SEPTEMBER 15
Isaiah 19-21
Isaiah 19
This is the coming war against Egypt.
Everyone went to Egypt for help, but the truth is that Egypt never attained the
power they had before they mistreated Israel and God broke them through Moses.
They couldn't help.
Vs. 1-4 God is giving them over to a fierce
king. I don’t know what Assyria did to Egypt, but after Nebuchadnezzar was done
with them they were pretty much like what we see of Egypt today.
Vs. 5-10 Their confidence and economy was in
their water and fertility, and the gods thereof.
Vs. 11-15 Their pride in their wisdom and
leadership would also fail.
Vs. 16-25 Now tell me you’re not amazed at
this. I have a couple of thoughts. First, immediately after these
pronouncements of judgment, God shows how His grace will overflow for Egypt.
Second, who is this written for? Did Egypt actually read this? Do they know
about this today? Maybe, but primarily it was for Israel to know not to depend
on Egypt in this war with Assyria, and then to know that God would still show
faithfulness and blessing for the “cup of water” they gave to Israel long ago.
When Jesus says that a person who lends aid will by no means lose his reward,
He really means it.
Notice the repetition of in that day. These are very obvious predictions for the time of
Jesus’ 1000-year reign on earth. Often we get hung on the Israel-church
comparison regarding the end times, some people thinking that there will be no
1000-year reign because Israel failed and the church was given their blessings.
Not only is that a poor understanding of the church and Israel, but it also
fails to consider prophecies like these that are linked to Israel being blessed
for those 1000 years and having its neighbors receive God's blessing.
Notice too that Assyria will be blessed. I
have no clue why this is. The only thing that comes to mind is that the garden,
the first home of mankind, if you will, was where the Euphrates and Tigris were
close together. That would be the region of Assyria. That entire section of
country, from the headwaters of these rivers down to Babylon, has been
important in most of the Bible. At the birth of Jesus, this region is where the
wise men came from. Anyway, who knows, but God says Assyria (Iraq) will be
blessed by God. (Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and is in northern Iraq
near the city of Mosul. The ruins of Babylon are also in Iraq.)
Isaiah 20
Not too many people know about this chapter.
It is an object lesson to teach Israel not to depend on Egypt for saving help.
When Assyria took Ashdod, a city directly west of Jerusalem on the coast, the
people were probably thinking that Egypt would rise up and run up the coast and
help.
Isaiah was ordered by God to walk around
bottomless for three years, as a shocking sign to the people that as Isaiah was
walking naked, they would see Egyptian captives being led up the coastal
highway naked and humiliated by the Assyrians as a sign to others not to stand
against Assyria.
Years later the people following kings
Jehoiakim and Zedekiah would make the same mistake in depending on the
Egyptians against the Babylonians. Egypt was defeated again.
So much for the glamour of being an important
prophet in God's work. I'm sure this passage was well known to Paul as he
yielded his life to Christ to follow Him in the harvest. And God did
"humiliate" Paul often, but for His glory and to bear much fruit. As
disciples in the harvest we have to be willing to yield up our lives too. And
sometimes God uses us for His glory by allowing us to be humiliated.
Isaiah 21
V. 1 These visions have to do with the
nations east of Jerusalem.
Vs. 2-10 Now Assyria did capture Babylon, but
there is something strange in this vision. The Medes/Persians were the ones who
captured Babylon in Daniel 5. Verse 4 would seem like the drunken party that
was going on the night Babylon was taken. But the words fallen, fallen is Babylon, in v. 9 are repeated twice in Revelation
14:8 and 18:2. I think this vision sounds a little apocalyptic.
Vs. 11-12 Dumah is apparently Edom, the
descendants of Esau.
Vs. 13-17 This is a warning to the clans of
nomads living in Arabia. No one would be safe from Assyria except those who
were living in Zion. That's the point of all of this. The place to have found
shelter in this storm was in the presence of God. Ironically, Jerusalem didn't
seem like a good place to hide. If you didn't like Israel you wouldn't want to
go there. And if you were in a city under siege, you were trapped. The
Assyrians thought they were threatening a walled city, but they were
challenging the God, who at that time, was dwelling in Zion among the godly.
Ironically, during the final drama on earth,
the safest place to be will be following Jesus, even though the wrath of man
and hell will be directed at the followers of Christ. It is because Jesus is
Immanuel, God with us. That is a great message and comfort as we go forward in
the harvest.
Galatians 2:1-16
Vs. 1-2 This visit wasn’t the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, but the famine visit mentioned in Acts 11:27-30. Imagine -
fourteen years happened in there somewhere.
