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JANUARY 2
Genesis 3-4
The word "Genesis" means beginnings. Today there are all
sorts of important beginnings. They are almost all tragic, but they are vital
in understanding how mankind (you and I included) got so messed up. There is no
end of observations in these two chapters and there are many connections
between things that are said here and things that are "reversed"
later in the Bible. For example, the temptation that led to the Fall and to
Satan's dominance happened here in a garden. Jesus' temptation was in a
wilderness. That's an interesting contrast. Also, the battle between the
woman's offspring and Satan is mentioned here. If you read Revelation last
year, that should sound like Revelation 12. Then, of course, there is the
comparison/contrast of Adam and Jesus. There are many more connections, because
all of the damage done here will someday be undone by God as He works to redeem
mankind.
Genesis 3
V. 1 There is no explanation given for Satan. Here, he is assumed.
Later, particularly in Job and Daniel we get more information. Then, in the
Gospels and in Revelation, we get more information. To be noticed also is that
Satan passes out of the story immediately after the curse, with only an
allusion to his forces in Genesis 6:2. This is all to say that as major as
Satan's opposition is in this life, for the disciple, apparent from the
emphasis of the Bible itself, our focus, goal and what we are to do is to equip
others to follow God. In following Christ in the harvest as disciples, Satan is
defeated. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:11)
Vs. 2-7 There are a lot of things to observe here, but don't worry
about thinking deeply about everything. As you read this year after year, the
Spirit will bring different things to mind.
So, how would you summarize or describe Satan's strategy? It's the same
one he uses now, getting us to doubt God.
V. 3 Assuming the information was correctly given to Eve by Adam, what
do you think about her "adding" to what God said? There is a lot
going on there. The religious people who killed Jesus added man-made rules to what
God said and therefore lost sight of God.
V. 6 There is a lot here, such as the description of temptation once a
person has doubted God. Jesus said that temptations "must" come. This
event was necessary, but doubting God is what opened the door.
Some people suggest that Adam was standing next to Eve when this
happened; in which case Adam was a dweeb and a moron. With her probably means that they were partners.
V. 7 Eve's eyes were already opened. Now both people were initiated.
Note also that sin didn't become a permanent part of mankind until Adam ate. It
says in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Eve was deceived, but not Adam. This means that
Adam walked into this, ironically, with his eyes open. To make a long story
short, whatever happened in Adam was spiritual and physical. He died
spiritually; and that "magic" within him, that God had put there, to
pass on life to another human, became corrupted and rebellious to God. Conception
is not simply physical. There is a soulish, spiritual kind of thing that is
passed on in conception. From now on, that "thing" that would be
passed on would be depraved and would be rebellious toward God.
Knowing they were naked meant that for the first time, they were
embarrassed in their self awareness. There was a sense of negative judgment
toward themselves and possibly toward each other. Oddly enough, they didn't
have movie stars with which to compare themselves. It just happened within
them. Isn't sin great?
Sin is a spiritual disease and is the most powerful, destructive force
on the planet. Sin permeates everything. We don't grasp this and do not
understand how truly lost we are without God. And it isn't just lost-ness, it
is in the edge of our attitudes and in every disagreement and every gripe. A disciple
needs to understand this illness and its incessant, ever-present power.
This is why we need the daily washing of the Word, or put another way,
why we need to take our "meds" every day. I'm told that a person who
is bi-polar doesn't fully acknowledge his condition until he submits to taking
his meds daily. As believers, we think we are OK if we go a day or a week
without being close to God in His Word, but we are kidding ourselves. Our
condition is grave. We may throw up a few words to God as we multi-task and we
know He is everywhere; but it is not until we are quiet in His presence, in His
Word, that the Spirit can begin the cleansing, healing and guiding. He is present
in that still, small voice; and we need to be still and quiet and small before
Him, in His Word, to hear it.
Forgiveness allows God to come into our lives to break the power of sin
by the regeneration (giving of spiritual life) by the Holy Spirit. The power of
sin is broken, not removed. To the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote that the
power is still there (ch. 7), but that the Holy Spirit helps us as we walk by
the Spirit (ch. 8) and that the redemption of our bodies is the hope we live
for, that is, the death of this body of death and being resurrected without a
sinful nature. Amazingly, even with Christ, the sinful nature is incurable in
this body. You know this theologically, but even more practically, every day.
This world is under the power of sin, in each of us, incurable and pervasive;
and only God has the cure…the resurrection in Christ. Dead as we were, we could
not earn forgiveness. There had to be justice for our actions and payment for
our sins. We couldn't pay for our sin. Yet even with forgiveness in place
through Christ, we still need to agree with Him that we are incurable (by
repentance) and welcome His cure (accept Christ). Then and only then, are we
JUST before Him in Christ, and He can enter in and break the power of sin by
the life of the Spirit.
