Happy St.
Pat’s Day! This is a good light
reading for today.
Numbers 26:1-51
One thing you might do for interest is to go
back to Numbers, chapter 1, and find the size of each tribe then and write it
in next to the population of the tribe here. You'll notice that a couple of
tribes got bigger.
V. 14 This is a shocker. What happened to
Simeon? This is just guess work, but look back at yesterday’s reading about the
guy that Phinehas killed. In Numbers 25:14 it says what tribe he belonged to.
It might be that the Midianites made their friendly offer at the location where
the tribe of Simeon was located. Israel was probably like a city with 12 areas,
like Brooklyn, the Bronx, etc. It makes sense that the Midianites had to begin
in one place, at one of these tribes. If the tribe of Simeon made up the
majority of the 24,000 who fell, it would explain the decrease.
I have the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Gad,
Zebulun, Ephraim and Naphtali in the minus category. What did you come up with?
Apparently, at this point, the generation of
men who rebelled against the Lord at Kadesh-barnea was gone.
Luke 2:36-52
Vs. 36-38 Anna is another person who was on
the scene when Simeon was blessing Jesus. Notice that she, like Simeon, was
very devout and looking for redemption. And, she had a prayer life.
Between vs. 38 and 39 the wise men come,
Joseph & Co. go to Egypt, Herod kills the children, Herod dies, and Joseph
& Co. return and go to Nazareth.
Vs. 39 and 40 summarize their return to
Nazareth.
Vs. 41-52 Joseph and Mary always went to
Jerusalem and they always took Jesus. Apparently it was at this Passover that
Jesus became fully aware that He was the Son of God.
V. 46 Most likely the three days is the time
Jesus was missing. Joe and Mary walked a day north, then they walked a day back
and then sometime on the third day they found Him.
V. 49 Jesus is simply saying, "You
should have checked here first." The stunning part of this is Jesus
calling God His Father. I’m sure that in the daily routine of life during the
past 10 years, the predictions of His birth and the things that happen seemed
dim. This would have been a slight wake-up call. In some respects, I’ll bet
this was a slightly different Jesus who returned with them.
Vs. 51-52 How would Luke have known this if
Mary hadn't told him?
Psalm 60
It's interesting that yesterday Balaam
prophesied that Edom would be subdued by Israel. Israel’s first defeat of Edom
happened because of the events this psalm laments. David would cry out to God
and God would lead him to subdue the Edomites.
Vs. 1-3 God had promised Israel that if they
followed Him they would never turn their backs on their enemies. As you can see
in the introduction to the choirmaster, David was up north fighting against the
forces from outside of Israel that were trying to take Israel. David was in his
early days as the king of the entire nation. While he was in the north
fighting, the Edomites came into Israel and wreaked havoc. This is why David is
so upset. The only way this could happen in Israel is because Israel had
sinned. David would work hard to reestablish the worship of God, but the nation
had wandered for many years and there was a lot of rebuilding to do.
Vs. 4-5 David learned in all of his years of
running that God was his refuge. Now David would have to begin leading his
people in worship so that every man and woman would turn to God. This was their
only hope.
Vs. 6-8 David is encouraging himself in God’s
sovereignty and also in God’s Word. As we read yesterday, and as David knew,
God had already spoken against Israel’s enemies.
Vs. 9-12 And now David had to fight against
Edom. David knew how to cry out to God and God answered.
Proverbs 11:15
This says not to be bound by your word or by
a contract with someone you don't know. Paul says it to all of us when he says
in 2 Corinthians 6:14, Do not be
unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Paul says it to Timothy, the pastor, in a
slightly different way in 1 Timothy 5:22,
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others;
keep yourself pure.
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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