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 15
Today is a milestone for you. You will be finishing Exodus, the second
book in the Bible and the Old Testament, and you'll begin Mark, the second
gospel and the second book in the New Testament. Time to treat yourself to
something at Starbucks© or some Chinese take-out!
Exodus 39-40
Exodus 39
Vs. 1-7 Now we learn that God is into fashion. "He" is
referring to Bezalel, ben Uri, ben Hur of the tribe of Judah. He was the chief
craftsman.
V. 6 The thing that stands out to me regarding the ephod, or bib apron
that Aaron wore, is that on the shoulder pieces there were two stones, one on
each shoulder. These stones had the names of the tribes of Israel on them. It
signified the responsibility the priest bore before the Lord, representing the
people of the promise. He bore this on his shoulders.
Vs. 8-21 Notice how much space is given to the breastpiece or pouch
that hung from the shoulders of the ephod. Notice too that the breastpiece had
the rows of stones, each of them bearing a name of a tribe of Israel. These
were to be on Aaron's heart, as he came before the Lord. He bore their names as
he served them as a responsibility and as a passion before God.
Not mentioned here is that the ephod and its breastpiece held two
dice-like thingies in it, the Urim and the Thummim. These were used for
determining God’s will or judgment. When Aaron or any priest wore these
clothes, he was serving the people to help them stand before God and seek His
will.
When Gideon later makes his own ephod (Judges 8:27), it was probably in rebellion to
using the corrupt priests and Levitical system. His bad. With his own ephod,
Gideon could seek God’s will without consulting a priest or going to the
tabernacle. In sin Gideon rebelled against God’s order. Gideon should have
worked to reform the system God had appointed which would have brought health
to Israel, as Gideon led them to submit to Him and His way. Instead, Gideon
made an ephod for himself, and, thereby, led the nation into idolatry as they
came to worship at his ephod.
Years later, when David is on the run, a priest, Abiathar the son of
Ahimelech, fled to David in Keilah. He came down with an ephod in his hand. The
importance of the ephod was what was in it, the Urim and Thummim. David made
use of these on several occasions to find God’s will and it saved him more than
once.
What made David a real model, for us as disciples, was that during his
younger years, he constantly sought the Lord. The priest was to constantly seek
the Lord on behalf of the people. He was not to do what he thought, but was to
follow what the Lord said and so lead the people before God. He was to bear
responsibility for them with their names on his shoulders and on his heart. And
the breastpiece held these two stones for helping the people know the will of
God.
For us as disciples, our prayer life and our reading, our life closely
following our Savior in the harvest, is the true measure of our ability to lead
others into deeper discipleship. We pursue God because of our love for Him, but
also to lead others accurately and truly, making disciples, who make disciples.
Vs. 22-26 This robe went on top of the ephod. Significant here are the
bells and the pomegranates. They made a tinkling sound when the priest was in
the Holy Place tending to the lampstand and incense and replacing the bread. It
reminded him that God was on the other side of the veil in the Most Holy Place
listening to him. Also, the people who stood outside of the courtyard would be
able to hear the priest serving them before the Lord.
Vs. 27-29 The other priests wore fine clothing, but only the high
priest wore the clothes described above. They all wore the boxers described
here.
Vs. 30-31 On the turban the high priest wore the crown that said, Holy to the Lord. This was a visual
image for the priest to remember to keep his life holy before the Lord, so that
he could serve the people. Ironically, we have been seeing in the NT that the
high priest who commanded Jesus' death was not holy. He was an evil man.
Vs. 32-43 This is when they brought everything completed to Moses.
Everything is ready for assembly. Notice the repetition in vs. 42-43. They had
obeyed the Lord, and Moses blessed them.
Exodus 40
Vs. 1-8 Here is God's command to Moses, when and how to construct the
tabernacle and the court. Notice the time notation in v. 1. It gives you an
idea of how long this took. It was definitely a major community project. The
people left Egypt a year earlier in the first month. Roughly speaking it took
them three months to get to Mt. Sinai, then Moses was on the mountain 40 days
and then another 40 days renewing the covenant. That would have left them about
6.5 months for all of the work.