As disciples we need a healthy respect for the sin that is in us.
Jesus' words to His disciples, pointing to their ability to make disciples of
others (Luke 6:39-42), explain that if we do not seriously recognize and deal
with the sin in us, we will pass this attitude on to others, or at least lead
them into a hole. For a disciple, dealing with sin begins by learning daily
from the Lord at His feet in His Word. It is up to us and shows our hearts toward
Him.
Vs. 8-13 This began our hiding from God and blaming others.
V. 13 Although Adam blamed Eve, taking no official responsibility, God
didn't argue with Adam. He went right to Eve. This was the truth, but Adam
would pay for what he had done.
Vs. 14-15 Notice that there is no question for Satan. God already understood
the motivation. The curse on Satan apparently also affected the animal he
possessed. This curse is literal and figurative. Some aspect of his service to
mankind (dust) would be more hateful to him. Verse 15 is not only his defeat by
Christ in the crucifixion and resurrection, but I think there is also a
reference to Revelation 12.
V. 15 Notice that it was God who "put" enmity between Satan
and mankind and between his followers and Christ's followers. This is
spiritual. I'm scared of snakes too, but more is meant here. I'm also afraid of
bees, wasps, and all sorts of stuff. But here, there is a fear and division
being put in place to keep mankind safe, in some sense, from Satan. I would
think that this is sort of like God putting the fear of man in the animals
after the flood.
Inherent in what God is saying here is that the "woman" would
bear a savior. This begins the promise of redemption. Adam and Eve must have
clung to the hope that Eve would bear a deliverer who might reverse what they
had done. Although Satan "bruised" Jesus, Jesus has crushed Satan. The
book of Revelation shows how it will end.
And now, we don't hear anything more about Satan's influence until
chapter 6.
V. 16 This is a short verse with long-reaching results. Apparently
there would have been little pain in childbirth. Imagine that.
The major impact is in her relationship with her husband. At first
glance, this looks cool. She will desire
her husband. What husband wouldn't want that? Notice that the words to the
woman in her curse (3:16) are the same words to Cain (4:7). Give this a lot of
thought. The Fall brought a sickness into the relationship between man and
wife. Even in Romans 1:18ff, the sickness after perverting the knowledge of God
led to the sickness between husband and wife. This battle ruined marriage and
turned the need for "completeness" to sexual perversion. Some say
that since we are redeemed in Christ, the effect of this curse is gone.
Obviously this is promoted by those who want gender equality and do not notice
that since we've trusted Christ, we still sin. Sin's power is still amazingly
strong, and the curse is still working.
In those minutes and hours between Eve's sin and Adam's sin, she was
superior, realizing (as all wives do) that he wasn’t so smart. Because of what
she had done, she would now seek to control and withhold respect. He would live
in a defensive, ruling posture. Properly understood, the curse on the woman was
that because of this bent she had developed toward Adam, he would suppress that
bent by force, lacking understanding and gentleness. The gender wars were
spawned, and it all rolled downhill from that moment, until the Spirit via Paul
commanded regenerate men to love their wives as Christ loved the church and
commanded women to respect their husbands (Eph. 5:22-33).
Vs. 17-19 Since the curse on Adam was longer than either Satan's or
Eve's curse, you can see that God held Adam responsible. If you look at Romans
5, you can see that it was Adam's sin that brought the curse on all of mankind
and on nature.
Sometimes you wonder what Adam could have done. Eve had sinned and had
to be punished. I personally think the answer is really pretty easy. All he
would have had to do was what the second Adam did. If Adam had taken Eve's
punishment and died for her, being sinless himself, he would have been raised
and this substitution would have brought forgiveness to Eve.
V. 19 By the way, we still live from the field, even in industrialized
countries, where the only time we see farms is on the nature channel. Adam's
curse was not work. He was already creatively working in the garden (2:15). His
curse was that now he would have to work to live. Up to this point food was totally
provided for Adam and Eve. Now, if they didn't work and toil, they would
starve. That was huge. Work would now be to survive and to make ends meet.
Vs. 20-21 Adam gave his wife a good name. Verse 21 records the first
death in the Bible. It was probably a sheep, killed to make skins for Adam and
Eve to wear. In that sense, it was the first sacrifice.
