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 16
Genesis
32:13-34:31
Genesis 32:13-32
Vs. 13-21 Jacob sends Esau that
day's equivalent to the "12 Days of Christmas." It's interesting to
see how Jacob, a veteran herdsman, grouped these droves, even in terms of
female to male ratios. I wonder why there were no male camels mentioned.
V. 20 There is certainly a
cultural dance taking place here, but more importantly, Jacob is trying to
appease Esau. I'm more impressed by what is missing. Any wife will tell you
that "nothing says you're sorry, like saying you're sorry." The gifts
were an interesting token, but the words never came. People secure in Christ
should have boldness using that word.
Vs. 22-32 For us as disciples,
the only lesson I can see here is that the Lord tests our tenacity. Faith is
more often seen in persistence and endurance, than in genius and success.
Apparently there was a folk legend of something like this. If you held the
"spirit" until the light of dawn, it would grant your wish. I guess
the Irish weren't too far off. Anyway, if so, God was using it and making a
point with Jacob. This man, I believe,
was the pre-incarnate Son of God. For Jesus I'm sure this was more like
playing, trying to wrestle a sock away from a Jack Russell Terrier; but He
wanted to see how persistent Jacob would be in pursuing God's blessing.
V. 28 This is the birth of the
name Israel. What a name and how true
it has been. And Israel has been striving with men and God ever since. Jacob's
striving with God was in "taking" the blessing rather than waiting on
God and receiving it in obedience. (Think about this when you read about the
kingdom suffering violence below.) The prevailing is seen in his perseverance. He
outlasted man, and even in his disobedience there was a faith in the promise
that stayed alive. Isn't it interesting that the name came out of strife and
contention, and it will be this way until Christ returns? Israel has been and
will be a focus of fighting in the world, and it has been and will be the focus
of spiritual aggression against God. But as the name suggests, with God's help,
they will prevail.
God gave Jacob a constant
reminder of this day and the blessing pronounced on him. What an interesting
"reminder" to give to a scoundrel. This limp would be a permanent,
lifelong disability. With every limp, Jacob would be reminded of his wrestling
and contending with God and man and the words of blessing from the Lord. This
promise of blessing on Jacob would not end his woes. Oddly, the hip disorder
was going to slow him down to make him less "tricky," and it would be
a reminder to depend on God. Whether Jacob actually becomes more
"spiritual" is doubtful.
You've got to laugh at God's
timing. On the day when Esau is coming with 400 men, running the hundred in 13
seconds would be a handy skill; but Jacob is now disabled, though blessed, by
God.
Genesis 33
Vs. 1-17 I'm sad every year when
I read this. Here comes Esau, like a big, friendly, drooling St. Bernard,
running up to Jacob, hugging him, and crying on him. Then there is Jacob,
blessed, yet with ulcers and a bad conscience. And Jacob has a totally
unfriendly, suspicious and "stiff-arming" manner.
It was actually the Lord who
soothed Esau. His blessing Esau had allowed Esau to forgive. Also, it doesn't
seem that Esau had a complicated and conniving nature, so he might not have
been disposed to holding on to grudges.
Jacob never says he's sorry or
that what he did was wrong. (Keep this in mind when you read the next few
dysfunctional family adventures. The kids were like Dad, except for one notable
exception.) Jacob's entire demeanor and desire is to be "accepted"
and then left alone. This was all about him. The gifts were only manipulative. Since
Jacob thought he had to forcefully get God’s blessing, he turned into this kind
of a man. Esau looks good and honest. No ulcer there. But Jacob has
masterminded his own little tragic life - rich, blessed, and miserable. And it
will get worse.
Forcing the gifts on Esau was
important to show socially that there was some sort of "good"
relationship between the two parties. This is why Abraham refused the stuff
from the king of Sodom. He didn't want to be shown as "bonded" to, or
in agreement with, him. This is why both Pharaoh and Abimelech gave lavish
gifts to Abe after Abe tricked them, to show that things had been smoothed. By
taking these gifts, Esau was being forced by Jacob to show that all was well
between them. Esau's greeting and actions show that all was already forgiven
long before he saw the gifts. This looks like manipulation to me, and if so,
Esau must have just smiled and thought, "Same old Jacob, poor guy."
