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.
APRIL 17
Joshua 15
Vs. 1-12 This is a long chapter having to do with the land given to
Judah. Judah is basically given the southern half of the country, from
Jerusalem in the north to Kadesh-barnea in the south, and from the Dead Sea to
the Mediterranean Sea. That land portion was so huge that three other tribes
would be given pieces of it, but eventually Simeon and Benjamin were absorbed
into Judah, and Dan went rogue and took land in the north. This was a royal
share of the land, which later allowed Judah to become a kingdom unto itself.
Vs. 13-19 And then there were those pesky giants. This story having to
do with Caleb is conspicuous by its presence. Caleb’s daughter was given the
southern desert (thanks, Dad!) and needed the water rights. The real impact of
this story is that this is the first time we find the name of Othniel. He is a
fearsome dude and unafraid of giants. He is also the first judge in the book of
Judges.
Vs. 20-63 There are a lot of names of cities here, but be encouraged.
After you have read through your one-year Bible a few years, some of these will
begin to stand out. One of the things that hit me reading this year is the
number of enemy cities “given” to Judah. It would be like receiving the gift of
Baghdad or Tehran. Many of these cities would be grave enemies of Israel for
the next 400 years.
V. 31 Just for trivia and because I never saw this before, notice the
town of Ziklag. When David finally got tired of being chased by King Saul, he
headed to live among the Philistines in Ziklag. King Achish gave Ziklag to David.
How funny, because this town was originally supposed to belong to Judah. It
won't be until the reign of David that the power of the Philistines is broken
and these cities are under the rule of Israel.
V. 33 Notice the names of these cities. When you get to the story of
Samson, you’ll see these cities because all of the adventures of Samson (tribe
of Dan) really take place in the land of Judah.
Vs. 45-47 These are the cities of the Philistines which will loom large
until David is on the throne. It is sad to think that if the people had kept
following the Lord, God would have given them victory over these awesome
enemies. The people were not to rest until the job was done. By deciding not to
press forward, they fell backward. Instead of commanding the land and doing
God’s work, Judah would be ruled by the Philistines.
V. 63 There are many mentions of the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem.
It wouldn't be until David was king that Jerusalem would belong to Israel and
become the city of David. They actually taunted David, from the wall, that he
wouldn't be able to take the city. Bad choice. Of course the Jebusites had
about 350 years (Judges to David being king) of experience seeing Israel
flounder around in the land and fail. They hadn't been confronted by a man who
was following God and who really wanted that city. Caleb apparently never
personally tried to take the city, and Othniel lived south of Jerusalem in the
desert.
In my thinking, the parallel to us as disciples is that we have been
left here to work. Rest is coming. If we rest now and settle into life on
earth, it overwhelms and defeats us. All of the blessing and strength the Lord
promises us is in bearing our cross, following Him in the harvest, reaching the
lost and making disciples, who make disciples. When we stop doing that and try
to turn our calling into a comfortable Christianity, we become weak and at the
mercy of our own sin, the enemy’s influence and the culture’s attractions.
Worst of all, we are no longer following our Lord in the harvest, drawing on
the strength and closeness He promises. For Israel and us, living in Canaan,
without moving forward, means defeat.
Luke 18:18-43
Vs. 18-30 Many of the last illustrations Jesus has used have to do with
the Pharisees or rich people (the Pharisees were rich too). We know this guy as
the rich young ruler. The designation of "ruler" means he was
probably a ruler of a synagogue.
V. 22 I don’t think that the young man would have “gained” treasure in
heaven by selling everything, but it would have shown that his true treasures
were already in heaven. It would have made his true treasure clearly
identifiable. Notice too that Jesus wanted him to give the money to the poor.
This kind of action also shows your attitudes toward the poor. The Pharisees
actually despised the poor, thinking their sin and laziness were their real
problems. I think we do that too.
