JUNE 18
1
Kings 19
This is a very cool portion of Scripture.
Elijah had fought hard for the Lord and now in his eyes he had failed. God was
extremely gentle with him.
Apparently Ahab and Jezebel had a palace at
Jezreel too. In Jezebel, we meet one of two women rulers in Israel/Judah. This
mother and daughter team were both evil, and both carried their agenda through
with a cold and bloody determination.
Vs. 1-2 This wasn't an idol threat. J Jezebel
vowed before whatever she believed in, to kill Elijah. Now before we judge
Elijah too harshly, we have to remember Elijah was not a super hero. We give
him that status. James says that Elijah was just like us. We have seen enough
men and women of God to know that they lived from one fear and one act of faith
to another. Also, Elijah is never condemned for running. I have to think that
God knew this would happen and that it was within His plan for Elijah and the
events that would now unfold.
V. 3 This seems like a huge contradiction.
Elijah had performed such a great miracle, and now this woman threatens him and
he takes off. Elijah must have expected that the people would return to God.
There were no riots in the streets and no shouts for reform. Carmel had been a
spectacular and cool event. Now Elijah understood that change wouldn't happen.
He had failed. Not only that, he was completely pumped out emotionally. They
say you are always at your most vulnerable spiritually and emotionally after
you have had a spiritual success where you have poured yourself out for the
Lord. Elijah was empty and disappointed.
Obviously, Elijah personalized this too much,
but so did Moses and Samuel when they were rejected. Moses wanted to die and
Samuel got all depressed. All of them had invested everything in seeing the
people come to God. It had been so important for them, that when the people
rejected God, they took it to heart. We are no better.
Vs. 4-8 What can you say? God was totally
understanding and gave him what he needed. As we'll see, the Lord is good about
waking and helping His needy followers.
Vs. 9-18 Notice that God was not in the
spectacular. He was in the quiet. One of the dangers of looking for the
spectacular is to miss God's working in the quiet things the Spirit is doing
all around us. I think that's why we are told to abide in Christ, living in the
present in the harvest, looking for what our Lord is showing us that He is
doing. And sometimes, the Lord's quiet working in the harvest is pretty
spectacular. Abiding in Christ makes us aware of our Lord's working in the
harvest around us.
Notice also, that God totally agreed with
Elijah as shown in the judgments He pronounced. What had happened at Mt. Carmel
was absolutely critical to the future of the northern kingdom. The people had
missed their window of opportunity. What was happening here was equally as
important. God gave Elijah three tasks that would spell judgment for Israel.
V. 16 Elisha would be "the closer."
V. 18 In Romans, Paul says that God kept
these people separate by His grace. Not "bowing or kissing" didn't
just mean they hadn't worshiped Baal, it meant that they had not participated
in the sexual worship of Baal. Notice that the fact that these people succeeded
in resisting this sensual idolatry was God's grace upon them.
Vs. 19-21 Elisha would also be a great
prophet, but his ministry would be in providing hope as the lights were being
turned off. Notice that Elisha was a godly man living in an ungodly country. He
also came from a rich background, though he was a very "hands on"
rich kid.
V. 20 This might seem confusing in the
wording of this verse in English. Basically Elijah says to him, "I'm not
stopping you. Just think about what I've just done to you." Elisha fully
understood. Sacrificing the animals, burning the yokes and holding this feast,
was Elisha's way of burning his bridges to his future inheritance in his family
and accepting the call of God.
It is interesting that from now on, Elisha
will appear to be a poor prophet of God. He chose to be poor to follow God.
Following God wouldn't look "successful." But Elisha followed and God
used him. For us as disciples, we are faced with the same situation. We are
called to follow, to be poor now, and to work in the harvest knowing that a
storm of judgment is coming that cannot be held back.
Acts
12:1-23
Vs. 1-5 This is the first governmental
persecution of the church. This Herod was the grandson of Herod the Great (who
hunted Jesus and killed the babies) and the nephew of the Herod who killed John
the Baptist and saw Jesus just before Jesus died. There were just way too many
Herods.
