DECEMBER 10
Amos
1-3
Amos wasn't a prophet in terms of being
in the groups of prophets who existed during the time of Elijah and Elisha.
Amos was a sheep breeder, a herder and a cultivator of mulberry trees.
Apparently this is to say that Amos was a respected man and had leadership
within his trade. Amos was preaching during the time of Hosea and Jonah. Though
he was from Judah, he was sent to preach to Israel, the northern kingdom. The
ministries of these three prophets (Hosea, Jonah and Amos) came right after the
death of Elisha, and though the judgment against Israel had been pronounced,
God still worked with these people for another hundred years to show grace and
bring people to repentance. Anyone who did respond to God through these
prophets probably headed south to live in Judah where there was still a godly
influence.
Unfortunately, this was a time of
prosperity for both kingdoms and so the messages of these prophets went
unheard, except for those who had ears to hear and hearts of faith.
Amos 1
Vs. 1-2 You might want to refer to the
chart, “Kings of Judah and Israel and the Preexilic Prophets,” at the end of
this document to see where Amos fits. Notice
that the Lord is speaking from Zion, in Judah. Since the northern kingdom had abandoned
worship at the temple and disowned Jerusalem as the Lord’s city, this would be
a very pointed statement in their ears.
What follows are pronouncements of
judgment on the surrounding nations for violence they committed against all of
Israel, both north and south. The tool of judgment would be the rising power of
Assyria.
Vs. 3-5 Damascus, representing all of
Syria, was the major power in that region, until the Assyrians came. For years
they had been very destructive to Israel.
Vs. 6-8 The Philistines had always been
arch enemies of Israel, and during the times of the northern kings, they had
been capturing Jews and selling them as slaves.
Vs. 9-10 Although Tyre had a treaty
with Israel, they worked with Israel's enemies in selling Jewish slaves to Edom.
Vs. 11-12 The Edomites were arch
enemies of the Jews.
Vs. 13-15 The Ammonites came from Lot
and one of his daughters. Their sin was evident and their acts were brutal.
They did this to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies.
Amos 2
Vs. 1-3 The Moabites came from Lot and
his other daughter. Now this is interesting because their wrong was not against
Israel but against Edom. But it could be that among the bones they burned were
the bones of Esau, the son of Isaac and the brother of Jacob (Israel).
Vs. 4-5 Now we have Judah. Some of the
kings of Judah were godly, but there were ungodly kings and the people were not
always obedient. Notice that they will be irrevocably judged because of
rejecting the statutes of the Lord. This is a long time before judgment came.
God was patient and we've read the story of what God did with Judah.
Vs. 6-8 This is the judgment of Israel,
the northern kingdom. What a list of sins.
Vs. 9-12 Although it was God who had
saved them, they got rid of those who were devoted to God or would speak for
Him. Whereas there were still godly people and godly kings in Judah, in Israel
they had taken care of any godly influence so they could enjoy themselves.
Verse 12 is interesting regarding the Nazirites drinking wine. The people of Israel
corrupted them. It makes me think of Daniel and his friends in Daniel 1. They
resisted eating the food and wine offered to the gods of Babylon, to keep
themselves devoted to the Lord. Even that small compromise would have hurt
them.
Vs. 13-16 God Himself would humble
Israel, and no amount of effort or strength on their part would save them.
Amos 3
Vs. 1-8 What do you think the Lord is
saying here? In some respect this might look back to 2:11-12. It seems that God
is saying that just like there is a cause-effect relationship in these other
things, the people should have responded when they saw the prophets, realizing
that God had spoken and was trying to save them. The long years of the ministry
of Elijah and Elisha were full of signs and offers to the kings and people to
repent. No one listened. I was reading about Jesus asking the people how they
knew how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why they were
not able to interpret the present time, that is, the time of His visitation. God
seems to be asking the same thing here through Amos.
Vs. 9-10 This appears to be God calling
the ungodly to look at Samaria and be witnesses to its godlessness.
Vs. 11-12 Only a small remnant of the
northern kingdom would survive. Talk about graphic imagery.
