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FEBRUARY 2
Exodus 15:19-17:7
Exodus 15:19-27
Vs. 19-21 This section finishes off Moses’ song from yesterday. It’s
sort of a grizzly picture. Meet Moses’ sister, Miriam, leading the girls,
singing on the banks of the Red Sea as the bodies of dead soldiers lap upon the
shore. You definitely “had to be there” to appreciate the moment. It was a very
class “A” miracle and deliverance. It is interesting to think of Miriam out
there shaking a tambourine at 90, or thereabouts.
Vs. 22-27 This deliverance makes the next portion harder to grasp, but
important to note. If God wanted to kill the people, He had the chance, but it
is obvious that He wants to save them. Now, they have to go three days without
water, and when they find it, it’s undrinkable.
When we read “people,” we have to realize this is a large city of
people. If they had 600,000 men, then they had as many, if not more, women.
Then, since they were a hearty and procreative people, what - 3.1 kids per
family? We’re talking 2-3 million people. Some people speculate that there may
have been up to 6 million people. This is a lot of people to be thirsty and
complaining. It also means that on the surface, their need for water is
“impossible” to meet.
Note that their “need” overwhelms the miracle and deliverance at the
sea. It blinds them to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. This is a
good lesson in why God allows us to have hard times and allows things to move
slowly at times. The building of our faith, faith that goes above our needs and
circumstances, that lifts us out of ourselves to live for “reality,” is not an
easy task. As disciples, it is very easy to forget, in the present distress,
the wonder of God’s grace we rejoiced in yesterday. If you reread Jesus
training of His disciples you’ll notice the connection between Matthew 6:25-34
and Matthew 16:7-11. Our needs make us deaf to what the Lord is trying to say
to us, even as disciples. It is why we do not follow our Lord into the harvest
and do not see the lost reached and disciples made, who make disciples.
Notice that God allowed the need to grow….3 days, and then took care of
the problem. The deliverance and miracle were magnified by the depth of need.
Notice, and you’ll see this over and over, that instead of crying out
to God, they go after Moses and bitterly blame him.
So, while they are enjoying this deliverance and drinking the water,
God made a deal with them that seems like a “no-brainer.” If they will do what
He says, He’ll take care of them. They have seen all sorts of stuff, miracles,
water, and they have “their daily pillar of cloud/fire.” Of course they will
obey and rest in Him and listen to Him and take all of their needs to Him,
right? Wrong.
Just a reminder for us disciples, it is hard to find seasoned, proven
workers in Christ who do not fold under after a few weeks or months of personal
need. That’s why the process mentioned in Romans 5:1-5 is so important. What is
also important is living before the Lord, meeting with Him daily. Past
experience, just like food eaten last week, doesn’t give us hope and strength
today. Also, staying in the harvest is important. This is reality and the
mission of God, and it keeps us from sinking into ourselves and our needs.
Exodus 16
Note that there are two important things established here.
Vs. 1-21 First, they were given the manna, a daily miracle. Two to
three million people needed more to eat than the cattle they brought out of
Egypt. I’m sure for the “far thinking” people in Israel this journey seemed
suicidal. Where would you get that much food, every day? God did it for 40
years and He didn’t even break a sweat. It was the daily miracle that saved
them, the fact that they gathered daily, that they took for granted, and one
generation grew to despise. For the disciple, there are lessons to be learned
in all of this about our hearts and the power of sin. Notice their words in v.
3. Cool! Read what Paul says about this generation of people in 1 Corinthians
10:1-13 and how this account is meant to help us.
God occasionally gave them meat, but manna was the norm. Think also
about what it says in The Lord’s Prayer, Give
us each day our daily bread. Also, in John 6, Jesus says He is the bread
that comes down from heaven.
Vs. 22-30 Second, they were given the Sabbath. This was God’s provision
for them to rest and allow God to care for them. On the sixth day God would
provide twice as much. They were to rely on God and not work to care for their
lives. They could do good, help others, walk, talk, eat, but not work in order
to store up stuff or take care of life. This is hard for someone in the
affluent western world to grasp, that if you didn’t work a day in that culture,
you might not have anything to eat that night or the next day. We have
Wal-Mart; they had their hands. God was giving them a weekly, cultural, personal
reminder that He cared for them; and that, in reality, He, not they, sustained
their lives.
Vs. 31-36 This was a memorial to God giving this bread from heaven. The
people basically called manna, "What's this?" Notice that this
editorial note must have been made by Moses just before he died, or by the
writer of Joshua.
The giving of manna is important for us as disciples. Jesus mentioned
again and again that His disciples had to live free from the anxieties of today
and the meeting of their daily needs. If God could do that there, He can meet
my needs today here. I need to seek, knock and ask in following my Lord in the
harvest. He has shown He can provide.
Exodus 17:1-7
Vs. 1-7 Why do you think the Lord is showing us another instance of the
people complaining against Moses and not asking Him? I think it’s ironic that
the area around Mt. Sin-ai was referred to as the wilderness of “Sin.” Unfortunately,
we disciples can also fall into this kind of behavior.
