SEPTEMBER 18
Isaiah 28:14-30:11
One of the
things that hit me this year reading Isaiah is how the first 39 chapters all
revolve around the coming of the Assyrians to the gate of Jerusalem. We'll
finally get to that event in chapters 36-39. These first 35 chapters are
looking at where the people were going for hope and where they should have been
going for hope. Now they had Hezekiah and Jerusalem. In the future they would
have the Messiah and a new Jerusalem. When the Messiah would come that second
time, once again, the city would be surrounded; but that generation of Jews
would have their hearts turned to Him. Their hope would be rewarded, and the
hopeless situation would give way to peace and fulfillment of the plan of
redemption for all men. This is why we have the constant back and forth between
their present situation and the future situation.
This is just to
say that as you read your Bible year after year, unexpectedly, the Spirit will
suddenly make sense of something you've read 100 times before.
Isaiah 28:14-29
Vs. 14-22 Now
the "woe" from yesterday is directed to the leaders of Jerusalem who
scoffed at Isaiah. Notice that vs. 14 and 22 both have "scoffing" in
them, showing this is a unit of thought.
V. 15 In their
arrogance, some leaders quipped that Jerusalem was impervious to attack because
they had made an agreement with death. This was somewhat pagan and totally
dumb.
V. 16 In
contrast, God pronounces His power and His future blessing on Zion. They should
have been hoping in Him. It is that hope and promised Savior that is the
measure of men and a stone of testing. Isn't it interesting to see how the
present problems were tied to future promises? Hope is future and is in God.
Paul quotes this verse twice in Romans, at the end of chapter 9 and in Romans
10:11, one referring to the future blessing of Israel in Christ and the other
talking about faith in Christ. So guess who that cornerstone is. Isn't it
interesting to read the actual context in which some of these things said about
Jesus were first mentioned?
Notice here it
says, Whoever believes will not be in haste. In Romans it says not
be ashamed. I think the idea here in
Isaiah is to act shamefully, in haste, seeking help everywhere, but in the
Lord.
V. 17 This is
clearly talking about the future under the Messiah.
Vs. 18-22 This
shows God's judgment on these leaders. There will be no rest, relief or
comfort.
Vs. 23-29 After
judgment will come restoration and blessing. Notice in v. 23 how insistent God
is that they hear. It made me think of the charge against the people in Isaiah
6:9-10, that their ears were heavy and they chose not to understand. And then
Isaiah 53 begins, Who has believed what
he has heard from us? Just as things are sown, reaped and prepared
differently, God will work judgment and restoration according to His plans and
procedures.
V. 28 means
there will be a remnant that will be preserved.
V. 29 sounds
like Paul speaking about the same subject in Romans 11:33, O the
depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his
judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Isaiah 29
Vs. 1-8 The Ah is really "Woe." Ariel is another word for Jerusalem or
Zion (v. 8). The gist here is that in the near future for the readers, and in
the distant future for a special generation of Jews, Jerusalem will be
hopelessly confronted by foes. Then, like a bad dream, they will be gone. This
happened when the Assyrians came against Jerusalem. The next morning they were
gone. At the end of the Tribulation, the nations will invade Israel; and
Jerusalem will be ready to be destroyed, when suddenly, "Hey did you see
that strange lightning, and that cloud, and what's that coming down from the
cloud?" And it will all be over, that quickly.
Vs. 9-16 This
passage is full of references used in the NT regarding Israel's blindness and
the illustration with the potter. They have blinded themselves through
disobedience and rebellion; and so, as a result, God has laid upon them a
spirit of stupor, reminiscent of Romans 1:24. This is all in Romans 9-11.
V. 14 This
reminds me of the warning for intentional ignorance and disobedience mentioned
by Jesus in Luke 8:18, Take care
then how you hear, for to the one who has,
more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.
V. 16 This
sounds like Paul in Romans 11:8-10, but Paul put a different twist on it.
Notice the
progression from v. 11 to v. 16. They say they are blind, and then the reason
is given. First it is seen in their heart toward God and then in their actions.
In v. 15 the desire they were hiding was to seek help from Egypt rather than
from the Lord.
Vs. 17-24 Here
comes hope and restoration again. Notice in
that day in v. 18 and opened eyes. Notice too that it is the promise to
Abraham that is in focus, not the law.
Isaiah 30
Vs. 1-5 Ah is really, "Woe." This is
their lack of trust in the Lord and going to Egypt for help. Remember Isaiah 20
and what his nakedness symbolized?
Vs. 6-7 In
order to get from Jerusalem to Egypt you had to go through the southern desert,
the Negeb. This is basically saying it is useless to get help from Egypt. Rahab
is a "monster" that rivaled the Leviathan. In Job, this would have
been the Behemoth. Now, a thousand years later, this "monster" is not
that variety of super hippo, but from the description of its inactivity, a
run-of-the-mill-float-in-the-water-and-do-nothing hippo.
Vs. 8-11 Again,
this is Jerusalem, seeking their own will rather than the Lord's. In vs. 10 and
11, notice the words of Jerusalem. I don't know if these were actual words
and/or an attitude of heart, but the Lord heard this and He definitely wasn't
happy. Sometimes God gives you what you want. During this time that the church
is working in the harvest, Israel is under the blindness they have called upon
themselves.
Galatians 3:23-4:31
The Galatians
were not Jews; they were Gentiles. When these Jewish Christians came to them,
they had no way to refute what must have sounded like a very smooth connection
between rites from the Law of Moses and following Christ. In this section, Paul
(and the Spirit) calls on all of his creativity to show the Galatians that the
law and faith do not mix in Christ.
