FEBRUARY 8
Exodus 28
I know the only thing the guys will take away from this
section is the invention of underwear in v. 42. They will note that they were
boxers.
Vs. 1-5 Notice that everything was made with meaning and it
looked good. It was to give glory and honor to both God and the priest who
represented the people before God. These garments were to be worn only when
they were serving God.
Vs. 6-14 In the making of the ephod, notice the stones that
were to be placed on the shoulders. Aaron was to be burdened with the
responsibility for the people.
Vs. 15-30 You can see by the amount of space given to the
breastpiece, that it was very significant. For the second time the names of the
tribes of Israel are carried on his person as part of his dress. Verses 29-30
are the key verses here. For the first time in the Bible the Urim and the
Thummim are mentioned. They were probably stones used to inquire of God for
making judgments and decisions. The German Bible calls them "light and right
(justice or truth)," and you get the idea that using them was to find
truth and righteousness in making decisions and giving judgments. The only
place in the Bible you see them used in a significant way is with David when he
was running from Saul. Notice that in these verses it says three times that Aaron
was to have the people on his heart.
God says, Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart
before the Lord
regularly.
The disciple of
Jesus bears on his heart the reaching of the lost and the making of disciples
for the next generation. It doesn’t burden us with guilt, but with joy and
excitement; because God and the Spirit are with us to bless us. The Lord sits
at the right hand of God praying for us
and working with us. We bear the name of Christ as His ambassadors, Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:20) In
the grace of Jesus and the plan of God, it should weigh on us that there are so
many who do not know Christ. To think of the danger they are facing should
weigh upon our hearts. And they shall be
on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. (Exodus 28:30)
Having a reason
to get up every morning should empower us. All things are ours in Christ.
Vs. 31-35 What
is significant about the robe is the bells and the pomegranates in vs. 33-34.
This chiming sound would be made when the priest was before the Lord in the
Holy Place filling the lampstand, putting incense on the altar of incense and
replacing the bread of the Presence. The people would recognize the sound of
the priests representing God for them, and it would heighten the awareness of
the priest that he was standing before the throne of God just beyond the veil.
Anyone entering the Holy Place without this attire would die.
Vs. 36-38 The
priest was to represent the people before God realizing their (and his) guilt
before God and their need for holiness and forgiveness. This would make the
sacrifices acceptable to God.
It is
interesting here too that the German Bible uses almost the same words for Holy to the Lord as in the Lord's Prayer,
"make the name of God holy." I think that is a part of the intent of
these words on Aaron's chest. He was to present the Lord as holy before Israel.
Vs. 40-43 They
were to serve the people before God with dignity both in heart and in attire.
Matthew 25:31-26:13
It is hard to keep all of the events of Christ's second coming
in order. The fact that there are so many opinions of what will happen makes
this hard. Also, the fact that there is an element of the Tribulation,
"Jacob's trouble," that is very specific to Israel makes this order
of events a challenge. The entire Tribulation will last seven years.
A general order of events is as follows. First, Christ comes
for the church. All the believers of the church age, from Jesus' resurrection
to that point, will be resurrected; and those alive on earth will be taken to
Christ and changed into their resurrection bodies. They will be in heaven
during the Tribulation.
The Jews will become believing, and they will present the
gospel all over the earth during the catastrophic events of the first 3.5
years.
At the midpoint of the 7 years, it seems that an army from
the north will come against Jerusalem but be destroyed in the mountains around
the Dead Sea. Then the antichrist will come to Jerusalem, kill the two
witnesses, break the peace agreement with Israel, desecrate the temple and
launch a full scale persecution of the Jews. Destroying the Jews won't be as
easy as it sounds, since the world will be wrecked and it will get worse.
Still, it will be the most violent persecution of the Jews and followers of
Christ that has ever taken place.
At the end of the Tribulation as the nations gather north of
Jerusalem, Christ will return to the Mount of Olives. There He will gather all
the Jews worldwide and resurrect all the OT believers and head to the battle at
Armageddon.
After this victory, Jesus will take His throne in the temple
in Jerusalem. Then He will call all the people of all the nations to come
before Him. This judgment will be on the non-Jewish world. Their faith in
Christ was seen in their willingness to risk life and limb in hiding and
helping the Jews and other followers of Christ during the Tribulation. This is
the judgment of the sheep and the goats.
