DECEMBER 27
Zechariah
10-11
Zechariah 10
This chapter seems to be saying that in
His future blessing of Israel, God will give the nation a good shepherd.
Vs. 1-2 A good shepherd would lead the
people to God. Without a good shepherd they wander. Notice the encouragement
for them to call on and seek the Lord instead of relying on junk and the words
of others. Nothing has changed since then and God is telling us the same thing
today.
Vs. 3-5 First, God will provide a
shepherd to the tribe of Judah. Notice the references to ruling and leading
into battle. As we'll see tomorrow in both Zechariah and Revelation, the Lord
will come first to Jerusalem to gather His people and then head north to the
battle. And there will be an actual battle in both Jerusalem and 75 miles north
in Megiddo (Armageddon).
Vs. 6-7 God will then strengthen all of
Israel represented in the leading tribes. Again, tomorrow the references to
battle will make more sense. According to v. 7, when the Lord leads them to the
battle of Armageddon, the people will be so "drunk" with the Spirit
that they will go forth in joy and power. They will be invincible. And their
leader, this time, will not be turning the other cheek.
Vs. 8-12 With this victory behind Him,
this shepherd will gather all of the sheep to Jerusalem and they shall walk in
His name.
Zechariah 11
But first, the nation will reject the
shepherd and be given to judgment. It might be that Zechariah did some role
playing here in vs. 4, 7 & 15.
Vs. 1-3 This is a poetic picture of
ruin.
Vs. 4-14 Jesus became the good shepherd
of the flock or generation of Israel that was doomed to slaughter. Jesus'
generation was doomed because they didn't accept Him. This generation was
scattered and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
V. 8 The three shepherds may have been
the chief priests, the Pharisees and the scribes. These were the main leaders
of the people. Most of the priests were Sadducees, not believing in angels or
the resurrection. I was reading this morning how hard Jesus was toward the
Jewish rulers, Pharisees and scribes. They took away the key of the knowledge
of salvation from the people. They themselves didn't enter and they made it
extremely difficult for anyone who found the way through the grace of God. In
John 19:15, it was the chief priests who cried out, We have no king but Caesar.
V. 10 Because of His rejection by the
leaders, the staff of Favor was
broken.
V. 13 This is what Judas was paid to
betray Jesus. It is interesting that the money here was thrown to the potter,
and in Matthew 27:5 the priests used the betrayal money to buy the potter's
field.
V. 14 The staff of Union might symbolically describe the Jews being scattered in the
Roman persecution.
Vs. 15-17 This is the judgment on those
chief priests, scribes and Pharisees who led Israel after Jesus' resurrection.
We see in the early chapters of Acts that these Jewish leaders were completely
worthless in recognizing what was happening and in leading the people.
For an interesting connection here,
read John 10, about the Good Shepherd. You'll see some of this imagery in
Jesus' words.
As those who are seeking to make disciples,
who make disciples, Jesus said that a disciple is not above his master. That
means that those we teach will be like us. That's pretty scary. That means that
we better be like our Teacher, the great Shepherd. And we can only be like Him
if we humble ourselves daily in His Word and follow Him, with our cross, into
His harvest.
Revelation
18
Vs. 1-3 It appears that God has used
the antichrist's own anger to judge whatever nation or city is represented by
Babylon. You have to wonder why this is such a big deal in heaven. I think that
this Babylon, without any of Satan's influence, is the expression of mankind's
self-indulgent rebellion and sin. This is how our hearts flow and how we work
to ruin one another. If you read Romans 1:18ff, you'll notice that mankind's
rebellion and punishment is mentioned without reference to Satan. Man ruined
man and all men are under the power of sin.
V. 3 This verse gives us the scope of
this world influence and dominance. It is sensual, material, commercial, pleasurable
and addictive. As mentioned before, we don't have the name of this nation, but
the U.S. would be an example of a nation that has this kind of influence in
today's world, enticing the pride, pleasure and greed of men.
