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JANUARY 12
So how is faith shown? Abraham showed great, visible faith, seen
particularly in 25 years of waiting for God to give him and Sarah a child. If
all we knew about Abe was condensed, we might only have a couple weeks of
recorded action. Abraham was given a promise that required believing, obeying,
moving to a strange land, and living completely in God's hands. That was great
faith and I have to believe that Abraham knew that the promise he was living
for was connected to the promise given to Adam and Eve, the promise that a
deliverer would be born.
Then you have Isaac, who inherited everything, the promise, the cattle,
and the wealth. He doesn't seem to do much. In a way, this might be a picture
of many churches and believers today, who kind of grasp what we are living for
and are supposed to do, but are lost in daily life in the land. They have been
given their local church, but didn't have to strain to see it come into being.
Even with Isaac, living a sort of drifting life, there is still faith and still
a clinging to the importance of the promise. Things work best if we, as
disciples, keep the focus sharp on our purpose here, living at Jesus’ feet, learning
from Him in His Word, following Him in the harvest.
Genesis 26:17-27:46
Genesis 26:17-35
We have two events that show that Isaac was a man of faith. It might
have been faith with a fuzzy focus, but it was still tough faith.
Vs. 17-25 Isaac had a very large camp. He didn't have to be this meek,
but it was his strength in faith. He had been promised the land, but he
understood that God would lead him to a place of peace. He could have destroyed
these other herdsmen, but in faith he waited for God's leading.
Vs. 26-33 Notice here that Abimelech and his advisors take the
initiative to make this covenant. They realized with the abuse Isaac was
taking, if he got mad, he could wage a war (especially with God's help) that
would defeat Abimelech and take everything.
Isaac's faith is seen in his strength/meekness, waiting for God to
fulfill the promise without taking the matter into his own hand and defeating
the opposition that rose against him. The land was his by promise, but he would
wait on God and suffer abuse until God Himself fulfilled the promise.
Vs. 34-35 Esau will appear as a tragic figure; but in all, I don't
think he was any worse, as a person, than Jacob. Here, the mention is made of
something he did to make life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. It is setting up
what comes later when Rebekah suggests sending Jacob to Laban. It is very probable
that if Isaac had sat down with Esau and told him not to marry Canaanite women,
he would have complied. Even at 40, Esau was a daddy's boy. This little scene
might suggest the effect that living among the Canaanites was having on the
family.
Just as an interesting memo here, can you figure out how old Isaac was
at this point? This will add a lot of depth to the following events, especially
when you see how old Isaac is when he dies. Sometimes people get old in their
heads long before they die. Imagine a tombstone that read, "Died 1988 --
Buried 2068."
Genesis 27
Vs. 1-46 This story is pretty straightforward and is sad from one end
to the other. Of note here for us as disciples is that none of this anxiousness
and trickery was necessary. Ironically, it brought great and tragic results to
Jacob. Even when Jacob and Esau meet again later, notice which one of them has
the ulcer. A loving and sovereign God, having made His promises to us, can
fulfill His will without us having to help with lies and deceit. God is utterly
faithful and will fulfill His promises, but He is never mocked.
Isaac must have been having some poor health issues and thought that
death was near. This might have happened shortly after Esau married the
Canaanite cuties and therefore the time marker regarding Esau's marriages is
given and is important to notice. Isaac was a young man of ___. Ironically, he
would live another 80 years! How sad that he didn't talk to God more and have a
better grasp of God's working. He was right in wanting to pass on the blessing,
that is, the blessings of the promise of God to Abraham. As the firstborn, it
was natural to have this go to Esau. The Lord would have worked this out
without lying and trickery.
Vs. 18-26 The lying here numbs the mind.
V. 29 This is the actual part of the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
Vs. 34-40 Esau's grief does show some faith, though too late. He must
have believed that he had truly lost something.
There is no perfection on earth and all families struggle, but if we
have to struggle, we at least have to struggle well. Isaac and Rebekah do not
appear to have made the promise a focus of their lives and family. The promise
of redemption was lost in the dust of living life on earth. They don't appear
to have tried to unite the boys in the specialness of what God was doing in the
world and through their family. Reading this, I can't help but feel bad. I
think they were, like so many Christians and would-be disciples, drifting,
content with daily life, and lost on earth.
Vs. 41-46 Although we don't know a lot about Rebekah, we see that she
was decisive and manipulative. Verse 46 is an example of her work. She is
setting up Isaac to send Jacob away without telling him the real reason. When
we meet Laban in the next chapters, we'll see that he was the Duke of
"manipulative and cunning." Jacob would more than meet his match in Uncle
Laban. Unknown to Rebekah, in doing this, she would never again see Jacob.
