DECEMBER 8
Well, these are the last days….of December. If you've been
keeping up, you might be exhausted. If you haven't been keeping up, hopefully
you're thinking that January 1 looks good for a new beginning. I know there are
Christmas parties and church things, shopping and traveling. But if you do have
time to catch your breath somewhere in the day, I'd encourage you to keep
reading. Tomorrow we begin Revelation. Revelation is the only book in the Bible
that promises a blessing for reading it and heeding it. And besides, if you
have a couple of quiet times between now and the end of the year, you won't
feel like such a spiritual schlep when you regather your nerve endings when the
kids head back to school, and you begin another year in the Word. Trust me, if
you struggled reading your one-year Bible this year, next year you'll do much
better.
By the way, you will be finishing two books today and
beginning two new books tomorrow.
Hosea 10-14
Our
last day in Hosea. As you're reading though all of this, keep making
observations and looking for associations either in the text or between things
said here and other parts of the Bible. Keep yourself awake and observant.
Hosea
10
Notice
that it seems this is all exclusively aimed at the northern kingdom.
V. 1
This is total irony, to take God's blessing and make idols for ourselves. We've
all stopped doing that, right?
V. 2
The breaking down of altars was done by King Josiah. You remember who he was,
right?
Vs.
3-6 These people didn't need God as their king. They felt content and
self-sufficient. Even today, if we're feeling good, do we really
"need" anyone? God would remove that arrogance from them.
V. 5
This altar at Bethel was one of two that Jeroboam set up, so the people
wouldn't go to Jerusalem to worship. After all, he thought, didn't Israel
worship a calf in the wilderness? And if it was in the Bible, then it must have
been biblical, right? This is what determined the dark path of the northern
kingdom. To be fair though, it was Solomon, the wisest guy in the world, who
introduced idolatry into the united nation's bloodstream. The joke here is that
the Assyrians threw Israel's "god" on a wagon and carted it away.
Vs.
7-8 God would humble this people by taking away His blessing. Interestingly,
Jesus quoted v. 8 to the women of Jerusalem as He walked through the streets to
His crucifixion in Luke 23:28-30. Also, the people of earth will say this
during the Tribulation in Revelation 6:16.
Vs.
9-10 This is referring to Judges 19. Again, the events at the end of Judges
were big things. The event in Gibeah was a poison that never left the veins of
Israel. There was also another interesting story in Judges 18 and as a result
of that story, guess which tribe of Israel is not represented in the 144,000 in
Revelation 7:4-12. Those little stories had huge results because they showed a
poison that had infected the people.
Vs.
11-12 God had pampered Israel, but God would refine Israel through hard work,
hoping Israel would turn to Him. This is rare in Hosea to find God calling out
to the people in the middle of His pronouncement of their sins and their
judgment. It must have been because of the imagery of sowing and reaping and
seeking the Lord (instead of Baal the fertility god) for their needs. Even in
this final hour, God was pleading with the people to seek Him.
Vs.
13-15 Bethel means "house of God." During the times of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, this place had good connotations. Can you remember a showdown at
Bethel where God pronounced judgment? It was in 1 Kings 13, just after the
northern and southern kingdoms were established. A man of God was sent to
pronounce judgment on King Jeroboam and the northern kingdom. Now, 200 years
later, this is the final fulfillment of what God said. Who says God isn't
patient? He tried everything to give the people a chance to repent and come to
Him.
Hosea
11
This
chapter laments the northern kingdom's seeking help from Egypt.
V. 1
Guess where this verse is quoted. Look at Matthew 2:15. In the history of
Israel this was a great moment, as well as in the history of salvation.
V. 2
This makes me think of that generation of Israel that rejected Jesus. The more
He called them, the more they rejected Him.
Vs.
3-7 Verses 3-4 are contrasted to vs. 5-7. God tried to help and heal them, but
they rejected Him and would be subject to cruelty and slavery. Notice in v. 4
how God bent down to them and how in v. 7 the people bent themselves away from
God. As God has said before, their calling out to God was for themselves and
their appetites. It was not from true repentance or a sincere desire to draw
near to God.
This
ends this long portion of God declaring the people's sin and His judgment on
them. Just to keep this in perspective, remember that God is showing how all
mankind responds to Him.
Vs.
8-12 Now comes the promise of hope and salvation.
V. 8
The cities mentioned here are obscure, but flip the page and look at Jude 7. These
were the surrounding cities. Kind of
cool, huh?
God's
compassion is tender. This is either the image of a man to his child, or
because this is Hosea, the image of a man to his unfaithful wife whom he still
loves.
V. 9
So how is God going to change them without coming to them in wrath? Look at
Isaiah 55 (particularly vs. 8-11) and you get an idea of what God is alluding
to here, and what His resources are to transform the hearts of people.
Vs.
10-11 He has used both of these animals before in a negative sense. Now God is
saying when they hear His roar they will be glad and will seek Him for shelter
and protection. This time the dove will have sense and seek Him.
V. 12
As we've seen in Ezekiel, those in the southern kingdom were also idolatrous,
but God rescued the majority of those people from exile. I think their
faithfulness was seen in that they still had men like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel
& Co., and others who sincerely worshiped God. The northern kingdom was
devoid of godly leaders.
Hosea
12
V. 1
This seems to stand alone as a rebuke to Ephraim (the northern kingdom).
Vs.
2-6 There will be punishment for Judah, and thereby God will, in symbol, punish
all of Jacob. Notice God's summary of Jacob's life from the book of Genesis.
God didn't miss anything. Jacob was a liar and a thief, but there was faith
found in him. God will nurture that ember of faith in Judah, representing
Jacob, and they will return to God. These people are the ones God brought out
of exile, and they are the seed of those who will be present when Jesus
establishes His kingdom.
Vs.
7-9 For Ephraim's dishonesty and injustice, God will lead him again into the
wilderness. The Feast of the Tabernacles, near the Day of Atonement, was to
have made the people remember their humble pilgrimage through the wilderness.
Israel, united or divided, never held this feast, living in tents or booths,
until the days of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah's celebration of the Feast of the
Tabernacles, in Nehemiah 8:14-18, was still over 250 years in the future). They
may have held the feast, but they didn't live in tents and makeshift huts as
they were told to do.
When
Jesus told His disciples, Blessed are you
who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now,
for you shall laugh (Luke 6:21), He was sharing this same principle. If we
forget our salvation and saturate ourselves in the things of this life, we
forget His love and care. And we can make idols out of all of His blessings.
Vs.
10-14 Because of Ephraim's provocation God will humble them, as He humbled
Jacob by making him work for someone craftier than he. God will guide them by
His prophets.
Hosea
13
Vs.
1-3 Ephraim was an exalted and respected tribe which carried the birthright
given by Jacob. Joshua was of Ephraim. But the people of Ephraim were foolish
and led the nation into idolatry.
Vs.
4-14 Actually, it was God who exalted Ephraim. So, since God gave and was not
thanked, but rejected, God will now humble the people. Notice that in v. 4 God
ransomed them out of Egypt. Then in v. 14 He says He will not ransom them now.
Vs.
4-8 Because they used God's blessing for their own sin and pleasure, God would
become an adversary and make them live in fear and awareness of their danger.
It doesn't matter what your position is or if you have a bag of gold, if you
live in fear.
Vs.
9-13 In 1 Samuel 8, the people rejected God and demanded a king of their own
liking. God gave them a king that reflected their hearts, King Saul. That
wasn't very pretty. It led Israel into further confusion until God appointed
David, a man after His own heart.
V. 14
Notice that this is a famous verse quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55. In
Hosea, death will consume Ephraim, but in 1 Corinthians 15:55, because of
Jesus, death no longer has any power.
Vs.
15-16 Back to the thought of Ephraim being exalted among his brothers. That is
ended now, once for all.
Hosea
14
This
is the final message of hope and salvation
Vs.
1-3 God not only encourages them to return in repentance, but He tells them
what to say.
Vs.
4-7 God promises them restoration.
Vs.
8-9 This is an interesting challenge from the Lord. It sounds like the appeals
of wisdom in Proverbs, but more like the challenges in the book of Revelation
to take heed to the message of the book. Look at Revelation 22:10-21, and
compare Hosea 14:9 with Revelation 22:11.
Jude
So,
meet another of Jesus' brothers. Jude wrote with apostolic authority, so he
must have been a respected leader in some circles. Like James, this letter is
filled with images and references to Old Testament history.
Vs.
