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 4
Exodus 19:16-21:21
This is holy ground. God is forming these people into a nation that was
meant to be a beacon of light in a dark world. Everything we read from here
until Numbers will take place in the next 11 months. There will be little
action, but there is a lot to learn about God and about ourselves.
Exodus 19:16-25
This shows something about the Lord, the way He chose to represent
Himself to the people. This might seem extreme, but keep in mind that up until
now, they had seen many, many miracles and examples of God’s care, but had
chosen at every turn to distrust God and gripe at Moses. God has already shown
them love and grace in humbling the Egyptians. Now it is time for them to be
humbled. God wants them to fear Him. Yet, we will see in Israel that neither
God's love and mercy nor His awesome power will persuade them to love and
follow Him. Until the power of sin is broken, mankind is helpless.
This event will be used as a lesson showing the contrast of coming to
God through the law and coming to God through the redemption in Christ in
Hebrews 12:18-22.
V. 22 Notice that there were already men serving as priests. It may
have been that during the time in Egypt, different tribes set people apart to
lead in worship. In a few chapters God will introduce the Levites as the tribe
of priests.
Exodus 20
Vs. 1-17 The Ten Commandments!
Some people have an allergic reaction to them because they are in the
negative. Someone else has pointed out that often the negative conveys greater
clarity in a few words. Imagine trying to reframe all of these in the positive.
Also, imagine trying to convey directions and warnings to your kids by only
using positive wording, like “don’t run out in the street,” or “don’t put your
hand on a hot burner on the stove.”
These 10 "Words" would sum up everything God wanted the
people to do. If they followed God in faith, obeying these commandments, the
other laws would have been a piece of cake. If the Ten Commandments meant
nothing to the people, the other laws would be burdens to them.
The commandments have two parts. Do you see the difference? Also, all
but one of these is repeated by Jesus in the NT, the keeping of the Sabbath.
Why do you think it is not endorsed and promoted for the church by Jesus?
Vs. 2-3 This is the first commandment. Notice that it is based on God's
love and grace to them.
Vs. 4-6 This is the second commandment. Notice too that even here,
God's love is mentioned.
V. 7 This is the third commandment to honor the name of the Lord. In
Catholic Milwaukee, I grew up thinking it was a commandment to abuse the name
of the Lord.
Vs. 8-11 This is the fourth commandment to consecrate the Sabbath and
keep it holy. Notice that the Sabbath is connected to the seven literal 24-hour
days of creation. God worked on the first six days and rested on the seventh.
They would have understood the days of creation as 24-hour days.
Vs. 12-17 Now based on following God in faith and love, you love your
neighbor as yourself.
Vs. 18-21 This is the people's response and Moses' explanation for the
sound and light show.
If this order is chronological, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses
on this short excursion on the mountain. Then he came down to pass on the
commandments and to let the people know that God wanted to make a covenant with
them, the commandments being representative of their obedience to the covenant.
Moses then went back up the mountain to write the book of the covenant with the
other regulations for the nation.
The sight must have been fear inspiring. Earlier it is said that the
smoke rising off the mountain was like from a furnace, violent and forceful.
Add to this the lightning, thunder, and trumpets, and you can understand why
the people were petrified.
V. 20 gives the purpose for this show of power. We'll see that it
didn't work.
Vs. 22-26 This section fits with the commandments, restating one of the
commandments and adding God’s stipulations on how He should be approached in
worship and sacrifice. Within the next few months they would begin building the
tabernacle, but until the completion of the tabernacle, if they made altars,
this was how they should do it.
The main lesson for them here is to approach God in fear and respect,
without representing Him in ways that He does not choose. The images and
symbols of the worship of Yahweh will come from Yahweh, not from their
imaginations. God was always to have been worshipped in spirit and in truth.
For us as disciples, we should also follow this “advice.” If you look
at what Jesus says we should do, and how “worship” is referred to in the NT, I
wonder sometimes if our “worship” isn’t more a product of our imaginations and
needs. I’m not saying all of it is wrong, but if the things that God desires
are missing, if there is no worship in serving Him in the harvest, and it’s all
to give us a nice feeling, does that really give glory to God? Is any of it
really for Him, or simply for us? By this
my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my
disciples. (John 15:8)
Exodus 21:1-21
Now, there are lots of places in the Bible, like Proverbs, where the
order and connection between verses or themes defies logic or imagination.
Since I enjoy the exercise, I’ll suggest some logical connections at times. And
if you see something that seems to fit together, go for it. If you can’t see
the connection I make, maybe you can make your own.
The last block of verses seemed to address the first four commandments,
repeating one of them and generally talking about approaching God. These verses
seem to address the last six commandments, repeat the commandment regarding
parents, and generally talk about issues in living with one another.
Vs. 1-6 The slavery mentioned here is when a person makes himself a
slave because of debt or need. It was like being hired under contract for six
years. Every seventh year the contracts were voided. This is not forceful
oppression and ownership of humans.