V. 3 This guy was liked by the Jews and went
out of his way to please the Jews. It appears that he instigated the
persecution of the church and might even have dared to see if he could kill a
follower of Jesus. Once it worked and he saw the Jews liked it, Herod must have
gotten all excited. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the Passover and the week
that followed. Although the Roman capital of Judah was on the coast in
Caesarea, the governor always came to Jerusalem during the feasts to help
control the mobs and to look like he was true blue.
Vs. 6-11 Isn't it interesting the Lord waited
until the very night before the execution to free Peter? This is the second
event in today's reading, where an angel wakes up a servant of God who needed
guidance and assistance. This was a very cool deliverance.
Vs. 12-17 This comical story introduces many
things. First, it mentions John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Mark, the failed
servant, will become the first writer of a Gospel. He will also become the
companion of Peter in Peter's future ministry. This story also shows that
James, Jesus' brother, was already in the leadership of the church in
Jerusalem. Paul mentions James in Galatians 1:17. Third, this was one of those
things that got Peter out of Jerusalem. We'll see Peter again in Jerusalem in
chapter 15. After that, Peter will leave the story of Acts and it appears that
he will leave Jerusalem and become a traveling maker of disciples.
Vs. 18-19 Caesarea was the Roman capital of
Israel, and that is where the Roman governors ruled. You've already heard of
that city several times regarding Phillip and Cornelius. It will also be an
important city at the end of Acts.
Vs. 20-23 The Lord had more than enough on
Herod, and He could have struck him down at any time. I find it very
interesting that after the Lord had allowed Herod to do this to the church,
fulfilling His purposes, He took Herod out. Apparently the illness came
immediately, but death came slowly.
As disciples, we need to realize that the Lord is still directing His
and our work in the harvest even when sudden events seem out of control. If God
could save Peter like this, He also could have saved James, John’s brother. If
it was easy for Him to remove Herod after James’ death, God certainly could have
removed him earlier. As disciples we rest in Him and His wisdom, knowing the Lord
is always aware, sovereign, wise and loving. We need to be engaged and
committed to abiding and following, ready to reach out to the lost and to make disciples,
who make disciples.
Psalm
136
This was the first psalm I ever read that
impressed me with the brilliance of seeing everything surrounded by God's steadfast love.
Now that we have a good bit of the OT behind
us, we know that some of the things mentioned were rough years and rough spots
for the people. But just like in our lives, regardless of the event and the way
we feel, what carries us through is to remember that His steadfast love endures forever. In fact, I'm convinced that the
Lord allows us, even guides us, into situations to prove to us that His steadfast love endures forever. And
then I know that the Lord allows us to wait, to see if we really believe that His steadfast love endures forever.
Vs. 1-3 This seems to be acknowledging God
being good and almighty, whose love
endures forever.
Vs. 4-9 It is a wonder that we know God as Creator of the universe. All He created was guided by His love. What is
particularly amazing is that He loves us.
Vs. 10-22 This isn't just Israel's history;
it is the history of God's redemptive plan of love for mankind. I've got to
admit that it's interesting how God mentions the victories over Sihon and Og so
often. As we've seen twice today, God knows how to rescue His servants. It may
not be His will to do so, but we should never doubt that He knows what's
happening, nor His power to rescue.
Vs. 23-26 And in all of His thoughts and
saving acts toward us and to everyone who receives Christ, His steadfast love endures forever.
Proverbs
17:14-15
V. 14 There are lots of creative ways to
understand the letting out water. The
point Solomon (a guy) is getting at is that once you start, it is very, very
hard to stop and most likely you will keep on letting out water (anger) until you are empty. So don't start. The
time to stop is before you start and make a big mess.
V. 15 I know we would never do this, but it
sort of reminds me of some of the dumb stuff that is said in a quarrel, just
because a person doesn't want to admit they are wrong.
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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