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 18
Joshua 16-18
At the end of this document there is a map, “Land Allotted to Israel’s
Tribes,” from the Bible Knowledge Commentary OT, p. 358, showing where
the tribes were placed in the land.
It says in Joshua and Judges that the people obeyed until the last of
the elders who served with Joshua had died. This means that the two references
you will find saying that the Canaanites were not driven out, but put into
forced labor were written later as historical notes, possibly by Samuel, the
last of the judges.
Joshua 16
Vs. 1-4 Next came the tribes of Joseph. In Genesis 48 it seems that
Jacob gives the blessing of Abraham and firstborn blessing to Ephraim. Yet, God
decided that Judah was the honored tribe. You’d think that everyone would have
been jealous of the huge amount of land given to Judah, but some of it was the
worst land. The south was desert and wilderness and there were very fierce
enemies. God gave the hardest territory to the tribe with the godliest leader.
In a manner of speaking, I think He still does that today. Opposition is given
to those who can bring it before God, fight in prayer and perseverance, and still
prosper in the harvest.
Vs. 5-10 This is the territory given to Ephraim. Notice v. 10. Now, it
does say in 15:63 that the tribe of Judah wasn’t able to drive out the
Jebusites in Jerusalem. I think God had a purpose in that and Jerusalem was a
fortified city. Actually, we’ll see that Jerusalem was also in the territory of
Benjamin (18:28). The big difference between that comment about Judah and this
one about Ephraim is obvious. Ephraim had the opportunity to win, but instead
of sending these people into God’s presence, they put them to forced labor.
Ephraim wasn’t tricked into making a covenant with the Canaanites; they just
disobeyed, using the situation with the Gibeonites as a precedent. This was for
their own convenience and economic prosperity. I’m sure there were also
soft-hearted, humanitarian arguments.
Joshua 17
Vs. 1-2 Now we get to Joseph’s other son, Manasseh.
Vs. 3-6 This shows the fulfillment of the situation with the daughters
of Zelophehad. This is the fourth time these women and this situation has been
mentioned. It will be mentioned one more time in 1 Chronicles 7. It seems to me
that God is making a point of what happened here. Not only did God protect the
inheritance of Zelophehad, but He laid out the precedent of extending these rights
to women. Based on what happened here, thousands of other situations could be
determined. God’s heart was known and it was written in Israel’s law. That’s
kind of nice of God to do that.
Vs. 7-13 This is the land division for Manasseh. You notice v. 13. Again,
this was added later, after the fact. This is absolutely tragic and it is
exactly what God told the people not to do. We are getting ready for the
darkness that is the book of Judges.
Vs. 14-18 This story is also very foreboding. I don’t know if there is
an intentional contrast to Judah and Caleb, but there is a definite difference
in the tone of this request and Caleb’s request. There is no faith visible in
the people of Joseph, only whining. In vs. 15 and 17, Joshua tells them they
were able to do this from the standpoint of power, but they didn’t have the
faith.
Notice that the people are already making excuses for not driving the
people out. It is almost as if God has done the big work through Joshua, and
now "the disciples" have to live by their own faith. Tragic as it is,
left to their own faith and their own initiative to seek after God, they
failed; not because God failed, but left to themselves, they really had no
faith, or, to use one of Jesus’ parables, they had no root in themselves.
Joshua 18
V. 1 In the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, pp. 360-361, Donald
Campbell links the tone of the people of Joseph to the move Joshua makes here
to establish the tabernacle in Shiloh. The people were worn out and becoming
fearful. They would now have to follow and obey by faith and there were already
signs that they were beginning to fail. This is the first mention of Shiloh.
Apparently they set up camp there, and that is where the tabernacle was for
about 300 years, until the ark was lost to the Philistines during the lifetime
of Samuel.
Vs. 2-10 This is pretty interesting how they decided to divvy up the
rest of the land. You can sense again in v. 3 that there was a reluctance of
the people to joyfully strike out and take the land that God had already shown
He would give them. You wonder too, if the other tribes felt bad because so
much was given to Judah, Manasseh and Ephraim. Notice that it is mentioned
again that the Levites were given no inheritance of land. The land divisions
were made by these roving surveyors, but the seven areas that they made were
allotted to each tribe by God at Shiloh. The lots being cast were probably the
Urim and Thummim.
Vs. 11-28 This is the land given to Benjamin, on the northern boundary
of Judah. Eventually, Judah and Benjamin would become the southern kingdom.
Though Simeon is given land, like a bubble, in the middle of Judah, they will
move to fertile lands up north. When the kingdom splits, the northern kingdom
will be ten tribes and Judah will actually be Judah and Benjamin.
Of note here is the mention of Jerusalem also belonging to Benjamin
(and apparently also to Judah). Also, notice Gibeah in v. 28. This city is the
center of a tragic story at the end of Judges. It is the first city of Israel
to go “Sodom,” and in the civil war that follows, the entire tribe of Benjamin
will be reduced to 600 men.
Luke 19:1-27
I've never noticed this before, but it seems that all of this takes
place at Zacchaeus' house. Jesus had told His disciples that you had to receive
the kingdom like a child. So in Jericho we’ve met Bartimaeus, crying out and,
once healed, bounding around Jesus, following Him. Now we’ll see a contrast to
the rich, young ruler. We’ll see a rich man who is saved, and again, acts like
a kid.
Vs. 1-10 It is interesting that just recently, God brought Jesus into
contact with the rich young ruler. Here, you have a tax collector. He was rich
and he hadn't been a completely honest guy (since he had people to pay back),
but he was repentant and willing to give everything away for the sake of
knowing Jesus. Funny how the religious young ruler backed away from Jesus, but
the sinner was ready to follow.
Vs. 4-6 Again, you have childlike faith to the point of climbing trees
and bounding around in joy. Notice that this is the second story in a row of
someone willing to "seek" Jesus and to endure shame for doing it.
Zacchaeus, like the blind man, wasn't blind to who Jesus was.
V. 7 I’ll bet you don’t have to guess who “they” were.
Notice, too, that over half of the story has to do with Zacchaeus
seeking Jesus. The remainder of the story is the proof of his sincerity and
salvation. Jesus didn't have to ask Zacchaeus to give anything because he was
already ready to do so.
V. 9 Zacchaeus wasn’t saved by doing what he did, but like the test to
the rich young ruler, the willingness to give stuff away proved that his
treasure was in heaven and that money didn't own his heart like it did the rich
young ruler’s.
V. 10 I read today, "A disciple is not above his teacher….it is
enough that a disciple is like his teacher…." If this was why Jesus came
and it expresses His passion, we too should be living to seek and to save what
is lost.
Vs. 11-27 Luke tells us why Jesus is telling this parable here. This
story is similar, but not the same as the parable of the talents that Jesus
will tell in Jerusalem the Wednesday before He dies. You probably have a note
telling you how much a "mina" was. That would be a hefty amount.
In light of the purpose of the story, what was Jesus trying to get
across to the Twelve and to the others who were following Him? Everyone was
hoping He was about to overthrow the Roman government and bring the religious
corruption to an end (everyone knew the chief priests were no good).
For us as disciples, there is an application. We are entrusted with
something. There also seems to be variable rewards based on fruit. Fruit is
relative and all fruit is rewarded. Fruitlessness is not celebrated here. It
seems that the lack of trying was the real issue. Is it fair to say that if
someone has been "given" forgiveness and grace, they will see it as
their mission to see that forgiveness and grace is "invested" in the
lives of others who have not found it?
V. 26 This saying has been used by Jesus often, particularly in
training His disciples. It is almost like He's saying, "use it or lose
it." It might be like saying that a truly believing person will strive to
understand and bear testimony to Christ, whereas a "professing" but
lost person will not strive or be passionate about making their life count for
Christ.
V. 27 These are the general masses who didn't want this man to rule
over them. It seems that the servant who didn't engage in business for his
master could be one of those who didn't really want his master to return. I
find it hard to accept Jesus applying the words, wicked and condemn to a
disciple in v. 22. On the other hand, if this parable is being applied to
unbelievers, I can't see Jesus entrusting them with His truth, if that's what
the mina means. We know from 1 Corinthians 3:15 that there will be a "test
by fire" for disciples to see what they have built on the foundation of
their faith and God's truth. My view here is that the wicked servant is a real believer who will be tested by fire and
will find that everything he built in this life got burned away. That person in
1 Corinthians will enter heaven and live eternally, but he will enter heaven
with shame as he meets the Lord he has let down and sees that his life for
Christ was a sham.
The point for me here is, Engage
in business until I come. Amen.
Psalm 87
This is a very interesting psalm. Basically it says that Zion
(Jerusalem) is not only God's city, but will someday be the great city of the
world.
Rahab stands for Egypt and Babylon is Iraq, both places where God led
Israel. These two nations hosted Israel and will apparently be blessed for
that, and with these other nations mentioned here, will someday be adopted and
included in Israel's worship as part of Israel. It will be said that they were
born in Zion. Verse 6 says the same thing. The Lord will include them in the
register of those who have been “born in Zion,” belonging to the blessing of
that kingdom. This all sounds like a fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that
all nations would be blessed through him. Also, since this event has never
happened to this point in history, I'd say it is referring to the Millennial
Kingdom, where Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years.
Notice that v. 3 gave birth to a song, a hymn, "Glorious Things of
Thee are Spoken, Zion, City of our God." Imagine my surprise when we moved
to Germany and, watching a soccer game, discovered the melody of that hymn is
the melody of Germany's national anthem.
V. 7 In the future, all joy will spring from that city, its river of
healing and its King.
Proverbs 13:11
I guess the stories we have of lottery winners being ruined by their
quick wealth bears this out. The real virtue here is steady diligence in work,
rather than chasing after wealth, fame or success. I think this also goes for
working in the harvest, growing disciples and building churches that labor in
the harvest, making disciples, who make 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