V. 1 hints at the cycle of release that God will institute later. The
image of the slave wishing to give up his freedom and to stay
"enslaved" to remain with his wife and children has been used as a
symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, allowing Himself to be “pierced through” for love
of his bride. It makes a good image for a disciple.
Vs. 7-11 This was "selling" a daughter into marriage, where
the daughter became a concubine or servant wife. This is what Hagar was to Abe.
She was a kind of wife, but was still referred to by God as the slave woman.
Notice that what is given here is humane and lawful and is probably a
corrective to something bad that had been going on in the culture.
Vs. 12-14 This is the 6th commandment with the addition of
what to do with someone who accidentally kills someone. It was apparently
expected that if one man killed another, even by accident, someone had the
right to kill the killer. God puts the brakes on this. Thou shall not kill
means you shall not murder.
Vs. 15-17 This has to do with the 5th commandment, with v.
16 sitting in. I would suggest that the connection with v. 16 is that “honoring
your parents” also meant caring for them, financially and physically, in their
old age or need. To take a son from his parents by force, so that he could not
care for them, was worthy of death. Think about what Jesus said about “Corban”
(Mark 7:11). That was similar to this.
Vs. 18-19 This is two men willingly fighting each other, not one
attacking another. Notice that the injuring party had to pay for the injured
man.
Vs. 20-21 This was a new, better law. It meant death to the slave owner
if the slave died. But if the slave survived for a couple of days, it was, I
think, to be looked on as God’s intervention, that God could have saved him but
didn’t, and there was to be no punitive justice.
From here on, it will only get more random at times, and you’ll be
happy for the NT portion.
Matthew 23:13-39
Jesus is only days before His sacrifice for our sin, and here He is
pronouncing His official condemnation of the Jewish leadership. After three
years of being hounded by them, showing them mercy and grace, it is time to
strongly “speak the truth in love” to these leaders.
So, how many woes are there? This is like Bible Study 101. Take every
woe and figure out what Jesus is stating about the Pharisees and leaders. What
is the key thing they were doing wrong? What should we be doing better as
followers of Christ in the harvest?
I’ll mention some things that stand out to me.
Vs. 13-15 Notice that the first woe has to do with keeping people from
finding God. This was the whole point of Israel’s mission, and the leaders were
keeping people out. Although God is reaching people now, through the church, do
not think that Israel will not fulfill this purpose. There will come a time
when the church is removed, and Israel will come to Christ and evangelize the
world as all hell is breaking loose upon them. Redeeming a lost world was and
is Israel’s mission. It is Christ’s mission and it is His disciple’s mission.
Vs. 16-22 Jesus has told the disciples never to swear at all. Yet, here
Jesus is showing that these men were teaching people to worship stuff and not
to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Vs. 23-24 I think this image is funny.
Vs. 25-26 We all do this. We think if we don't get in trouble, don't
smoke, don't get people pregnant, etc., we are right with God.
Vs. 27-28 Rather than making people holy or blessed or disciples,
everyone who touched the scribes or Pharisees became unclean and disqualified
from worshiping God.
Vs. 29-36 The last woe puts the entire OT history on the shoulders of
these leaders. Just as the law and prophets continued to John, the guilt of
hardhearted rebellion against God and killing His messengers continued to these
men who were about to kill the ultimate messenger, the Christ, the Son of Man,
the Son of God.
V. 33 Imagine, this is God speaking to these men. Whoa!
V. 34 Notice the I.
Jesus pronounces judgment on this group of people, this particular
generation. The imminence of this coming judgment often gets confused with the
second coming of Christ. Paul, in particular, had this judgment in view. You
see this reflected in the distress that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 7.
The judgment with this generation would hit in 70 A.D., when Jerusalem and the
temple would be destroyed by the Romans.
Vs. 37-39 This is a second lament of Jesus over Jerusalem. And again, notice
the I. The part of this that hits me
is the ending. The nation will not see Jesus again until they are so desperate,
that like Israel as slaves in Egypt, the collective cry of the nation will be
so intense that they cry out for help and are willing to welcome Him, whom they
as a nation have already rejected.
Psalm 28
I wonder if the crying out of Israel in the Tribulation will sound like
this psalm. It would be a blessing to be able to write something like this, but
it came at a price for David. To deeply know the Lord will mean to suffer for His
sake. And the testimony of praise has much more meaning when it comes from
those who have been tested and proven in living for the Lord.
You see some very distinct parts of this song to the Lord:
Vs. 1-2 David is calling out to the Lord for help.
Vs. 3-5 David's distress over the wicked and their attempts to harm
him.
Vs. 6-7 David's personal praise and confidence in the Lord.
Vs. 8-9 Israel's need for the Lord and His guidance.
Proverbs 7:1-5
Notice again the figurative reference to binding the Word to your body
to control your actions. This is how important and close the Word should be to
us. We assent to this, but Solomon and the Spirit are saying we should so
passionately understand our need and the danger around us, that we intimately
connect ourselves to the Word. We ignore this to our own harm.
Notice, too, that sensual pleasure is the great danger again, and
attraction to the Word and wisdom is contrasted to the passion and attraction
to the desires that will ruin us as disciples.
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