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 30
Deuteronomy 13-15
Look for recurring words, phrases and themes. There are some big themes
that God is emphasizing for Israel.
Deuteronomy 13
Vs. 1-5 It's interesting that the example mentioned here is where the
words of the prophet come true and God allows it to happen. Wouldn't miracles
be a case for listening to what he says? Paul ups the ante on this and says in
Galatians 1:8, But even if we or an angel
from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to
you, let him be accursed. I’ll bet Paul was thinking of this portion of
Deuteronomy.
I really don't think we grasp the consequences of sin and separation
from God. Truth is vital and far more important than our experience. That is
why the Bible is important. This thing on earth is happening so slowly and
invisibly as to put us to sleep. Reality, however, remains unchanged. In spite
of what we feel, there is a contest for the souls of men being waged every day.
Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, O
Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and
contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge...”
By the way, this would have been someone like Balaam.
Vs. 6-11 Now this rule was only for Israel as they were a nation under
God's rule. This is hard for us to choke down, I know, but the lessons of the
wilderness taught them that, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
How much cancer is acceptable? What God is setting up here is a
"perfect" society that He knows won't work. It won't work, not
because it is a "perfect" society, but because there is something in
mankind, inside of each person, that rebels against God. By the end of the book
of Judges, everything will have fallen apart. Sin will be shown to be sin.
Vs. 6-7 Notice that the enticement is to worship gods they have never
worshiped. If the argument is raised that they were told not to worship the
gods of Canaan, then they might say, “I know, those were really bad and awful,
but this god is from far, far away and is OK. It is from a place called ‘USA.’
Now we’ll press this button here and watch the idol ‘boot up.’” (I’m trying to
be funny.)
V. 10 These gods were in contrast to the God they did know, who saved
them. Notice how important their salvation was. As long as they treasured what
God had done for them, they would be safe.
V. 11 If they did this, it would have a good effect in the entire land.
Vs. 12-18 Moses has gone from addressing the false messenger, to the
false loved one, to the false city. This will happen at the end of Judges and
the tribe of Benjamin will almost be lost. It is a very sad and conflicted
story. But I’m sure this was repeated throughout Israel. In fact, one of those
stories at the end of Judges shows the entire tribe of Dan going “idol.” I
think it is for this reason that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned among the
144,000 in the book of Revelation.
Since Christ, the power of the gospel and the love of God is the only
thing that works in a pluralistic, relativistic, lost world. Society today
doesn't give a parent or employer many rights on limiting the freedom of the
people they are responsible for. As disciples of Christ, the truth we bring is
wrapped in spiritual power and in the love of Christ working through us. Sin
rebels against law. It is not so powerful when confronted by the love and grace
of Christ. Today our work is not to shape people or nations by activism, but by
working and witnessing and praying "under the radar" to see people
come to Christ.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 First of all,
then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be
made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may
lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good,
and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Deuteronomy 14
Vs. 1-2 These verses attest to their great privilege on the earth and
launches this chapter on being a distinct people for the Lord on the earth.
Here, they are told not to copy this pagan custom of mourning for the dead.
Vs. 3-21 Since God says in the NT that all foods are clean, this was a
law showing their “differentness” among the nations. It was the equivalent of
them eating with a fork and a knife instead of their fingers or blowing their
noses instead of picking them.
V. 21a Again, it showed a sense of propriety and "rightness"
to their customs. I definitely wouldn’t lament that I couldn’t eat road kill or
something that just fell over and died.
V. 21b As often as this is mentioned, I wonder if this was just a point
of propriety or respect or if it had something to do with Egyptian/pagan ritual
or superstition.
Vs. 22-29 This section is about the tithe and in that there is a link
between only offering the tithes at the tabernacle and the provision for the
Levites. In giving the tithes, there is the underlying value that this is
important. But why? Does God need food? No. So do they give because of raw
obedience? That only takes you so far. Valuing the presence of God at the
tabernacle was faith. Providing for the Levites was also faith, because they
scattered around the country and taught the people spiritual values. They were
the "Sunday school teachers" of Israel. If the people lost the value
of being a spiritual nation, they would stop coming to the tabernacle and they
would stop providing for the Levites. These two "rules" showed what
the people truly valued in their hearts. And, their tithing showed they
understood that God was providing for them.
When the people came to offer the tithe of their crops, they were to
celebrate before the Lord. This is kind of interesting because v. 26 suggests a
feast and a celebration. Before the Lord, held in check by their love for God,
they could buy any food and drink wine or "strong drink." There is
the balance between the occasional being "merry of heart" and being a
perpetual drunk. Drunkenness means being given to being drunk. There is a
positive rendering of being mildly intoxicated that God doesn't seem to judge;
for example, Ruth 3:7 - And when Boaz had
eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the
heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
Vs. 28-29 Here was an exception to going to the tabernacle. On the
third year, they brought their tithes into their own towns, invited the Levites
who lived in the area and then held a feast for the Levites and all of the poor
and needy. More on this in the next chapter.
Deuteronomy 15
Vs. 1-6 Now, this would never work today. Apparently, not only was the
50th year the year of jubilee, where lands would revert back to the
owners and slaves, but also people who had sold themselves to someone, because
they were poor, would be set free. This canceling of debts and freedom of
servants also came every seven years during the Sabbatical year. Today this
would mean the credit card companies would cancel your bill every seven years!
Note that v. 6 gives the reasoning for this. If the people obeyed, God
would so super-bless Israel that they would have so much that they would be
sinning to hold back and not give freely. They were not to try to get rich, but
to be openly generous with what God gave them. This sounds like some of the
things Jesus said to His disciples.
Notice also that in v. 4, it says they would not have poor people, but
in v. 11 it says they would always have poor people. So what does that mean? I
believe it means that God would work things out so that there would always be
people who needed help from others. This would be to test the hearts and generosity
of the people. Personally, I would rather have been on the giving end of that
process than on the end where God pulled the rug out from under me to put me on
the receiving end to test the hearts of others. But it is obvious that God was
going to do this. I think this goes for today too and extends to health care
costs and to the protection of the helpless. Lots of wisdom is needed in all of
this, but the point seems obvious; God keeps some people in a state of need to
see if the surrounding society is humble and willing to care and share.
The contradiction in vs. 4 and 11 is dissolved in that God would bring
people to the place of being poor, but Israel would meet their needs so that
they would no longer be poor. That would be pretty cool.
Vs. 7-11 Again, remember that this wasn’t true, genuine slavery. People
were free after six years. Imagine today if someone was out of work and
destitute. Mercedes comes along and says, "We'll give you a job, food and
a place to live if you'll sign a 6-year contract." Isn't that nuts! Who
would say no?
Vs. 12-18 In fact, if the situation were really good, at the end of six
years, the "slave" could say he wanted to stay on permanently and
could retire from there. The nations back then were largely farming
communities. Help was always needed. The people were to be generous and
actively help people by signing them on to work. God said He would bless them
for that. For the provision of six years of food, clothing and shelter, a poor
person worked. Not a bad set up for the poor. No local government was involved
and no taxes were levied on the people to give aid to the needy.
Vs. 19-23 are again that test of heart and security in God's provision.
Animals were valuable, yet as the animals gave birth, the first of those
animals suitable for sacrifice had to be given back to the Lord. Sacrifice and
gratitude were built into every day of everyone’s lives. Those men and women of
faith who realized they were set free and now blessed because of the promise to
Abraham would love much and give back to God out of joy and thanks. To everyone
else, sacrifice would be a religious duty. When we get to Malachi the people
were not giving God the best, because they were pressed by hard times. It's
hard to give when it hurts, but it really is hard to give if we don't believe
or trust God.
I am so impressed in all of this, that God kept telling the people to
remember they had been slaves and were now free. They were free because of
God’s amazing grace and His desire to bless. Do we work in the harvest
following Christ for any other reason? He loved us. How do we know? He set us
free, dying for us while we were still enemies. As disciples making disciples
in the harvest, we need to love the Lord and we need to remember that we were
lost, but saved and found by His grace. A good song to listen to in this
connection is "Remember Your Chains" by Steven Curtis Chapman.
Luke 8:40-9:6
Luke 8:40-56
V. 41 This was back in Capernaum. Jesus was popular there and remember
that Jesus just healed the servant of the centurion who built this synagogue.
For Jairus to come to Jesus was one thing, but to fall at His feet meant that
Jairus was desperate and believed Jesus could help.
Vs. 42-48 This was a God-planned fiasco. I’m sure when it happened
Jesus smiled, knowing His Father was designing a situation in which many hearts
would be revealed. I need to smile more.
This is the first time I’ve ever noticed that the woman was sick as
long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive. They were both 12, in a manner of
speaking.
Unlike us, Jesus was not upset, anxious about the delay, or embarrassed
by Peter’s remark. I need to learn to abide in the Lord.
Vs. 49-50 This was Jairus’ test of faith and by allowing Jesus to come
to his house he was showing faith.
Vs. 51-56 Reading Mark’s account, I have a feeling this went very
quickly once Jesus got the mourners outside. He didn’t want to draw attention
to the event. I’ll bet it was only seconds after entering the room that Jesus
had her on her feet.
Luke 9:1-6
And now we have another twelve. This is just coincidence….I think.
To understand the chronology here a little better, read Matthew
9:27-34, then Mark 6:1-6 and finally Matthew 9:35-38.
It seems to me that the dramatic nature of these healings and the
second rejection in Nazareth somehow added to the decision to send the Twelve
out. Their confidence would have been high.
To read a more complete version of this, look at Matthew 10. Matthew
was one of those disciples.
Psalm 71
This psalm and the next four are pretty long, and it's easy to get lost
in the alternating thoughts of crying out and confidence and desiring justice
and praising God. I'd suggest you choose something(s) to underline; for
example, the pleas (rescue me, be not far from me, etc…) or the
praises.
This looks like it could have been written by David later in life and
just before the fight with Absalom’s army.
Vs. 1-3 This is vintage David. God was his refuge.
Vs. 4-11 Here you have the cry for rescue. David asks God to hold him
now in his old age and failing strength as He did when David was young. Once
again, David’s enemies thought God would not save him. They forgot that God’s
grace was upon David.
Vs. 12-24 Notice how often David says he will testify to the Lord and
notice how many ways he says he will do this.
I find v. 20 interesting, You who
have made me see many troubles….will
revive me again. Even David realized that God led him into troubles, to
show him that he could depend on God and that God would revive him again. That
is a good lesson for a disciple to learn. He leads us to bring praise from our
mouths. So let’s do it.
Proverbs 12:5-7
I don't know. I guess I'd rather hang with the righteous dudes. So what
does real biblical righteousness look like? Just, fearless, compassionate, and
enduring. Jesus put it like this in Luke 6:47, Everyone who comes to me and
hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like….
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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