Notice v. 3. I wonder if they will always complain in v. 3 of every
chapter.
Notice they go after Moses and it is Moses who cries out to God. Why
didn't they see God in this? If the people would have humbled themselves and
prayed to God, the water would have come. I always feel bad for pastors when I
read this. This “striking of the rock” was used to establish the authority of
Moses in the eyes of the elders and people. God told Moses to do it. Later
Moses will strike another rock when God tells him to do otherwise and will get
in trouble. A disciple remains a disciple. We are never God and we need to obey
just like everyone else.
But reading all of this, my heart goes out to Moses. What an incredible
burden. He was prepared 40 years leading sheep in the wilderness, and now for
another 40 years, he will lead these “sheep” in the wilderness. The daily
strain of tending to this community must have been beyond all human endurance.
This is why, as disciples, we follow and live for Jesus. He is our
primary desire and delight. Though we serve people, we don’t live for them. He,
in His Word and Spirit, sustains us.
Matthew 22:1-33
The same was true for Jesus. Think of how often He mentions coming to
do the Father’s will. His love for us and willingness to give Himself was
grounded in His love for the Father; and that gave Him, humanly speaking, the
ability to love us and give His life for those who did not appreciate it. The
disciple is no better than his master.
Vs. 1-14 Here is Jesus, about to die, making an appeal and warning the
people and leaders about stiff-arming God when He is inviting them to salvation
and the glory of living eternally with Him. It is hard for anyone to comprehend
that this world is ruined and going to be destroyed and that it will be
replaced with a new one. If you reject the creator of this house while He lets
you live in it, He won’t take you to the next house. That seems fair to me.
Notice how hard this parable is. There is a lot of judgment and killing
here. Who says Jesus only spoke of love and peace and flowers? The judgment
will be dark and the warning needs to accurately reflect that truth.
Notice in vs. 10-11, people were brought in from the street. That means
that they were supplied with wedding garments. Having received this sort of
“grace,” and then, not to respond to it by putting on what was given to
celebrate the wedding was, again, to reject the host. I would say that some
people who flitter around the light, and flitter around church and the truth,
and take part in the pot-lucks, and go on the mission trips and sing the songs,
and call Him “Lord, Lord” but don’t do what Jesus says, will find that they
didn’t really “put on Christ,” but just satisfied their own needs. (Matt.
7:21-27)
Vs. 15-22 All you can say here is “Whoa!” What a cool illustration.
What is made in the image of God belongs to Him. All men are to give themselves
to God.
Vs. 23-33 The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection so they were
“sad, you see.” J
Jesus takes them to school and avoids the entanglement of giving an
answer to “who got her.” As far as I can see, answering this question according
to the way the Sadducees asked it wouldn’t have gotten Jesus in trouble like
the question about taxes; but it would have lowered His authority to the silly
speculation of the scribes and other teachers. He would have been discredited.
The coolest line here is v. 32. Every year when I read that, I think,
“Of course! I should have seen that.”
Psalm 27:1-6
The tragedy of this reading is that you only get the first six verses.
Laura and I have memorized this psalm because of the message. In our challenges
as the Lord leads us through this wilderness, we need to remember what is
important as we wait for and look to the Lord. In memorizing, you try to
remember the next verse logically, looking for connections of thought or any
linkage of words. There is a definite connection between vs. 6 & 7 that you
miss here.
Vs. 1-3 Can you imagine that kind of calmness in the face of threat and
adversity? David lived this.
V. 4 This was David's strength and desire. This is why David became
known as a man after God's own heart. This seeking becomes more meaningful to
me every year.
Vs. 5-6 This is where David knew his strength and glory came from, that
is, from the presence of the Lord. In that presence, whether publicly or
privately, David committed himself to always praising God. Notice that it is
the Lord who sets us on the rock. We need to be patient and wait for Him to do
this instead of trying to climb up there in our own strength. Wait on the Lord!
My suggestion would be to read all of Psalm 27 today and then tomorrow.
It’s a great psalm and it’s not long.
Proverbs 6:20-26
Since Solomon is writing this, you wonder if he is somehow reflecting
on his father, King David, who was ruined by his adultery, oddly enough, with
Solomon’s mother. I don’t know.
What I do know is that if the Spirit has made the effort to be this
persistent in this warning, we need to be on the alert. If God didn’t spare
David, whom He loved, why should he treat us differently? It is wise to fear
the Lord.
Vs. 20-26 Notice it is the discipline of hearing the Word and desiring
God that keeps a person focused from desiring the lies of sexual adventure.
Although both genders can commit adultery, the force of this warning is
toward the weakness of men, who can be captured by the lust of their eyes and
their fantasy. Ironically this is also what happened to Solomon. And again, the
danger we face today, that other generations never faced, is the ease of
viewing internet pornography. It’s killing us. Men, the best defense is a good
offense. Read and practice Proverbs 5:15-19, often.
The warning of Paul/Spirit in 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 not only applies
to our bent to forget God’s provision like the people in our OT reading, but is
also appropriate for this proverb. Now
these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our
instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who
thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
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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