SEPTEMBER
9
Isaiah
3-5
Isaiah 3
Notice the names of God here. Notice too that
in the judgment, there is a complete destruction of and confusion in
leadership. Everyone will need it, but it will not be found, at least not by
looking down. It is an ironic justice since they should have been looking to
God for leadership. So, He gave them what they had been seeking, life without
His leadership.
Vs. 1-5 God will reduce the situation to
where it will not be popular to lead. There will be no food, no soldiers and no
leaders to rely on. Only the foolish or immature will want to lead. Obviously,
there is no true shepherd who has a love for God who would lead in faith in
spite of the dire situation. There is no one to stand in the gap.
Vs. 6-12 No responsible person will want to
lead that rabble of wickedness. Notice the two times it says woe.
Vs. 13-15 This makes it clear that personal
gain and comfort were the reasons that people led. That is why God said in v. 1
that He would take away the incentive. In order for these people to have lived
well, they had crushed the poor. God is promising them judgment.
Vs. 16-17 This is another view of the abuse
of the leaders. Their wives were part of the problem. These two verses are
contrasts. Verse 16 is what they had, and v. 17 is what they will get. When
captives were led into exile, sometimes they were taken and marched along
naked.
Vs. 18-26 This is another "before and
after" comparison. Verses 18-23 show what they had. Verses 24-26 describe
their future. Notice the word instead.
Isaiah 4
V. 1 This should probably belong to chapter
3. It is similar to 3:6. Women will look for a leader and there will be none.
Vs. 2-6 Enter the Branch. Rather than this
referring to the remnant of Israel, this most likely refers to the Messiah, who
is called the Branch in other places in the OT. This is a picture of the
Messiah rescuing His people and Jerusalem at the last minute at the end of the
Tribulation, and then leading them in the Millennial Kingdom.
Several words
for branch are used to describe the Messiah. The Jews would have understood the
different words, but would have known they referred to one man called the
Branch. In Isaiah 11:1 the word for branch is "nesar," from which
came the word Nazareth and the prophecy in Matthew 2:23, And he
went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was
spoken by the prophets might be
fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Since there is no prophecy in the Old Testament that said this, this quote in
Matthew probably should read, "He shall be called a Branch." When the
people said, "Jesus of Nazareth," they heard the word
"branch" in that title. Those who were perceptive would have thought
about it, but those with hard hearts wouldn't have made the connection.
Isaiah 5
Vs. 1-2 With
the pictures of destruction and rescue in view, God now shows how He planted
Israel as a vineyard and that this vineyard has become liable for judgment.
What is interesting about this picture is that the description is very similar
to the parable of the vineyard that Jesus used against the chief priests and
Pharisees. And he began to speak to them
in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence
around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to
tenants and went into another country.” (Mark
12:1)
Vs. 3-7 This is the judgment against the
vineyard. Notice the use of I will.
Verse 7 connects to v. 3 and gives the reason for God's anger.
Vs. 8-23 These are the things that ruined the
vineyard God planted and they are signaled by the word woe. If you have time, write the focus of each woe in the margin of your Bible.
Vs. 24-25 God declares His anger with Judah
and Jerusalem. Notice that they ignored the Word of the Lord, and also, this
description of what would happen was still years away. A word to the wise
should have been sufficient.
Vs. 26-30 These lions would be the
Babylonians who would eventually destroy the temple and the city and lead Judah
into exile.
As disciples in the harvest, it is noticeable
that even in this description of judgment, the Branch was promised to bring
salvation and restoration. We work in a harvest that is under God's judgment
and wrath, yet even as it gets darker every day, the offer of salvation is
still there for any who reach out and take hold of the Branch. Especially as it
gets darker, those who come to Christ will have a clearer understanding of
their salvation and will be willing to follow as disciples making disciples in
the harvest.
2
Corinthians 11:1-15
Vs. 1-3 The proof of Paul's apostleship and
the focus of Paul's ministry was to have the people in love with Christ,
focused on following Him in the harvest. The battle going on in Corinth had
people focused on personalities and themselves.
V. 4 What an interesting charge against the
spiritual stature of the Corinthians. The super-apostles
might have come from Jerusalem, from the circumcision party, claiming authority
from the Twelve and showing that their Jewish background was superior to
Paul's. But what they actually proclaimed, what they said and the tone of it,
had nothing to do with the Jesus whom Paul had presented to them. The fruit
these false apostles had grown was causing divisiveness and fighting.
Vs. 5-6 Paul obviously was giving new and
inspired teaching. The super-apostles weren't bringing anything new or moving
the Corinthians into the harvest. They were leading them back to the law and
causing the Corinthians to be self-centered. By their fruits they were known.
Vs. 7-11 Paul's boast was that he did not put
an obstacle in the way of the gospel. The Corinthians' shame is that Paul never
accepted financial help from Corinth because of their immaturity. Paul wrote of
this in 1 Corinthians, that he had never taken any advantage of them
financially. The super-apostles turned this around after hearing from the
previous letter (1 Corinthians), saying that Paul was a real tricky guy and had
been robbing other churches. Poor Paul and what a silly, deceived group of
believers.
Vs. 12-15 Paul has shown them a lot of love
and patience in the first chapters. It is time now for him to deal with these
troublemakers.
V. 12 If the super-apostles were just like
Paul, they should work without pay, like Paul. Remember the verses we just read
in Isaiah. When God took away the food and drink, no one wanted to lead Judah.
If these false apostles couldn't be paid, they wouldn't stay. They were not
shepherds sent by the Good Shepherd. As we'll see tomorrow, the mark of Paul's
apostleship in Christ was suffering with Christ; that is, doing without and
paying the price of following. These false apostles thought the church was a
means of gaining a good living.
V. 13 is very clear and to the point.
Vs. 14 -15 These are very famous verses. Just
like in the leadership of Israel, the leadership of the church in the harvest
is critical. There are so many opinions, and there are so many personalities,
and there are so many motives that try to direct the church; but there is only
one Word and one commission. Our Lord came to seek and to save the lost. A
servant is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent greater than
the one who sent him. If we know these things, blessed are we if we do them.
By the fact that God has included this
conflict and these issues in Scripture, it is obvious that dealing with these
issues and conflicts are an important part of helping the church keep focused
in the harvest.
Psalm
53
Now everything is beginning to sound like
Isaiah, although David lived before Isaiah. Oh, that's right, it really is the
same Author. J
Vs. 1-4 Paul uses a lot of this in Romans 3.
The fool feels confident in God's silence. The godly person knows that God is
alive and working in the world every day.
V. 5 But God will judge. This seems like a
hint of the Tribulation. There will be terror, but mankind will take it out on
God's people. God, on the other hand, will protect His people and use them as a
judgment on the earth.
V. 6 This longing will someday be fulfilled.
The Messiah will reign in Zion and He will bring salvation not only for the
Jews, but for all people.
Proverbs
22:28-29
V. 28 This says
to me that there are some things handed down from past generations that we are
meant to respect.
V. 29 Perhaps
one of those things to respect is patient craftsmanship. The old craftsman
doesn't do his work well in order to stand before kings. He does his work well,
to do his work well. Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth."
It is hard to
find anyone today who is willing to devote himself to one skill and do it with
patience and excellence. We have been taught to multi-task, to demand that
everything comes faster and to work for the acclaim of others.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment