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.
MARCH 16
I know I've said a lot (too much?) about St. Pat's Day, but the reason
for this is to have a motivational point to look forward to. Use things like
dates and events to help motivate yourself to do something, lose a pound or
keep up with reading The One Year Bible. Set your own goals; find dates
that are meaningful to you and not so far off and celebrate when you get there.
Celebrate when you finish any and every book of the Bible. It is no small thing
to be reading through the Word of God. It is the most important thing any
person could ever do, and very few people, even Christians, will ever do it.
But the real goal in this is to sit with the Lord, to hear Him and learn to
understand Him.
Numbers 24-25
One of the little evidences of the truth of God's Word is that if it
were simply the national literature of Israel, they would never have included
these stories. National literature doesn't air a people's darkest details to
this degree. If, on the other hand, the Bible is the record of God dealing with
man to bring him redemption, this all makes sense. Israel is given the
distinction of becoming a picture of mankind, of every man and woman. They will
later be honored for this; but until then, we see, through them, how we would
all respond to God. We who know Him are only different, because we were
redeemed out of death by the blood of Christ and have been given the Spirit to
break the power of sin. Still, even with the Lord and the Spirit, we struggle.
Without them, we'd be toast, like Israel.
Numbers 24
Vs. 1-2 It seems that Balaam's intent was to look at Israel to find
signs that would lead him to curse them. When he realized now that God would
only bless them and understood God's love for Israel, apparently, his heart
opened and the Spirit came upon him. This doesn't mean Balaam was a believer or
following God any more than when this happened to King Saul, Caiaphas, or the
donkey.
Vs. 3-9 From Balaam's vantage, high above the plain, the camp of Israel
must have looked impressive. These seem to be the words of God. Notice in them
the affection of God for Israel. Notice too in v. 9 that this is part of the
blessing spoken to Abraham. Although the people were under the covenant with
Moses, even above that was God's promise to Abraham for the blessing of all
nations, and above that was the promise to Adam and Eve that there would be a
redeemer.
Somewhere, too, we should remember that Israel had been camped out and
living in the desert for 40 years at this point. This means they were a
well-known people group and some of their history might have been known.
Vs. 10-11 Balak finally loses it and tries to rub it in that God has
kept Balaam from getting rich. At this point Balaam still looks like a nice
guy, but he hasn't given up on cashing in. He still has an ace to play.
Vs. 12-24 At v. 14, Balaam gives an overview of what will eventually
happen in the future. The star and scepter of v. 17 could be David, in the
nearer future, but eventually this will be Jesus at His second advent. The
ships of Kittim are often thought to be from Rome and are mentioned again in
Daniel, almost certainly meaning the growing Roman Empire.
V. 25 Balaam went home and the job was done. He passes out of the
narrative, but you'll be surprised where he turns up.
Numbers 25
Vs. 1-5 To some part of the camp, the locals came and said, "Hey,
let's get to know each other. Let's have a grill party!" Finally,
something other than manna. During the meal it was apparent that it was a feast
to another god, and not just any god. It was Baal, the god that, among other
things, brought fertility to people and to the fields. When you bowed down to
Baal it was sexual. They used male and female cult prostitutes. To
"yoke" themselves was to engage sexually in Baal worship. Apparently
the men were easy and willing targets.
Vs. 4-5 show the extreme measures that Moses took. At first this looks
simply like punishing the guilty who participated in this religious orgy. You
notice that there were prominent men involved. But actually these measures by
Moses were meant to stop the growing plague of death that began sweeping
through the camp. Balaam couldn't curse the people, but these Midianites found
a way to entice the people to bring themselves under God's wrath. It was
working.
Vs. 6-15 Even though they had killed some of the leaders involved in
this worship, who were consequently responsible for the plague that was
sweeping the camp, the plague went on; and Moses, the priests and the elders
were stunned and didn't know what to do. They were gathered at the entrance of
the tent of meeting, but they were
helpless. Then they all see a guy take a woman of Midian into his tent. They
weren't going to have coffee together. Everyone sees this bold defiance, but no
one moves. Suddenly, Phinehas sees the connection between the growing cry of
death in the camp and this man and woman. He grabs a spear and sprints through
the camp to this tent, and in one stroke he impales them both into the floor of
the tent.
The plague instantly stopped. In those hours of sin and confusion,
23,000 died (Paul says 23,000 fell in a single day), and in the next days,
another thousand died. Somehow there were scars or some sort of visible disease
that was connected to this that Phinehas will refer to at the end of the book
of Joshua.
Vs. 10-13 God makes a perpetual covenant with Phinehas. Here is the
deal. Phinehas saw the connection between the sin and the death it was
bringing, and he took action that brought peace. Therefore, it is a covenant of peace. The ministry of the
priest was to bring peace between the people and God. I like what God says, he was jealous with my jealousy.
Vs. 16-18 God promises a fight, though it doesn't happen until chapter
31. If you want to look over chapter 31, you'll find Balaam's name at least
twice. Notice here, the mention of wiles
and beguiled in v. 18. There was
careful, intentional planning that went on here. In chapter 31 we'll see that
this plan came from Balaam.
Back to Phinehas. I really like this guy. As disciples, we do this in a
similar way. We are to be passionate with Christ's passion, living as He lived,
willing to die as He died, to bring the message of salvation to lost people.
