So, we are at a landmark. With today's
reading, you have made it a third of a year. You have read 100 psalms and you
have finished Luke, the last of the synoptic Gospels (summary, parallel
accounts), plus you've read the first six books of the Bible. Even if you're
behind and your "regular reading" muscles are not yet toned and
strong, you've probably done better than you did last year. More importantly,
you've given the Spirit lots to work with. You've already had insights and
grown stronger in the Lord. But even with some of what you've read (that you
think has gone in one eye and out the other), when you don't expect it, a word
will come to you or a story will come to mind and you'll see the Spirit giving
you insight or leading you in the situation you are in. That's what being a
child of God and a disciple in the harvest is all about: growing in Him. All
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. And He leads us through His
Word and the Spirit.
Judges 9:22-10:18
Judges 9:22-57
Vs. 22-25 There is an expression, "God
doesn't always pay on Friday," meaning that He doesn't always pass
judgment according to our sense of timing. I wonder what it was like for Jotham
to have to wait three years to see God finally work things around like this.
V. 23 We will see this a couple more times in
1 Samuel 16:14 and again in 1 Kings 22:19-23. God judges those who rebel
against Him by allowing demonic forces to give them what they want. I'm sure
God is doing the same today.
V. 24 God didn't forget what had happened and
He included those who supported Abimelech. Since God knows the heart, you can
still be guilty without pulling the trigger. It's good to keep your heart cleansed
from this kind of guilt.
With all of this betrayal going on, it is
interesting that Abimelech seems ignorant of it. He doesn't do anything until
he is incited to action by the anger of Zebul (the city's mayor) in v. 30.
Vs. 26-41 This section is ironic in that
Abimelech won everything back, but his pride got the best of him. If he had
stopped here, he would have had peace, but God knew he would push things to literally
bring destruction upon his own head.
V. 38 Zebul (one guy with a funny name) goads
Gaal (another guy with a funny name) to take the fight to the open fields. This
was a bad move for Gaal.
Vs. 42-57 In the deaths of his brothers,
Abimelech had been guilty of irrational violence and arrogance. Now those
character qualities will lead him to judgment.
V. 49 Like
medieval castles, in the center of the grounds of the castle they had a tower
for refuge and defense. It sounds like they started a fire at the base of the
tower, or on the
roof of the tower or both; and everyone died from the smoke.
Vs. 50-57 The same trick didn't work at
Thebez. In God's justice, He guided a woman to throw a small millstone, about
the size of a brick, on the troops and she beaned Abimelech. God's justice was
complete.
Abimelech was never called a judge. He ruled
a part of Israel and by his presence he kept other enemies at bay, but he never
brought peace. This story shows the awful condition of the nation. No other
tribe sought to correct the murderous injustice Abimelech and the men of
Shechem committed on the family of Gideon. This is what being free of God and
His Word can do for you. It frees you up to be corrupt.
Judges 10:1-18
Vs. 1-5 The only things I see with these two
judges is that Tola was on the west side of the Jordan and Jair was on the east
side of the Jordan. Tola probably kept the Philistines at bay until the arrival
of Samson. Jair may have kept order until Jephthah arrived. It seems that they
were sort of like local heroes to be reckoned with, though it never says who
they fought against. Jair was a rich man, like Gideon, with lots of sons and
donkeys. I wonder if they had donkey races, and if so, I'll bet they looked
funny.
Notice that although these men were judges,
it doesn't say that there was a period of peace. You get the feeling that these
men were very local and gave peace to the area where they lived. They still
accounted for 45 years of bringing a good influence to the land.
Vs. 6-9 The two peoples mentioned here will
be the focus of the next two judges. Jephthah will go after the Ammonites and
Samson will go after the Philistines; although in Samson's case, it's hard to
say he went after anything but Philistine women. He was a judge by arrogance
and intimidation only.
Vs. 10-16 Eighteen years is a long time. The
people here are finally crying out and they repented. It seems that this time,
they understood, as a people, that they were really in trouble and knew that
their trouble was because of idolatry. Notice that they willingly put away
their foreign gods/idols. Where were the Levites and what, if anything, was
happening at the tabernacle in Shiloh?
