2
Chronicles 11-13
Ezra is writing this not just to record history, but to
encourage, humble, strengthen and warn the new generation of Israelites
returning to the land. There are important lessons here for these people. And
of course, these things are also written
down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let
anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. So we'll look for
those lessons.
2 Chronicles 11
What lessons do you think Ezra wanted to get across in this
chapter? And what do you think the Lord is saying to us/you in terms of
discipleship?
Vs. 1-4 Rehoboam listened this time.
Vs. 5-12 In a way, all of this fortress building was
unnecessary. He could have asked the Lord if this was necessary and the Lord
would have told him. What was beginning to happen was people were reverting
back to the old motto, Everyone did what
was right in his own eyes.
Vs. 13-17 The natural reaction of the godly was to migrate
toward Jerusalem and Judah. Jeroboam was so ungodly that this became the first
test of those people who truly loved the Lord. At first I’m sure they kept
going to Jerusalem to the feasts, but as time went on and the idolatry spread,
people probably gave up their land inheritances and went to live in Judah. By
and large, the people who migrated south were the people who could trace their
tribal lineages under Ezra.
V. 17 seems to have an eeriness about it. What happened
after three years?
Vs. 18-23 As a result of the people coming to Judah,
Rehoboam was strengthened and blessed and actually became a decent king, for
three years.
V. 21 I read this and think, "He wasn't like his dad.
He showed some restraint."
2 Chronicles 12
This is a chapter of contrast. What would Ezra's point be
here?
Vs. 1-4 Note these words. We'll find Ezra making similar
comments on almost all of the kings. Notice that when Rehoboam was strong and
established, he abandoned the Lord. Note how many Egyptians came against Judah
and Jerusalem. Back in 2 Chronicles 11:1, it says that Rehoboam had gathered
180,000 men just from Benjamin. But now, because of Rehoboam’s ungodliness, the
blessing of God was gone and they were weak.
Vs. 5-8 They humbled
themselves, but still, God punished them severely. I’m sure Ezra wanted to
make the people see the connection between obedience and blessing, and
disobedience and punishment. At the time Ezra was writing this, that was
exactly what was happening to the first wave of those who returned from Babylon
to Jerusalem. They had begun to rebuild the temple, but gave up because of
persecution. Then they took care of their own lives and forgot the Lord, and it
still wasn’t the life they wanted. Read the first chapter of Haggai. God sent
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to motivate the people to obey. Meanwhile
Ezra was writing this history. When Ezra finally arrived in Jerusalem, the
temple was completed, but the lives of some of the people were in shambles.
This now is a history lesson on why a nation gets a case of the “shambles.”
Vs. 9-12 All that Solomon had gathered was taken. This is
what happens if a people abandon the Lord, but in love, God didn’t abandon the
people.
Vs. 13-16 Rehoboam reigned a good long time and didn’t love
the Lord at all. Times were good, so why bother?
V. 14 What is it that God seeks? This would be one of those
lessons for Ezra's generation, and for each of us.
2 Chronicles 13
Now if you want to get a taste for how Ezra is trying to
make a point about the importance of following the Lord and of God's promise to
David, you need to read 1 Kings 15:1-7. Those seven vague verses is all the
space Abijah gets there. It is enough to say that he really wasn't a godly
king, but putting that account together with this one, we can see that Ezra is
showing God’s faithfulness to the line of David, while showing that God
punishes disobedience.
Vs. 1-20 Abijah began godly, and his short reign was a
terrible judgment of God on Jeroboam. Look at v. 17. Can you imagine a battle
in which Israel, the northern kingdom, would lose 500,000 men, in one battle? A
half a million men. The lesson was that not following the Lord bites, and God
will honor His promise to David.
A
covenant of salt
apparently meant that the covenant was enduring.
Read these verses (4-12) and look at the words the Lord puts
in Abijah's mouth.
Vs. 21-22 So, when did Abijah go bad? I read an article once
that said we are at our weakest after a victory. That happened to David; and
once Solomon had no more "mission," the life of the wisest man on
earth went to heck.
God has given us a mission to keep us strong, but our
strength is seen in humbly following Christ as people who have been brought
from death to life because of the sacrifice of our Savior. As we've seen in
Romans, if not for the grace of God and the help of the Spirit, sin would
ravage us too.
Romans
8:22-39
Vs. 23-25 All of creation is suffering, waiting for the
close of the age, which has to do with our redemption. Do we really groan inwardly?
