OCTOBER 29
Lamentations 1-2:19
Happy days are
here again….not. This is Jeremiah's lament over Jerusalem after it was
destroyed. He refers to what he saw before and during the siege by the
Babylonians. I'm not sure how "artsy" Jeremiah and the Spirit wanted
to be, but of the five chapters, chapter 3, right in the middle, is a very
personal pouring out of Jeremiah's heart. Surprisingly (or not), out of the
crying out of chapter 3, we have gotten many good songs.
Lamentations 1
Vs. 1-10 Verse
1 sets the tone for this chapter and this section. It describes the humbling of
this once beautiful princess, Jerusalem. This part of the lament is for the
city. Notice the references to Zion and Jerusalem, and notice that the city is
referred to with feminine pronouns. Just for fun, underline, circle or
highlight them.
Vs. 11-22
Jeremiah and the Spirit personalize the crying out of Jerusalem in the first
person. The first part of v. 11 explains the situation and transitions between
the third person and the first person. Notice the repetition of I, my, and me.
Lamentations
2:1-19
Vs. 1-10 Now
notice all of what God did. It wasn't the Babylonians; it was God. If you
circle He and His, you might run out of ink; but it is a good exercise.
V. 6 is ironic
in that, because of this judgment, God made Zion forget the festivals and
Sabbath, meaning that they couldn't hold them. In reality, they had forgotten
these things themselves, and that neglect was part of the reason for their
judgment and the downward spiral of their culture.
V. 7 The people
never expected God to do this, but He Himself promised this, if their hearts
were rebellious and their worship was useless.
Just an aside,
unless the ark of the covenant had already been destroyed or hidden, it was
probably lost here. It is funny that other items in the temple are mentioned as
being taken in Jeremiah 52, but an important item like the ark is not
mentioned. Actually, none of the furniture in the Holy Place is mentioned
either. It is just assumed that it was taken to Babylon.
V. 9 This
mention of the prophets is ironic since Jeremiah was the only true prophet. The
others were frauds who lied and strengthened the people's rebellion against
God.
Vs. 11-19 Now
Jeremiah is writing about his own heartache during this destruction. How many
different things can you find in these verses that caused Jeremiah sorrow and
anguish? There are at least five.
Vs. 18-19 It
was easy to suggest that the people should cry out to the Lord, but the hearts
of these people were very sick. Think of the people who took Jeremiah captive
to Egypt. In spite of every word of Jeremiah coming true, they still thought
that worshiping other gods would help. In one of Ezekiel's visions, we'll see
another view of the depth of the corruption of the people's hearts. These
people Jeremiah is writing about here were lost, blind and ignorant. It is
doubtful that they could call on the Lord.
Like Jeremiah,
our job is to faithfully follow the Lord into the harvest. As we present the
Word and the love of Christ, He will draw men to Himself. We work to make disciples,
who make disciples. It is more than tragic to see people disregard the Lord and
lose their souls, but when it comes to that, it is their choice. We work in the
hope of reaching and helping those who will reach out to our Lord.
Philemon
This letter was
written by Paul, in prison in Rome under house arrest, during the time he wrote
Ephesians and Colossians. Philemon was, apparently, a well-to-do Christian in
Colossae, who had a church in his house and who had lots of slaves. One of
those slaves apparently ran off with some stuff and tried to hide out in Rome.
Rome was about 1000 miles from Colossae as the bird flies, and for a slave like
Onesimus, probably at least 1500 miles by foot. And then Rome was a city of
thousands. What a place to hide. But wouldn't you know it, someone in Rome
(maybe Tychicus or Timothy or Luke) recognized him and brought him to Paul.
Talk about bad luck. Then wouldn't you know it, it got worse. Paul led him to
Christ. Oh, brother. Now, although Onesimus did wrong and fled, in Christ, he
had to go back and fess up. Also, although Philemon had the right to punish
this slave and even have him put to death, Onesimus was now a brother in
Christ. And if that weren't complicated enough, when Philemon looked at
Onesimus, he noticed that there was a note pinned to his shirt from Paul.