Bill Shakespeare said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first
we practice to deceive.” True. But I like what Jesus said, Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And
he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest
myself to him…If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:21-23)
Matthew 9:1-17
This is a great portion for disciples.
Vs. 1-8 In healing the paralytic, Jesus faced off against the religious
"right" and made a bold claim. The claim was not only that He could
forgive sins, but that He was the Son of Man. Jesus was saying He was the King
who would reign eternally, from Daniel 7. Even under pressure, Jesus showed
compassion to the paralytic and his friends. This event has an interesting link
to what happens later in John 5. If you notice the words Jesus uses here, they
are repeated by the Pharisees in John 5:12. There is great significance in the
question the Pharisees ask the healed man, knowing that the healing of the
paralytic happened just before the events of John 5.
As disciples, we have to speak the truth. Jesus did not change God's
message to attract the masses or to please the religious establishment. His
focus was pleasing the Father and doing His will. That makes you think about
all the lying going on in the OT portion for today.
V. 9 I think this shows the cause-effect dynamic of disciple-making. If
you are authentic and firm on the truth and are willing to accept all men in
the love of Christ, people get brave and follow. So how did what happened in
9:1-8 make what happened down the street, a couple days later in 9:9, possible?
What finally gave Matthew this resolve? Realize too, that Jesus had done other
miracles and had taught in Capernaum, so Matthew's decision was a process.
Matthew had already heard Jesus teach and had seen His miracles. Now, when
Matthew saw Jesus was willing to stand against the religious leaders who had
scorned men like Matthew, he knew he would be accepted. He immediately dropped
everything and followed.
Vs. 10-13 Why did Matthew have this party? (Luke 5:29) What was he
trying to accomplish? He was a new disciple, wanting to see his friends get
saved and become disciples.
Notice that the Pharisees didn't go to Jesus. They tried to divide the
disciples against Him. Verses 12-13 are a key statement to the Pharisees that
Jesus will refer to again. I remember reading this after I began following
Jesus, and catching the irony in v. 13. No one was righteous before God. The
Pharisees were the sick ones because they couldn't see their own need.
So, Jesus is in trouble, first with the Pharisees, and then with John's
disciples.
Vs. 14-17 I'm not sure, but I think this friction with John's disciples
was helped along by the Pharisees. But notice that Jesus was very gentle in
dealing with John's followers. If you look at the parallel passage in Luke 5,
you will see that Jesus' first ever use of a parable was in gently trying to
give an explanation to teach John's disciples. Unlike Andrew and that other guy
(probably the apostle John), not all of John the Baptist's disciples followed
Jesus. Jesus is smoothing this situation by using the illustration of the
bridegroom that John himself had used with his disciples in John 3:26-36.
It's hard to say how deep this division went between Jesus’ and John's
disciples. As you can see reading the OT and Matthew, we don't always get a lot
of information. Here is some interesting trivia. The last recorded use of
tongues in Acts is in Acts 19:6. There, Paul finds a group of John's disciples
who were still holding to John's message and didn't know about Jesus'
resurrection or the coming of the Spirit. The gift of tongues was always used
as a sign to bring unity to the Jews, showing them that God was reaching out
beyond them with the gospel. The gift was necessary to break down Jewish
prejudice and to bring unity, as in Acts 11. It is significant that this gift
was used with John's followers, all of whom would have been Jews.
V. 17 There is great wisdom in allowing the old wineskins to be filled
with old wine only, because some "skins" (churches) prefer remaining
as they have always been. Mature leaders should encourage the planting of new
churches or give younger people their own service. I understand the issues, but
Jesus gave this wisdom, not some church growth expert.
Psalm 10:16-18
These are great words in this psalm. It is almost a summary of the book
of Revelation. And, Jacob and Rebekah would have benefited from holding this
confidence in a quiet heart.
When this history is over, all the nations will be gone and the tyrants
will be removed. All that will remain is the Lord, who will show steadfast
love, faithfulness and kindness to those who love Him.
Proverbs
3:9-10
These are words to be held and heeded, but not abused by those
following Christ. Your Father knows what you need and will reward you, though
not always with gift cards and cash. Toward the end of His ministry, when Jesus
was telling His disciples to ask, seek and knock, the reward He promised them
was the Holy Spirit. Who of us is really wise enough to tell God what we need?
But we always need the Spirit's peace, joy and guidance. I'll take those any
day over an iPad, a new car or a full bank account.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and
important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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,
as disciples, 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, making
disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow
Him in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
The daily installments of the Reading Notes can be found at http://fencerail.blogspot.com/
If you would like documents containing an entire month of the
Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full presentation of discipleship read Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with insomnia and would like a long
boring dissertation on disciple making, these can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis 2011
The One Year Bible © by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton
Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright ©
2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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