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 19
To keep up reading The One Year Bible it is nice to have some
days when we can reverently speed read something. Today in the NT will be one
of these days, but only if you want to. The OT reading lends itself to some
quick devout reading also.
Numbers 28:16-29:40
At this point, it is either weeks or just a couple of months before
Israel enters the land. I doubt that the address of Deuteronomy took less than
a week to deliver. And at the end of Deuteronomy when Moses died, the people
stayed in one place for 30 days and mourned for him. Still, every day there
would have been a growing excitement that the cloud would lift and that God
would lead them into Canaan. There are still some things to be put in order and
God is focusing on their relationship to Him.
This is good for us to remember too. God’s preparation in using us in
the harvest has less to do with our abilities than with our heart. When I read
John 15 I read about fruit, but that fruit is dependent on disciples being
pruned and abiding in Christ. Lots of people do stuff without abiding in
Christ. God wants the right kind of disciples, so He will have the kind of
fruit that abides and makes disciples, who make disciples.
In our reading today there is a constant refrain. Yesterday God
reminded Israel of the daily offerings. These would be daily, perpetual
reminders of their need for forgiveness and God’s gracious provision of all
things for them. Today, as God reviews the holy days and feasts, He will remind
them over and over and over not to forget the daily offerings. Even with the
offerings of those special days, they were still to offer the lamb in the
morning and in the evening.
Numbers 28:16-31
Vs. 16-25 These are the instructions for the Passover and the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. In spite of all the offerings going on, the morning and
evening offerings were still to be daily reminders of their need and God’s
care. This was one of three occasions where all males had to be present in
Jerusalem. Notice that the last day of this feast was a Sabbath rest.
Vs. 26-31 This was the Feast of
Weeks, meaning that it took place seven weeks after the Sabbath mentioned
above. This was the Feast of the Firstfruits or Pentecost. This is the second
of the three occasions when all males had to be present in Jerusalem. Notice v.
31. You get the idea that this is really a key emphasis.
Numbers 29
Vs. 1-6 This was like their New Year’s feast. It signaled one of the
most important events was about to take place, the Day of Atonement, followed
by the Feast of the Tabernacles. The males didn’t have to be in Jerusalem for
this, but it was more an alert for the nation, and men, to get ready to head to
Jerusalem.
Vs. 7-11 This is the Day of Atonement. All of the males had to attend
this and the following feast. This is the only holy feast day when the Jews had
to fast. This is when the high priest took the blood of one goat, went into the
Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it on the mercy seat to make atonement for the
people. Then they sent the scapegoat out into the wilderness. Notice v. 11.
Vs. 12-40 These are the days of the Feast of the Tabernacles. There are
some differences in the offerings of those days but each day ends with the same
reminder to continue the normal offerings, morning and evening, that would be
done each day.
In 29:40 it says that these instructions were given publicly. We might
be saying, "Didn't I just read something like this earlier?" Yet, for
many people listening now, they have never heard this before. Between chapters
19 and 20, 38-40 years passed. There are 40-year-olds who have never heard
these laws, and we'll find out when we read Joshua, men who have never been
circumcised. What we're reading here is the preparation of the people for
entering the land. Just as a reminder for us, for the people to have come to
these feasts, it meant they had to leave their homes and fields for weeks. They
couldn’t work and they had to trust in the Lord, as He promised, to guard their
stuff. It all depended on their faith and true gratitude to the Lord for saving
them. Unfortunately, once they were in the land, the people seldom celebrated
some of these feasts. You just read about the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths).
Now, if you want something that will shock you, read Nehemiah 8:17, a thousand
years later. If that doesn’t make you want to cry, I don’t know what will.
I think there were individuals who celebrated these things, like Boaz
and Samuel’s parents, but these were national events to keep the heart of the
nation healthy and pulsing with love for God.
If you want to challenge yourself as a disciple, read Matthew 5-7 and
realize that this was all said to the newly selected twelve disciples. I think
it applies to us too. I have the feeling that when Jesus returns, He might say
to the majority of the church, “you never obeyed what I told you.” I was just
reading about Jesus saying to His disciples in Luke 18:8, back then and in the
future, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on earth?
In Joshua 5, the first thing the people do after they cross the Jordan
will be to circumcise the men. The second thing they will do is to celebrate
the Passover. The day after the Passover, the manna will cease.
