DECEMBER 19
As Westerners these readings in the The One Year Bible
seem very removed from real life. We are swiftly approaching Christmas and
gifts and family and the irresistible push to be festive. Then comes that weird
week between the holidays and again we will be festive on New Year's Eve. All
of the words here regarding judgment and disaster are totally out of place….for
a Westerner.
Occasionally in the U.S. there is some major, violent
tragedy where the work of one or a few causes the deaths of many and destroys
friends and families and peace, yet we know that such things are very vile
exceptions to the norm of life. Acts like the 9-11 World Trade Center strike,
or the Boston Marathon bombing, or the Connecticut school shooting are like ugly
statues thrown into a peaceful pond. We are all appalled, surprised and
shocked, but the statues will sink out of sight and the pond waters will be
calm again and the normal life of western society will return. We'll all go
back to shopping, entertainment, eating too much and complaining about the
government.
But what about the world outside of the west? Is the world
really a place of festive lights and joy? Do the words we're reading seem as
foreign to others as they do for us? In Syria, a country mentioned in the
Bible, there have been well over 50,000 deaths in recent years. Most of those
were civilians, dads, moms, kids. Not too many Westerners are crying about
them. Hundreds of thousands are in refugee camps enjoying…, enjoying what? The
conditions in that country are totally third world for most people who are not
in the camps but near the fighting. And that is just Syria. Then there are
things we never hear of or see in China, India, South America, and Africa.
There are tragedies taking place on other continents, in other countries, every
day that never make the news but are not lost to the Lord. He sees it all. Most
of the population on this planet only knows injustice. Most of the people on
this planet will never own or drive a car. Most of the people on this planet
know death and hunger and sickness.
There is a need for justice and for salvation. We might not
understand God's timing, but His Word is very clear. Justice and salvation are
coming. The root of the problem is in each person. We are all carriers of a
spiritual disease that makes us rebel against God. That sickness isn't cured on
a national level. It is cured on a person-to-person level as we are saved and
share that salvation with another person. That salvation is about our Lord, and
"Oh Joy!" we're back to Christmas and to all the festiveness. But,
the harvest is real and utterly important to our neighbors and the billions who
have no clue; because before it gets better, there is a judgment and every
person must stand before that Christmas baby, that sacrificed and risen Savior.
He will either be their Savior, or their Judge. The gospel is the message of
the Savior who saves us from that coming judgment.
Zephaniah
1-3
Because of the limited information God
has given us, a cursory reading only gives us a one-dimensional view of the
great men of the Bible. In Zephaniah we get a view of the hard road that King
Josiah walked. It was already told him that the sins of his grandfather, King
Manasseh, would fall upon Judah and Jerusalem. Yet, driven by his passion for
God and his love for his people, he bravely fought to save his people. He
fought with all the power God gave him to hold back the night.
Somewhere in those 31 years there came
a dark night when I think Josiah realized that it wasn't working. He knew
nothing of the effect this revival had had on the parents of Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. He could only see his family and those close to him, and
their disinterest must have made him heartsick.
So how do you encourage such a brave
and weary warrior? God sent His Word through Zephaniah. There are aspects of
the coming storm that would have renewed Josiah's sense of urgency, but woven
into this prophecy, Josiah received a picture of millennial glory. Josiah
wasn't working just for his generation, and certainly not just for his
children. He was working for the coming King, the Messiah, the One who was
mighty to save, who would lead Judah and Jerusalem into eternal glory and offer
salvation to the nations.
To see
where Zephaniah fits, look at the chart, “Kings of Judah and Israel and the
Preexilic Prophets.”
Zephaniah 1
Vs. 1-7 Notice that the scope of this
is both universal, to all the earth, and local, to Judah. Apparently, although
Josiah had removed the monuments of the idols, some people's hearts still
sought these gods. This is evidenced by the fact that after Josiah's death, few
of the leaders, including his three sons, sought God.
V. 1 It is very likely that Zephaniah
was a great-great grandson of King Hezekiah. This means he was a part of the
royal family. Hezekiah probably had lots of sons, but we only heard about the
son who took the throne, Manasseh.
V. 7 The day of the Lord is mentioned or referred to more in this book,
in these three short chapters, than in any other book of the Bible. You get
some insight into how God knew He could revive Josiah's heart and passion. The
near day of judgment is telescoped to reflect some of that final rolling out of
judgment on all of mankind. What renews your heart and passion for following
Jesus in the harvest?
