Deuteronomy
2-3
These two
chapters are a review, but from God's perspective. You've read about these
events as history, but now Moses is explaining the events from his and the
Lord's perspective. It's an interesting slant on things.
Deuteronomy 2
Vs. 1-8 This is
Israel passing through the land of Edom. Although we read about this event
earlier, there are a couple of interesting additions here. First, in v. 29 it
says that Esau allowed Israel to pass through. The Edomites didn't let Israel
pass through the middle of their country on the King's Highway, but they did
let Israel pass through on the eastern edge of their territory.
V. 7 Along with
the command not to fight with Edom because of the relationship between Jacob
and Esau, the other reason not to fight was God's blessing. Not only did they
not need anything because of what God was doing for them daily, but He had
already promised them a land of their own.
Vs. 9-17 This
was Israel passing through the territory of Moab. Israel wasn't supposed to
fight against them or take their land because they were descended from Lot.
Vs. 10-12 This
is an editorial note added later by someone like Samuel, for example. These
lands were full of giants. Remember that the spies said there were giants in
the land and they couldn't fight against them? The Emim or the Rephaim and the
Anakim were giants. Notice what happened to them. Apparently Israel was the
only one afraid of them. The Moabites and Edomites knew that big guys make big
targets.
It is
interesting that the editorial note was placed here, because the next words
have to do with the faithless men who caused the people to be afraid of the
giants.
Vs. 13-15 It
took about two years for the people to get organized under God and move to
Kadesh-barnea where they rebelled. It was 38 years and some months before they
were finally ready to enter the land. Not all 40 years were punishment.
V. 16 God made
it His own project to eliminate that generation of people, using them as
examples while preparing the next generation
Vs. 17-23 This
was Israel passing through the territory of Ammon. These too were descendants
of Lot.
Vs. 20-23
Notice the parenthesis. This too is a later editorial note, probably either
from Joshua or Samuel. Once in the land they had the details of who had been
dispossessed by the Ammonites. Oddly enough, many of these groups of people
were giants.
Vs. 24-37 God
had already planned to give Sihon's lands to Israel. Sihon's arrogance must
have been stoked by the fact that Israel hadn't fought with the other nations
they passed through. God hardened Sihon's own hardness and showed Israel that
He could help them against a formidable army.
V. 36 Notice
that one of the cities they took was fortified with high walls. This was
another reason the 10 spies said to stay out of the land.
Deuteronomy 3
Vs. 1-11 In
this account, once again, the report of the ten spies was laid to rest. In v. 5
they took several high-walled, fortified cities. And then in v. 7, there was
the issue of Og himself. (Who names their kid “Og?”) His bed may have been the
coffin he had prepared for himself. In any case, he was a big guy. A cubit was
18 inches, so 9 cubits puts him at 13.5 feet. I'll bet that's why no one made
fun of his name.
Vs. 12-17 This
is the giving of the conquered lands to Reuben, Gad and 1/2 Manasseh. This was
a foretaste of what would happen in the land. The people had seen the battles,
the booty, and 2.5 tribes find a home. God protected and blessed them in all of
it and they never lost a man.
Vs. 18-20 In
Moses' explanation of his leadership, he was showing that he commanded these
tribes to fight for Israel in the land. We know the story in Numbers and these
tribes sought God and permission to claim those lands and they were more than
willing to fight to win the inheritance for the other tribes. This was a very
positive thing and a sign of God's blessing.
Vs. 21-22 This
was Moses' encouragement of Joshua.
Vs. 23-29
Because of all the blessing, Moses must have been encouraged in himself to ask
God to let him go into the land. Verse 26 seems pretty strong, but it shows
that God and Moses were close.
V. 28 Notice
that God gave Moses an assignment. I don't think Moses would have stood around
sulking, but this task would be very important and it would take Moses out of
his own situation.
V. 29 Now we’re
back to “real time.” If you know the song, "Sweet Hour of Prayer,"
you know the phrase from that third verse that nobody sings, "till from
Mt. Pisgah's lofty height I view my home and take my flight." That's a
cool verse.
For us in the
harvest, God allows us to set goals, but our only sure goal is to follow
Christ. God is the one who determines what fruit we bear, when we are to live
and when we are to be "graduated." A disciple stays healthy by
remembering that a disciple always follows. The commission and the harvest
belong to the Lord.
Luke 6:12-38
Vs. 12-16 It
would be great to put all of the Gospels together to get the full view of this.
What follows is the Sermon on the Mount. Luke is the only one who tells us that
the night before Jesus chose the Twelve and then gave the sermon, He had spent
all night alone praying on the mountain. Mark says why He chose them in a very
cool way. (Mark 3:14) It was immediately after selecting the Twelve that Jesus
came down with them, saw the crowd and was moved by the Father to give the
disciples their orientation to discipleship. We call that orientation talk the
Sermon on the Mount.
Vs. 17-19 These
verses give the idea that Jesus might not have planned to give this sermon here
at this time. But when the crowds came to Him and He healed them, I'll bet He
was moved with compassion for them and sensed from the Spirit that this was a
good time and place to teach the disciples and His newly chosen apostles.
Vs. 20-26
Notice here that Jesus lifts His eyes on His disciples. This is how we know
that the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is really Jesus' orientation to His
disciples. I guess that means to us too.
In reading
Luke's version of this sermon, it is good to keep in mind that Matthew was
writing to a Jewish audience and Luke was writing to Gentiles. Luke left out
material about the law that Matthew included. Also, it is good to remember that
Jesus repeated His sermons and stories everywhere He went. The slight
difference in wording is probably due to Jesus saying things in a slightly
different way on different occasions.
Notice in the blesseds and woes that the word now is
used. This means that Jesus was suggesting that some disciples, for the sake of
the kingdom and the harvest, would choose to deny themselves for this time on
earth, so they could devote themselves to following the Lord in the harvest.
Vs. 27-36 What
Jesus told His disciples only makes sense if a person is totally devoted to
Christ, having no earthly treasure, working fully in the harvest. If we have
been saved and understand what is happening on this planet, that should make us
capable of living like this.
Vs. 37-38 A
disciple is to offer Christ's gift in the harvest, not be a judge on earth. He
is to give freely since he has received freely. All of discipleship and making
disciples flows out of understanding the love and grace we have been shown in
Christ.
Psalm 67
Just like with
Psalm 66, this could have been written by Israel as it entered the land, but
the declaration to all nations is truer to the way David praised God. I think
this is David not just celebrating how God saved him, but I think David
understood his place in God's plan and was celebrating the fulfilling of the
promise to Abraham.
Vs. 1-2 Notice
that this is the blessing that God gave to Aaron to pronounce upon Israel, but
it is said here as a request so that God will be known in all the earth. This
entire psalm is a testimony to the nations. Israel's destiny was to bring the
saving knowledge of God to the entire world.
Vs. 3-5 The
word let makes this block of verses
stand out. This is to be the response of the
nations to what they see in the grace of God's blessing on Israel. This
will be true in the Millennial Kingdom. Verse 5 is quoted by Paul in Romans 15.
The witness to the nations was what Israel was all about as a continuation of
the promise to Adam and Eve and the promise to Abraham. All of God's working
has always been focused on the redemption of mankind.
Vs. 6-7 Again,
this will be true of Israel in the Millennial Kingdom when all the nations come
to Jerusalem to meet their king.
Proverbs
11:27
There is a kind
of justice in the Bible where God gives a person what they want, or here, what
they seek. It is not always good to succeed, and just because the Lord lets you
have something, doesn't mean it was His will, or that it's good for you. Those
who seek God's glory will know His favor, even in death or hardship. Those who
seek evil or their own gain may get more than they bargained for. Or as Jesus
said, What does it profit a man to gain
the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)
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.
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