NOVEMBER 11
Time to look forward to something. In our reading on
November 18 God will begin taking Ezekiel on field trips, and then things will
get exciting because there will be more visions dealing with the end times and
the restoration of Israel. For some of us, getting through this heavy reading
toward the end of November will be a true cause for thanksgiving. Look for ways
to motivate yourself to keep up with your reading in The One Year Bible.
All of this is very important Scripture, but honestly, it is hard to wade
through. With such a large volume of Scripture showing God's judgment for
spurning His existence and His love, it reminds us that this world we live in
is doing the same thing. If a vote were held today, God would be voted out of
His own creation. To switch analogies, the world is poisoned by sin and it
doesn't know it. Yet we have the antidote, and that's why we follow Christ in
the harvest.
Ezekiel
23
When Ezekiel gave this message I'm sure the parents ran for
their children, this time to cover their ears. The imagery is purely to rebuke
Israel for their idolatry as you'll see in v. 49. Notice again the mentions of
blood and offering children. We don't see sin as God does. This is how He saw
the actions of Israel. He is the spurned husband having to witness His wives'
appalling, sick and humiliating whoring. And they do it with all He's given
them, in every place He's built for them, right in front of Him. And the
judgment is appropriate and harsh. It is amazing that He was as patient and
gracious and guiding as long as He was.
Vs. 1-4 Both sisters are Israel and their whoredom began in
Egypt. This has been a long history. One sister represents the northern kingdom
of Israel and the city of Samaria. The other sister represents the southern
kingdom, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem. One other note: Jerusalem looked
with scorn upon Samaria. After all, Samaria didn't have the temple or the city
of God and they worshiped stupid stuff. Yet according to God, Jerusalem was
worse. The name Oholah means
"tent," suggesting that Samaria made their own sanctuary of worship.
But Oholibah means "my
tent," suggesting that Jerusalem was the place of God's sanctuary.
Some of this language, in the Hebrew, would be very
offensive in our ears.
Vs. 5-10 Interestingly, little is written about Samaria.
They never had a godly king, and Elijah and Elisha prophesied long and hard
trying to stem the tide of ungodliness in that country. Although Samaria had a
fling with Syria, their main attraction was for Assyria. Samaria was always
totally idolatrous.
Vs. 11-21 By the sheer volume of text directed against Judah
and Jerusalem, you can see this is really God's point. The fact that God had a
very special relationship with the Davidic kings, and that Judah did have some
very godly kings, made their sin exponentially worse than what happened in
spiritually ignorant Samaria.
Vs. 22-27 So here is the punishment on Judah and Jerusalem,
and it is graphic and much worse than Samaria. Notice v. 25. This was how you
maimed prostitutes to make them utterly unattractive.
Vs. 28-35 Jerusalem's pride in being better and godlier than
Samaria will be used to humble Jerusalem.
Vs. 36-42 Lest we think that God was being too severe, we
see what was really the reason behind God's actions. This was a culture which
was perverse and lost every day. The worship of Baal was every day. The people
gave birth to kids as a result. They sacrificed those kids to Molech. Then they
also went to the temple to worship, and they couldn't and wouldn't see anything
wrong with that.
Vs. 43-45 These righteous men were the prophets and godly
men God sent to warn the people.
Vs. 46-49 Oddly, there is a ray of hope here. The people
receiving this prophecy were in Babylon listening to Ezekiel. They would be
spared the destruction of Jerusalem, and eventually their children would be
cleansed of idol worship and come under the influence of a godly community that
would grow in Babylon. Verse 49 seems to be a promise that through all of the
punishment, the people will come to know God.
Working in the harvest, the lost we work among are at best
ignorant of God and at worst they really don't care, but everyone lost is under
Satan's power. It is amazing to see what people get tangled up with. We don't
have to judge or be appalled. God does that for us. We extend His truth and
forgiveness. For it is shameful even to
speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the
light, it becomes visible. (Eph. 5:12-13) We bring the light. Especially
reading what we're reading here, we know that God forgives. Knowing our own
lives and what Jesus has done for us, we know He forgives and is strong enough
to reclaim and heal us. This is what we bring to the harvest as we reach out to
the lost and make disciples, who make disciples. Sin is devastating, but He is
stronger.
Hebrews
10:18-39
This is the part of Hebrews that will transition from the
proofs of Christ's superiority and the warnings against turning their backs on
Him, to the practical exhortations to endure and follow Him.
V. 18 This should have been included in yesterday's reading.
Vs. 19-25 Notice the structure here. There are two uses of since followed by three exhortations
marked by let us.
V. 20 Jesus' body was the "veil" that separated us
from the holy place of receiving forgiveness and mercy. Remember that when
Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn. Because Jesus' body was
"torn," we are able to enter into God's presence.
V. 21 Jesus is living to intercede for us.
V. 22 Drawing near to God with a clean conscience is only
possible because of Christ's payment for our sin.
