If you don't
have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to
the day's reading, http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/. This
site allows you to select from several languages and several English
translations.
JANUARY 13
Genesis 28:1-29:35
Genesis 28
Vs. 1-5 Apparently Isaac recognized that things had worked out as God wanted them and that the promise was
to go to Jacob. You have to assume that Isaac had always known this, since
Rebekah was told that the elder would serve the younger. It is worth
considering what Isaac could have done to have worked with God. I suppose the
parents could have talked with the boys as they were growing up and told them
what God had said to Rebekah and Abraham, etc. Esau would still be a nation, as
promised. I can't imagine that if they had really prayed and sought God, it
would have turned out any worse than this.
I know that Jacob is the hero of the story and that Esau is the bad
guy, but when they meet 20 years later, guess who looks well adjusted and guess
who is a nervous wreck with a totally dysfunctional family.
As disciples, it is better to be honest. If God is sovereign and good,
we can be open and communicate honestly. God is not mocked.
Vs. 6-9 This portion of the story always saddens me. I know Esau was a
gnarly, snorting, burping guy who married women of that same inclination. I
know he didn't respect the promise. I'm good there. But it seems here, that his
parents had never fully communicated their desires. Or, they never thought
through what they wanted for the kids. So, Esau messed up with his wives and
now they want Jacob to do better. When Esau finally sees what his father
desired, he tries to comply; but because of the animosity created here, he goes
to another line of Abraham. I don't get the feeling he was a rebellious son. He
wanted leadership and when he saw what Isaac really wanted, he did it.
Communication in leadership, in family and disciple-making, is important. The
other option is being awakened by the jolts and collisions in a drifting life.
Vs. 10-17 This was pure grace on God's part. Since Jacob was the son
who esteemed the promise to Abraham, God renewed this promise with Jacob.
Notice in v. 14 that the redemptive part of the promise is restated; that is,
God's blessing of Abe/Isaac/Jacob would lead to blessing of all the nations.
This promise is still part of the first promise to Adam and Eve. Jacob would
need faith in this promise to make it though the educational process God was
going to take him through the next 20 years.
Vs. 18-22 I know there is a positive aspect of Jacob's response toward
God, but I sense some conniving in this. Jacob seems to make a conditional
promise to God, "If you do this, then I'll serve you.” Abraham believed
and obeyed. Notice too that in the conditions of v. 20, this sounds very much
like Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25, “Therefore
I tell you, do not be anxious about
your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what
you will put on.” As disciples, instead of seeking those things, we are to
seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seeking to serve and
please God was not foremost on Jacob's agenda.
Genesis 29
Vs. 1-12 Being blessed by God and having the promise confirmed did not spare
Jacob from dysfunction, injury and justice. Notice that just like his dad,
Jacob found his wife at a well.
Vs. 10-12 Obviously Jacob was overcome with emotion because he was
running for his life and was meeting long lost relatives. But since Jacob was
going to marry Rachel, the crying and kissing on the first meeting doesn't seem
like the right "move" on his part. But maybe she said, "You had
me when you moved the stone."
Vs. 13-14 I see this as being very ironic. Jacob explains what he did
back home to Esau, and Laban says, Surely
you are my bone and my flesh. They were both swindlers, but now Jacob had
met his match.
Vs. 15-20 Jacob actually worked seven years for Rachel before the
marriage. This means there was a lot of longing by Jacob and a lot of plotting
by Laban.
Vs. 21-27 How much does someone have to drink not to know who he's
having sex with? I don't want to know. This happened with Lot too. They must
have had some potent wine back then.
Laban had been planning this for a long time. Notice Laban's words to
Jacob in v. 26. This is a reference back to what Jacob did to Esau. Laban has
gotten to know Jacob and apparently felt justice was due. It's hard to scream
for justice when you have done the same thing to others. Jacob was
"had" and Laban was just a bigger rat. God was allowing Jacob to feel
what his brother had felt. And the fun wasn't over.
Jacob had to wait seven days, until after the honeymoon with Leah was
over. I'll bet that was a pretty grim week for everyone. Jacob had never been
on the receiving end of lying, plotting and deception.
Vs. 28-30 Then Jacob married Rachel, promising to work another seven
years for her. Imagine the joy this created between sisters.
Vs. 31-35 I have a lot of questions here, but by the time I get to
heaven to ask them, I probably won't want an answer. I imagine that Laban made
sure that Jacob divided his time between the two women. Did they have separate
tents? They must have and I'm sure they did later. Now you have the "baby
wars" with God blessing Leah over Rachel. Later, not in this text, Jacob
gets the maids too! Cool, right? I'll bet it was hell on earth. It must have
made his relationship with Esau look like a Hallmark © moment. He was getting
justice and, believe it or not, it would still get worse.
Notice the first round of Leah's sons ends with Judah. In spite of
Jacob's favoritism (like his father's) and love for Joseph above his other
sons, Judah, the son of the unloved wife, becomes the line of blessing. Notice
too, that there is a difference with how Leah names the first three boys and
how she names Judah. The first three names seem to reflect something about her
fighting to win Jacob's love. The naming of Judah seems to be her simple praise
and gratitude to God.
