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 21
Joshua 22:21-23:16
Joshua 22:21-34
One point of interest I saw today as I was reading my German Bible was
the place where the altar was built. In 22:10, it says the region of the Jordan, in the English versions; but in the
German it says, The Stone Circles.
The Septuagint (the Greek version of the OT) says "Gilgal (which
means circle)." This is the place where Israel had crossed over the Jordan
seven years earlier. The nation had lived there for some time as it began to
fight against Jericho and other cities. More importantly, if this place was
Gilgal, it is where they set up a circular monument made of "stones"
that they brought up out of the waterless bed of the Jordan as the people had
passed across the dry river bed.
When the two and a half tribes came to this place after seven years of
absence from their families, and after all the battles and campaigns, the sight
of this “literally monumental” place must have stirred them. It might have been
that the events in the wilderness, as well as the crossing of the Jordan, all
seemed so long ago. Now they realized it was possible that the other tribes
would forget that they were all related.
Vs. 21-23 This is a very heartfelt and motivated rebuttal of the
accusations. What they did here might have not made sense to me, but they had
very sincere motives.
Vs. 24-28 Notice how often their children or descendants are mentioned
here. In a perfect world this wouldn't have been a problem, because they would
have begun gathering at the tabernacle for the feasts three times a year; and
so, there would have been a means of gathering and communication. After
Joshua's death, few obeyed the Lord.
V. 29 It is notable that they affirm that the tabernacle was the only
place to worship God through offerings.
Vs. 30-31 Phinehas is the spokesman and says that through this
potential crisis, they have seen that the Lord was in their midst.
Vs. 32-34 What I find interesting is all the unity: the unity of the
nation to find out why the altar had been built, the unity of the 2.5 tribes,
and then the unity of the entire nation regarding the resolution. The people
had learned lessons in the wilderness, and up to this point, everyone was
following God. This unity was a sign of God's blessing.
Joshua 23:1-16
This is the first half of Joshua's final address to Israel. Today the
message is to the leaders (v. 2). Tomorrow the message will be to the people
and the book will come to an end. Get ready to celebrate with a McCanaan and a
Milk&Honey shake.
Vs. 1-4 This is the second time now that we have seen a leader of
Israel hang up his sandals. If you were leading a group of disciples, what
would your final address be?
Joshua seems to be telling them that he is about to change his
residence to God's zip code, and he briefly recounts how God had used him to
give the people their land and to destroy their enemies before them.
Vs. 5-13 It seems here that Joshua is exhorting them to follow deeply
the promises of the Lord. Based on what God had promised, they could be strong
and courageous, following the Lord and taking the initiative as God led.
Obeying the Lord and loving Him would be the key.
Vs. 14-16 All of what God promised had come true and they could have
had total victory. It is sad to think that all of what Joshua warned them of
would come true in Judges. Notice how Joshua says that just as God fulfilled
the promise of giving them the land, if they disobey, He will just as certainly
fulfill the promise to remove them.
There are three things that stand out to me in what Joshua says.
First, he directs the people to understand that God had blessed them
and fought for them. They were to be grateful and focused on God.
Second, in v. 11, Joshua focuses them on God's love. Following as
disciples, too, has to originate out of His amazing love for us.
Third, Joshua warns them of the danger of leaving the Lord by not
obeying. As disciples, there is a lot of distraction in life and in the church.
Our mission has always remained very simple for each individual and for every
church. But life on earth blurs our vision, and the body of sin wears us down.
Daily refocusing is necessary. That is why disciples need to be in the Word
daily. And that is why Jesus showed us the model of being with a group of
disciples, reaching out and making disciples. We need to keep one another
encouraged and sharp in Christ.
Luke 20:27-47
We've had these same events before. God is giving us this repetition
for a reason.