V. 25 The word for needle that Luke uses is a surgical or sewing
needle. If being rich makes being saved almost impossible, I wonder what being
fully supplied and sufficient does for us as disciples? Just a thought.
V. 26 If you put Matthew, Mark and Luke together on this story, you get
a different impression. The Twelve are completely shocked and overwhelmed at
what Jesus said. The impact of the story is that having anything that qualifies
as “riches” can make salvation impossible. Their shock was very deep. Again, it
makes me wonder how we can play with being rich and still think we can be fully
engaged in the harvest. We might be fooling ourselves.
V. 27 God apparently has an antidote. I’ll bet it doesn’t taste good.
Vs. 28-30 This is a short version of Jesus telling them to "seek
ye first." God will more than make up for what we "give up" in
following Jesus in the harvest. This is a very strong promise, and I know very
few people in the Western world who could live like this. But this is what
Peter and the rest realized that Jesus was calling them to. Again, putting
Matthew, Mark and Luke together gives you a fuller picture.
Vs. 31-34 Jesus had been heading toward Jerusalem in a round-about way.
At this point, His GPS is no longer saying, "recalculating."
Interestingly, Jesus had been in the region of Judah that extended (at that
time) to the east side of the Jordan. He had now crossed over the Jordan and
was going “up” toward Jerusalem. All roads led “up” to Jerusalem. His first
stop was Jericho. This sort of sounds like Joshua.
Mark 10:32 says that Jesus was walking on ahead and they were all
terrified. This talk that Jesus is having with His disciples is very serious,
but they don't get it. I have a feeling that if we had been there, we wouldn't
have understood either. Maybe the disciples thought, "With all Jesus was
able to do, and knowing how true and good He was, how could anything like this possibly
happen to Him? How could God allow it?" Sometimes you just follow without
“getting it.”
Vs. 35-43 I always enjoy this story. The crowd tells the blind man, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, but
Bartimaeus cries out, Son of David.
Everyone who ever referred to Jesus as the Son of David in the Bible was
neither “blind” nor wrong. What guts he had to keep crying out. In v. 43
Bartimaeus is following Jesus and glorifying God. And, the crowd that was
following Jesus of Nazareth is now
praising God.
It excites me to think that in any crowd, there might be a “Bartimaeus”
sitting there, hidden in poverty or something else, waiting to be called to
follow Jesus in the harvest.
Psalm 86
Vs. 1-7 This is the heart of David. All of the things God had taught
David through years of struggles seem to be reflected in what he says here. God
gave David many deliverances that nurtured his faith, but it was a long time
before God fully delivered David. As a result of God leading David through
trials, David had developed this heart and we are now blessed with this
testimony.
Vs. 8-10 David understood that God was not only in control, but that
all the nations would praise Him.
Vs. 11-13 This is what David needed in his current trials. He needed to
be taught in God’s Word and to fear His name. David needed a heart of thanks,
and he needed the comfort of God’s steadfast
love. I could use all of those right now; in fact, that might be what the
Spirit wants to tell me as I read this.
Vs. 14-15 This is the contrast between those who are pressing David and
the security David knows he has in the Lord.
Vs. 16-17 I can really identify with this request. What do I
specifically need? I don’t know, but I really need God’s presence, His grace,
His strength and His help. It would be great for the Lord to bless with the
kind of encouragement and visual acknowledgement that would let people who are
questioning and doubting know that we are truly following Him. That would be
more than enough, and that can only come from Him, not us.
As disciples, we "rejoice and exult" in our trials according
to Romans 5. That is because the Holy Spirit is in us pouring the love of God
our Father into our hearts. This is the love shown in what our Lord has done
for us. The Spirit turns what once were deadly and dangerous circumstances for
our souls, into steps of growth and victory: proof that we belong to Him and
are under His care.
Proverbs 13:9-10
We often think of the wise man in terms of someone we seek who has
deep, balanced, experienced insights into life and the actions of people. We
don't usually think of the wise man as one who has learned to take advice.
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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