SEPTEMBER 14
Today you begin Galatians. Encourage yourself
with some kind of treat. 2 Corinthians was the last long New Testament letter
for a while. For a while now we'll read through some smaller but important
letters. On the other hand, the next few Old Testament books will be long and
weighty. This again is the joy of reading The One Year Bible. The Spirit
can use the different parts of the Word to keep us fresh. And since we're doing
this together we can share what the Spirit brings to heart. And don't forget,
chocolate helps too.
Isaiah 15-18
From this
point on it will be common to have judgments and prophecies aimed at the
nations surrounding Judah. They hated Israel. They not only attacked their
towns, but often joined with others against Israel. They rejoiced when
Jerusalem was destroyed. The situation today of Israel being hated by its
neighbors is nothing new. It was just as true back then. You could say they
started it by taking over Canaan, but actually that was God’s idea. He’s the
one who decreed the change in ownership because of the evil of those who lived
there. In the final event, the real animosity is caused on a spiritual level,
because Israel was and is God’s instrument of bringing His redemptive purpose
in life, to completion. The hatred of man for God needs a symbol and object, so
we have Israel. I was reading this morning what Jesus said to the Samaritan
woman in John 4:22, You worship what you
do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. Like
it or fight against it, but it is true all the same and the Son of God said so.
Isaiah 15
Vs. 1-9 This describes what will happen when
Assyria wipes out Moab. After these wars and empires, you never hear of many of
these people groups again.
V. 5 I’m not sure why God/Isaiah was saddened
by this, other than that Moab was descended from Lot. It could be that this
attack by Assyria, and being taken away in exile, would lead to the extinction
of Moab.
Isaiah 16
Vs. 1-5 This is an offer for Moab to join
Israel and take refuge in Zion. Jerusalem would be the only place that wouldn’t
be destroyed, but who would believe that? Because of the wording of the offer
they were being given a chance to know the steadfast
love of the Lord.
Vs. 6-14 So, as you read, can you see what it
is that kept Moab from accepting this amazing offer? Those three years would
have probably been just before the Lord destroyed the army of the Assyrians.
There is no Moab after the Assyrians and Babylonians cleaned house. If Moab was
saved at all, they were saved in one woman, Ruth, who gave herself to worship
Yahweh and became a great ancestor of Jesus.
Isaiah 17
Vs. 1-3 This is destruction for Syria (and
the northern kingdom). The glory of the children of Israel might be negative
here since the northern kingdom had lost all of its glory. Notice that it
doesn’t say Damascus will be a heap of ruins forever. It will only be during this time of Assyrian
domination. Some ancient cities have layers of ruins, having been destroyed and
rebuilt several times. It was also common to rebuild a city on a different,
nearby location. Modern Ephesus is two miles from the New Testament location,
and in Jesus' time there was an old and new Jericho about two miles apart. I
think today if they had to rebuild New Orleans, they'd choose higher ground.
Vs. 4-14 Notice the repetition of in that day. At one time, Damascus was
ruled by Israel, and Israel and Syria had a very good relationship during the
time of David and Solomon. You could imagine that there was the knowledge of
Yahweh in Damascus, but just as in the northern kingdom, that knowledge was
lost.
Isaiah 18
Vs. 1-6 The Ethiopians were called on as
mercenaries to help when needed. King Asa faced an army like this. Here, they
are being told to stay out of these battles or they would become food for the
local wildlife.
V. 7 It is interesting that God has a soft
spot for the Ethiopians and for the Egyptians. It is not an accident that the
first Gentile we know of who was saved in Acts was an official from Ethiopia.
It is interesting as we read this to see that
the knowledge of God extended to many nations. God has some nations that He
will welcome because of their relationship to Israel. God's plan of redemption
is very intricate and has some interesting surprises. He is working in places
and in ways that would surprise us. Even in countries that are hostile to the
gospel, people still recognize that followers of Christ can be trusted where
their fellow religious brothers are prone to graft and dishonesty.