Vs. 18-20 Now it is true that
Jacob, like Abraham and Isaac before him, needed a large area where he could
graze his herds. I'm surprised that Jacob settled near Shechem because his
father Isaac was still alive, probably 75 miles south in Beersheba. Who knows
what was going through his mind and why he didn't see his father. Did he still
have a guilty conscience? I think Jacob was blessed by God, but cursed by his
own deceitful nature. Jacob buying the land near Shechem meant that he needed
it for grazing and that he would stay there. It would also allow him to trade
with the people in Shechem. This is probably the acreage referred to in John 4.
Genesis 34
There must be a passage of time
here. Just guessing, when Jacob returned, his oldest son Reuben would only have
been about 13. If you look at the numbers mentioned previously, you can figure
this out. Dinah might have been about 8 and Joseph would have been 6 when they
entered the land. There must be about 10 years that have gone by, especially
considering what Simeon and Levi were capable of.
Vs. 1-7 I've heard preachers
"wax elephants" regarding Dinah meeting with the women of the land as
being something wrong. I can't see it. Prince Shechem
was
obviously wrong, and he seems somewhat repentant and wants to do the right
thing. We don't know enough to understand what Jacob keeping his peace meant. Jacob would have been
there with all of his wives, so I'm sure Dinah was comforted and they talked
about the situation.
V. 7 The sons were not just very angry. They felt that war had been
declared.
Vs. 8-12 Two wrongs don't make a
right, but it does seem like Hamor and Shechem were sincere.
Vs. 13-17 If not for the word deceitfully in v. 13, we wouldn't know
that anything was wrong here. I think they knew that father, son, and the
entire city would agree with their proposal. I don't agree with some who say
the sons were surprised that Shechem agreed to this. I think this was
premeditation and careful planning. These were the sons of Jacob, the
trickster. They had grown up with the conflict and trickery between their
mothers and the conflict and trickery between Jacob and Laban. They knew how to
use conflict and trickery. As often happens, the sins of the fathers are
magnified in the children.
Vs. 18-24 These people had no idea
what was going to happen.
Vs. 25-31 Jacob took no real
leadership to bring the situation to a conclusion. In that leadership vacuum,
Simeon and Levi, "chips off the old block," took over; but as it
often is when sin is out of control, they went way beyond Dad. After Simeon and
Levi killed all the men (Jacob mentions later that in their murderous rage they
also crippled the animals), the other brothers were lined up and ready with
their shopping carts at the city gate. They entered the city and did "supermarket
sweep," looting the dead bodies, houses and markets. The neighbors would
learn that this was "No Ordinary Family."
V. 30 Notice in Jacob's words,
there is no regard for God. Jacob is worried about himself. Notice how often he
says me, my, and I.
V. 31 Their words to Jacob,
after he rebukes them, lacks an "I'm sorry." This was just like
Jacob, who was no better with apologies. Jacob's woes aren't through. Now this
dysfunctional family has two unrepentant murderers.
Matthew
11:7-30
Jesus is very pointed in this
section. John the Baptist ended an era, so to speak. In v. 13 Jesus says, all the Prophets and the Law prophesied
until John. As disciples, we are living "at the end of the age"
and have a very important role and place in God's continuing work.
Vs. 7-11 Although the people
went to see John for various reasons, John the Baptist was the final prophet of
the Old Testament period. He fulfilled both Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Then
Jesus goes on to say that John the Baptist was the greatest of all men ever
born before the new covenant. If you think that over, that is a pretty huge
declaration. There were great men who lived before John, but John had the
greatest task and honor of all men before him. He was the messenger sent to
introduce to Israel, the Messiah -the seed of Abraham and the promised son of
the woman. In the Apostle John's description of Jesus and John the Baptist's
ministry in John 1, you can see that John the Baptist wasn't just introducing
the Jewish Messiah. He was introducing the Savior of mankind.
And then in a very brief way,
Jesus says that all who are born of the Spirit by faith in Jesus are greater
than John. Spiritual birth trumps physical birth. It is an amazing privilege to
be born of the Son to follow Him in the harvest.
Vs. 12-15 I think this expresses
the conflict between worshiping God by the law and rituals, and worshiping God
in Spirit and in truth. Jesus introduced the latter. John concluded the former.