I wonder how this conversation with the Lord
took place. I wonder if the people gathered together at the tabernacle in
Shiloh.
Vs. 13-14 God gave the people what they
deserved.
Vs. 15-16 The people were genuinely ready to
follow God. Now, too, God was quick to move.
One of the benefits of being close to God in
His Word and following Him is that we don't need God to use hard times to push
us to repentance, obedience and the putting away of idols. We respond to
challenges in an entirely different way, understanding that the Lord is moving
things in the harvest to open up opportunities or to work some purpose we don't
understand. But we don't have to worry that we goofed.
Vs. 17-18 It's interesting that these verses
are included today since they really apply to tomorrow. They were looking for
someone to lead them You'll be surprised to see that they find a guy like
Abimelech, only much truer to God. Jephthah is another of these judges who knows
the stories, but doesn't know the Lord through His Word.
Luke 24:13-53
Vs. 13-35 I don't know who isn't inspired in
some way by the story of the guys going to Emmaus. I would have loved to have
been there. There is a lot to observe in this account. Have fun.
V. 27 That would have been a great talk to
hear. These guys became totally engaged and v. 32 expresses what they were
feeling. That still happens if we abide in our Lord's Word.
V. 34 On Easter, many Christians in all
countries have a greeting and response when they see each other on Easter
morning. One says, "He is risen!" and the other person says, "He
is risen indeed." That response is taken from this verse.
We have no record of what happened when Jesus
met Peter. We hear about it here and in 1 Corinthians 15, but the details are
missing. Apparently Jesus had some very private words with Peter to keep him
from giving up after having denied Him.
V. 35 This is a great sentence and I'm sure
it has launched many sermons.
Vs. 36-43 This is Luke's "proof" that
Jesus was risen and that the disciples were not just having a mass mirage of
some kind.
This is the meeting that Thomas missed. I
wonder if when Jesus put the fish in His mouth, if the disciples looked to see
if it went through Him and hit the floor.
Vs. 44-49 The Holy Spirit had not been given
yet, and for the next 40 days, they would need to understand the Word. So Jesus
opened their minds. This is exactly what the Spirit does for us. We do not
understand the Word for any other reason than that He helps us. Jesus' word to
His disciples, to seek and find, apply to our understanding of the Word and
God's will. Think over what I say, for
the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Tim. 2:7) Do we
really press on to understand until the Lord shows us?
Vs. 50-53 When I read this quick summary, I
get the feeling that Luke might not have had the writing of Acts in mind. If he
had, I think he would have made a smoother transition between books. The first
part of Acts covers this section in much greater detail.
I wonder if Theophilus got this book and
said, "Luke, this is great, but you can't stop here. Here, I'll stake you
a couple hundred thousand drachma to write the continuing story."
Even beyond the book of Acts, we are the
continuing story, following those who have gone before us, following Christ in
the harvest while it is still day.
Psalm 100
This is a short, beautiful psalm that has
launched a thousand songs.
Vs. 1-2 Notice that all the earth is to
praise God, serve Him and come into His presence with singing. It is good for
us to remember that sin isn't just what you do, it is also what you don't do.
For moral, noble, lost people not to treat God as God is still sin. To give
thanks isn't a command as much as it should be an involuntary reaction to Him.
V. 3 This expands on v. 1. He is God our
Creator and God our Shepherd. And, we belong to Him. That is not slavery. It is
an amazing and liberating life.
V. 4 This expands on v. 2. We are to come to
God. Adam sinned and hid. The response of the saved is longing to be in His
presence. Does He really get our time? Do we just sit before Him and enjoy Him?
V. 5 It is because of that steadfast love and that faithfulness, that Christ sought us and
died for us while we were yet sinners and enemies of the cross. I'd say that
defines God as pretty good.
Proverbs 14:11-12
I wonder if the way that seems right is the one that convinces you to make heaven
here and live in houses, as opposed to realizing that we should choose to live
in tents here and work in the harvest, until the Master calls us in from the
fields.
Without the Word of God we are lost and will
conjure up our own opinion of God's will or the "right" way. We need
our "meds" daily. Without the daily input of the Word in our lives,
all of us would stray from His love and His purpose for us in this harvest.
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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