Galatians 1
Galatians has been called the cornerstone of
the Reformation, because it was the short and clear declaration that salvation
was by grace through faith alone. Luther called Galatians his wife. (Bible
Knowledge Commentary-NT, p. 587)
Galatians is Paul’s first letter to a church,
and it is one of the most shocking. They were quickly being persuaded to
associate grace in Christ with acceptance through works. In Galatians we get
some biographical information on Paul that is not in Acts. We get some inside
information on meetings we don’t see in Acts. And all of this comes as a result
of Christians from the circumcision party in Jerusalem, who took it upon
themselves to corrupt what Paul was teaching. Opposition to Paul, within the
believing church in Jerusalem, apparently began very early. Church conflict,
don’t you love it? But God uses it. Again, as a result of conflict, we are
given the letter that broke the church out of the dark ages. And again, we find
Paul having to defend himself.
For the disciple in the harvest and those
groups of disciples working together (churches) in the harvest, Galatians
simplifies our mission from age to age and from culture to culture. We are to
present salvation as by grace through faith in Christ alone. Forms and
traditions serve the church in a particular culture or generation; but often
our traditions morph into laws that make us right before God, if we do them,
and wrong before Him if we don’t do things a certain way. This morning I read
about Jesus rebuking the Pharisees, “You
leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” The commandment of God for us is very simple. It involves being a disciple
in the harvest, reaching the lost, making disciples with a very simple,
trans-cultural message, always remembering 1 Corinthians 9:19ff. A disciple
should be able to move from one culture to the next, one language to the next,
with “no bag for his journey.” The disciple doesn't need "baggage."
He carries with him a very simple message he can preach from whatever Bible is
available, that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The
harvest isn’t that hard, but there are always groups that make it difficult.
Galatians 1
Vs. 1-3 Notice how Paul immediately begins
defending his apostleship against the Jewish Christians who were turning the
church in Galatia against Paul and what he taught.
Vs. 4-5 There are no wasted words here. Jesus
gave Himself. That’s enough, right? The present evil age brings to mind
immediately the spiritual resistance to the truth of the gospel, in this case,
the forces behind these “well meaning” Jewish Christians.
Vs. 6-9 There is no friendly transition here.
Paul addressed the problem immediately. While this is unique for Paul, it isn't
the only example. Look at 1 Timothy 1:3. It is equally as shocking. Something
had ripped the church in Ephesus apart, and Timothy was on his way there to do
emergency surgery. Here, the church was also in deep trouble.
This seems to connect to Paul’s words against
the Jewish super-apostles in Corinth, where he says that Satan presents himself
as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14) Interestingly, it would be years later
that Paul would write 2 Corinthians. Paul was in this conflict his entire
ministry. That was the price of following Christ in the harvest during that
time.
Notice that
Paul is repeating what he had already told the Galatians while he was there the
first time. No one should be allowed to change the message of the gospel. Remember
2 Corinthians 11:4. For if someone comes
and proclaims another Jesus than
the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you
received, or if you accept a different gospel
from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
So, what is the gospel? I think even among
believers it is kind of fuzzy. But the issues will get clarified in this
letter.
V. 10 The charge against Paul by the
legalistic Christians was that the message of salvation by grace through faith
in Christ alone was “easy believe-ism.” It was watered down to win approval. If
you put the bar on the ground, everyone can walk over it and get into the
church. The Jewish Christians wanted to “raise the bar” and make believers,
Jews and Gentiles, have to do something that showed they really believed and
were really following Christ.
Paul is saying that what he just said in 6-9
were not the words of a man who was interested in winning the approval of
anyone other than God. No wonder Paul got all those beatings. But in a manner
of speaking, if you look at how Jesus talked to the Pharisees, you could say
that His mouth got Him killed. The reality is that some truth is worth going to
the wall for. Or as Luther said as a result of the message of Galatians,
"Here I stand. I can do no other."
Vs. 11-12 This is something we don’t “see” in
Acts. Paul was spoken to by the Lord and given his instruction and theological
re-training. Opponents were saying Paul got his information from a bad source.