One question I have in all of these instructions is that if the
sacrifices called for flour, and the bread for the Holy Place needed flour,
where did they get the flour? Also, if the sacrifices required wine, where did
they get the wine? They had been doing this for 40 years in the wilderness, so
where did they get flour and wine? I think it is safe to say that their main
food was the manna. How else do you feed two to ten million people? But, if you
were a merchant, or a local farmer, and you knew there were two to ten million
people sitting there with money but nothing to spend it on, don't you think
you'd want to help them? I'm sure that Israel became a stop, or even a main
destination, on one or more caravan routes. For the sacrifices and the temple
service, I'm sure they bought wine, flour and olive oil (and the occasional
leek and garlic). I'm sure the people also bought cheeses (although they had
plenty of milk with their flocks), veggies, flour, wine, clothing (with sheep
and goats they had plenty of wool) and other stuff; but again, two million
people in the wilderness, off the beaten trail, couldn't have survived solely
on outside merchants.
Luke 3:23-38
Luke gives Jesus' lineage from Mary, whereas Matthew uses the lineage
from Joseph. Both Joseph and Mary are descendants of David. Matthew traced the
lineage back through the kings of Israel. Luke traced the lineage back to
David, but through one of his sons who never became the king. Luke gives the
lineage here because of Jesus' baptism and anointing as King. This is the
beginning of His ministry. (I'm making this up now: Maybe back in the day, when
they had gladiator fights or contests, as the fighters entered the arena, they
gave their credentials. I don't know. I wasn't there.) But it is interesting
that Jesus' credentials are given here, and that He's about to "duke it
out" with "the ruler of this world."
Notice that in vs. 32-33 we find Nahshon
the son of Amminadab. We have read quite a lot about Nahshon in Numbers.
Remember it was his sister who married Aaron the high priest (Exodus 6:23) and
his son who married Rahab as recorded in Matthew 1:4-5.
Also, Luke takes the genealogy back to Adam and to God. This will fit
well with Paul’s writing and it shows a Gentile world that Jesus is the Savior
of all men.
Psalm 62
I feel like I'm living this psalm. It is very hard to get it
into your head. For God alone my soul
waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my
salvation…
Just circle the repetition of words here: God alone, my salvation, shaken, etc. This is a great psalm. I can
imagine that as David lived those long years running from Saul, there were
rumors and suggestions of help that might have come from people in Saul’s
government who really liked David. Or there may have been rumors that certain
leading men of some of the tribes might come to his aid. None of this ever
happened but it is normal for people to hope for help from others, especially
when you’re running for ten years.
But this is how God “pruned” David and made him the man he was, a man
after God’s own heart.
Vs. 1-2 This is David’s only
hope.
Vs. 3-4 David suffered because of how he was lied against and wrongly
pursued.
Vs. 5-7 Take time to read this. There is the waiting in silence, the
seeking of refuge and the pouring out of all of our fears and concerns. It is
somehow healing just to read this and know the Lord understands and that this
is all He wants when we are weak.
V. 8 As always, David praises God and exhorts everyone to trust Him and
make Him their refuge.
Vs. 9-10 Maybe David is still talking to everyone, but this truth is
also being given to us from God Himself.
Vs. 11-12 Wow! God has spoken.
To Him belongs power and steadfast love, and He will judge. Amen.
Where is our help really found? In the Western world, many people have
deep resources. We have credit cards, friends, advocates, people offering
services, Dr. Phil, geek squads, libraries, podcasts, Google. Basically, we
have help for everything. The Lord may be the first one we call, but usually we
only come before Him like this as a last resort.
As disciples, what brings us to the place where we realize, without
God, there is no help, no refuge, no resource, no stability? In reality, it
isn't a "what," it's a "who." For the Lord to really train
us as disciples, He makes following Him in the harvest the passion we can't
live without, and in that context, without Him, we can do nothing.
Proverbs 11:18-19
Notice the pattern of these verses: evil, righteous, righteous, evil. I
read in the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, that the sound of the words
for wages and reward is very similar. The appearance of what we get in life is
also very similar. We could actually think that what we gain by not following
God or being “smart” and “shrewd” is a reward. But if it keeps us from God, it
is death, and we’ve been deceived.
It kind of makes you think of Romans 6:19-23, I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For
just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves
to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin,
you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at
that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those
things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become
slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal
life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our 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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