Vs. 1-3
Philemon was a worker. It is thought that there was a church in his house. It
could be that Apphia was his wife and Archippus was his son. Archippus is also
mentioned in Colossians 4:17 and may have been a pastor.
Vs. 4-7 It is
interesting that Paul was not only moved that Philemon was growing in Christ as
a disciple, but it looks like he was a good friend and had been a source of comfort
and encouragement for Paul personally.
V. 6 Notice
that Paul says that by sharing his faith, Philemon was growing into the
fullness of knowing Christ. I really think this is how it is meant to be. If we
are not involved in the harvest, we can't grow in really knowing the Savior.
V. 7 Philemon
had a ministry to workers in the harvest, strengthening and helping them. His
actions were from his evident love for Christ and His people.
Vs. 8-14
Introducing another of Christ's people to love: Onesimus. From v. 13 it seems
that Paul would have been happy to have kept Onesimus, but there had to be due
process of forgiveness and asking permission. The very fact that Paul is being
so diplomatic shows there might have been something going on behind the scenes.
It may be that Onesimus stole something when he left or was a real problem to
everyone and deserved severe punishment. Paul seems to be going out of his way
to defuse a situation that might have gotten the better of Philemon.
Vs. 15-16 Paul
adds a little eternal perspective and some sovereignty of God into the
equation.
Vs. 17-20 I
don't think Paul is being manipulative here, but rather fatherly. It seems that
Paul also led Philemon to Christ. It is important for parents to see their
children do what is right. Sadly, stuff doesn't always go right in the home or
in the church. Paul is guiding him, and again, it seems that Paul was being
persuasive because he felt like he needed to be.
Vs. 21-22 This
sounds a little like Philippians, where Paul had a feeling he would be released
soon.
You just
finished another book of the Bible!
It is kind of
comical to think of Onesimus trying to escape from Philemon and slavery, and
hiding in the super city of Rome. He had the "bad luck" of running
into the hands of God. It is hard to escape from the long arm of the Lord.
Psalm 101
If I were a
guessing man, I'd say this was written after David became king of the entire
nation and just after he brought the ark of the covenant into the city of
David. David's confidence and purity of heart seem to be
"pre-Bathsheba." David seems to be saying that because of his
confidence in God's steadfast love,
he can be firm with those who are sinful and perverse. It might get him in
trouble to be just, but his hope was in God. He knows that the steadfast love of the Lord will pull him
through all the anger of men associated with this stand he is taking.
V. 1 What an
interesting combination - steadfast love
and justice. David learned both of these as he ran from Saul and waited on
the Lord for the Lord's justice and vindication. In spite of all the hatred and
warfare aimed at David, God fulfilled the promise of bringing David to the
throne.
V. 2 This is
the next part of the declaration of this psalm. It is hard to know if David is
saying you to God or to the blameless
way. David knew it was important to meditate on God and to keep himself pure
before God. David wanted this to be true of those in his house.
Vs. 3-5 David
was resolved to keep the dishonest and evil away from him.
V. 6 In
contrast to the evil and faithless, David would protect the faithful in the
land.
Vs. 7-8 We
don't hear of David judging Israel, other than from his throne when people were
brought before him. He never led wars against the wicked in Israel. During the
time of the judges and the time of King Saul, lawlessness was allowed to grow.
These wicked people were lawless and robbing and harming others. David would
bring justice and order to the land. This need for justice is how these verses
should be understood. Notice that David's desire was also to keep evil out of
the city of the Lord.
Reading David's
desires here, but knowing David's life, brings sad thoughts. Knowing what
happened in the book of Jeremiah brings sad thoughts too. For us as disciples,
knowing all of this should humble us and make us grow close to the Lord as we
work in the harvest.
Proverbs 26:20
Think of this
proverb in terms of what you just read in Psalm 101. Interesting connections.
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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