Numbers 36
You did it! You finished the first four books
of the Bible! If you're up to date in your reading, great. If not, don't sweat
it. It literally takes you two or three years to get into shape, to lay down
the daily habits; and the only way you do that is by getting behind and coming
up with ways to stay on target.
Numbers concludes with the tribe of Manasseh.
I don't think this story is put here for trivia. It demonstrates that people
learned to seek the Lord and ask for modifications of the laws He had given.
First the daughters came to Moses the right way, then the leaders of the tribe
asked for an amendment, and finally the daughters complied and did the right
thing.
This story was to show that the people now
knew to come to God and His appointed representatives, to get answers instead
of complaining or doing their own thing. It will be sort of funny in Joshua to
see the people come after Joshua for making a decision without consulting the
Lord. They got the message.
Deuteronomy 1
One more book to go and you have read the
Pentateuch! The Penta-who? The Jewish name for the first five books. Again, as
you've seen so far, these books are rich in helping us, as disciples, see the
heart of God as the plan of redemption unfolds. There are lots of foundational
truths, biographies, stories and symbols. And all of what we find here helps us
see the great heart of God, our Savior.
Deuteronomy is one big final speech to the
people. These are Moses' final words to the nation he shepherded out of Egypt
and through the wilderness for 40 years. At the beginning they were 2,000,000+
rebellious, disorganized people. Now Israel is an obedient nation. They will
never be this devoted to God again, until the Tribulation and the return of
Christ.
One of the things to look for here is the
phrase, the Lord our God, or the Lord your God. At some point in
Jewish history the Jews stopped saying the name Yahweh and coded it to be the
word “Lord.” What Moses is actually saying here is “Yahweh our God.” This is
powerful. Yahweh is personal and compassionate. He, the ever-living One, has
let the people call Him by His name. God is the word, “Elohim,” powerful and
almighty. So if you are interested, underline every time you find the phrase, the Lord our God. There are a few of
them and they are not filler in Moses’ sermon. These words have great meaning.
Vs. 1-5 Moses is recounting their history,
telling the people how they came to this place, both physically and
spiritually.
From Mt. Sinai to Kadesh-barnea was only an
eleven-day journey. That is when and where they should have entered the land.
Now, 40 years later, Moses was standing with the people opposite Jericho.
Notice the references to the battles against Sihon and Og. This is a
significant notation, since, as we’ll see, one of these guys was a giant.
Vs. 6-18 Now Moses will recount their
spiritual journey to this place.
Vs. 6-8 This was God telling the people to go
to Kadesh-barnea to take possession of the promise to Abraham. Notice the
mention of the Euphrates. The promise to Abraham included the land to the
Euphrates.
Vs. 9-18 Because of God’s vast blessing on
the people, God multiplied them into a nation. This section seems to summarize
God organizing them as a nation with different levels of organization and
government. Not only this, but there was also the organization of the nation
around the worship of God. They were ready to enter the land.
Vs. 19-46 This is a retelling of the
rebellion at Kadesh-barnea. This isn’t just information. It is telling the
people what the spiritual condition was and how that led to their spiritual
journey in the wilderness.
V. 22 Notice that Moses says it was the idea
of the people to spy out the land. In itself, there was nothing wrong with that
request and God allowed it, but we know it really came from a heart of fear and
unbelief.
Vs. 26-28 This was the effect of the ten
spies on the entire nation.
Notice also in v. 29 that giants are
mentioned.
V. 36 Notice that God promised Caleb that He
would give him the land where he had walked. That was giant country. I’ll bet
Caleb couldn’t wait to take a bead on those huge targets.
V. 37 Moses blamed their rebelliousness as
part of the reason God wouldn't allow him to enter the land. This is
parenthetical since the rebellion at Kadesh occurred 38 years earlier, but it
was spurred on by the same kind of bitterness and complaining of the people.
Vs. 41-46 This again is showing the present
generation how the previous generation ruined their own hope by continual
rebellion against the Lord.
As disciples, we really should be about the
future, working to reach lost people and to make them disciples. Still, it is
good to look at history, personally or as a church. When was our faith fresh?
