OCTOBER 19
Today the
readings in Jeremiah and in the first part of Psalm 89 link together. This is
one of the side benefits of reading The One Year Bible. It is
interesting to see how the promise to David was to inspire hope in the people.
We know who that Son of David is, and He is the One who gives us hope too, as
we follow Him in the harvest.
Jeremiah
33-34
We are inching closer to the fall of Jerusalem. There will
be one notable look to the past; but from now on, everything will be fairly
chronological, leading to God's unrelenting punishment of Jerusalem and Judah.
It is instructive to see that interlaced with hard words of judgment, there is
a reminder of the hope that will still save Israel.
Jeremiah 33
However, we are still in that section called "The Book
of Consolation." It is always a good idea to underline, circle, or somehow
mark words and phrases. Once you notice certain words, the structure and logic
just pop out. And besides that, you stay awake.
Vs. 1-5 Notice both the
word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and
thus says the Lord.
As we have seen so often, there is a description of some
event, in this case a bad one, followed by a declaration, in this case a good
one.
The houses were broken down in the center of Jerusalem, and
the stones were taken to build up the walls where the Babylonians were trying
to get in. The holes where the houses had been would be used as places to dump
bodies. That was a bad thing.
Vs. 6-9 The ultimate fulfillment of this will be after the
Messiah returns. Notice the mention of health
and healing. This is a contrast to the first five verses. The city would be
called by God's name in the future.
Vs. 10-11 Thus says
the Lord, but what is the focus of this?
Vs. 12-13 Thus says
the Lord, but what is the focus of this?
Vs. 14-16 Here is how God will bring this blessing, through
the Branch, the Son of David. Notice in v. 16 how the land, Judah, and the city
are addressed, referring back to what was just said about the city and the land
in vs. 10-13.
Vs. 17-18 Thus says
the Lord, but what is the focus of this?
Interestingly, this doesn't say that a descendant of David
will always sit on the throne, but that David will never lack descendants who
could sit on the throne. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David.
Vs. 19-26 These are very definite promises of God. The
ultimate fulfillment of the covenant with David was unconditional, making it a
promise from God's side. God initiated it. The same was true of the covenant
with Levi which probably refers to the covenant of peace with Phinehas in
Numbers 25:7-13. Also, the covenant with Abraham was unconditional. God chose
Abraham and made a promise to him. Since these are based on the very character
of God, they are more stable than creation itself.
Jeremiah 34
It is interesting to see how God made promises and gave hope
as an encouragement for faith and obedience, but also as a test of faith.
Vs. 1-5 This appears to be a word to Zedekiah because of the
good thing they had just done in releasing the slaves. So, to really understand
what is happening with the rest of this, you need to read v. 21. This explains
why the people went back on their actions. The Egyptians came against the
Babylonians, and the rulers and people thought they were OK again and
recaptured the people they had set free. God was probably the one who stirred
up the Egyptians and created this little time of confusion.
Vs. 6-7 This is a small historical note as to the stress of
this particular time. There were only two other cities besides Jerusalem that
hadn't fallen to Babylon. It looked like the end.
Vs. 8-16 What you see in this event is that the people
obeyed God for themselves, to relieve the pressure. As soon as they
"made" God answer them by their good deeds, they didn't need the good
deeds anymore. They got what they wanted. Now, with Nebuchadnezzar leaving,
they had to rebuild Jerusalem and they needed those slaves again.
Vs. 17-22 God would call the Babylonians back to finish
their work against Jerusalem. Since the people had broken a covenant, God would
punish them. This obedience and then lapse back into disobedience was a small,
visible reminder to them that their punishment was just.
V. 18 Remember when God made the covenant with Abraham in
Genesis 15; animals were cut up and a lane was made through the body parts.
Normally, the parties who made the covenant walked through that lane and swore
the covenant saying that if they didn't keep the bargain, they should end up
looking like those animals. In the covenant with Abraham, the promise of the
new covenant, only God walked through that lane, taking the full responsibility
for the covenant. This is why the ultimate fulfillment of that promise doesn't
depend on Israel.
Here, many of the people who violated this covenant would
soon look like road kill and probably be the bodies thrown into those lots
where houses had stood in 33:5.
Israel only ever needed to be faithful. God would work out
the rest because of His promise. In the work we do in the harvest, it is good
to remember that in ways we do not know, behind the scenes, with amazing depth
and wisdom, God is working out His purpose. Even our mistakes and lack of
clarity are used by Him to accomplish His purpose. God has made a promise. He
doesn't ask us to be perfect in all points, just faithful in following in the
harvest.
1
Timothy 4
Having told Timothy how the foundation of the church is made
secure, Paul warns him of the coming resistance and how to deal with it
positively.
Vs. 1-5 Many people wonder what this teaching was or is; but
the point is that Paul is telling Timothy and us, there will always be
resistance. This challenge would look religious, very conservative and
righteously judgmental, but it would be self-focused and isolating. I think
what we read in chapter 1, about people becoming inwardly focused on the law
and self-righteousness, rather than focused on Christ and grace and the
harvest, comes into play here.