Vs. 22-24 Adam and Eve were sent from God's presence and provision in
the garden. The tree of life was guarded because they were not worthy to eat of
it. Also, many think that had they eaten of it at that point, their nature
would have been everlastingly bound to a resurrection (undying) body. In
essence they would have been permanently sinful and would have had to have been
put in hell.
Genesis 4
Vs. 1-2 Adam and Eve believed the promise. If the hope of Adam and Eve
was that one of their first two sons would be the promised one, it was crushed
in what followed, both seeing, in full realization, what this spiritual
sickness was that they had brought into the soul of man. You have to believe
that the object of saving faith for them, and the godly line that followed, was
that one of their sons, or some son of the future, would reverse the curse.
Cain's lineage proved the spreading power of sin as they watched, I'll bet, with
deep regret. I wonder if they thought it might be Seth. Eventually, it was
through Seth, but many generations removed, to Jesus.
Vs. 3-7 At this point, we have no idea of what these sacrifices meant.
It might have been offerings of gratefulness to God. Apparently there were some
guidelines. It is interesting that Abel knew how to prepare an animal for
offering. Maybe Abel learned this from Adam, who had been taught by God. Notice
that the point with Cain is really his attitude, not his sacrifice of produce.
Notice too, how freely God spoke with them. It wasn't that God was far off or
hidden.
V. 7 The word desire is the
same as Eve's desire for Adam. It was a desire to control and dominate. Cain
was told to fight. Had he fought and asked for help, Cain might have won and
done something that led to deliverance.
Vs. 8-16 This is the beginning of murder and hate. I was just reading
where Jesus said that all the blood of all the prophets would be required of
that generation in Jerusalem that killed Him, beginning with the blood of Abel.
V. 9 I'm always amazed at the unsurprised, openly arrogant way Cain
talked to God. Back then, the relationship with God was so close and natural
you could "dis" Him. We have grown further and further from God with
each passing year.
Not only did God curse the ground even more, but He made Cain wander. I
think that might have been to separate his influence from those people
surrounding Adam and Eve. This must have been a heartache for Adam and Eve.
V. 14 Notice that this happened at a time when there were many people
around.
V. 15 Note that God says that the vengeance would be seven times. That
reminds me of Peter and Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22, Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother
sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him,
“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."
Vs. 17-24 This shows the line of Cain, or the line of ungodly culture,
growing in the world. There are a few things to note.
· First, obviously there was
"incest." All you can say here is that it was watched over by God
until the population grew large enough. But notice that Cain knew "his
wife." It doesn't say he had sex with his sister. They were married. Nowhere
does it say that fathers abused their daughters. We have no clue here how many
years passed, how quickly the population grew and what "marriageable"
age was. We just have to trust God. This would have been the case after the
flood too. Interestingly enough, when God made rules for this in the Law of
Moses, God forbade all incest and also outlawed the relationship that Abraham
had to Sarah, half-brother and sister through one common parent.
· Second, in v. 21, this line made the first
musical instruments. Therefore, some churches and groups do not use instruments
in worship because they originated with the line of Cain.
· Third, the line of murder continued with the
added idea of self-justification of sin and guilt. Notice that Lamech, in
Cain's line, is the first to have multiple wives. They were still called wives,
meaning there was a ceremony in the culture. Notice too, that Lamech mentioned
seventy-seven. Apparently they could do math.
Vs. 25-26 Again we have no idea of the time involved in all of this,
but this goes back to the time of Cain killing Abel. Adam and Eve may have had
other children in between, but Seth is mentioned because Seth appears to be the
new child of hope, who had faith in the promise of redemption. Now we begin to
see the growth of the line of those who had hope in the promise.
It's funny to read this about the child of promise, and then to go to
Matthew and read about the real child of promise. We who know the Lord become
children of the promise, children of God, by spiritual birth. Now it is our
turn to work in the plan of redemption. That's why God left us here, to keep
(internalize) Christ's Word, follow Him into the harvest, reaching the lost and
making disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples.
Matthew 2:13-3:6
Note how Matthew shows that Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy, even in the
deeds of Herod.
Matthew 2:13-23
Vs. 13-15 Notice again that the Spirit is moving Matthew to talk only
about how God spoke to Joseph, the son of David. And of course, notice how this
flight to Egypt fulfilled Scripture (Hosea 11:1).
Vs. 16-18 If the people had had any hope because of the coming of the
wise men, Herod put that to an end. I really believe that Herod was religiously
evil; that is, he had an understanding of the spiritual and thought he could
control it through his actions. In that sense, he had a satanic kind of rational
irrationality.
Notice again, Scripture was fulfilled in the coming of the Savior.
Actually, in Genesis Rachel, Jacob's wife, died in childbirth near Jerusalem.