Elijah was the prophet used by God to try to turn the northern kingdom of
Israel back to God before their punishment. John the Baptist was used to
attempt the same in his generation. Jesus said that the blood of all the
prophets shed from the foundation of the earth would be required of that
particular generation of Jews that would kill both John and Him. That
punishment was finalized in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the
temple.
Vs. 16-17 That generation was
treating the messages of both men in a trivial, childish way, insisting that
both John and Jesus should conform to what the people expected and wanted. It
was really a matter of life and death. The people should have been alert and
ready to respond.
Vs. 18-19 John was criticized
because he was very strict. Jesus was criticized because he ate rich food,
drank wine and associated with tax collectors and sinners. Apparently these
were "reasons" John and Jesus were not taken seriously. John didn't
join in the excesses of the culture and Jesus didn't join in shunning people.
He mixed freely with them. (Note on v. 18 - Luke 7:33 adds to John the Baptist’s
description and says, eating no bread and
drinking no wine. Jesus was the opposite of John.)
Yet as much as people could
reject John and Jesus for not dancing to their tune, they knew inwardly that
both of these men were acting from God. In particular, the works Jesus was
doing from the Father couldn't be denied.
Vs. 20-24 This is pretty
straightforward. We've just read about Sodom. Can you imagine that?
Vs. 25-26 God intentionally
blinds those who are wise and
understanding in their own eyes. This happens even among His own children.
V. 27 On the one hand, this will
make you a good Calvinist; but on the other, if you read John 6, Jesus says the
same things but seems to imply that there is a response of faith. If a person
welcomes the Word of the Son, the Father reveals the Son and the Son in turn
reveals the Father. If that acceptance and welcoming faith is not present, no
amount of hovering around Jesus brings a person closer. The Father doesn't
grant access to the Son.
Vs. 28-30 The rest is the
promise of rest in the battle. Notice the order: Come to me, then take my yoke,
then learn from me and then I will give you rest. I heard this
preached by Tony Evans once and it was amazing. If you don't have the devotion
and relationship, learning is just effort and feeds only the mind. You have to come to Him and want Him and be submitted to Him in devotion, taking His yoke. If this isn't first, learning
just makes you hard and proud. And then, you have to learn from Him. You have to submit to His Word and His way. As Evans said, you don't go asking
Him to do things your way or bless your way. He'll tell you that your way
doesn't work and it hasn't been working. No, you've got to do things His way.
You learn from Him. Then, and only then, do you get the rest. And this rest
comes in a chaotic world. The world doesn't change, we do.
By the way, the word “learn” is
the verb form of the word “disciple.” A disciple is someone submitted to Jesus,
who learns directly from Him. Only
then do you know how or what to follow.
As we've seen in Genesis and in
The Psalms, the real rest of God works even when there is no safety or
security. That rest is in Jesus Himself because we belong to Him, following Him
in the harvest, reaching the lost, making disciples and looking forward to His
return.
Psalm
14
Vs. 1-4 Paul uses the words of
this psalm in Romans 3 to show that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under
the power of sin. Only God can break that power, but for all men, including
disciples, that power is still there. The answer is that now in Christ, for us,
there is forgiveness; and the power of sin is broken by the indwelling Holy
Spirit. The true cure comes when our bodies are "redeemed," in being
resurrected.
Vs. 5-7 But in spite of all the
hardship, David was confident that God would deliver and the people would once
again rejoice.
Proverbs
3:19-20
Isn't it interesting to have
this proverb, following the psalm that says, the fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.’? If I found a pencil
lying on a desk and tried to convince people the pencil "just got there,
that it just "happened" after 80 zillion years of evolution and
earthly events," they would say I was a fool. Rational people would
tell me the pencil needed an engineer to design it because it's really two
halves glued together around that fabricated graphite core. Then it gets 12 coats
of paint, etc. And then, someone had to put it on the desk.
No, the pencil is evidence of a
designer, an engineer and a manufacturer. But those same people would say the
world just happened. It is our sin that makes us fools. It is that desire to
rebel against God regardless of the cost that is sin. Sin is the most powerful
and deadly force on this planet. Why don't we have a world "Sin" day
and put little black ribbons on all our products to remind us that we're
fighting against sin? It is hard to fight against something you don't believe
in.
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