Vs. 8-13 These are those the Lord will
punish in the near "day." Notice how each of these sections begins
with some reference to that day.
V. 8 Josiah's sons were more interested
in dressing like the Assyrians, Egyptians and Babylonians than in following
Yahweh. What has changed since then? I'll bet they would have had iPhones and
been texting their friends during sermons. We don't know about Josiah's son
Jehoahaz, because Pharaoh Neco took him to Egypt after only two months on the
throne; but we know both Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Both were worthless men. All
three of Josiah's sons were punished. I'm sure Josiah saw their lack of
understanding and love for God, and I'll bet he felt helpless.
Vs. 9-11 Looks like it is talking about
people who live for stuff.
V. 9 The threshold thing was superstition from 1 Samuel 5:4-5 and is
mentioned in Malachi.
Vs. 12-13 This sounds like people who
are complacent about following the Lord. This is also the attitude that
implies, that the things God says are just not worth getting worked up about.
If God is silent, apparently things are OK. Silence doesn't mean God doesn't
care. God won't be complacent about punishing these people. Comfort can be
taken away in a moment.
Vs. 14-18 Notice how God is telling
Josiah about a future day of judgment. We are reading about this in Revelation.
I think this gave Josiah a shocking view of the judgment coming upon all men.
God's judgment was bigger than just Judah and Jerusalem. Josiah might have been
discouraged about standing in the gap for this little country that somehow had
a connection to a bigger purpose, but now Josiah is seeing that the gap he is
standing in has something to do with the salvation of the entire world. This
would have motivated a man like Josiah.
Zephaniah 2
Vs. 1-2 God calls the nation to repent
before He unleashes His wrath.
V. 3 This reminds me of the 144,000 in
Revelation. They are hidden and protected during the Tribulation. Josiah would
have understood this as hope to all who came to the Lord. Every individual
mattered.
Vs. 4-15 God is predicting the humbling
of the surrounding nations and the glory of the remnant of the people who seek
Him. Notice that interspersed in all of this is the greatness of God and the
hope for those who seek Him.
Zephaniah 3
Vs. 1-5 This is judgment against
Jerusalem. What would you say is the key verse here? I think this is the verse
that gave hope to Josiah. His reforms had one focus, to get people to put their
trust in the Lord and to draw near to Him. There were some people
doing that.
Vs. 6-7 God had humbled the nations,
like the Assyrians and some of the neighboring countries, to show Israel that
they should hope in Him. But, the result was that the people of Judah and
Jerusalem didn't take it to heart.
Vs. 8-10 In that day, God will summon
all the nations together and humble and purify them. This is definitely for the
end times.
Vs. 11-13 And at that time God will
save a godly remnant of Judah. Again, this confirms to Josiah that the number
will be small, so to keep on working.
Vs. 14-20 And God will save and exalt
Zion. Notice that the Lord will be the King in their midst. This is what Josiah
was working toward. God will eventually cleanse the remnant, humble the nations
and come and reign in Jerusalem.
V. 16 I'll bet this helped strengthen
Josiah's hands too.
V. 17 I hope that Josiah personalized
this verse, "Josiah, the Lord your God is with you. He rejoices over you with gladness and he will quiet you by his love. He exults
over you with loud singing. I think
we can personalize this verse for ourselves too, because of the victory of
Christ.
I'd like to think that Josiah was given
strength and courage by this prophecy. Seeing the end, the glory of Israel,
seeing Zion with her King, the Lord God reigning in her, must have given him
hope. Josiah couldn't lose if he kept following, because God was still in
control and the Lord would win the day.
We need to
remember too, that regardless of our deep weakness and feelings of failing, we
are simply called to follow the Lord we love into this harvest. We reach out to
whom we can and we encourage and guide the believing to follow as disciples,
who make disciples. The work and power are His and He has a unique relationship
to those who hope in Him and follow. Josiah might have felt weak and hopeless
in his work, but as the Lord reminded him and us, Fear not ...; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in
your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Jesus is with us in love and joy, and He is mighty to save.
Revelation
10
Chapter 10 begins a pause in the
declaration of judgments from Jesus. This is not to say that there is no
activity on earth or in heaven. Actually, there is a lot going on in both
places. The seals and the trumpets (there is still one remaining trumpet) of
the first 3.5 years have set the stage for the next 3.5. The events of chapter
11 will happen at the mid-point of the Tribulation and chapters 12-16 will
happen during this final 3.5 years. Chapter 16 will unleash the final judgments
that are very close to the end of the Tribulation and the second coming of
Christ.
