SEPTEMBER 11
Isaiah 8-9
Today we have another prophecy concerning
Jesus, delivered during desperate times. The situation in Judah would get even
worse, but these prophecies would remind the people following God that He was
still present with them. The same is true for us today. Regardless of who is in
government, we know that until the coming of Jesus, things will get worse on
earth. Yet, Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, guiding us in the harvest, giving
us joy and fruit as we live under the radar doing His work, reaching the lost and
making disciples, who make disciples.
Isaiah 8
Vs. 1-3 Although one child had already been
foretold as a sign that God would stop the attack coming from Israel and Syria,
now another child is foretold. The first child, Immanuel, would be born in this
distress, but would live and thrive, being a symbol of God’s presence and
peace. But when would there be a breaking of the enemy? That time would be
signified by this second child, a son of Isaiah and his wife, the prophetess.
So, if you follow the math it would be nine
months of pregnancy and then the birth. Then before the child can say “dada” or
“mama” (another year?), Assyria could take captive Israel and Syria. The people
of Judah would have to wait patiently for maybe 18 months.
By the way, Maher-shalal-hash-baz is the longest name in the Bible.
Surprisingly, it’s not in my spellchecker.
Vs. 5-10 Because the northern kingdom didn’t
listen to God, they will be smashed by the coming of Assyria and the
destruction will reach “Immanuel” (Jerusalem?), but Assyria will be shattered,
proving that God is with them. This will happen in the years of Hezekiah.
You notice that v. 10 also has the name
Immanuel (God is with us) in it. My
German Bible has both as Immanuel.
Vs. 11-22 This is a warning to Isaiah to stand
firm. Judah will prove to be utterly faithless and ungrateful to God. King
Ahaz, rather than honoring God for this deliverance, will honor and revere the
king of Assyria. In spite of the promises that God has made, the people, led by
the king, will see deliverance as coming from Assyria. Isaiah is not to lose
heart or stop following God during these years of sin and arrogance. This is
where you understand Jesus’ words from Matthew 13:5 as He quotes Isaiah 6:10.
Vs. 11-15 Isaiah was to fear the Lord and not
give into interpreting truth as the people did. Living during Ahaz's
ungodliness was going to be hard. Equally as hard would be watching people get
swept into Ahaz's beliefs and lifestyle. Those who resisted God would be broken
and taken.
Vs. 16-18 Isaiah and his children would be
testimonies against the people. Remember too that his children had special
names that would be signs to those who believed. Isaiah and his family would
hunker down and wait on the Lord.
Vs. 19-22 The people would actually ask
Isaiah to inquire of the dead on
their behalf. God's argument here is, "Why call on the dead when you have
a living God?" Since there was no good answer, all that was left for them
was judgment.
Isaiah 9
Vs. 1-7 You will recognize these prophecies
as having to do with Jesus. This is holy ground. The connection here is that
destruction and threat always came upon Israel from the north. The two tribes
mentioned here were northern, so they are the peoples who would feel the fear
the greatest because they would be hit first.
Everlasting
Father could be referring to
the king being called a father to the people. This wasn't a heavenly
designation, but how those whom he ruled over would regard Jesus.
Just as God gave Isaiah two prophecies
dealing with children who would symbolize God’s presence and His deliverance,
now God is giving Isaiah a view of a coming child who would be the ultimate
Savior of Israel. The darkness of the Tribulation would be the ultimate threat
against Israel; but then, their ultimate Savior would come. In much of Isaiah,
Isaiah did not see the gap between the first and second comings of Jesus, and
so he went from the birth and coming of the Messiah to His physical reign on
earth. This was obviously confusing during Jesus’ time; but then, all they
really needed to do was ask Jesus.
Vs. 8-21 The cause of this distress from the
north, at that moment, was the northern tribes of Israel being joined to the
kingdom and armies of Syria. There are three divisions in this section, all
ending with the phrase, For all this his
anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
Vs. 8-12 God had been sending word to the
northern kingdom for years, most notably through Elijah and Elisha. The people
didn't listen. Instead they thought, "Whatever." In v. 10 they just
put a good face on things and said they would rebuild. But God promised His
unfailing wrath in v. 12.
Vs. 13-17 The people didn't repent or turn to
God either. As a result, God wouldn't bless them or allow them to prosper. He
allowed them to weaken, to become corrupt and His hand was stretched out still
against them.
Vs. 18-21 Over the years the land was
consumed little by little, and the people were miserable. But they didn't learn
or turn to God, and God kept His hand stretched out against Israel.
This reminds
me of the verse in Romans 5:11, More than
that, we also rejoice in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have now received reconciliation. Without being reconciled to God, there
is no peace and there is no reason to rejoice in God. Jesus makes the
difference, but people need to turn to Jesus. That is our message in the
harvest.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
You’ll have a great time discussing this in a
group. Having read Job and so much of the OT, this is an amazing passage on
being a disciple and having the Lord own your life. I guess I’d be tempted to
say what a great man Paul was, but the point here is what a great God we serve.