We only do that if we understand the weight we are still under because of sin,
and the deliverance that is coming our way, thanks to Christ and the love of
God. We are closest to living in this realization when we are working in the
harvest, seeking to reach the lost, who are under the wrath of God because of
sin. It is in the harvest that we are seeking to make disciples who will go
beyond us, making disciples, who make disciples.
V. 24 How does the hope
of the resurrection save us? Again, living in a good-time society where
everything is pretty easy doesn’t help us here. The resurrection is our hope. Look back to those early verses of
chapter 6. If we don't sense the weight of sin still in us, and if we don't
bear this weight as we follow Christ in the harvest, then we will never
emotionally experience the hope and joy of sharing His resurrection. The
resurrection will only be this nice thing we're told of that seems somehow
unnecessary. Just beam me up, Scotty! The proper perspective is expressed by
Paul in Philippians 3:7-15.
Vs. 26-27 Likewise
seems to mean, "just as He helped us there, the Spirit also helps us
here." So, in what other way has the Spirit been helping us? Go back to
the beginning of this chapter. There is at least one thing mentioned that the
Spirit does for us and there is at least one other that is implied. You might
find a bunch.
The implication here is that the Spirit is interceding for
us on a spiritual level. He isn't just adding something to our words that we're
leaving out. He's completely communicating to the Father on His own level,
possibly in opposition to our lives or our prayers. He really knows what we
need.
V. 28
So, why is this verse here, in this spot? You see that the Holy Spirit is
praying for us and then you've got this verse. The way this verse gets used on
the street is that God will eventually work everything together, including a
bowling ball on the head from a twenty-story building, to make you happy. Try
to put this verse together with v. 36. That doesn't sound happy. The RSV states
v. 28 like this, We know that in
everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according
to his purpose. I like the tone of this reading better and it fits better
to v. 36. It would seem that in God's love and eternal purpose, He uses us for
the purpose of His plan. It might hurt, but we trust His wisdom and love
knowing that He is using us for good. And, at the same time He is working in
us. We don't have to know how or why He uses us, or to what purpose in His
plan. We only need to know Him and His love and trust Him. The fact that we
even know Him and are saved is part of that purpose and working we don't
understand. The final verses of Romans say, to
the only wise God be glory for evermore through Christ Jesus. We trust
ourselves to a wise, loving, sovereign God.
Vs.
29-30 I think the order is important here. I don't think foreknowledge means
merit or works or takes away from the teaching of the depravity of man.
Vs.
31-39 This is Paul finishing this section of Romans with a flourish. These are
some of the greatest verses in the NT and worth memorizing.
V. 32
If you only memorize one verse, do this one.
V. 33
Our justification is not based on our "doing," but on Christ's doing.
So who can bring a charge against us or condemn us even when we sin, saying we
are not worthy of salvation, since we didn't justify ourselves? Satan has been
disarmed in terms of accusing us before God. God already justified us by the
sacrifice of Christ and through our faith in Him. If Satan or anyone else has a
problem, they need to take it up with God.
For us as disciples, these verses give us the assurance that
we can give all we are for Christ. We are saved and safe and loved, but we are
saved and safe and loved to work as hard as Paul did in the harvest, inspired
by the great love and gospel of Christ. And even if God calls us to His
presence by the violence of some act of a madman, we know it was allowed by God
for the good working of His plan in the harvest. And for us, it would introduce
us to the presence of Christ. That’s not bad.
Psalm
18:37-50
This is David's conclusion of his "master" psalm,
written after 17 years of running, hiding, fighting and hearing every possible
threat and lie against him. God worked His purpose and worked all things for
good for David and for His covenant people.
Vs. 37-42 In this very brutal, poetic section, David isn’t
boasting, but rather stating that he was able to do all of this because of
God’s help in answer to his prayers.
Vs. 43-45 This is how God elevated David after all those
long years of David crying out and enduring hardship. Compare this to what
Isaiah 55 says about what God did for David.
Vs. 46-48 And this is David giving God all the praise and
the glory for everything.
V. 49
When Paul speaks of the Gentiles being saved and giving glory to God for their
salvation, Paul quotes this verse in Romans 15:9, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it
is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your
name." Note that the word for “Gentiles” and “nations” is the same
word in Greek.
V. 50 Notice that David mentions God's steadfast love. This is something David would have arranged to have
sung in all of Israel's worship because it was really what David had learned
from all he went through. I don't know what this song would have sounded like,
but it would have probably been pretty uplifting.
Proverbs
19:27-29
Amen, amen and amen!
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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