Who knows where they said he got it from, maybe the apostles Thomas or Simon
the Zealot. Notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3, he received
this information. Later Paul says that everyone was preaching the same thing.
Here we see where Paul received his information: from Jesus Himself. Also look
at 1 Corinthians 11:23. Even the Lord’s Supper was given to him personally from
Jesus and from no other apostle.
Vs. 13-17 Do you see where Paul is defending
his apostleship? He is showing he is as good, on a human level, as his
opponents. If you want to read some hard words from Paul on this subject, read
Philippians 3:1-6. But also, notice after those verses in Philippians, we have
some of the greatest verses in the Bible.
Paul totally embraced the fact that God chose
and called him to this ministry, along with the good, bad and ugly of his past.
It was all incorporated into God’s planning and timing.
Vs. 18-19 We have talked about this in Acts.
Apparently Luke didn’t mention that Paul left Damascus for three years,
returned to Damascus, fled the city for Jerusalem and then met Peter. Acts 9:25
mentions that Paul had disciples who helped him escape, suggesting that some amount
of time had passed since his conversion.
Vs. 20-24 Notice that Paul is concerned here
also about his connection with Jerusalem and Judea. Paul is trying to show that
his message wasn’t given to him by some group, but rather by Jesus Himself. It
was probably the case that his opponents were linking Paul’s teaching to some
person or group. It’s kind of funny because critics always look for the
influences on a person’s views and beliefs. In the early 1900s there was a
critical look at Paul as being a very conservatively influenced, pharisaical
Jewish convert. Paul was way too “legalistic” for the liberals. J. Greshem
Machen wrote a book to refute all of this liberal criticism called, The
Origin of Paul’s Religion. Oddly, Machen came to the same conclusion that
Paul is making here. It all came from Jesus Himself, and everything Paul
teaches is found in Jesus’ teaching.
Notice in v. 24 that all the apostles
glorified God because of Paul. They saw in him the grace of God and the truth
of God. Paul didn't make himself. God made him. Paul may have been given great
revelation, but he paid a price that no one would envy. He was given a physical
disability from Satan, and Paul suffered like no other apostle we know of. And
was Paul honored? Only among his closest circle of friends.
One discouraging thing in following Christ is
dealing with the resistance and differences of working with other believers and
churches. This is sort of a rite of passage for many people that proves their
commitment to following Christ. There is no other way besides the church and
working with others. God doesn’t commission us to the harvest to become loners.
The core of disciple-making is equipping others and working together to reach
others for Christ. It is a process that brings maturity, keeping our focus on
the harvest and learning how to find like-minded people with whom we can work.
It is definitely not for the weak of heart. What we see in all of Paul’s
struggling is a solid commitment to make the church effective and useful for
the Master, as we glorify the Father by bearing much fruit, so proving that we
are disciples of our Lord.
Psalm 58
Vs. 1-5 This is an ode to the wicked. David
is thinking of those who are after him unjustly. In v. 1, gods could be translated mighty ones, or rulers who thought of
themselves as untouchable.
Vs. 6-9 This is the psalmist’s inspired wish
to see the wicked judged.
Vs. 10-11 I don’t identify with v. 10, but I
love v. 11. If you think of the wreckage that Saul and his followers were
responsible for, the killing of a town of priests and their families, v. 10 is
a call for them to be judged according to their own violence.
Proverbs 23:12
It’s easy to
say “amen” to this and go on, but I really think it is a command to us to sweat
and strain to gain wisdom and knowledge. We give it mental assent, but really
don’t get it. On the “disciples following Jesus” front we do this all the time,
and therein is our problem. Thinking is not doing. The harvest doesn’t get in
the barn by force of thought. You have to go into the harvest and get it. Here
is something that Paul told Timothy in the context of following Christ. Practice
these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
(1 Tim. 4:15) In other words
Paul is saying, “don’t just say, ‘yeah, I know, OK.’ You need to sweat and
strain.” (in the joy and peace and grace and strength of the Lord, of course :-) )
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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