Vs. 13-15 Notice the two things
mentioned here: the worship in Bethel (to keep people believing a lie and not
going to Jerusalem) and the luxury of the rich. These were among the gods of
the northern kingdom.
As disciples it is easy for us to slip
into the mode of assuming there is lots of time and God will always be patient.
His patience is amazing, but when it is time to judge, His judgment comes and
rolls and is relentless. We are working in the harvest because He is coming.
The offer for forgiveness stands now; but it will expire, and then comes
judgment beyond our comprehension.
All of Revelation, and the Bible itself
for that matter, is a call for us to stay awake and get the Word out. The more
you read this, the more you understand why we've been left here to work in the
harvest. We need to stay awake and keep sharing the gospel of Christ and let
people know that the kingdom of Heaven is coming.
Revelation
2:1-17
Many people have posed different
schemes for understanding these churches, and I'd suggest taking a very natural
approach. All of these churches existed at the same time, not during different
ages, so we don't need to see the churches representing different ages in the
history of the church. Also, these churches were selected by Jesus because of
particular elements that He wanted to comment on, and wanted us to learn from.
In fact, all of the letters we have from Paul that were addressed to churches
were designed to address challenges in each church, but were also written down
for our instruction. Although all of these churches were near one another
geographically, there were also big-name, nearby churches, like in Colossae,
that are not mentioned here by Jesus.
As you read through these letters to
the churches, you will notice a certain pattern that repeats, yet the message
for each church is very individual. Also, just think about this: These are the
only letters in the Bible from Jesus Himself to churches.
Vs. 1-7 The church in Ephesus.
V. 1 Notice that the letter is to the angel of the church. The word
"angel" means messenger. In Matthew 11:10, Jesus uses the same word
for John the Baptist and it is translated messenger. In this case, angel must
be referring to one of the elders or the pastor. A real angel didn't need
correspondence. Also, five of these seven "angels" receive a warning
about judgment. I don't think God's holy angels need warnings. We
"angels" do.
Notice how Jesus introduces Himself.
This will be different for each church and will be significant for His message
to them. Usually, the right hand
means authority. The stars, as we've seen, are leaders/pastors of these seven
churches. This might mean something like, "Jesus holds this authority, not
the men, and the churches are led or held by His authority."
Vs. 2-3 First the positive. The endurance is not from suffering, but
from maintaining a constant fight against error. That will wear you out.
V. 4 Just so you know, five of the
seven churches have a charge against them. How do you think this rebuke relates
to vs. 2-3? Losing this first love is a very serious thing. As believers and as
churches, our joy in our salvation and Savior cannot be superseded by any other
thing. When the church engages in wars, doctrinal, social or political, it
begins to rob people of the remembrance of being saved, of receiving mercy and
unmerited love. A disciple is to live in that love and remembrance of mercy and
to be empowered by that joy daily. Our remembrance of our need and the mercy we
received is what the Lord uses in us to share His message in the harvest with tenderness,
patience and compassion.
V. 5 This warning is very serious. To
have the lampstand removed is to
close down the church. The church in Ephesus no longer exists.
V. 6 No one knows exactly what the
Nicolaitans taught, but it seems to have been excessive freedom that led
believers into moral sin and caused others to stumble because of foods. We saw
this mentioned in 1 Corinthians and in Romans. John, Peter and Jude made
references to Christians and teachers who were leading believers into immorality
and following their passions.
V. 7 So, Jesus is delivering a message
from the Spirit.
One of the issues in these letters is
the promise made at the end. This promise, to
eat of the tree of life, is offered to all believers, regardless of whether
they fail or endure. Whether a Christian is obedient or disobedient, they will
still eat of the fruit. So what is the promise? I think, in all of these
promises, the reward is living closely with Christ on earth with the confidence
of the reward, and therefore, knowing God's joy and peace as we walk on earth.
It would be like two sons who are guaranteed an inheritance. If one of those
sons was very close to his father, the reward of the coming inheritance would
be present in his life every day. For the other son, he would miss the daily
blessing of his father and would give no thought to what that inheritance meant
for his life now and for his future. Living in this promise leads to a deeper
relationship with Christ and joy, peace, purpose and all those fruits of the
Spirit. We live with an expectation of welcome when we come into Christ's
presence. If a Christian doesn't live obediently, they still get eternal life.