1-3 Although he had planned to write a letter encouraging these people about
their salvation and growth in Christ, he found it necessary to warn them to put
up a strong fight against false teachers.
V. 4
There was a line of teaching, seen even in 1 Corinthians 5 and 6, that since
God is interested in saving our spirit, and since the body is fully kaput, one
should feed the spirit. Whatever the body does doesn't count. This led people
to embrace the kind of spirituality we've been reading about in Hosea where you
give lip service to God on Sunday and then let your body and its desires lead
your life the rest of the week.
When
we live in a way that is dishonoring to Jesus, we deny Him by our lifestyle and
choices. Since the faith has been delivered to us, it is vital that we guard
and protect it, especially from hypocrisy.
V. 5
Here is one example of apostasy, the children of Israel being led out of Egypt.
Paul refers to this in practically the same way in 1 Corinthians 10:1-5,
including the reference to Jesus.
V. 6
Although these angels had great privilege and power, when they overstepped
God's command and will, they were put in prison. This, I believe, is a
reference to what happened in Genesis 6:1-5.
V. 7
The area around Sodom and Gomorrah had been like the garden of God, and
apparently Lot was a witness to them, but they didn't heed the word and they
were destroyed.
Vs.
8-13 These teachers are compared to those who had great privilege and went
astray, and Jude described them in very graphic terms.
Vs.
8-10 These people were arrogantly involved in defying the spiritual forces,
ranting against demons. I've heard of people doing this in such a proud way
that it makes you wonder why Satan doesn't just whack them since they are so
proud and unbalanced in their attitudes; but actually, Satan probably likes it.
This gives these teachers a following among the unsteady, but the true spiritual
attitude is the one Michael showed.
V. 9
The event Jude is referring to here is not in Scripture, but it was a part of
Jewish tradition. Apparently there was some truth to it. God did, in fact, hide
Moses' grave; and He did it for a reason.
V. 11
Notice the apostates and false teachers shown here. Cain, the firstborn son of
Adam, is known for a half-hearted sacrifice and murderous jealousy against his
righteous brother. Balaam was a prophet of God who taught the enemy how to
corrupt God's people, bringing God's judgment on them. Korah was a Levite who
incited a rebellion against the men God was using to lead the people of God.
All of these people had a position of respect before God which they misused to
their own destruction and the destruction of others.
Vs.
12-13 They bring nothing to the church but hidden danger. They are empty and
deceitful.
Vs.
14-15 Both in the oral tradition of the Jews and then written in the
non-biblical book of Enoch (110 B.C.), it was said that before Enoch was taken
(about 65 years before the birth of Noah) he pronounced judgment on his
generation, that is, that generation mentioned in Genesis 6. Some think that
Enoch will be one of those two witnesses in Jerusalem in the book of
Revelation.
V. 16
Here is Jude's final description of these people. They are not just teachers;
they are complainers. Look again at 1 Corinthians 10:9-10, where Paul mentions
some of these same things.
Vs.
17-19 These warnings appear in John, in Peter and in Paul's letters. John,
Peter and Paul said these guys would come. Jude says they have arrived.
Vs.
20-21 Just as Paul challenged Timothy so often, the people were first to make
sure they were close to the Lord, following His Word.
Vs.
22-23 Then they were to minister to the weak and doubting and to those lost in
error, some of whom were unbelievers. In doing so, they were to keep themselves
clean.
Vs.
24-25 Focusing on our Lord is what keeps us from stumbling and makes us able to
bring glory to God. This is one of the greatest benedictions in the New Testament.
For us
as disciples this all reminds us that making disciples keeps us focused on
protecting the truth and entrusting it to the next generations who will go
beyond us.
Psalm 127
As the
worshipers approached Jerusalem, this song reminded them of the foolishness of
toil and anxiety when only God can bless us. Then it brought them to focus on
the true blessing God gives - our children, both physical and spiritual.
Vs.
1-2 These verses talk about our striving where only God can give us success.
Vs.
3-5 These verses tell us where our real passion and labor of love should be.
Proverbs 29:15-17
How funny that these proverbs appear with this psalm today.
It seems interesting that v. 16, about the increase of wickedness, is
sandwiched between two verses of parents loving and investing in their
children. And yes, the rod, reproof, and discipline are love. It works for the
Father, and we would be remiss to dismiss discipline, reproof and the rod. See
Hebrews 12:6-8.
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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