FEBRUARY 15
Today is a
milestone for you. You will be finishing Exodus, the second book in the Bible
and the Old Testament, and you'll begin Mark, the second gospel and the second
book in the New Testament. Time to treat yourself to something at Starbucks© or
some Chinese take-out!
Exodus 39-40
Exodus 39
Vs. 1-7 Now we
learn that God is into fashion. "He" is referring to Bezalel, ben
Uri, ben Hur of the tribe of Judah. He was the chief craftsman.
V. 6 The thing
that stands out to me regarding the ephod, or bib apron that Aaron wore, is
that on the shoulder pieces there were two stones, one on each shoulder. These
stones had the names of the tribes of Israel on them. It signified the
responsibility the priest bore before the Lord, representing the people of the
promise. He bore this on his shoulders.
Vs. 8-21 Notice
how much space is given to the breastpiece or pouch that hung from the
shoulders or the ephod. Notice too that the breastpiece had the rows of stones,
each of them bearing a name of a tribe of Israel. These were to be on Aaron's
heart, as he came before the Lord. He bore their names as he served them as a
responsibility and as a passion before God.
Not mentioned
here is that the ephod and its breastpiece held two dice-like thingies in it,
the Urim and the Thummim. These were used for determining God’s will or
judgment. When Aaron or any priest wore these clothes, he was serving the
people to help them stand before God and seek His will.
When Gideon
later makes his own ephod, it was probably in rebellion to using the corrupt
priests and Levitical system. His bad. With his own ephod, Gideon could seek
God’s will without consulting a priest or going to the tabernacle. In sin
Gideon rebelled against God’s order. Gideon should have worked to reform the
system God had appointed which would have brought health to Israel, as Gideon
led them to submit to Him and His way. Instead, Gideon made an ephod for
himself, and, thereby, led the nation into idolatry as they came to worship at
his ephod.
Years later,
when David is on the run, a priest, Abiathar the son of Ahimelech, fled to
David in Keilah. He came down with an ephod in his hand. The importance of the
ephod was what was in it, the Urim and Thummim. David made use of these on
several occasions to find God’s will and it saved him more than once.
What made David
a real model, for us as disciples, was that during his younger years, he
constantly sought the Lord. The priest was to constantly seek the Lord on
behalf of the people. He was not to do what he thought, but was to follow what
the Lord said and so lead the people before God. He was to bear responsibility
for them with their names on his shoulders and on his heart. And the
breastpiece held these two stones for helping the people know the will of God.
For us as
disciples, our prayer life and our reading, our life closely following our
Savior in the harvest, is the true measure of our ability to lead others into
deeper discipleship. We pursue God because of our love for Him, but also to
lead others accurately and truly, making disciples, who make disciples.
Vs. 22-26 This
robe went on top of the ephod. Significant here are the bells and the
pomegranates. They made a tinkling sound when the priest was in the Holy Place
tending to the lampstand and incense and replacing the bread. It reminded him
that God was on the other side of the veil in the Most Holy Place listening to him.
Also, the people who stood outside of the courtyard would be able to hear the
priest serving them before the Lord.
Vs. 27-29 The
other priests wore fine clothing, but only the high priest wore the clothes
described above. They all wore the boxers described here.
Vs. 30-31 On
the turban the high priest wore the crown that said, Holy to the Lord. This was a visual image for the priest to
remember to keep his life holy before the Lord, so that he could serve the
people. Ironically, we have been seeing in the NT that the high priest who
commanded Jesus' death was not holy. He was an evil man.
Vs. 32-43 This
is when they brought everything completed to Moses. Everything is ready for
assembly. Notice the repetition in vs. 42-43. They had obeyed the Lord, and Moses
blessed them.
Exodus 40
Vs. 1-8 Here is
God's command to Moses, when and how to construct the tabernacle and the court.
Notice the time notation in v. 1. It gives you an idea of how long this took.
It was definitely a major community project. The people left Egypt a year
earlier in the first month. Roughly speaking it took them three months to get
to Mt. Sinai, then Moses was on the mountain 40 days and then another 40 days
renewing the covenant. That would have left them about 6.5 months for all of
the work.
Vs. 9-15 These
are the orders for consecrating everything by anointing them. This included
Aaron and his sons.