But living now with eternity in view affects us now and has to do with
relationship and communion here. What we benefit from Jesus now is up to us. A
lot of what Jesus said to His disciples made the blessings of following Him on
earth totally up to them, whether or not they would follow. There will also be
benefits in heaven, but we are not told a lot about those.
So I wonder, what did Jesus holding the
stars have to do with the warning or with the promise at the end?
Vs. 8-11 The church in Smyrna.
V. 8 Notice how Jesus introduces
Himself.
V. 9 This is their current situation
and their commendation. The tribulation
and poverty were real. It is
interesting how Jesus names this synagogue.
V. 10 We've seen this before, that
often the purpose of prophecy is to help people going through a hard time to
hold on, having been told in advance what would happen. Remember those detailed
prophecies at the end of Daniel? Because of this word, these people can be sure
that they, and the situation, are in God's hands.
The crown
of life seems to be a special reward for those who suffer for Christ. We'll
see these crowns being cast down at the feet of the Lamb in a couple of
chapters.
V. 11 The promise to those who conquer
is again something that all believers can be assured that they will receive. So
then, the difference is that those believers who are close to Christ live with
this assurance and confidence. I've met quite a few believers who will live
forever in heaven, but on earth they live in fear of death.
Notice here that there was no rebuke or
warning. We've seen that God uses suffering to teach us and cleanse us. I think
their suffering is the reason they were healthy. Do you see how Jesus'
introduction might have been important to what He said to this church? The
church in Smyrna is still there today.
Vs. 12-17 The church in Pergamum.
So, you've noted Jesus' introduction
and His commendation of the church.
Vs. 14-15 What is the real issue here?
Look at 1 Corinthians 5. Paul accused the elders in Corinth of arrogance
because they did not remove people from fellowship. Again, read 1 Corinthians 5
and you'll see the issue. The church in Pergamum had grown too tolerant, maybe
out of noble reasons, but they allowed these people to remain in the church. I
think of Eli and his sons. Eli couldn't help that his sons were awful men, but
the fact that he didn't remove them as priests was the sin for which he was
punished.
V. 16 This is a very clear connection
to Jesus' introduction in v. 12. Hebrews 4:12, I think, gives the idea of what
would happen here. The intent of hearts would be judged and possibly the church
would split.
V. 17 So, what is this reward?
Actually, it looks like two rewards. Both of these seem to be allusions back to
the people in the wilderness as God was forming the nation of Israel. Manna has to do with food from God,
possibly some spiritual nourishment as a reward for dealing with this
situation. The only place I can think of where there is a name written on the stone has to do with the priests. When the
priests served, they wore clothing that had twelve stones, each with the name
of a different tribe. This was to have reminded the priest that they were to
represent, bless, and protect the people by their service. It could be that
those who were willing to protect the church like this would be drawn closer to
Christ and given "hidden" nourishment and a special empowerment for
service. I'm just guessing, but serving in the church, especially when there
are these kinds of problems, takes a deep strength and a real commitment and
empowerment to lead and serve well.
And of course, after you deal with all
of this stuff, there is still the task of moving the church to follow Jesus
into the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples.
Psalm
129
Vs. 1-8 This would have brought the
worshipers approaching Jerusalem into the remembrance of the hardships they had
endured and how the Lord had saved them. God's people and that city are His
possession. Let God judge His own people, but if anyone else lifts their hand
against His people or His city, God will eventually punish them.
In all we are reading about the
judgment of the Lord on Israel, we should remember that God has used this
nation to show all of us what the heart of man is like. In Israel we see
failure and faith, but God shows Himself to us in His dealings with them. In a
way, Israel has paid a price for this service, and God will yet reward them and
fulfill His purpose. He won't forget their labor or their suffering for the
redemption of the world. As Paul says, we owe them respect.
Proverbs 29:19-20
Words seem
to be the theme of these two verses. Words without substance do nothing. Even
in following the Lord, there are words; and then as James said, there is doing.
Jesus always associated words with doing, for those following Him.
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