Galatians
3:23-29
Vs. 23-25 The law was a strict guardian. Even though people couldn't be saved by it (although many
found salvation through faith in it if they focused on the promise to Abraham),
it protected those who followed it from the paganism of the surrounding world.
When we read of the very sexually oriented worship of Baal and Asherah in the
OT and the worship of Molech, it shows what God was trying to protect the
people from. It will get worse when we get into Ezekiel and see what the
leaders were worshiping. This protection was a part of the purpose of the law and
that didn't even work in the OT. This guardian was there until the coming of
salvation through faith in Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 26-29 This
would have been a major problem for these legalistic Jewish Christians. The
baptism in the Holy Spirit creates an equality before God that destroys earthly
designations. We still have these differences on earth, but not before God as
He sees us in Christ. The message then is that in Christ you don't have to be a
Jew or act like one.
Galatians 4:1-31
Vs. 1-11 This
illustration is a little different than the one above. As before, until the
heir "comes of age," the heir must be ruled by a guardian (the law).
The elementary principles, we'll see, have to do with following religious
superstition or practice to appease the supreme being or beings. Somewhere in
this illustration, I think, is also an illustration of why Satan has power over
mankind. Since mankind sinned, I think his service to mankind became this kind
of guardianship. When Jesus died and was raised, God proved that forgiveness
and salvation were available, proving Satan wrong. Jesus said that when the
Holy Spirit came, one of the things He would convict the world of was that the ruler of this world is judged (John
16:11). The children have come of age through Christ.
Vs. 4-7 These
verses have freed a lot of people. Paul says in Romans 2 and 3, that all of
humanity is under the law, even the law written on their hearts. That the
Gentiles could be equal sons of God was hard for these Jewish Christian
teachers to swallow.
Vs. 8-11 Now,
Paul comes out of the illustration into the present situation. The elementary principles mentioned in vs.
8- 9 are explained in v. 10. The gods could not be known so you tried to make
them happy by doing stuff, hoping you were doing the right amount of the right
routines. Knowing God is much different. Notice that the Galatians were
beginning to follow Jewish holy days hoping to make points with God.
Vs. 12-20 This
is a very personal section.
V. 12 Paul had
been freed from the law as a Jew, so he could reach the Gentiles. Paul became
like them. Now Paul is asking the Galatians to become like him, free from the
law and alive to Christ.
V. 15 Some
think that the thorn in the flesh was some degree of blindness.
Vs. 17-20
Notice that the false teachers wanted to shut the door of freedom in Christ to
make the Galatians dependent on them as teachers. The focus of Paul's ministry
was to lead them to love Christ, not him.
Vs. 21-31 This
allegory stays very close to the physical circumstances and compares the two
wives and the two sons.
V. 23 Hagar's
son was naturally conceived and his birth was not according to the promise. Sarah's son was a miracle from
conception to birth, all according to the promise.
Vs. 25-26 Hagar
represents Mount Sinai where the law
was given. Sarah represents the future Jerusalem.
Since we're reading Isaiah, we're hearing of the promises that are aimed at
Zion that have yet to be fulfilled.
Vs. 28-31 Paul
is telling them to get rid of the influence of the law, just as Abraham and
Sarah had to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael because of Ishmael's animosity and
ridicule of Isaac. The law is hostile to grace. Law causes our sin to react
against God, but grace is moved to respond in gratitude and love to the love we
have been shown in Christ.
To think, this
book helped launch the Reformation. What did this letter really do? It showed
that the church of Luther's day had bound itself to the law. The church had
lost Christ and found ways to earn God's favor. Galatians opened Luther's eyes
and brought him to faith in Christ alone. Galatians brought freedom for
generations of people who were in bondage to sin and to religion and made them
alive to Christ. As you read this, remember, it's all about freedom from sin
found in the love of our Lord.
Psalm 62
As you read
this, your heart will latch onto the verses that speak to you. Verses 1 &
5, which mention silence before God, mean something to me. When we hope on the
Lord in very hard situations, we cannot defend faith in following. We simply
follow regardless of what others think. We set our hope on God and wait and
trust Him and hide in Him. Read Isaiah 30:15.
Vs. 1-2 Just
like our reading in Isaiah, our hope and salvation can only be in God. Waiting
on Him steadies our hearts and keeps us from shameful decisions.
Vs. 3-4 These
are the enemies. They may have been religious too, because it says they blessed
with their mouths but cursed inwardly.
Vs. 5-7 What a
declaration of David's hope in God.
V. 8 And here
is David teaching the people. This is why the people loved David.
Vs. 9-10 seem
to say that being of high or low estate come from the God of power. Those who
pursued David might have been seeking his former position, or they wanted favor
and position by lying and political posturing.
Vs. 11-12
David's sight, in all of this suffering and confusion, was set on God, His steadfast love and His justice.
Proverbs 23:19-21
On the one
hand, you might look at this and say that anyone who has their eating under
control and doesn't get drunk is in good shape. But I think the idea here is
that the comforts of life can put you to sleep. There are plenty of things here
that could also be put into these verses, like TV and computers, social
networking, games, shopping, etc.
V. 19 says to direct your heart in the way. That
sounds like following God, being intentional, being focused, knowing what you
are supposed to be doing and where you are going. Knowing the way is important and plays an important role in living before
God on this planet.
For us as
disciples in the harvest, following Christ in this world, we can still enjoy
what the Lord gives us; but we know why we need to live intentionally and to
stay alert. We know the Way, the Truth and the Life and we are left here to
tell others of Him.
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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