saved and being disciples doesn't shield us from
this temptation and influence any more than being a Christian keeps us from
getting a cold. Our "treasure in heaven" determines how we use our
time and how we focus our lives. It determines our faith. Are we so secure with
our holdings in heaven, that we could pour out and "waste" our lives
on earth for Christ, following Him in the harvest? The "acceptable"
answer is "yes," but not many are doing it. Yeah, I feel bad, too;
but that's why we're encouraging one another to go in the right direction
together.
Vs. 28-31 Peter and the others had given up
their careers to follow Jesus. This is why they were "children." In
Jesus saying what He says here, He is speaking to all of us. We follow for
other reasons, ready to spend our lives in the harvest. We don't follow to
gain. We gained the minute we believed. Now we follow out of love and
obedience. But, there is blessing. Note that Mark is the one who mentions
persecutions. Jesus warns them that the first
will be last, etc., suggesting they may not always understand God's
standard of fairness. We are simply to love and trust our Lord like children as
we follow, making disciples, who make disciples. Do you see the connection back
to verses Mark 10:13-16? Simple, childlike faith trusts and follows.
Psalm 44:9-26
The sons of Korah were appointed by David to
lead singing in the tabernacle in Jerusalem, but whenever a godly king arose,
he always gathered the descendants of Korah and put them in charge of the
worship of the temple. The only historical situation I can think of that would
fit with the lament here is during the days of Hezekiah. At that time Assyria
was taking all the surrounding nations captive, on their way to becoming a
world power. As Assyria captured the northern kingdom of Israel and swept into
Judea, taking villages captive and taking the people away as slaves, Assyria
thought that God had turned His back on His people. It was through this
hardship that godliness was shaped and strengthened in Judea and especially in
Jerusalem where all the people ran for protection. The people were following a
godly king, yet Judea was being defeated by their enemies.
Just like Job, God allowed these people to
endure hardship to teach them something and to warn them. The prophets Hosea
and Isaiah were used by God to convey this warning and Hezekiah and the people
listened to the Lord.
Vs. 9-16 As we will soon be reading in
Deuteronomy, the mark of God's blessing was that Israel would never have to
turn their backs on their enemies and that they would be held in honor by their
neighbors. Only sin would cause God to let Israel be humiliated. "Falling
away" had been the history of Israel leading up to the historical events
that gave birth to this psalm.
Vs. 17-22 Verse 17 was true in that a revival
of faith was going on during the reign of King Hezekiah, but it was after years
of drifting from God. The spirituality of the nation was paper thin and would
be torn to shreds by Hezekiah's son, Manasseh.
V. 22 Paul quotes this verse in Romans 8 and
ends it, No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us. In the context of Romans 8,
we don't know why God does what He does, but we do know that God produces good as He uses those who love Him, who are
called according to His purpose. For good
might be that we don't understand His purpose and die, but we trust that God
knew what He was doing and used our death for His good plan.
Vs. 23-26 The Spirit is inspiring the writer
to cry out to God. This is God's will for us when we don't understand. It is
this holding to our faith and hope and looking to God that defeats the enemy.
It is a power the enemy cannot understand or resist. Many Christians in many
times and many countries have endured deep oppression and injustice and cried
out to God. Their only victory was clinging to Christ and they won.
And they have conquered him by
the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Rev.
12:11)
Proverbs 10:20-21
Just for fun, try to put these two Proverbs
together: 20a and 21a / 20b and 21b.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://oneyearbibleonline.com/weekly-one-year-readings/?version=47&startmmdd=0101. This version is set
to the ESV but you can reset this to a different version or different language.
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 complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