Here sorrow and grief in losing her child (actually Benjamin lived and she died,
but she lost him all the same) were used by Jeremiah to express the sorrow of
the mothers and the nation in losing their children when Babylon came into that
area to destroy Jerusalem.
Vs. 19-23 It is interesting that Joseph and Mary ended up back in
Nazareth, from where they started. God made it their desire to return there.
And oddly enough, this fulfilled Scripture in a funny way. Jesus was a
Nazarene, meaning and showing that he was a citizen and prophet from Nazareth;
but he was not a Nazirite, like John the Baptist, having taken an oath before
God, neither cutting his hair, touching the dead and abstaining from wine. Actually,
no OT prophet ever said that Jesus would be a "Nazarene" or that He
would come from Nazareth.
There is a subtle wordplay taking place here. The Messiah was referred
to as the Branch of Jesse, coming out of the house of David, that is, the Son
of David. There are many words used to refer to this "branch" but one
of the most important is in Isaiah 11:1. This word for branch is
"netser" from which we get the word Nazareth. To hear the title
"Jesus of Nazareth" was to hear "Jesus of (or from) branch"
or "Jesus the branch." It is just like names we hear but don't
actually think of, like, "George Bush" or in German, "Helmut
Kohl (cabbage)." It was a very sly way for the Lord to open the ears and
hearts of people who were spiritually perceptive. When Bartimaeus, a blind
beggar, heard the commotion of a crowd going by, he asked who it was And when he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
(Mark 10:47) Bartimaeus understood that Jesus was the branch of the root of
Jesse.
This is funny in a way because in John 7:41-52 both the people and the
Pharisees said that the Bible said no prophet was to arise from Galilee. They
knew that Nazareth was in Galilee and they knew, like we would, what the word
Nazareth meant. They knew, but didn't want to see.
Matthew 3:1-6
If you read last year, you just read about John in the final chapters
of Malachi. Here he is.
Vs. 1-3 Many years had passed. Luke actually nails the time down very
specifically. It is thought that John and Jesus both began their ministries at
about 30 years of age. John was six months older than Jesus, as you can see in
Luke. Again, John fulfilled a lot of Scripture regarding the Messiah's birth.
Vs. 4-6 In John, you see people drawn toward spiritual reality. Jesus
later asks the crowds what they were seeking when they went out into the
wilderness. John didn't know much about marketing or blending in with his focus
group …camel hair and locusts. Yuck. But the people needed a prophet to
confront them with spiritual reality and they went to see him. This is what the
world needs today, not simply believers, but disciples of Jesus who speak and
live for Him.
Psalm 2
If you read Revelation and Zechariah last year (last month), this will
remind you of how God will judge the nations when the Messiah comes.
Vs. 1-3 This is the expression of mankind and its nations refusing to
accept God's rule. If it was David who wrote this, he probably understood that
the promise of redemption was coming through the promise of Abraham and that
all nations would eventually bow to God.
Vs. 4-6 Notice that the King is to reign in Zion and that God Himself is
fighting for Zion. This is a major theme in the OT.
Vs. 7-9 Notice the references to the Messiah, the coming King. Verse 7
is quoted in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5, regarding Jesus being the reigning King.
Verse 9 is something we recently read in Revelation 19:15. This is a very
redemptive and "end times" psalm. It shows that God was always
pointing people to His plan of redemption and to the future.
Vs. 10-12 The options are pretty clear. In the harvest we are warning
people of v. 10 and inviting them to vs. 11 and 12.
How interesting that Psalm 1 points to where a disciple grows and finds
life, whereas Psalm 2 shows where our boldness and confidence for following
comes from. Our God reigns. Disciples see God's power and control behind the
scenes, and are humble on the outside, knowing that God is truly in charge,
even as the ungodly sit on thrones. Paul's words in 1 Timothy 2 show us what we
are to do as disciples: pray for those who rule, to allow us to fly under the
radar and make disciples of the lost, for it
is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We need to ask the Lord to keep our eyes on the harvest as we follow
Him. We just read Revelation, so we know how things will end. Nations will be
controlled by sin, but more importantly, men and women and children will be
sent to hell. We need to be in the harvest today. That's what Jesus wants.
Proverbs 1:7-9
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We just
read in Proverbs 31:30 that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs begins and ends with the fear of the Lord.
This fear is not just "respect," but as we all know, fearing
the police or punishment will make you go the speed limit. Again, if we have a
real understanding of sin and its power, it is not difficult as disciples to
love God for issuing His stern warnings to us. He is a loving Father, wiser
than we can imagine, and He gave us His Son.
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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