Deuteronomy
9-10
This
morning I read Romans 11:25, Lest you be
wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery,
brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. Apparently, the response of the Gentile Christians to
the grace they had received was pride and arrogance. Paul needed to remind them
that they were no better than the Jews. God had simply shown them love and
grace. Here in Deuteronomy, Moses and God didn't want Israel to forget who they
were either. What was about to happen to them was all grace that they didn't
deserve. That's good for us to remember as we follow in the harvest. This isn't
about our morality or who knows more about God. Knowledge puffs up. Love builds
up.
Deuteronomy 9
Vs. 1-3 Moses
mentions that there were fortified cities, great armies and huge men (targets)
to fight. These were the things that the ten spies had said to discourage the
people and make them bitter. But this generation had already seen that it would
be God who would fight for them. It's hard to fight a consuming fire.
Vs. 4-5 The
reason God would thrust these people out was because of their wickedness and
because of the promise to Abraham. It had nothing to do with the righteousness
of Israel. Moses will now tell a little story.
Vs. 6-29 In
fact, Israel was a very stubborn and rebellious people. The generation standing
there listening to Moses wouldn't be rebellious, but they had the benefit of
living through the results of their parents' sins over the past 40 years,
living in the camp of death. These words would fall on fertile soil. That
wouldn't be the case in the next generations.
Vs. 6-12 This
should have been a great moment for the nation. Moses was on the mountain
confirming the covenant. God, Himself, the Creator of the universe, was
actually writing on the stones Himself. No other nation in the history of the
world had ever experienced this. That is the point here, I think.
Vs. 13-21 Yet,
at that very moment during their greatest privilege and God's revelation, the
people had already broken the covenant and put themselves in mortal danger
before God. Moses is trying to make them see the irrationality of what they did
by making that calf. These people might have looked to Kadesh-barnea as the
best example of their rebellion, but God and Moses led them back to the first
and most irrational act they committed. This sin was still a part of them, and
it has been a part of every heart, including ours, since Adam and Eve.
V. 17 That covenant
was broken, illustrated with Moses smashing the tablets. God would reestablish
the covenant with them.
V. 18 This is
the first time I’ve noticed that the reason Moses went without food for those
40 days was out of deep concern for the people.
V. 19 Moses had
to plead for their lives.
V. 20 This is
the first time we have heard that God was ready to take out Aaron.
V. 21 Their sin
had been so vile, they couldn't even reuse the gold of the calf. Moses made
them drink it, which also was ironic since God, not the calf, had given them
the water.
Vs. 22-24 Now,
Moses parenthetically relates the sin with the calf to the sin at
Kadesh-barnea.
Vs. 25-29 Back
to the calf. Moses went up on the mountain again to beg for God's mercy for
Israel. Notice that the basis for God's mercy was the covenant with Abraham.
This would have shown the people that they needed to put their faith in what
Abraham had put his faith in. They would break the Mosaic Covenant but their
hope was in the grace of God as seen in the promise to Abraham.
Deuteronomy 10
Vs. 1-5 On the
basis of Moses' pleading, God's mercy and His remembrance of His promise to
Abraham, God allowed new tablets to be cut and the covenant was reestablished.
Verse 5 is a summary since the ark hadn't been built yet.
Vs. 6-9 This
seems to be parenthetical, showing that even Aaron's death and the selection of
the Levites to guard the tabernacle were a result of the sinfulness and
rebellion of the people.
Vs. 10-11 It
was when Moses came down off the mountain (and the tabernacle was built and the
people were numbered and put in order) that God commanded Moses to lead the
people into Canaan. You would think that after that fiasco with the calf, the
people would have been obedient. This generation knew exactly what happened at
Kadesh-barnea and had been suffering under it for the past 38 years.
I think the
people got the idea. They had not been an easy people to lead. So much of what
is written here testifies to the honesty and accuracy of this reporting. No
great nation would ever air their dirty laundry like Israel is doing here. This
isn't a testimony to them as a great people. It is a testimony to the love and
forgiveness of their God.
Vs. 12-22 What
things stand out to you in this section? I don't know about you, but this stirs
my heart. What does God seek? At the top of His list is love. Love is a
relationship. Even in marriage this is the key. You can break love down into
actions or responsibilities like communication, faithfulness and service to one
another; but these only help us try to grasp what love really is. What God
really gives to us and wants from us is love. There are many religions and
misrepresentations of "god" on earth, but none of them come close to
the reality being expressed here. God is deeply clear and straightforward about
wanting a relationship with us that is first and foremost a bond of love. This
is the consistent message of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
Luke 8:4-21
It is
interesting that Jesus began to tell these parables after He was very popular.
The Pharisees and scribes were beginning to explain His power by saying it was
from Beelzebub, and His family thought He was out of His mind. This parable
would have been a challenge to the people and it would have been instructive to
the disciples, letting them know that there would be four kinds of people who
would hear their messages too.
Vs. 4-8 This
was said for the crowds and there were probably some people who got it.