King Josiah had this passion for his people who were about to be taken into
exile. Because your heart was penitent,
and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against
this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation
and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have
heard you, declares the LORD. (2 Kings 22:19)
God has promised to bless our work in the harvest, but we need to be
passionate with His passion and compassion. Jesus is our Lord and He is our
model. We are His disciples to be like Him and to follow Him.
Luke 2:1-35
One thing not to lose sight of is that in the words of both Mary and
Zechariah, the promise to Abraham is spoken of. This is not an
"Israel" thing going on, although for purposes of heralding the
message, Israel was chosen. This is world redemption going on, beginning with
Adam and Eve. Abraham would have had firsthand knowledge of the promise since
he probably knew Noah or Shem and Noah's father knew Adam. When I was working
on a freight dock, this guy asked me why God was a Jew. The answer is simple.
God chose a man, not a nation or ethnic group. Today, Abraham would have been
an Iraqi. God made a nation to herald the truth. They failed once, but they'll
get it right next time. In the meantime, we're on.
Vs. 1-7 No one pinpoints dates like Luke does. This would have had a
lot of meaning to Theophilus and the other Gentiles who read this. Luke's
detail here and in Acts adds a ton of credibility to what he is writing.
V. 4 It is interesting to think that a Roman king would have such a
harebrained idea to make everyone go to the city that their ancestors came
from. But he did and God used it. Sometimes it's good just to obey and trust
that God is working in the confusion.
V. 5 Luke identifies Mary as Joseph's betrothed, although Matthew says
wife. They had not consummated the relationship, so though they were legally
married, the relationship hadn't been "formally" begun. Luke may have
been coming from a more Gentile perspective. He would have gotten all this
information from Mary.
During this time of registering, the city would have been full. We'll
see in a few verses that Joe and Mary were not alone, and although they were in
the stable, it may have been that the innkeepers were taking care of all of
their guests, including their guests, and the baby, in the stable.
Vs. 8-14 There is much debate about the time of Jesus' birth. We really
don't know, but you can't use the argument that in winter they didn't have
flocks around Bethlehem and Jerusalem. We know from the OT that there were
morning and evening sacrifices every day and there were plenty of sacrifices in
between. They would have kept large flocks around Jerusalem all year round.
Bethlehem was only about 7.5 miles from Jerusalem and it was a popular place to
keep flocks.
Vs. 15-20 It is interesting that Mary usually gets first billing.
Matthew says more about Joseph being spoken to in dreams. Probably because Mary
was still alive at the time of this writing and known in the church, she is
given prominence. And besides, she was Jesus' mum.
V. 18 Notice that there were others present. We often picture the
stable as being a lonely dark place, but I think this stable was being used for
many guests. I doubt that there was a little kid with a drum.
Notice that Mary kept rolling these things through her mind and heart.
That worked out good for Luke. And the shepherds went back rejoicing.
Vs. 22-24 We have read about these laws in the OT. Cool, huh? Notice
that Joseph and Mary offer the sacrifice for poor people, but not the extremely
poor. They hadn't yet been visited by the wise men, who brought gifts that made
the poor couple fairly well-to-do and financed their escape and stay in Egypt.
Vs. 25-35 Simeon is a great guy. Notice the references to the Spirit.
Notice also the mention of salvation to the Gentiles. This would have been an
important verse in the early church. Luke, again, would have gotten this from
Mary.
Notice that Jesus will be a sign
that is opposed….so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. A
person's response to Jesus reveals their hearts. Paul says this in 2
Corinthians 2:14-16, But thanks be to
God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us
spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma
of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are
perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance
from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
As disciples we have to be willing to get the Word out there to give
people the chance to respond. How they respond is not up to us. What we don't
want is to be afraid of identifying with our Lord and having the sword pass
through our own souls. I know my own fear, and Paul had to tell Timothy not to
be afraid.
Psalm 59
This is sort of funny. "Hey, guys, what melody should I use for
this song?" "I don't know. Why don't we go with "Do Not
Destroy"? I wonder if it had heavy percussion.
It is hard for us in the Western world to really grasp having a
powerful enemy. How do you get trained in focusing on the Lord, other than
being so overwhelmed by oppression and threat that you learn to bend your mind
and heart to the Lord. Look at v. 16. The flow of this psalm is very
reminiscent of the flow of Psalm 119, David's masterpiece.
The Psalms are an easy place for you to train your mind to look for the
changing of thoughts and seeing how the Spirit and the psalmist are laying out
this plea for help and praise of God.
Vs. 1-5 David cries for help against these enemies and asks God to look
at the situation and to judge. The "selah" isn't always there, but it
does give you an idea here where the thought breaks.
Vs. 6-7 This is an "artsy" sort of refrain.
Vs. 8-10 This is David's confidence and trust in the Lord. My heart
latches on to these references to God being our fortress and being met by his
steadfast love.
Vs. 11-13 This is an interesting wrinkle in asking for God's judgment.
David wanted God to judge them in such a way that the people would see that
King Saul and his leaders were wrong. This is exactly what happened. As Saul
chased David and rejected God, the nation went down the tubes. Saul's life was
not happy and his legacy was horrible.
Vs. 14-15 This is the repeating of the refrain from above. It sounds
better in German, but it would sound similar in English if it were written,
"howling like the hounds."
Vs. 16-17 And again, David's confidence is in God, who hides him in His
fortress and shows David His
faithful, steadfast love.
Proverbs 11:14
The Lord is telling us to stay connected to lots of counselors at all times, assuming the
counselors love the Lord.
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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