Vs. 16-33 Moses
had charge of building the tabernacle and initiating the worship. In that sense
it appears that Moses was actually the first priest of Israel until Aaron took
over.
V. 32 It looks
like Aaron and his sons were to wash before they went into the Holy Place and
when they returned and went toward the altar.
V. 33 The final
thing that was put up was the doorway screen, the entrance or gate to the court
of the tabernacle. From this point on, the tabernacle and its court would be
called the tent of meeting and it
would be where Moses would meet with the Lord. Instead of it being outside the
camp of Israel, the tabernacle will be in the exact center of the camp.
Vs. 34-38 This
is God Himself consecrating the courtyard and the tabernacle. The cloud stood
over the courtyard, and His glory filled the tabernacle.
Notice in vs.
36-38 that the cloud and the fire were present day and night to assure them of
God's presence with them. Interestingly, Israel took this presence for granted.
As disciples
following Jesus in the harvest, His presence in us is His Spirit, night and
day, leading us in His Word, speaking to us and directing us as we walk each
day. This is also very easy to take for granted. Just think though, the Holy
Spirit of God is within us to lead us and help us. That should never be a
commonplace thought, acknowledged and ignored.
Mark 1:1-28
This gospel is
unique for a couple of reasons. Mark was the caffeine king of disciples. His
short, quick account of the Gospel of Christ was the first Gospel, written to
get the believers in Rome up to speed with some accurate information.
The second
thing I love is that this Gospel depicts Jesus as the “Suffering Servant,”
written by John Mark, the failed servant. What a discipleship lesson in itself.
Mark, the well-to-do, true-blue-Jew, city boy went with Uncle Barnabas and Paul
on the first missionary journey and washed out in the first month. Defeated and
broken, Barnabas nurtured Mark back into service, but Paul wouldn’t have it.
Therefore, Barnabas and Paul split. This “failed servant” became our first
Gospel writer, and, when Paul was about to die, Paul tells Timothy to bring
Mark into this very dangerous spot to help him.
So, notice how
selective Mark is. Mark hits all the big events.
Vs. 1-8 This is
John the Baptist fulfilling the OT promise that God would send His messenger,
to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Vs. 9-13 This
is the baptism of Jesus where He is anointed or commissioned as the Messiah,
the coming King who will rule forever. Then Jesus is driven by the Spirit to
confront the devil.
Vs. 14-20 Jesus
began His ministry and called His disciples. Knowing the other Gospels, Jesus
has been followed by the disciples for several months. This is their formal
calling to follow Him. Jesus is shown to have the authority as the Son of Man
to call these men.
Vs. 21-28 Jesus
is shown to be superior to the scribes in His teaching, and He is shown to have
authority over the unclean spirits. Now His fame begins to skyrocket…and all of
this in 28 verses.
Psalm
35:1-16
Repeatedly, as
David ran from King Saul, hiding in the mountains, living in caves with a small
community that may have numbered more than 1200, he resisted fighting for
himself against Saul. David was obeying God, yet he was still pursued, so the
Spirit nudges David to cry out to God for help and for God to fight for him.
Before we judge
David for the words here, remember that the Lord inspired these words. Also, it
is hard for us to understand completely what was happening in this situation.
God knew and motivated David to cry out like this.
Vs. 1-3 This is
David's cry for God to fly into action. David knew his cause was just and that
God had anointed him to be king. The injustice of what was happening, the lying
and the constant danger of being pursued by Saul, must have created real
problems for David.
Vs. 4-8 Notice
the repetition of let. Tomorrow in
the second half of this psalm there will be more.
Vs. 9-10 David
understood that the only vindication that would set his heart to rest would
have to come from the Lord.
Vs. 11-16 This
lament reminds me of Job. When Job was down, those whom he had helped scorned
him. Sometimes it takes the opposition of men and of friends to push us to the
place of understanding that only the Lord can truly help us and lift us up.
This psalm
concludes tomorrow.
Proverbs
9:11-12
V. 11 is easy
to understand. I think the first part of 12 means that if you are wise, it
brings benefit to your own life; but if you are a scoffer, it will be something
that you add to your life that weighs you down.
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
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.
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