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 23
Numbers 36
You did it! You finished the first four books of the Bible! If you're
up to date in your reading, great. If not, don't sweat it. It literally takes
you two or three years to get into shape, to lay down the daily habits; and the
only way you do that is by getting behind and coming up with ways to stay on
target.
Numbers concludes with the tribe of Manasseh. I don't think this story
is put here for trivia. It demonstrates that people learned to seek the Lord
and ask for modifications of the laws He had given. First, the daughters came to
Moses the right way, then the leaders of the tribe asked for an amendment, and
finally, the daughters complied and did the right thing.
This story was to show that the people now knew to come to God and His
appointed representatives, to get answers instead of complaining or doing their
own thing. It will be sort of funny in Joshua to see the people come after
Joshua for making a decision without consulting the Lord. They got the message.
Deuteronomy 1
One more book to go and you have read the Pentateuch! The Penta-who?
The Jewish name for the first five books. Again, as you've seen so far, these
books are rich in helping us, as disciples, see the heart of God as the plan of
redemption unfolds. There are lots of foundational truths, biographies, stories
and symbols. And all of what we find here helps us see the great heart of God,
our Savior.
Deuteronomy is one big final speech to the people. These are Moses'
final words to the nation he shepherded out of Egypt and through the wilderness
for 40 years. At the beginning they were 2,000,000+ rebellious, disorganized
people. Now Israel is an obedient nation. They will never be this devoted to
God again, until the Tribulation and the return of Christ.
One of the things to look for here is the phrase, the Lord our God, or the Lord
your God. At some point in Jewish history the Jews stopped saying the name
Yahweh and coded it to be the word “Lord.” What Moses is actually saying here
is “Yahweh our God.” This is powerful. Yahweh is personal and compassionate.
He, the ever-living One, has let the people call Him by His name. God is the
word, “Elohim,” powerful and almighty. So if you are interested, underline
every time you find the phrase, the Lord
our God. There are a few of them and they are not filler in Moses’ sermon.
These words have great meaning.
Vs. 1-5 Moses is recounting their history, telling the people how they
came to this place, both physically and spiritually.
From Mt. Sinai to Kadesh-barnea was only an eleven-day journey. That is
when and where they should have entered the land. Now, 40 years later, Moses
was standing with the people opposite Jericho. Notice the references to the
battles against Sihon and Og. This is a significant notation, since, as we’ll
see, one of these guys was a giant.
Vs. 6-18 Now Moses will recount their spiritual journey to this place.
Vs. 6-8 This was God telling the people to go to Kadesh-barnea to take
possession of the promise to Abraham. Notice the mention of the Euphrates. The
promise to Abraham included the land to the Euphrates.
Vs. 9-18 Because of God’s vast blessing on the people, God multiplied
them into a nation. This section seems to summarize God organizing them as a
nation with different levels of organization and government. Not only this, but
there was also the organization of the nation around the worship of God. They
were ready to enter the land.
Vs. 19-46 This is a retelling of the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea. This
isn’t just information. It is telling the people what the spiritual condition
was and how that led to their spiritual journey in the wilderness.
V. 22 Notice that Moses says it was the idea of the people to spy out
the land. In itself, there was nothing wrong with that request and God allowed
it, but we know it really came from a heart of fear and unbelief.
Vs. 26-28 This was the effect of the ten spies on the entire nation.
Notice also in vs. 28-29 that giants are mentioned.
V. 36 Notice that God promised Caleb that He would give him the land
where he had walked. That was giant country. I’ll bet Caleb couldn’t wait to
take a bead on those huge targets.
V. 37 Moses blamed their rebelliousness as part of the reason God
wouldn't allow him to enter the land. This is parenthetical since the rebellion
at Kadesh occurred 38 years earlier, but it was spurred on by the same kind of
bitterness and complaining of the people.
Vs. 41-46 This again is showing the present generation how the previous
generation ruined their own hope by continual rebellion against the Lord.
As disciples, we really should be about the future, working to reach
lost people and to make them disciples. Still, it is good to look at history,
personally or as a church. When was our faith fresh? If it isn't fresh anymore,
what happened? When was the church on target? Was it reaching people? Did it
only grow through transfer growth? What have we lost? What do we need to do?
I've seen two churches totally ignore their history and refuse to accept what
happened to them. It's not in the Bible, but it is true, that those who ignore
history are doomed to repeat it. In Christ there is a very cool
"reset" button. That reset button is being broken in Him: His grace,
His love, His forgiveness, His freedom, His mission. In any culture on earth,
in any time period, newly abiding in Him, His Word, and His Spirit will put our
lives on the right track, following Him in the harvest.
Luke 5:29-6:11
Luke 5:29-39
Vs. 29-32 The healing of the paralytic, the calling of Matthew and this
party happened very near to each other.
Apparently Matthew was well off and wanted his tax collector and sinner
friends to meet Jesus. The Pharisees went after Jesus' disciples first, and
Jesus told them that He didn't come to call the "righteous." The
Pharisees didn't get it and they weren't satisfied either.
Vs. 33-39 Then the Pharisees went to the disciples of John the Baptist
to create a division between the followers of John and the followers of Jesus.
In Matthew, it is the disciples of John who ask the question, but here it is
the Pharisees. The Pharisees must have gone to John's disciples and led them to
Jesus, probably initiating the conversation. Jesus' words in these parables
would have been understandable to the disciples of John, but the Pharisees
would have missed the point. If you read the end of John 3, you'll know why.
John the Baptist himself used the bridegroom illustration with his disciples.
The minute they would have heard Jesus use this parable, John's disciples would
have connected Jesus' words with John's and it would have made them feel
better, not bitter.
Jesus' second Passover, mentioned as the "feast" in John 5,
happens here before Luke 6. If you read John 5:12, notice the words of the
Pharisees, Who is the man who said to
you, “take up your bed and walk?"
Luke 6:1-11
Vs. 1-5 According
to John 5:16, And this was why the Jews
were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
The event of
healing on the Sabbath gave the Jews (Jewish religious leaders) something to go
after Jesus about. It gave their irrationalism something to justify itself.
In these verses,
Jesus and His disciples are walking back to Jerusalem after the Passover.
Apparently these are Pharisees from Capernaum who are walking with them. The
key phrase here is in v. 5. Jesus has told them that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sin. Now He tells them that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Vs. 6-11 Matthew
mentions that this synagogue was the synagogue belonging to these particular
Pharisees. It appears that this event was set up, trying to trap Jesus. Matthew
12:9-14 gives a better picture of what happened here.
If you read John 5
you'll see that the Pharisees had already decided they had to get rid of Jesus
after His actions in Jerusalem. Now they will be constantly following Him,
looking for something. These two occasions gave them the necessary proof and
motivation to plan Jesus' death. Ironically, He had told them that He was both
the Son of God and the Son of Man.
Psalm 66
It doesn't say who wrote this or when it was written, but you could
imagine that this was written by David sometime after all of his running had
ended. Now, David was King of Israel as God had promised him at least 20 years
earlier.
Vs. 1-4 Notice that this is a call to all peoples and nations to give
praise to God.
Vs. 5-7 What the Lord had done was not only seen in His might in
creation; but in protecting David, it was like God protecting the children of
Israel coming out of Egypt.
Vs. 8-12 Although this sounds like it could have also been written
about Israel coming into the land, until David became king, Israel was always
an oppressed people. Notice that all the peoples were called to bless God for
His deliverance.
Vs. 13-15 This sounds like David. During those years on the run, David
had made promises and longed to be in the tabernacle. It was probably during
this time of running that David vowed that if he ever became king, he would
build a temple, a house for the Lord.
Vs. 16-20 I think this is clearly David. What great praise and what a
hope we have. I was reading this morning as Jesus told His disciples a parable
to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart. I think
that is David's message also.
Proverbs 11:24-26
Sounds like the Lord is giving us a good argument for tithing and being
generous. Again, Jesus told His disciples to use "unrighteous mammon"
and the things that belong to God (everything) for the glory of God and for His
kingdom. We are to spend generously in the harvest making disciples, who make
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