Vs. 1-7 This mighty angel is declaring
a hidden, but very solemn, situation that will be fulfilled. The mention of the
rainbow should make us think about
God's promise to Noah never to fully destroy all of mankind as He did in the
flood. The loud voice gives this mystery a special measure of importance. There
will be ominous consequences. Apparently what will take place will almost bring
the deaths of everyone on the planet. Jesus Himself said, And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be
saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Matt.
24:22)
One question here is what the mystery
was that John was not supposed to write down. It was something announced or
mentioned by the prophets that will be fulfilled. Obviously this mystery isn't
the incarnation or death and resurrection of Christ, or even the existence of
the church.
Vs. 8-10 John is told to eat this small
scroll. That the scroll tasted sweet is similar to what we saw in Ezekiel 3:3,
but that didn't make Ezekiel sick. Daniel was made sick when he saw his
visions. Daniel became preoccupied with the visions of the little horn, because
it was able to make war with the saints of God and prevail. This would be a
good time to look at Daniel 7:18-27 and particularly Daniel 8:24-27. Notice
that in Daniel 8:26, Daniel is told to seal up the vision just as John was.
Notice that Daniel became sick at the content of this vision.
I think that what is being announced
here is that God is about to give the Jews and anyone who believes in Him
(possibly with the exception of the 144,000) into the hand of the antichrist.
The world stage has been set. The 144,000 have scattered throughout the earth,
and many have come to Christ, and they too have been sharing. The world is
wrecked, but the antichrist is rebuilding and creating order. He had made a
treaty of peace with Israel, but in spite of that, the two witnesses have been
a public threat to him. They have been untouchable. People in the world
understand that God is behind what has happened, and now their hearts are
beginning to be revealed both in hate toward these witnesses, and also toward
God and anyone who names His name.
Time wise, the first 3.5 years are
coming to an end. The army of the north spoken of in Ezekiel is coming toward
Jerusalem. It appears that the disaster that will happen to this army encamped
near the Dead Sea will come from those witnesses. The antichrist will approach
Jerusalem with his army, and armed with satanic power; and he will kill the
witnesses. He will take his place in the temple and desecrate it, and all the
believing Jews in Jerusalem will flee to the hills around the Dead Sea. Satan
will be thrown out of heaven and we'll read about Satan's pursuit of the Jews
who will be saved in the desert. The antichrist will then reveal spiritual
power. The persecution of Christians and believing Jews will encompass most of
the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation.
God will defeat Satan
through weakness. His own sheep will conquer Satan, …by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they
loved not their lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:11) These disgusting, weak
humans will wreck Satan. This I think is the mystery. God will give His people
into the enemy's hand and it will destroy that enemy. The more Satan rages, the
more he loses, and mankind judges itself by how it treats Jesus' disciples.
Look at what God said
through Paul in Romans 8:35-39, Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
V. 11 So, John is told that in spite of
this, the Word still needs to go out to all the people of the earth. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the
end will come. (Matt. 24:14)
Psalm
138
What an interesting psalm for today. We
go from a discouraged Josiah, to a great movement in the Tribulation that will
prove God's wisdom and strength through His suffering saints, to David,
praising God in the midst of his troubles.
Vs. 1-2 Doesn't it strike you that
David thanked God not only for His love, but because God had exalted His name
and His Word? When David was in trouble and close to God's Word, he was
invincible.
V. 3 What a great testimony of hope to
us.
Vs. 4-5 David speaks of all the kings
of the earth. This is future and it will be true in the Millennium. Even here,
David saw beyond his life to the salvation of all peoples.
V. 6 This is what God said through
Zephaniah, that the lowly who seek Him are regarded before God.
Vs. 7-8 David was still living a
troubled life, but he knew God's presence and preservation. He knew God had a
purpose for him and he knew God's steadfast
love. Is it worth facing hardship to know the reality of God's steadfast
love and to know His presence? I think it is and it is built into following
Christ in the harvest. I think it is one of those "rewards" you only
get a certain way, and following Him in the harvest is the way.
Proverbs 30:11-14
There is something for everyone here. There are kinds of
"people" or "sins." How would you describe or title them?
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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