Vs. 4-8 Note that there are still
saints within her. Notice also that this destruction by fire takes place in a
single day. Those believers within that city will have a warning, if by no
other means than by opening their Bibles. Notice here it says that Babylon was
destroyed in a single (one) day. It will refer to this destruction two times
more as "one hour." That gives the indication that it will definitely
and literally take place in one hour.
Vs. 9-10 This is the mourning of the
kings or the rich of the world. You notice that the immorality is not literal,
but spiritual.
Vs. 11-19 This is the mourning of the
merchants and consumers of the earth. Notice again that Babylon's destruction
came in a single hour. Apparently
this will be "breaking news."
Vs. 20-24 Notice that judgment is being
given for the saints and apostles and prophets. Somehow this nation represents
the heart of man opposing God and His servants. The deciding verse here is v.
24, where the blood of the prophets and saints was found in her. I was thinking
this morning that two of the archenemies Paul faced were Demetrius the
silversmith and Alexander the coppersmith. They were businessmen. Alexander,
apparently, was responsible for Paul's final imprisonment, and Paul told
Timothy to avoid him.
Notice that God has given us two
chapters about a nation and influence that dominated the world. And, we'll hear
more about it tomorrow. This nation led people away from God. It seduced people
and nations through pleasure, music, goods, power and a focus on greed and
self. It killed God's people not because of Satan, but because God's people, by
their love for Christ and very presence, were a light to the sin of this
nation. By following God, they were a threat. This nation defied God and it
defied Satan. Mankind doesn't need Satan to be ruined from sin. We do that fine
by ourselves. As C.S. Lewis said, "The dwarfs are for the dwarfs."
During the Millennial Kingdom where everything is perfect and where Satan is
locked up, mankind will still harbor lust and desire and greed. By the end of the
Millennium, there will be many who will hate Jesus. They will see Him and
despise Him. When Satan reappears, there will be multitudes who will follow
him. The desires of our sinful nature create Babylon and lead us away from God.
Man may be for Man, but as disciples,
we are for the Lord and His harvest.
Psalm
146
What speaks to me
here is that God teaches us to look beyond the human. He is our only hope. We
deceive ourselves thinking that we or anyone else are our help and hope. God
may use others to help us, but it is He alone and always only Him. I'll praise
God for hard times because that is where I learn and learn to praise Him alone.
Vs. 1-2 This is the
call to praise and the declaration of the psalmist. Can we say this?
Vs. 3-4 Since men
die, our sure hope is in an undying and unfailing God.
Vs. 5-7 In these
short verses you have the promise to Abraham. This promise and faithfulness are
illustrated in how God still stayed with that dishonest follower, Jacob. Then
there is the creation and how God in faithfulness holds all that together.
Finally, God is the Judge of the earth who cares for the poor.
Vs. 8-10 I read this
morning how the Good Shepherd healed a women who was bent over from satanic
oppression and released her of that bond on the Sabbath day. Then a worthless
shepherd stood up and opposed Him. And in a few words, Jesus rebuked all of
those leaders and put His adversaries to shame. There was definitely no cheek
turning as the Good Shepherd defended one of His own. He is our strong Deliverer.
It is amazing to think of what Jesus has done, still does and will do to save
us as we follow Him in the harvest.
Proverbs 30:33
Anger is a good
thing not to "press." The joke regarding this verse is that some guy
challenged a preacher saying that the Bible wasn't true. The preacher called
the guy up on stage, read this verse, and as he reached out for the guy's nose
he said, "Let's see if this verse is true."
My German one-year Bible put vs. 32-33 on the same day.
Luther gave an accurate and variant translation of v. 32. Putting both verses
together, the import would be that whether you have considered something like a
fool, or whether you have really done a good job of considering a point (the
word consider is the same word as Proverbs 31:16 for the godly woman weighing
the pros and cons of buying a field), put your hand over your mouth because
stirring up anger and strife is still to be avoided. So whether you are wrong
or right, don't cause a fight. Only a fool causes a fight to be right.
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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