Vs. 6-8 This is a challenge to Timothy to wage the good
warfare from chapter 1. If Timothy did his job right, at times, he would be in
opposition to false teachers and to the prevailing opinions and moods of the
people.
Interestingly here and even more so in 2 Timothy, Paul
strongly warns Timothy to stay out of arguments over stupid stuff. I think this
was Timothy's "youthful passion." He was good with his mouth and
thought that he could win every argument. Paul directs Timothy to teach, not to
argue.
Train
yourself for godliness, I think, means to mindfully
understand that you are being led by the Spirit into all circumstances and to
respond in those situations in a way that honors God. You mess up sometimes,
but you keep training. In the Greek, the word "godliness" does not
have the word "god" in it. It means to give honor in everything. God
is the assumed recipient, or as it says in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.
Vs. 9-10 This is the charge to Timothy and it is based on
the gospel again. God is called the Savior for the third time. It seems that
Paul is saying that it is this mission that has moved them to set their hope on
God and to live following Christ into this harvest.
The words, trustworthy
and deserving of full acceptance, have only been used one other place in this
letter, and there it was a very emotional declaration for Paul. I think this is
an equally emotional declaration here also.
Giving up "stuff" to give the look of being
serious and suffering and making God happy seems religious. But following
Christ as a disciple, setting our hope on Him, giving ourselves to the work in
the harvest to reach the lost and make disciples, who make disciples, is the
real deal. It is what we have been called to. It isn't religion. It is
following Him, and it is full of grace. It involves suffering and putting aside
things here, but even in the case of putting things aside, it is the Spirit
directing us and showing us what does not fit into our lives on this earth so
that we can follow in the harvest and do the work we are commissioned to do
now.
Vs. 11-16 Notice the emotion and urgency in this. It pours
out of vs. 9-10. Look at the crisp, short commands. This is the positive of
what Timothy is supposed to do. He isn't supposed to waste his time countering
the silliness; he was to teach and model what was healthy, sound and godly.
Notice the emphasis on getting the Word into people. The
best way to grow disciples or protect people from error is to get them into the
Word. The Word is used by the Holy Spirit to be our meds, our defense, our
nourishment and our strength. It is truth and it consecrates us to God, to His
service and to reality.
I think vs. 15-16 are very important. How many of us as
disciples make this our hobby and passion? We need to perfect and get good at
what God wants us to do in the harvest, and to live to be an example to others.
Not many people take this to heart. We dabble, thinking we will keep God happy
if we look semi-serious about actually getting good at being harvesters. If
Christians put as much effort into their jobs as they put into their
commission, they would probably be fired or working for minimum wage. Doing
what you are doing now, reading through the Word every year, is a good place to
begin.
V. 16 is important for all of us, not just preachers. We
often let ourselves get out of shape emotionally, physically, sexually, etc.,
and we get tripped up. Some translations insert "your" before the teaching because of the word yourself that precedes it. Often too, we
teach one thing and don't heed our own words. If more teachers, preachers and
disciples did what they taught, they would save
themselves from a lot of problems.
Save,
here, obviously isn't salvation from damnation, but salvation from damage and
becoming shipwrecked.
I think that reading the Word every day is a given. But
beyond that, think of skills that would be good to learn for the harvest, that
would be like a gift you could give to the Lord. Ask the Lord if this is
something He would like, and if so, throw yourself into it. You might be surprised
how the Lord will open doors for you to get good at that skill and use it to
bear fruit, seeing lost people saved and making disciples, who make disciples,
who make disciples. Begin now by faith, and in a year or two you'll be
surprised to see what the Lord has done. A line quoted in Oswald Sander's book,
Spiritual Leadership, has always inspired me, "The heights by great
men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their
companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." It's time to toil.
Psalm
89:1-13
This is the first of three days in Psalm 89. In some
respects, this is a very redemption-oriented psalm. The steadfast love of the Lord runs through it. The promise to David is
messianic. The might of God in the creation and among the angelic hosts shows
that God is in charge of everything. And somehow, in the middle of all of this,
He regards us and loves us. What can we do but sing of God's love in the
harvest?
And remember how much about David we just read in Jeremiah
33.
Vs. 1-4 It is interesting that not only did God make a
promise to David that all of Israel could hold on to, but God Himself made
David's life a visual statement of God's faithfulness
and steadfast love.
Vs. 5-10 God's power and faithfulness are seen in creation.
He controls the angels and He controls the raging of the elements. The most
threatening powers are under God's control.
Vs. 11-13 The creation belongs to God and the creation gives
praise to God. We should too.
Proverbs
25:23-24
I wonder if being
that person with the backbiting tongue
also makes you liable to marry the quarrelsome
wife? In any event, I think the Lord is cautioning us not to be these
people.
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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