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.
FEBRUARY 12
Exodus 34:1-35:9
Exodus 34
Vs. 1-4 I've never fully
understood Moses' anger in breaking the first tablets. Moses' anger gets him in
trouble later. But here I find it sort of funny that God tells Moses to cut two
more stone tablets for the next morning, and Moses just went out and did it. I
wouldn't know where to begin. I suppose today we could run out to Home Depot©
and get a couple of patio stones.
Vs. 5-9 Moses asked to see God's
glory. Moses sees some of God, hears God say His name and then repeat His name
describing His great love on those who receive that love, and His wrath on
those who reject His love. This isn't just God declaring some information about
Himself; it is God revealing Himself. He does it in such a way that Moses is
strengthened to his core and assured of God's nature. God is
"feasting" Moses on who He is and why He does what He does. It is
like living in a kingdom for years hearing about the king and observing his
decrees and laws and works and only knowing him on that basis. Now you are invited
to live with him, talk to him at breakfast, informal, fully visible and
transparent, like a friend. Your understanding of everything would become
exponentially deeper and wiser. Verses 6 & 7 become a refrain mentioned
again and again as to the nature of God. Along with the name, "I AM,"
comes the spiritual insight into His heart.
Notice in the description of God
in 6 & 7, how long it takes to get to punishment. The generational aspect
is hard for us to swallow until we've read the entire Bible and see what God
says to Ezekiel and Jeremiah regarding the sons not being punished for the sins
of the fathers. We've already read Abe's talk with the Lord regarding finding a
few who were righteous in Sodom. No one who sincerely comes to God in
repentance is ever turned away. Everyone who seeks, finds. Yet, there is a kind
of sin that becomes deeply inbred in a culture and within generations. When
this sin becomes "truth" in that family or culture, God acts against
it. This kind of cultural sin gets remembered and visited after God's deep
patience wears out. This is what is going to happen to the land of Canaan in
about 38 years.
As Moses experiences this
intimacy with God, this understanding of God's heart, he pleads with God to
dwell in the middle of His people. In fact, the tabernacle will become the
center of the camp of Israel. As disciples, this presence is ours because of
the Holy Spirit. If we don't experience that closeness, it usually means we are
keeping other things closer to us than we are keeping Christ and His mission.
Jesus said to His disciples, "Where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also." As disciples, we need to let Paul's pursuit of knowing
Christ be our model.
Philippians 3:10-15, that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not
that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make
it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not
consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies
behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for
the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are
mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal
that also to you.
Vs. 10-17 Much of what is
written here intensifies the Ten Commandments and the special position of the
people as God's own possession. Some of this seems to be a restatement from the
last time Moses was on the mountain. What encourages your heart, as a disciple,
from this section?
Notice the contrast between v.
10 and vs. 11-17. The covenant and relationship is with God. They would know
others and do business with others, but God should have their hearts and full
devotion. They were on earth for a purpose. Verse 10 suggests that as they
obeyed God, the blessing of God would draw the attention of all peoples to the
possibility of having this kind of relationship to the Creator and only God.
Even for us as disciples, it is easy to have our desires and affections drawn
away from God and connected to other things. Being in the harvest helps keep
our vision clear.
Vs. 18-26 These were all the
ways that Israel would refresh their love for the Lord and keep their focus on
His love.
Vs. 18-20 This was the Passover
and Feast of Unleavened Bread,
reminding them of God's salvation and redemption.
V. 21 All nations would think
they were nuts, but Israel would enjoy a day of rest reflecting on God's love.
And why rest on that one day? Because their God, the Creator of the universe
and mankind, created in six days and rested on the seventh.
Vs. 22-24 This Feast of Weeks and firstfruits is
Pentecost in May-June (7 weeks after the Feast of Unleavened Bread) and then
the Feast of Tabernacles and ingathering of the harvest (along with the Day of
Atonement) in October. All the males in Israel had to show up for these three feasts
and stay the entire week for each feast. Imagine how all the nations would
think this was crazy. But it would focus the eyes and hearts of the men on the
grace of God, and God promised to protect their homes and fields while they
were away in Jerusalem.
Vs. 25-26 In sacrificing, the
people would always remember the day of the Passover (no leaven). They would
remember that God gave them their food in the firstfruits, and they would
remember to resist copying the rituals of the surrounding nations (goat and the
mother's milk).
Vs. 27-28 Moses was up there
another 40 days. This time the people behaved.