If it isn't fresh anymore, what happened? When was the church on target? Was it
reaching people? Did it only grow through transfer growth? What have we lost?
What do we need to do? I've seen two churches totally ignore their history and
refuse to accept what happened to them. It's not in the Bible, but it is true,
that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. In Christ there is a
very cool "reset" button. That reset button is being broken in Him:
His grace, His love, His forgiveness, His freedom, His mission. In any culture
on earth, in any time period, newly abiding in Him, His Word, and His Spirit
will put our lives on the right track, following Him in the harvest.
Luke 5:29-6:11
Luke 5:29-39
Vs. 29-32 The healing of the paralytic, the
calling of Matthew and this party happened very near to each other.
Apparently
Matthew was well off and wanted his tax collector and sinner friends to meet
Jesus. The Pharisees went after Jesus' disciples first, and Jesus told them
that He didn't come to call the "righteous." The Pharisees didn't get
it and they weren't satisfied either.
Vs. 33-39
Then the Pharisees went to the disciples of John the Baptist to create a
division between the followers of John and the followers of Jesus. In Matthew,
it is the disciples of John who ask the question, but here it is the Pharisees.
The Pharisees must have gone to John's disciples and led them to Jesus,
probably initiating the conversation. Jesus' words in these parables would have
been understandable to the disciples of John, but the Pharisees would have
missed the point. If you read the end of John 3, you'll know why. John the
Baptist himself used the bridegroom illustration with his disciples. The minute
they would have heard Jesus use this parable, John's disciples would have
connected Jesus' words with John's and it would have made them feel better, not
bitter.
Jesus' second Passover, mentioned as the
"feast" in John 5, happens here before Luke 6. If you read John 5:12,
notice the words of the Pharisees, Who is
the man who said to you, “take up your bed and walk?"
Luke 6:1-11
Vs. 1-5 According to John 5:16, And this was why the Jews were persecuting
Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
The event of healing on the Sabbath gave the
Jews (Jewish religious leaders) something to go after Jesus about. It gave
their irrationalism something to justify itself.
In these verses, Jesus and His disciples are
walking back to Jerusalem after the Passover. Apparently these are Pharisees
from Capernaum who are walking with them. The key phrase here is in v. 5. Jesus
has told them that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sin. Now He
tells them that the Son of Man is lord of
the Sabbath.
Vs. 6-11 Matthew mentions that this synagogue
was the synagogue belonging to these particular Pharisees. It appears that this
event was set up, trying to trap Jesus. Matthew 12:9-14 gives a better picture
of what happened here.
If you read John 5 you'll see that the
Pharisees had already decided they had to get rid of Jesus after His actions in
Jerusalem. Now they will be constantly following Him, looking for something.
These two occasions gave them the necessary proof and motivation to plan Jesus'
death. Ironically, He had told them that He was both the Son of God and the Son
of Man.
Psalm 66
It doesn't say who wrote this or when it was
written, but you could imagine that this was written by David sometime after
all of his running had ended. Now, David was King of Israel as God had promised
him at least 20 years earlier.
Vs. 1-4 Notice that this is a call to all
peoples and nations to give praise to God.
Vs. 5-7 What the Lord had done was not only
seen in His might in creation; but in protecting David, it was like God
protecting the children of Israel coming out of Egypt.
Vs. 8-12 Although this sounds like it could
have also been written about Israel coming into the land, until David became
king, Israel was always an oppressed people. Notice that all the peoples were
called to bless God for His deliverance.
Vs. 13-15 This sounds like David. During
those years on the run, David had made promises and longed to be in the
tabernacle. It was probably during this time of running that David vowed that
if he ever became king, he would build a temple, a house for the Lord.
Vs. 16-20 I think this is clearly David. What
great praise and what a hope we have. I was reading this morning as Jesus told
His disciples a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to
lose heart. I think that is David's message also.
Proverbs 11:24-26
Sounds like the Lord is giving us a good
argument for tithing and being generous. Again, Jesus told His disciples to use
"unrighteous mammon" and the things that belong to God (everything)
for the glory of God and for His kingdom. We are to spend generously in the
harvest making disciples, who make disciples.
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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