V. 23 Publicly enduring and holding fast is based on Jesus,
who He is and what He has done.
Vs. 24-25 Encouraging
one another and hanging tight together is another way to obey Jesus'
commandment to love one another.
Vs. 26-31 This is a very strong warning that is really a
summary of everything that has been said in Hebrews up to this point.
Vs. 26-27 This is written to a Christian who strongly and
resolutely turns his back on Christ through actions or attitudes and continues
in this defection. The question then is, "what more can God do to awaken
this person since Christ will not die for him again?"
As for the judgment of believers, you only have to look at
Acts 5, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 and 1 Corinthians 11:30 to find that there is
judgment for the saved. Jesus Himself exhorted and warned His disciples to
endure. There is a sense of loss now on earth when we cave in and give up. Look
at Matthew 10:22 and James 1:12.
Vs. 28-29 You see the connection between these verses. Just
as the law promised judgment when violated, so also the new covenant requires
punishment for those who disregard Christ. These people are definitely
Christians and are saved. Look again at the wording of 1 Corinthians 11:28-32,
to see that this is possible for believers. Look at 1 Corinthians 10 to see
more of this. Those believers in 1 Corinthians were dabbling with worshipping
demons. These are just a few examples of born again, eternally secure
believers, defaming Christ through their lifestyle and decisions.
Vs. 30-31 Would we think that somehow God would not punish
His own children if they willfully walk away from Him? The point of God doing
this is restoration of the person, and salvation of the lost by not allowing
His children to defame Christ's name. Look at 1 Peter 4:17 or John 15:6.
Vs. 32-34 Now we can see the situation of these believers in
a slightly fuller perspective. When they first came to Christ, in the reality
of their salvation and the power of that first love, they were alive,
courageous and sacrificial. But now, after these years of routine belief and
becoming comfortable, quietly allowing the flames to die out, they were not
willing or able to face persecution and the loss of their lifestyle and the
things that gave them comfort and meaning. Now it seemed better for them to be
quiet, to blend in and to compromise their faith in Christ by returning to the
law and Jewish custom. God wasn't asking them to become political or social
activists. They could still live a quiet life, godly and respectful in every
way; but they needed to keep their lamps burning and to be salt. They had to
follow Christ with the cross on their shoulders, ready to share what He had
done for them.
Vs. 35-39 These people were saved and had had great
confidence in Christ. If they didn't endure the present threat and if they
compromised their faith, they would lose what it meant to live in Christ. If
they shrunk back from Christ to help themselves, Christ would shrink back from
them and not send them the strengthening help that He would gladly send to
them. The destruction that would come would not be loss of salvation, but
damage on earth of their faith, their hearts and their lives.
Psalm
109
As you read this you can imagine David in the middle of his
years of running from Saul. He is hunted without having done wrong and his name
is constantly lied about to gain the sympathy of the people for Saul. The hope
was that these lies would set the people against David. In the meantime, David
heard of what Saul and his nobles are doing to the people, how they are
neglecting them, twisting justice, using everything for their advantage while
people suffered.
Now this is a very negative psalm. How could God inspire
something so negative and vindictive? Good question. Many times what David felt
and experienced was meant to show what Jesus would live through. Oddly enough,
there are several allusions to Jesus' crucifixion and rejection by that
generation of Israel. God did promise a special punishment for those people who
demanded Jesus' death. That judgment came in 70 A.D., and I'm sure the
judgments pronounced here came upon those people.
Vs. 1-5 If you read about what Jesus had to put up with as
He hung on the cross, you understand this. Verse 3 sounds like John 15:25.
V. 4 This is something David learned and that Jesus
commanded to His disciples.
Vs. 6-15 This section may apply to the people who said to
Pilate in Matthew 27:25, And all
the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
V. 8 It may be that this section also is a judgment
pronounced on Judas. Acts 1:20, “For it is written in the Book
of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in
it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
Vs. 16-20 When I read this I thought of what Jesus said
about the scribes and Pharisees in Luke 20:47, who
devour widows' houses.
Vs. 21-29 This is the hallmark of David's life, knowing the steadfast love of the Lord. This is a
hard way to learn God's steadfast love, but this is how we all must learn.
V. 25 Matthew 27:39 - And
those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads.
Vs. 30-31 And this is the response of David to God's
deliverance and knowing God's steadfast love. He always gave praise to God to
the entire congregation.
And when God takes us through trials as we follow our Lord
in the harvest, He teaches us all of this so that we will gain amazing faith
and confidence in Him and praise His name.
Proverbs
27:13
The word adulteress
is not necessarily here. "Foreigner" might work better. The idea is
one we've seen before. God is telling us not to make ourselves responsible for
those for whom we should not be closely associated. In other words, we are not
to be yoked to unbelievers and we should not make ourselves liable for the
foolish.
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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