Vs. 29-35 When Moses returned,
the Lord gave Moses a visible sign or symbol of what happens while standing in
the presence of God. Everyone examined Moses and they were afraid. This
continued those 40 years, and Moses got "re-charged" every time he
went into the tent of meeting to speak with God.
V. 35 Notice that when Moses
spoke with the people he wouldn’t replace the veil until he was done.
So, what do you get from this?
There are a couple good discipleship principles here. None of us
"glow" literally, but isn't there something that happens if we live
closely in His presence in the harvest?
There's a story about a pastor
who visited someone who used to be working hard in the harvest, but had become
distant and isolated from the church. After they talked for a while, the
conversation died and they both sat silent in front of the fireplace.
Finally the pastor got up
without saying a word, grabbed the tongs, removed a burning log off the fire
and stood it on its end in the fireplace, but away from the other burning logs.
He took his seat and neither man spoke. As they watched, the log he had removed
stopped burning and began smoldering. The log was almost completely out when
the pastor rose again and placed the log on top of the other burning logs.
After a short time, the log began to burn again.
As the story goes, the pastor
rose without saying a word, showed himself to the door and left. The next
Sunday the man was in church.
Exodus 35:1-9
Vs. 1-3 At this point, it is
time for God to restate the covenant He and the people have entered into. The
sign of this covenant is the Sabbath. This restating of the Sabbath might seem
hard, but there are two things that stand out to me. First, God has just shown
them incredible mercy and grace in light of their falling away and idolatry.
Second, the Sabbath was rest, not punishment. It was a time to reflect on their
blessings and mission as a nation, resting in the privilege and provision of an
awesome God. I'm willing to bet that the kindling of fire was ok if it meant
keeping warm or tending to the sick. Since the Sabbath wasn't a day of fasting,
meal preparation was allowed; but if you used the day to get ahead in cooking
or washing, it was wrong.
Vs. 4-9 Now it's time to begin
working on the tabernacle, the center of their worship of God. We'll see how
the people respond.
Matthew 27:15-31
Vs. 15-25 Pilate was playing a
losing game with the Jews, thinking he would win at setting Jesus free. The
word he received from his wife only intensified the eerie irrationality the
other Gospels say Pilate was experiencing. Pilate was working frantically to
let Jesus go, but caved in to the Jews when they pulled their trump card. If
you put all of the gospels together, Jesus was actually beaten twice. Pilate
had Him beaten before presenting Him on the balcony, thinking that everyone
would pity Him, and that that humiliation would be enough and he could let Him
go.
Notice in vs. 22 and 23 that
"all" of the people were shouting this. The shout was only one word,
"Crucify."
The statement in v. 25 is one of
the most ironic statements in the Bible. Wayne Watson has a song called,
"The Hunger," where this statement is seen first, from the guilt of
demanding Jesus' blood, to the cry for salvation that comes from that blood.
Interesting song.
That generation of men and women
would pay for this. In 70 A.D. the Romans would destroy Jerusalem and the
temple. It is interesting to me that God is so slow to punish. Many of these
same people would hear Peter's message in about 50 days and be cut to the
heart, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. Others would resist the
grace of God and be massacred by the Romans in about 40 years.
Vs. 26-31 This was the
pre-crucifixion beating. Just think, Jesus endured this willingly because He
had to go through this to get to the cross for us.
A disciple is no better than his
master. Saved by His blood, are we willing to pay this price to see the lost
saved? The irony here is that Jesus was selected to die, over a murderer.
Psalm 33:12-22
Read v. 12 and then Exodus
34:10. Cool, huh?
Vs. 13-17 Israel is God’s nation
and all the other nations are distant from Him. These verses seem to say that
although Israel is God's heritage and instrument to reach the other nations,
the Lord is still sovereign over all nations,
watching and directing them as necessary.
Vs. 18 & 19 are great. This
is what gives you confidence as a disciple to live dangerously in the hands of
God.
Vs. 20-22 I can imagine this
being Moses' prayer from yesterday, for God's presence and glory and help.
Notice again, the waiting on the Lord. It is as if to say, "Let others do
what they will and seek help where they will. Our souls wait on the Lord."
What a great declaration of
confidence in the glory of God.
Proverbs 9:1-6
This is interesting, because
this appeal of "lady" wisdom seems similar to the appeal of the wild
adulteress to the simple, young fool in Proverbs 7:6-27. Apparently there is
hope, even for the simple, if he makes the right decision.
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
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, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
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.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
No comments:
Post a Comment