OCTOBER 18
With everything going
on in the world, you might almost think that reading Jeremiah, 1 Timothy, The
Psalms, or Proverbs would only reinforce the gloom. Today might be a case in
point, but take notice of how each of these gives a realistic view of life, yet
they also give a lot of hope in looking toward the future. Everything about
following Christ now, every day, in this harvest is confirmed. Now is not a
great time in this world, and so we work with the Lord, sowing, reaping and
making disciples, who make disciples. The fullness of hope and rejoicing will
be in the future. Yet even so, every day we have the taste and firstfruits of
knowing Christ and receiving His comfort and blessing. We have this every day,
because we walk with Him every day and look into His Word every day. You might
want to listen to “Everyday,” by Hillsong.
Jeremiah 31:27-32:44
In Jerusalem's
darkest hour God gave Jeremiah a far off picture of their ultimate restoration.
Jeremiah 31:27-40
The structure of this
section is marked by the phrase Behold,
the days are coming.
Vs. 27-30 Here God
will replant Israel and Judah.
Vs. 29-30 The sour grapes message will be seen again
in Ezekiel as a way the present generation blamed the previous generation. God
didn't have much patience for that. During the future time of renewal, no one
will use that saying. In Ezekiel God will condemn anyone who says this.
Vs. 31-37 This new
covenant was initiated with Jesus' sacrifice and the giving of the Spirit, but
its complete fulfillment will be the acceptance of Israel under that covenant
in the Millennium. Much of this is in Romans 11 and it makes sense.
Vs. 33-34 These
promises are still future, but what amazing promises. This passage is quoted in
Hebrews 8 to persuade the people that going back into Judaism was not an option
because the new covenant was better. This promise is one of the reasons the
people listened to Peter on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2 Peter referred to
this promise as spoken by the prophet Joel, but the people saw this promise in
all of the Scriptures dealing with God's future blessing of Israel. The people
understood that only the Spirit of God could give them this heart and this
renewal. The believers of Jesus had received the Spirit and had experienced
this promise.
Vs. 35-37 God pledges
His promise on the creation. In other words, this promise is absolutely solid.
In Romans 11:29, Paul mentions one other thing that confirms this promise.
Vs. 38-40 This is the
promise to rebuild the city, which was about to be destroyed. Jerusalem was
destroyed again in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The city is still there today and
without a temple. The future completed city will have the temple from which
Jesus will reign.
Jeremiah 32
Vs. 1-5 Now I know
this doesn't seem like a good thing, but if you were the only prophet speaking
the truth in a city that hated you and where the people were going to be
starving, being locked in prison might actually be a good thing. Seriously, I
think this was God's work and that there is some grace in this.
Vs. 6-15 Normally
this would not have been a wise move, since Babylon already controlled
everything in Israel. It would have been like selling property in East Berlin
after the Russians took over. Babylon owned everything and all ownership had no
legality. I can see the sellers snickering when Jeremiah signed the papers. But
God was making a point. I have a suspicion that when it was all said and done,
Jeremiah settled down on this piece of land and enjoyed some much needed
R&R.
We are also
introduced here to Jeremiah's secretary and personal scribe, Baruch. We'll see
later that Baruch must have been a well-known person; and as a result of his
work for Jeremiah, God spared him from the multiple disasters that rolled over
Jerusalem and the Jews.
Vs. 16-25 This is
amazing praise from Jeremiah. He realized the grace and mercy in what God was
promising. Jeremiah contrasted this mercy with all the sin the people had
committed. Buying that land in such a bad time was a sign that God would
restore Israel in the future. Isn't v. 25 an amazing declaration of hope?
Vs. 26-35 God
restated the reason for His judgment on Jerusalem and Judah. Verse 35 didn't
describe an act; it described a culture of distorted minds. We've mentioned
before the reasons why Baal worship and Molech worship were connected. Notice
how God mentions both the children of
Israel and the children of Judah.
Vs. 36-41 In spite of
Israel's failures, God promises to bring the entire nation back. Notice the Lord, the God of Israel. Notice that
even though the people will be brought back in 50+ years, the ultimate
fulfillment of v. 39 is in the Millennium.
Vs. 42-44 This
promise goes back to the beginning of the chapter and ties in to Jeremiah
buying the land.
Gloomy? Sure.
Hopeful? Incredibly so. And so we don't lose heart, as we work in the harvest
with the Lord, making disciples, who make disciples. We just need to stay in
the Word every day and continue to follow every day.
1 Timothy 3
So, in reestablishing
order in this church, Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, that all the people
should pray for the government, in order to live quiet, respectful, godly lives
under the radar so they can work in the harvest. Then Paul said the men should
pray to maintain a godly perspective on life in prayer, and the women should
focus on doing good works for those around them. The women should not be given
the authority of establishing the teaching and guidance of the church, rather,
that belongs to….