Vs. 27-38 While the question about taxes was designed to get Jesus in
trouble either with the Romans or with the Jews, depending on His answer, this
issue was meant to make Jesus look foolish. The Sadducees had probably used
this on many Pharisees and had great success with it. Instead, Jesus turned
this into a very simple, but powerful, moment of teaching. Actually, I still
find what Jesus says in vs. 37 and 38 profound.
Vs. 39-40 Even the enemy, the
scribes, were pushed to sincerity and silence by the truth, honesty, and
insight of what Jesus had just said.
Vs. 41-44 But rather than Jesus schmoozing up to the scribes, He
pressed the point. Jesus gives them another one of those simple, obvious, and
extremely profound insights. Again, Jesus isn't doing this to prove any point
or further the conflict. He is fishing in the harvest. I guess that's what you
call a "mexed mitiphor."
Vs. 45-47 Jesus had said this earlier to the Pharisees, but the scribes (lawyers) were a branch of
the Pharisees. This is not the worst thing Jesus has said about the scribes, but in this situation, it
was like throwing gas on a fire. The judgment of God would come on Israel
because of their leaders, so Jesus' condemnation was more than just. At the
same time, we noticed that when Jesus honestly stood against these leaders,
others like Matthew the tax collector understood that the way to God stood open
through Jesus. I think that is why Jesus is being so bold and so open in what
He is saying. There are people standing by whom He is hoping to reach.
I was reading this morning Jesus telling His disciples, “even as the Son of Man came not
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt.
20:28). Even under pressure, near His death and in the face of His
enemies, Jesus was still honest and caring and reaching out to anyone who would
hear. As His disciples, we are to abide in Him and do the same in our
particular part of the harvest.
Psalm 89:14-37
This part of the psalm is like reminding God how He has blessed David
and promised him a perpetual reign.
Vs. 14-18 Because they rest and hide in God's righteousness,
faithfulness, and love, and because they exalt in Him, He is their strength and
shield. This is a way of saying they have made themselves dependent on God. God
is their only help.
Vs. 19-26 When we first meet David, he will be a young teen who is
surprisingly anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel. He was God's choice and
God had promised. And then we will watch God exalt David's faith. And then we
will watch David run for his life for a decade. It is during this waiting and
running and crying out that David became "a man after God's own heart"
(1 Sam. 13:14). And in all of that, God proved over and over, that David was
His man and confirmed His steadfast love and faithfulness to him. Why do we
think we should expect any other treatment if God loves us as much as He loved
David? We are servants and slaves of our Savior.
Vs. 27-37 In light of what Scripture says about a future bodily reign
of David on earth under the Messiah, this promise to David was very profound.
David, for all of his faults, became a model of the Messiah. We have already
seen that Jesus was both the Son of David and the Lord of David.
Even though this is a great and exalted promise, notice what is said in
vs. 30-33. Even though a son of David may stumble in his walk with God, God
would still regard the promise to David. Solomon would be the first and real
threat to this covenant, but I think the occasion for the writing of this psalm
was Absalom's rebellion. If so, the psalmist, with David sitting in, is asking
God not to allow the rebellion of David's son to make Him forget the kindness
He has promised to David. Punishment was promised, but so was covenantal love
and loyalty.
In reading these last verses I am amazed at the promise of God. And to
think, that as disciples, we have something that makes the promise to David
look like a two-year-old's Sunday school drawing. Our Savior has promised
amazing things to us eternally and also as we follow Him into the harvest
making disciples, who make disciples.
Proverbs 13:17-19
As a disciple, v. 19 hits me. To do what we need to do at this time in
this harvest, we need to be able to say, "No," to our desires, not
just when they are evil, but also when they are a silly use of time. For us as
followers, the biggest temptation is to fritter away time with little endeavors
that are not evil. These things come under our radar and they occupy our time
and blur our focus. "No longer being a fool," to me, means to stop
following the rabbit trails that, while not evil, lead me away from abiding in
Christ, His love, His passion and His mission.
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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