Jesus talked about pruning the vines for fruitfulness. As if all the disasters
Paul mentioned weren’t enough, God allowed Satan to humble Paul.
One note here is that if you go back 14 years
before this letter, you go back before Barnabas brought Paul into the work in
Antioch in Acts 11. It is also possible that many of Paul’s sufferings, beatings,
and shipwrecks date back to that time before Acts 11. Paul was loved by the
Lord and was a very devoted disciple; but God used Paul, and some of that use
entailed abuse. We hear of this great vision, similar in some respects to
Daniel, but what came before and after was lots of work and lots of suffering
and lots of blessing. I think Paul’s model for a disciple was Jesus, as
described in Isaiah 53.
Vs. 1-4 Unlike Paul’s opponents, Paul
couldn't even show what he knew from the vision because he was forbidden by God
to express what he had heard. So why talk about the vision in the first place?
Here we go.
Vs. 5-7 As a result of this vision and the
confidence it gave Paul, God allowed Satan to attack Paul and give him a
permanent disability. This is very similar to Job. So the evidence that Paul
had been honored by God was a disability brought on by a successful spiritual
attack. What a thing to share. I'm sure the super-apostles didn't think this
was something to share with others.
Vs. 8-10 Not only that, God didn't answer
Paul's prayer. So how great an apostle was Paul if God didn't answer his
prayer? How great a man was Job? They might be in the same category. Imagine
finding your strength in weakness,
because your weakness drives you to Christ and to His power. And then imagine
being OK with that; I mean, really at peace with the disability from Satan and
the weakness because you realize these are why you know the power of Christ. I'm sure this caught the false apostles off
guard. After the reading of this section of the letter, I'll bet the false
apostles woke up the next morning limping, saying, "Look what God allowed
to happen to me because I'm so great."
I remember being a very little kid and my
mother asking me what position I wanted to play if I was a baseball player. I
said I wanted to be the batter. I understood much later that you had to work in
the field before you earned the right to come up to the plate. I need to work a
lot more in the harvest following Christ. It is the only place to learn the closeness
of the Savior.
Psalm 55
The sense of betrayal in this psalm is very
strong. It is hard to say when David experienced this. It might have been in
his early years running from Saul. It would have been convenient for some of
his friends to have turned their backs on David, not only to gain the position
that David left vacant in the army, but also in feeding Saul information to
gain status and show their allegiance to Saul. On the other hand, it could also
be that this is referring to the time when David ran from Absalom. The mention
of going to the house of God in v. 14 might suggest that the ark of the
covenant was already in Jerusalem. Who knows, but we know that David faced
betrayal and knew where he could pour out his heart.
Vs. 1-3 In David's cry for mercy, not only
was he emotionally restless, but his enemies were angry with him and bearing
old offenses. This would fit the situation with Absalom.
Vs. 4-8 If it was Absalom who was seeking
David, David's old sins would be nagging at him too. The desire to escape and
just flee would be natural. Even with David's past sins, he understood he could
go to the Lord and would be accepted and receive refuge.
Vs. 9-11 This prayer could have applied to
David's earlier flight as well as to his later flight. As a result of both
events, Israel was weakened. Since the city is mentioned, it must be Jerusalem
and this could point to Absalom's takeover.
Vs. 12-15 The friend here could either be
Absalom in a figurative, but deeply emotional sense, or Ahithophel, David's
close advisor. Both of these men had deep grudges against David, and
unfortunately, rightly so. Yet, harboring hate and not extending forgiveness is
an affront to God Himself. Regardless of the reasons for our pain, we are told
to forgive.
V. 13 This looks like something Jesus could
have experienced.
Vs. 16-19 David was a veteran of calling out
to God and receiving God's deliverance. He was broken and knew how to present
his heart and wait on God's answer.
Vs. 20-21 Again, this could have been either
Absalom or Ahithophel. Probably as David thought of those last conversations
before all of the betrayal came to light, he thought of how he had not
suspected their brewing hatred for him.
V. 22 This looks like the lines for a very
sweet song, yet behind this thought there is emotional and relational
bitterness woven into the verse. Few things we endure are harder than
relational betrayals. Even in Job, the most dangerous threat came through the
accusations and pressure from his friends.
V. 23 This is the final appeal to God. David
knew there would be judgment, but David would concentrate on trusting in the
Lord.
Proverbs 23:4-5
Amen. The image of the eagle here adds a
sense of certainty to what the writer is saying. The eagle was very strong and
fast, and in this context, almost unstoppable. Earthly wealth is fleeting and
doesn't deliver on what it promises. Trusting in the Lord and seeking Him is
what brings real wealth in heaven, and we have confidence and strength on earth
as we follow in the 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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