Vs. 9-15 These are the orders for consecrating everything by anointing
them. This included Aaron and his sons.
Vs. 16-33 Moses had charge of building the tabernacle and initiating
the worship. In that sense it appears that Moses was actually the first priest
of Israel until Aaron took over.
V. 32 It looks like Aaron and his sons were to wash before they went
into the Holy Place and when they returned and went toward the altar.
V. 33 The final thing that was put up was the doorway screen, the
entrance or gate to the court of the tabernacle. From this point on, the
tabernacle and its court would be called the tent of meeting and it would be where Moses would meet with the
Lord. Instead of it being outside the camp of Israel, the tabernacle will be in
the exact center of the camp.
Vs. 34-38 This is God Himself consecrating the courtyard and the
tabernacle. The cloud stood over the courtyard, and His glory filled the
tabernacle.
Notice in vs. 36-38 that the cloud and the fire were present day and
night to assure them of God's presence with them. Interestingly, Israel took
this presence for granted.
As disciples following Jesus in the harvest, His presence in us is His
Spirit, night and day, leading us in His Word, speaking to us and directing us
as we walk each day. This is also very easy to take for granted. Just think
though, the Holy Spirit of God is within us to lead us and help us. That should
never be a commonplace thought, acknowledged and ignored.
Mark 1:1-28
This gospel is unique for a couple of reasons. Mark was the caffeine
king of disciples. His short, quick account of the Gospel of Christ was the
first Gospel, written to get the believers in Rome up to speed with some
accurate information.
The second thing I love is that this Gospel depicts Jesus as the
“Suffering Servant,” written by John Mark, the failed servant. What a
discipleship lesson in itself. Mark, the well-to-do, true-blue-Jew, city boy
went with Uncle Barnabas and Paul on the first missionary journey and washed
out in the first month. Defeated and broken, Barnabas nurtured Mark back into
service, but Paul wouldn’t have it. Therefore, Barnabas and Paul split. This
“failed servant” became our first Gospel writer, and, when Paul was about to
die, Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark into this very dangerous spot to help
him.
So, notice how selective Mark is. Mark hits all the big events.
Vs. 1-8 This is John the Baptist fulfilling the OT promise that God
would send His messenger, to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Vs. 9-13 This is the baptism of Jesus where He is anointed or commissioned
as the Messiah, the coming King who will rule forever. Then Jesus is driven by
the Spirit to confront the devil.
Vs. 14-20 Jesus began His ministry and called His disciples. Knowing
the other Gospels, Jesus has been followed by the disciples for several months.
This is their formal calling to follow Him. Jesus is shown to have the authority
as the Son of Man to call these men.
Vs. 21-28 Jesus is shown to be superior to the scribes in His teaching,
and He is shown to have authority over the unclean spirits. Now His fame begins
to skyrocket…and all of this in 28 verses.
Psalm 35:1-16
Repeatedly, as David ran from King Saul, hiding in the mountains,
living in caves with a small community that may have numbered more than 1200,
he resisted fighting for himself against Saul. David was obeying God, yet he
was still pursued, so the Spirit nudges David to cry out to God for help and
for God to fight for him.
Before we judge David for the words here, remember that the Lord
inspired these words. Also, it is hard for us to understand completely what was
happening in this situation. God knew and motivated David to cry out like this.
Vs. 1-3 This is David's cry for God to fly into action. David knew his
cause was just and that God had anointed him to be king. The injustice of what
was happening, the lying and the constant danger of being pursued by Saul, must
have created real problems for David.
Vs. 4-8 Notice the repetition of let.
Tomorrow in the second half of this psalm there will be more.
Vs. 9-10 David understood that the only vindication that would set his
heart to rest would have to come from the Lord.
Vs. 11-16 This lament reminds me of Job. When Job was down, those whom
he had helped scorned him. Sometimes it takes the opposition of men and of
friends to push us to the place of understanding that only the Lord can truly
help us and lift us up.
This psalm concludes tomorrow.
Proverbs 9:11-12
V. 11 is easy to understand. I think the first part of 12 means that if
you are wise, it brings benefit to your own life; but if you are a scoffer, it
will be something that you add to your life that weighs you down.
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.
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