That God chooses Judah to be the preeminent son will seem strange when
we get to chapter 38. Quality-wise, you wonder why God chose Judah. He wasn't
the firstborn and he doesn't receive the blessing. He was definitely a better
man than his father in a couple of important ways, which you could hunt down
now if you're interested. We'll talk about this when we get there.
Grace is seen in God's patience in working with Jacob. The family Jacob
makes is not healthy. Then God takes the unloved wife and gives her children,
until she no longer feels any of the hurt and she turns her heart to God and
praises Him. That son of praise will have a quality of faith and sacrifice that
God will bless with the line of the kings of Israel and the Savior of mankind.
Matthew 9:18-38
Vs. 18-26 Matthew is summarizing these events to show Jesus' power to
heal and how the word about Jesus was getting out so that people knew God's
power was in Him to heal.
In order for a ruler of the synagogue to come to Jesus, there would
have been a desperate need, since Jesus didn't have the "right"
credentials. Yet, he had heard enough about Jesus and His power to know he
could approach Him.
V. 20 Likewise, this woman had heard much about Jesus and she literally
reached out in desperation. From Mark and Luke we know that the ruler's
daughter was at the point of death, but not yet dead. I always wonder how the
father felt. Jesus was on His way and then this "stupid," unclean woman
touched Him, and then Jesus had to waste time with her. It was during this time
as Jesus was speaking with the woman that someone arrived and said the daughter
was dead. (See Luke 8:49.) How could a loving God let this happen? How could
Jesus be so distracted and calloused?
As disciples, we learn that waiting is the rule, not the exception, in
following Christ. This was a divinely arranged malfunction. The result was that
both Jesus and His Father received more glory; and the parents, the daughter,
and the three disciples would never be the same. Was it "worth the
wait?" God thought so, and then, after a short delay, so did they.
Vs. 27-31 This was great faith on the part of the blind men. How did
they figure out to call Jesus with the messianic title, "Son of David?"
They may have been blind, but they saw something that others were missing.
Notice that their faith was genuine. Jesus prefaced His healing on what it was
that they held in their hearts. We shouldn't be too hard on these guys for not
obeying. Hardly anyone paid attention to Jesus' instructions to keep quiet. I
always laugh at this one because Jesus says to the blind men, "See that no one knows about it."
Vs. 32-34 This event is important because it is the first time you see
this "explanation" of Jesus' healing power. The people thought it was
obvious that God was with Jesus, so the authorities had to come up with an
explanation that would lead the people away from Jesus. First we'll hear the
Pharisees and scribes making this accusation. Later, it will be on the lips of
the masses.
Vs. 35-38 You could preach a sermon on these verses. Note the reasons
in vs. 35-36 that cause Jesus to say vs. 37-38. God in veiled glory was walking
among those He created to be the object of His love and kindness. It is safe to
say that you will not have vs. 37-38 be real in your life as a disciple, if you
don't have vs. 35-36. The key is compassion for the lost. The more you are with
the lost, trying to help them with the gospel, the more compassion you have. Without
those two things, you don't passionately pray the prayer and seek to make
disciples.
Notice that the prayer is not for the harvest, it is for harvesters;
that is, disciples who will make disciples, who will make disciples, living
their lives in the fields, following Jesus. Not many people feel the desperate
compassion for lost people to beg the Lord of the harvest to send more and more
laborers into the fields. Every disciple is to follow his/her Lord into the
harvest.
Psalm 11:1-7
Vs. 1-3 I'm sure that many people must have threatened David. Many more
must have mocked him and spoken down to him. He was a servant running from his
master. But because his hope was in God, he knew that he didn't have to fear
and that the foundation of his hope could never be touched or shaken.
Vs. 4-7 This is an interesting picture. The Lord tests men to see what
they are, righteous or wicked, obedient or disobedient. In v. 7 it says that
God Himself is righteous, so it is natural that those who share His heart will
see His face.
What speaks to me out of this psalm is the play between vs. 3 & 4.
The wicked are right. We have no hope if we have no foundation, but the Lord is
real (just unseen) and is enthroned where nothing can shake the foundations of
life and hope. This mindset is hard to hold on to when it seems like God is not
present and things are spinning out of control. The disciple of Jesus is
constantly being trained in the harvest to be steady and confident, because his
hope is in the One who is unshakable.
Proverbs 3:11-12
I'm reminded of what the writer of Hebrews says, It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as
sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Hebrews
12:7)
The Lord Himself is making us disciples, so we can reach and guide
others. All of the waiting and learning and lessons of faith are for our
benefit and theirs. Blessed is the disciple (man or woman) who, unlike Jacob,
is a quick learner and close follower of the coming King.
It's interesting how all these readings complement one another.
Tomorrow we continue to see God's discipline of Jacob.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment