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 4
Numbers 2-3
Numbers 2
So, before you "Google" a chart or a map or revert to some
other source, get a piece of paper and colored markers or pencils, or steal
your kids crayons (or use your own); and read through this section and map it
out yourself. If you do, you'll gain confidence in your ability to figure stuff
out. If you Google it, well, you already know how to use a search engine. Try
it yourself. Make sure if you draw the tabernacle first, both the entrance to
the outer court and the entrance to the tabernacle proper faced east. When you
place the tribes in order around the tabernacle, leave room between the tribes
and the tabernacle for the families of the Levites. The positions of the
families of the Levites will be given in chapter 3.
The only thing I would bring to your attention is the major tribe of
Israel that was placed opposite the entrance of the tabernacle. This was a
great honor and is a foreshadowing of what is to come for that tribe.
Seeing how God chooses, it reminds me that regardless of who we are,
the very fact that we have somehow come to know Christ is an amazing honor. We
feel tired and beaten up and depressed, but it is only because of the toxic
atmosphere of this place and this body of death we lug around with us.
Ephesians 1-3 gives you a lift, and so does Romans 5:1-6. It is an incredible
honor and miracle that we know the Lord and are following.
Therefore, since we have been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we
stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not
put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the
right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:1-6)
Vs. 1-9 This is the camp of Judah. Notice that each camp had its own
flag. You noted that Judah was the largest tribe and is given a place of honor
here. This reflects back to Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49. Notice too that
this camp began the march first. This naming went clockwise, but the camp
unraveled counter-clockwise.
Vs. 10-16 This is the camp of Reuben. They were second to join the
march.
V. 17 Sandwiched in the middle, and protected by all, were the Levites
and the tabernacle.
Vs. 18-24 This is the camp of Ephraim. Notice that this camp represents
all of the children of Rachel.
Vs. 25-31 This was the camp of Dan, and they were the rear guard.
Vs. 32-34 God is preparing the people to march to the land.
So, how do you figure out how many people were in the camp of Israel?
If there were 603,550 men from 20 years old and up (who could fight) from all
the tribes but Levi, and if there were 22,000 total men from Levi, we have
about 625,550 men. There were probably more women, but for simplicity, let's
just double the men. Now we're up to 1,251,100. Now, there were at least this
many kids because the people were very "fruitful," but if we only
added another 625,550, we're up to almost 2 million people. There were probably
over 3 million and estimates say there were 6-10 million. Later when Moses
blesses the Lord as the camp of Israel comes to rest in Numbers 10:36, he will
say, Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand
thousands of Israel. My wife has informed me that ten thousand thousands
equals 10 million.
Numbers like this are important to think about. When it says Jesus fed
5000, it says in Matthew 14:21, And those
who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and
children. The likelihood is that Jesus actually fed over 15,000 people.
What God was doing for Israel every day in the wilderness was a
"class A" miracle.
Numbers 3
Now comes the tribe of Levi. They will become the servants of Israel,
but even more, they will protect Israel and act as mediators between a holy God
and the people. If you've made a diagram of the camp of Israel, we'll now find
out where they were to camp, and what their responsibilities were in taking
down, transporting and rebuilding the tabernacle.
Vs. 1-4 Aaron is mentioned first, because only his descendants could be
priests in Israel.
Vs. 5-10 This will be the function of the Levites. It is interesting
that they are "given" to Aaron. Their job is to guard (also care for)
different parts of the tabernacle. Aaron would be their boss and he would guard
the priesthood.
Vs. 11-13 This is very interesting. All of the firstborn of Israel were
to be dedicated to the Lord. In their place, God took the Levites.
Vs. 14-20 After Aaron, there were three main clans in the tribe of
Levi. Notice that they were listed from one month old.
Vs. 21-26 These are the Gershonites. Notice where they camped, what
they guarded and what they were responsible for when they had to take down and
rebuild the tabernacle.
Vs. 27-32 These are the Kohathites. Again, notice all the particulars.
Notice too that Eleazar, Aaron's son, is mentioned here because of the taking
down of the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies and all of the furniture in those
places. Later we'll find out what Aaron and his sons had to do to the
furniture, so that the Kohathites didn't get blasted.
Vs. 33-37 The Merarites were last and took down all the frames.
Vs. 38-39 Aaron and Moses were camped between the entrance to the
tabernacle and the camp of Judah.
Now, if you add up all the totals for the Levites, it is more than
22,000. It is suggested that the extra 300 were themselves firstborn in the
tribe of Levi and so were not included in what follows.
Vs. 40-51 This is the redemption of the firstborn from the people of
Israel. Again, in the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 220, it is
suggested that the firstborn being counted were since the Exodus, since the
firstborn previous to the Exodus were covered by the blood of a lamb.
To me, it's interesting to see how often God built redemption and
substitution into the lives of the people of Israel. They would have constantly
been reminded that sin required a substitute and payment for redemption. You
notice too, that God mentions that everything belonged to Him. That means that
He Himself provided the redemption price and the substitute. That's exactly
what He did with Jesus too.
Mark 11:27-12:17
It's amazing that the leaders were so set on killing Jesus. When you
see irrationality working at this level, you know it is of a deep sick
spiritual origin. There are situations I have been in, where at one point or
another it became clear that "rationality" wasn't the issue. Things
had gone deeply spiritual and personal. In those cases, "one more"
illustration or attempt to bring sense to things didn't help unless the
spiritual root was addressed.
Mark 11:27-33
This confrontation comes as a result of Jesus cleansing the temple. It
looks very much like what happened in John 2, when Jesus cleansed it three
years earlier. We read about this in Matthew so there isn't too much to add
here.
In Jesus trying to get the scribes to admit that John's authority was
from heaven, had they done that, it would have been admitting that Jesus was
from heaven. John bore witness to Jesus. Their silence was not just an
admission of their hardness of heart, but it gave the people the freedom to
keep regarding Him as the possible Messiah. A similar thing happened in John 7.
Mark 12:1-17
Vs. 1-12 We read this parable in Matthew. A couple of thoughts to add
to this reading come from the Bible Knowledge Commentary-NT, pp.
160-161.
First, the image of a vineyard might come from Isaiah 5:1-2. The
mention of the stone the builders rejected comes from Psalm 118:22-23.
Also, it is mentioned that with the son coming to the vineyard, it
might have been supposed by the tenants that the owner was dead. If they killed
the heir, it could be theirs. Apparently back then, possession was nine tenths
of the law, especially if the land holder lived in a foreign, distant country.
That makes more sense to me. When applied to man's response to God's messengers
and Son, it is still irrational. But then, we are man.
V. 12 Notice again that the scribes understood that the parable was
told against them, but rather than repentance, there was increased hate. If
they hadn't feared the people, they
would have taken Jesus then.
Vs. 13-17 This is the trap regarding the giving of taxes. Again, the trap
was in trying to get Jesus to say, "yes" or "no," to paying
taxes. If Jesus had said, "yes," the people would have been upset. If
Jesus had said, "no," the Romans would have gotten mad. In Jesus
answering this way, He supported paying taxes, humbled His enemies and spoke
wisdom to the crowd. They would see that the real issue was honoring the one
from whom we received our image.
Psalm 47
This was written by the sons of Korah; and with the tone of this psalm,
it might also have been composed after Jerusalem's adventures with the
Assyrians. To sense fully what is being celebrated, read 2 Kings 18-19.
Vs. 1-4 If you look back to what the sons of Korah wrote in Psalm
44:9-26 on March 1, you'll see here that the answer arrived. God acted and the
news went out to all of the world. Israel had the promises and the right
theology, but now they saw that in fact, God reigns over all nations and
selected Israel as His messenger.
Vs. 5-7 The appropriate thing to do is always to praise God. It is one
of those things God always deserves whether we feel like it or not.
Vs. 8-9 Notice that this declares the promise to Abraham to be a
blessing to all nations. This is the promise of redemption to all nations
through Israel and their God. I've never noticed v. 9 before. How cool.
The Assyrians were making a push to become the first world empire and
were threatening all the surrounding nations. Because of the amazing
deliverance at Jerusalem and the destruction of the Assyrian army, the world
was now looking to the God of Israel.
Proverbs 10:24-25
Amen!
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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