You will notice in Paul’s writing that there
is a tension regarding the authority in Jerusalem. I don’t think Paul had a
problem with Peter and the boys, as much as the false teaching that was coming
from the circumcision party of the church in Jerusalem. This faction claimed
that the “authorities,” the Twelve, encouraged circumcision and other
practices. It could be that Paul is also resisting an attempt by some
Christians to create a church hierarchy of authority with heroes, bosses,
costumes and action figures.
V. 2 Paul did submit his teaching for review
by the disciples/apostles.
V. 3 This was telling. Titus was an uncircumcised
full-blooded Greek, and no pressure was put on him to be circumcised. By the
way, the reason Paul circumcised Timothy, and not Titus, was that Paul did a
lot of evangelistic work in synagogues. Timothy had a Jewish mother and would
be allowed into a synagogue, but Titus was fully Greek and would never have
been allowed in a synagogue. Paul circumcised Timothy in order not to give
offense to unbelieving Jews in synagogues and therefore to have an open door
for the gospel. (1 Cor. 9:19ff)
Vs. 4-5 Here was the conflict. There were
false brothers and there were the true brothers, who included Paul, Barnabas,
Titus and the Twelve. The “we” means the other apostles were also against these
legalistic Christians.
Vs. 6-10 Paul and Barnabas got the seal of
approval, even though Paul didn’t feel like he needed it, having gotten
everything from Jesus. Humbling himself like this was a good way for Paul to
build unity and peace.
Even though Paul had been a Pharisee and
persecutor of the church, these apostles who were of the Twelve who had
followed Jesus accepted Paul. What leveled the playing field wasn't just
genuine faith. By this time Paul was a very scarred and battered follower of
Christ. By this time Paul already had received several of those 40 lashes minus
one and he had had some of those shipwrecks. Paul didn't look like a rich,
prissy Pharisee anymore. He looked like a veteran, battle-worn follower of
Christ.
Vs. 11-16 We definitely don’t have this in
Acts. It probably happened sometime just after Paul and Barnabas were in
Jerusalem, and therefore, before the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. I've read
that this might not have happened at once, but over the space of a few days.
These men from Jerusalem brought fear and pressure with them, and eventually
Peter and Barnabas were lured into separating themselves from the Gentile
believers.
Notice that above all of this action, God
supervised the situation into existence. He taught Peter and Barnabas; He
exposed the political pressures and the men who came from James, and God gave
us an amazing passage of Scripture that probably knocked Martin Luther right
out of his sandals. The record of this event, even of Paul’s courage, was a world
changer if you consider the reformation a world-changing event.
I feel bad for Peter in this, but Peter was
now an even humbler guy. I'll bet he smiled knowing that Jesus had put him in
this position. As disciples, we need to have a quick response to our failures.
We know that the Lord knew about them and allowed us to stumble and to learn
from them. That is how we realize how much we need Him. And the Lord keeps
working behind the scenes, doing all sorts of stuff we might not even know
about. We need to learn the lesson, learn humility, then just chuckle at the
fun Jesus just had with us and get back into the harvest.
Psalm 59
This could have been subtitled, “Howling like
dogs.” I like the German, "Howling like the hounds."
The event was when Saul sent to get David at
his house and kill him. The soldiers must have been prowling in the shadows.
What is interesting to me, knowing the story, is that David was very scared and
did some really desperate stuff, from lying to the priests and getting them killed,
to going to Gath for refuge where he did the crazy man act to get away. This is
written some time later and David can see, in retrospect, that God had saved
him, not he himself.
Vs. 1-2 David cried out for help against the
evil and violence of these enemies.
Vs. 3-5 David pleaded his innocence and asked
for God to rouse Himself and punish them.
Vs. 6-7 David must have seen them outside his
house, watching and waiting, night after night.
Vs. 8-10 These are great verses to hold on
to.
Vs. 11-13 David didn't want them killed, but
to be used as an example to the people that God judges. As these evil men
suffered in the sight of the people, the people would learn to trust and follow
the Lord.
Vs. 14-15 Here is that refrain again.
Vs. 16-17 Here you have the hallmarks of
David's faith. He is singing, taking refuge in the Lord and he is resting in
the steadfast love of the Lord. David
had been running blind. When David came to his senses, his heart settled on the
one thing that would guide him all of his life: The steadfast, unfailing love
of the Lord.
Proverbs 23:13-14
V. 14 reads slightly different in my German
Bible and has a kind of ironic contrast to it. It’s like, “you hit him with
that piece of wood, but you’ll save his soul from hell.” It's interesting that
the Father struck the Son "with" a piece of wood to save our souls
from hell.
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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