Matthew 25:31-46
Vs. 31-46 This judgment will take place immediately after
the Tribulation as Jesus takes His throne for His thousand-year reign over the
earth. Those who helped the Jews/saints proved their faith in God and will
continue in the Millennium, but those who did not help the believers proved
their rebellion to God. This means that the Millennium will be seeded and begun
with only believers. After the 1000 years, even with Satan bound and removed,
the sin of man, with no influence other than from within, will rise up against
God so that when Satan is freed, he will find hearts ready for rebellion.
V. 42 Note that the goats are condemned by what they didn't
do. Too often we think that sin is only seen in what is done. Not praising God,
thanking Him, or following Him is also sin.
Did you notice the differences
in verses 34 and 41, and for whom those places were prepared?
This parable makes it necessary for the rapture of the
church to occur before the end of the Tribulation. If all believers were
removed from the earth and given resurrection bodies at the end of the
Tribulation, there would be no more sheep, only goats. The best time for the
rapture of the church is at the beginning of the Tribulation. The entire Tribulation
is called “Jacob’s trouble,” and it is the fulfilling of Israel’s destiny. The
church has no reason to be there.
Matthew 26:1-13
Vs. 1-2 Jesus is now ready for crucifixion, except for the
institution of the symbol of the new covenant and the final discourse to the
disciples in John 12-17. Notice how He warns the disciples again.
Vs. 3-4 This means they wanted to kill Jesus before the
feast. They will get their wish.
Vs. 5-13 This
is Jesus' preparation for burial by Mary. What is touching in this act of love
is that Mary, the rich, aristocratic woman, learned to do this from the example
of a woman who was a sinner and low in society. Mary identified herself with
those who were low and sinful, pleading before the feet of the merciful Savior.
In love, facing the scorn of the disciples no less, she poured out ointment
worth a year’s wage at minimum wage.
V. 8 I hate to
say this, but it looks like all twelve disciples had been reading,
"Religion for Idiots." In John 12 it says that Judas Iscariot led the
charge on this and the others followed. John mentions that Judas was the
treasurer and a thief.
Vs. 10-13 I
wonder if any of the disciples were shamed and surprised by this rebuke from
Jesus. This momentary sacrifice is, and has been, a memorial to her and to all disciples,
who pour out their lives at the feet of their Savior in fragrant sacrifice,
working in His harvest.
Psalm 31:9-18
As you read this, remember that this is the experience God
gave to David to teach and train him. In this psalm you can also sense some of
what Jesus experiences.
V. 9 I could understand Jesus feeling something like this on
the cross.
V. 10 This wouldn't have applied to Jesus.
V. 11 As with the first part of this psalm from yesterday, I
see this in Jesus’ death. When I read, those who see me in the street
flee from me, it also
sounds like a part of Isaiah 53:3, He was
despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and
as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. I think of
Jesus being led through the streets of Jerusalem, a spectacle to the world, to
angels and to men. So too, says Paul, are His disciples in 1
Corinthians 4:9, For I think that God has
exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to
men.
Vs. 14-18 I really identify with the cry for help and the
plea not to be put to shame. It takes courage to follow the Lord. A common fear
is that God will let us down and we will be shown to be fools for trusting Him
and His Word. When you see how Jesus was mocked as He hung on the cross, it
appears that His adversaries had the victory and He was put to shame. But that
was only for a moment and only revealed their hearts. As the old sermon says,
"That was Friday, but Sunday's a comin'." As disciples, we should
expect no less. We are not better than our Master. We will share both His humiliation
and His vindication.
I like v. 16. David wasn't given a permanent deliverance for
many years, but God did give him little ones to encourage him and strengthen
his faith. Even in our circumstances we are blessed by God allowing His face to
shine upon us.
Proverbs 8:12-13
You can't deny that God wants us to seek wisdom. It isn't
just knowing the Word, but using what we learn in such a way as to live
skillfully and understand life. Knowing the Lord should make us like the Lord.
He is wise beyond all comprehension. God is not only saying it is OK to hate
evil, pride, arrogance and perverted speech; He's saying that when we are wise,
we will.
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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