Vs. 1-7 …the men who
are the elders.
V. 1 I would say,
from my experience, to aspire means
they are actually involved in the lives of other people for the sake of the
harvest and the Great Commission, coming alongside people in the church to
encourage them to do likewise. I think to aspire is already to be doing it in
some measure.
V. 2 I believe
"one woman man" meant the same back then as it does in the US culture
today: marital and sexual stability and faithfulness.
V. 3 Not a drunkard. This doesn't even say he
can't get "merry" (see Ruth 3:7) on occasion, but drunkenness should
not be a regular state, and wine cannot be an addiction.
Not violent means literally "striker,"
that is, someone who has fits of anger, losing his cool.
Not mentioned here,
but putting all Scripture together, this person needs to be active in reaching
the lost and making disciples. Too often you have this squeaky clean guy as an
elder, who isn't involved in the harvest and doesn't know which end of the scythe
to hold. These "executive elders" often have no natural desire to
involve themselves in making disciples, who make disciples. Elsewhere, Paul
says that we should look for examples and models (Philippians 3:17). I can't
imagine making a person an elder who is not an example or a model of what it
means to follow Christ in the harvest.
Vs. 8-13 Servants in
the church.
V. 8 Paul addresses
the men first with three characteristics similar to the elders.
V. 11 This is a very
unfortunate translation. Although wives
can mean "women" or "wives," it is the same word Paul used
in chapter 2 and was never translated "wives" there. Also, here it is
translated their wives, but that is
not accurate since there is no genitive here, no case of ownership or
possession. Honest to the Greek would be "the." I understand the King
James doing this since it was translated in a culture and time when women would
never have been accepted in this position, but the translators of the ESV had
no excuse here. I think this poor translation is a result of the King James
and the cultural prejudices of that time.
There were women
deacons. In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a "servant" of the church
at Cenchreae.
The word is deaconess in the Greek. Why should this be a problem?
Also, why would there be some special condition for the wife
of a servant of the church and not for the wife of an elder of the church.
Elders' wives would have much more information and have much more influence
over their husbands and the affairs of the church.
V. 12 is now using the masculine to describe all deacons,
the same as we do rather than saying "him or her."
Vs. 14-16 Now, there
are some very famous verses here, and the priority of the church is strongly
presented; but this all really just underscores the vital importance of
everything Paul has said since 2:1. The magnitude of these verses means we
should go back and carefully follow all of chapters 2 and 3. If we don't, these
are just nice flowery verses, and the church and the harvest suffers.
I still like the
image of the church being a group of laborers gathering at some place in their
part of the harvest. They meet to gain strength and encourage each other, get
something to eat and then they go back out into the harvest.
Psalm 88
This is said to be
the saddest psalm in The Psalms. It is possible that this psalm was linked with
Psalm 89, possibly written by the same guy. The next psalm is very positive,
and in tandem with this one, they would have made a nice part of the worship
service.
Vs. 1-2 This is the
plea to God, crying out to Him.
Vs. 3-7 This isn't
just trouble; it sounds like depression. He is faced with many troubling
situations and feels like God's wrath is focused on him. That is so
"normal."
Vs. 8-12 Not only
does he have bad situations, but his friends have become like traitors. This
sounds like Job. The writer's plea to God is that once he is dead, God won't be
able to use him in declaring God's praise and love. Therefore, he doesn't want
God to let him go into the pit. Along with this is probably the sense of not
wanting to be put to shame for having given praise to God and having put his
hope in the Lord.
Vs. 13-18 It is odd
to leave a psalm on such a down note. The crying is still there, the danger is
still there and the sense of abandonment and desertion is still there. There is
no final affirmation of trust and confidence in God's deliverance. However, the
next psalm is coming.
Just a couple of
observations:
First, we have seen
in Job and even in Paul that great things come out of deep personal distress.
If we are servants and slaves of our loving Father, we have to allow Him to do
this to us for His glory. Having said that, we have to come through it the
right way. It doesn't glorify God to give up, yell at your wife, kick the dog
and defect from the faith.
Second, the very fact
that the Holy Spirit inspired this psalm and its words should tell us that these
words are what we need to imitate and model in our crying out to God. God is
teaching us how to cry out.
Psalm 40:3 says, He put a new song in my mouth. God
himself put that new song there, but only after He had led David through a
similar experience.
We cry out and wait
patiently. When He is done, He will put a new song in our mouths, a song of
praise to our God.
Proverbs 25:20-22
I think Paul used all
of this in Romans 12.
V. 20 It is a command
to weep with those who weep. Being
witty and happy isn't always the best thing.
Vs. 21-22 Read Romans
12:19-21 for the full story, and then add the promise found here of reward.
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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