Vs. 9-10 This
is the blindness of the nation that was predicted in Isaiah 6:9. Oddly enough,
Paul quotes this in Romans 11:8 and follows it by quoting Psalm 69:22, which is
in our reading for today. You only get this by reading The One Year Bible.
The parables
were meant to show who was seeking God and who really didn't care.
Vs. 11-15 Note
that the real focal point of the parable and need for bearing fruit is
expressed in what Satan seeks to prevent in v. 12: believe and be saved. People differ on their interpretations of the
seed in the shallow ground and seed in the thorns. I have met professing
believers in both soils. Who knows? The goal of the Word is not only faith,
belief and salvation, but fruit that bears more fruit, or as we would say, disciples,
who make disciples, who make disciples.
Vs. 16-18 These
verses, for me, show that bearing fruit has something to do with declaring the
truth publicly, treasuring it in our hearts and growing in the truth we have
been given.
V. 18 was said
to the disciples and Jesus used this illustration with them a couple of times.
I think Jesus is saying to all of us disciples, when the Spirit shares
something with us, if we don't use it, we lose it.
Vs. 19-21 I
don't think Jesus thought His family would show up here, but He used the
situation to show the importance of what He had just said. To be in
relationship to Jesus was not to be a blood relative or even a Jew. Those
closest to Jesus, male or female, Jew or Gentile, Greeks and those who wish
they were Greeks, are those who hear the Word of God and do it.
Just to say it
again, as disciples, our "doing" of God's Word is following the Lord
in the harvest. His commandments are not primarily so we can live morally pure
lives on earth and get to heaven with a clean score card. We are to obey His
commission and glorify the Father by bearing much fruit and so proving we are
His disciples. We are to labor in the harvest making disciples, who make disciples,
who make disciples.
Psalm 69:19-36
Remember, as
you read this section, David's own suffering was given to him from God, to
allow David to express some of what Jesus would feel in His last days in
Jerusalem and on the cross.
Vs. 19-21 When
I read this, I think of the Pharisees and Sadducees trying to humiliate Jesus.
I think of Judas betraying Jesus. I think of Peter, James and John falling asleep
as Jesus was praying in the garden.
Notice v. 21.
Jesus was offered wine mixed with a narcotic, and then later, He was offered
vinegar as He hung on the cross to keep Him alive until Elijah came to rescue
Him. The people were hoping to see a miracle.
Vs. 22-28 This
is David asking God to judge these people who were lying and pursuing him.
Interestingly, Paul says that this happened to all of Israel in the form of
hardness of heart and spiritual blindness. Verses 22-23 are quoted by Paul in
Romans 11:9-10. Spiritual blindness led Saul and others to resist God, kill the
priests, and pursue David. That same spiritual blindness led the nation of
Israel to resist what God was doing in Christ and the church. The height of
this blindness would have been seen in the crucifixion of Jesus. That
generation was punished for rejecting their Messiah, as seen in the destruction
of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. and the scattering of the Jews.
Vs. 29-33 David
became a witness to the peoples, a leader
and commander for the peoples (Isaiah 55:4). God disciplined and made David
a great man though his suffering. He became proof of the grace and mercy of
God.
Vs. 34-36 God
had probably given David the idea of making Jerusalem, Zion, his city. And I'll
bet in those years of running and hiding, David dreamed of the day he would
bring the ark to Jerusalem. Yet this section has the hint of millennial glory.
A day will come when Jesus will reign from Zion, and all nations will worship
Him. Israel will glorify their Messiah and testify to His greatness and love.
Proverbs 12:2-3
Again,
sometimes you can get a lot more out of a proverb like this, especially if
you're using it for a short message for a group, if you take it apart and put
the parallel pieces together. Take time to notice the couplets and the
parallelism in the verses. The second verse usually advances the image of the
first verse. In The One Year Bible they do a pretty good job of keeping
these couplets together.
2A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
(and in all the storms of life the branches might get beaten by the wind and he may be refined by fire)
but the root of the righteous will never be moved.
(and in all the storms of life the branches might get beaten by the wind and he may be refined by fire)
but the root of the righteous will never be moved.
but a man of evil devices he condemns.
(and although he might look successful and God might use this man for His purpose)
3No one is established (takes root?) by wickedness,
(and although he might look successful and God might use this man for His purpose)
3No one is established (takes root?) by wickedness,
Especially in
hard times or hard circumstances, it costs something to follow Christ in the
harvest and to remember we are here on mission. Our witness is often shown most
powerfully in honoring God where others don't, and facing the consequences. It
is more important that the lost see Christ than for us to get a
"deal" or a promotion. I know a guy from the Ukraine who came to
Christ, because a fool took a beating for Christ in the Russian army in
Siberia. The guy's branches definitely got broken, but his root never moved and
God gave him unknown fruit. My friend Peter watched and thought, "It would
have been so easy to have lied. What would possess a man to take a stand like
this in such a dangerous place?" Peter found out.
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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