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MAY 9
1 Samuel 5-7
It is interesting to note here that the Philistines could have and
should have followed up this victory, but didn't. In this last battle with
Israel, they slaughtered 30,000 men. We can't even grasp that kind of loss of
life in a battle. Yet God had now accomplished His task and had no desire for
the Philistines to go further, and He had no need of an army to stop them. As
disciples, we need to develop a mature perspective of God's work in the world
among nations: He allows and disallows. The real issues in play on this planet
are above politics and human rights.
1 Samuel 5
Vs. 1-5 I don't think Dagon fell down before the ark as in worship. I
think if it was next to the ark, the image just fell down away from the ark. If
the hands and head were over the threshold of the entrance of the temple, the
statue couldn't have been facing the ark. Some preachers would have the statue
bowing before the ark.
This little tradition of jumping over the threshold is interesting;
because surprisingly, when you read through Zephaniah, years ahead in Israel's
history and months ahead in your reading, you'll find it there too. Not many
people link that reference back to this, only because they don't read their
Bibles through like you are doing.
Vs. 6-12 Just as God had used Samson to terrify the Philistines into
inactivity, God was now doing the same thing through the ark. Everywhere the
ark was sent, men were dying and all the people were afflicted by tumors and by
a massive mouse outbreak. This last thing was anything but "Disney."
It would have been horrific, from devastating their food supply to keeping them
awake at night, to keeping them on edge every minute of every day. What an
ingenious thing for God to do.
On a funny note, for us, not for the Philistines, according to the Bible
Knowledge Commentary-OT (BKC-OT), p. 437, the Hebrew indicates that
the tumors were predominately in the rectal area. That would take the fight out
of anyone.
1 Samuel 6
Vs. 1-12 Notice in 6:6 how the Philistines believe in, and take to
heart, what God did in Egypt 350 years earlier. They actually had some of the
information correct too, knowing that Pharaoh had hardened his heart. Too bad
Israel didn't have this kind of faith. But actually, this wasn't real faith.
True faith would have led the Philistines and Israel to reject all impostors
and worship and follow the only true God. This culture was very eclectic
religiously.
Vs. 7-12 Using the two "milk" cows was a test to make sure
that the Lord was behind this whole thing. The likelihood of them wandering
away from their calves was not good. So in all of this, it was a mini-miracle
because God was in it, and therefore, proof to the Philistines that they had
done the right thing.
Vs. 13-21 Notice that there were Levites present, living among the
people. Apparently the ark still had the carrying poles. I wonder about the
sacrifice they sacrificed there. Why didn't they take the ark back to Shiloh
and sacrifice there? It should have been forbidden to offer sacrifices any
place other than the tabernacle.
Vs. 19-21 Joy turned to sadness. Finally, people could sneak a peek
into the ark, forgetting of course that God was present and watching. That is
the sadness in all of this. The personal love for God and understanding of His
presence was gone. They didn't really respect or fear Him. Now they really
feared God, but at the price of 70 men.
1 Samuel 7
V. 1 This will probably blow your mind. The ark will never return to
Shiloh. According to the BKC-OT, p. 438, Shiloh was overrun sometime
after the battle and the tabernacle was destroyed. The tabernacle
"concept" must have fallen into disuse. The ark stayed at
Kiriath-jearim (KJ) for 20 years, but this time is just a designation for how
long it took the people to come to the place of wanting to worship and serve
the Lord alone. It took 20 years of the ark being separated from the
tabernacle, and 20 years of Samuel teaching, to make the people understand they
needed to reunite under the Lord. According to the BKC-OT, p. 438, the
ark was at KJ about 100 years, until David brought it to Jerusalem.
Vs. 2-4 Here is another shock. Twenty
years pass between v. 1 and v. 2. We haven't yet heard of the ministry of
Samuel, going from town to town in a circuit, teaching the people and leading
them in worship. Apparently that was what Samuel had been doing in Israel, and
it was probably one of the factors that finally brought the people to the place
of returning to God.
Vs. 5-17 During this period of time the Philistines ruled, but they
were afraid of the Lord and kept their distance. Finally, when it seemed to
them that there was an "unlawful assembly" that could unite Israel,
the Philistines decided to crush it and keep Israel docile.
Vs. 8-11 This shows that Samuel was no military strategist. This
assembly was true in heart and the people confessed their sin, repented and
pleaded with Samuel to intercede for them. During this assembly the Philistines
must have suddenly appeared as an army and the people only had one place to
turn, to God. So what does Samuel do? He sacrifices to the Lord. That isn't
something they teach at West Point. And then God turned up the surround sound
and blasted the Philistines away.
Vs. 12-14 Samuel set up a monument to commemorate this victory, and
from this point on, Israel was never ruled by the Philistines again. During the
judgeship of Samuel, they stayed out of Israel, and it says that God afflicted
them.
Vs. 15-17 Samuel visited and offered sacrifices in these towns as main
centers where he taught the people. Samuel took a sacrifice to Bethlehem when
he anointed David. Ramah had been Samuel's family's hometown and now it became
the center of worship for Israel, and he built this altar in Ramah. The
tabernacle and everything in it had been destroyed. According to the way God
set everything up, Israel could not be Israel without the tabernacle. It was
the center point for the nation and their unity in Yahweh. Yet, through this
kind of traveling ministry, the people in each region could be brought together
in worship and God allowed it.
Looking at this last battle, it is interesting that when Israel was
worshiping God, God did amazing things to confirm their faith and protect them.
More of this would have happened if they would have worshiped God in spirit and
in truth. For us in the harvest, we have some promises that we never take
advantage of because we are busy. I was reading today where Jesus said,
"If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." That is a real time
promise, but it only holds for those who are actively following the Lord in the
harvest. In the harvest we are with our Lord and He builds our faith by letting
us see blessings that are only found in the harvest.
John 6:1-21
Timewise, if the event at the beginning of John 5 is a Passover, then
a year has gone by. Verse 4 says that the Passover (another Passover) was at
hand. This then would be the third Passover during Jesus' ministry, and so,
about a year before he died and was raised.
During this year Jesus has healed the man with the withered right hand,
chosen His disciples, given the Sermon on the Mount, healed the centurion's
slave and raised the widow's son, been questioned by John the Baptist, been
anointed by a sinful woman, freed Mary of Magdalene of seven spirits, been
accused of being possessed of Satan, taught many parables, stilled the sea,
freed the man with the Legion, healed the woman with the hemorrhage, raised
Jairus' daughter, healed two blind men, cast out a dumb demon, been rejected a
second time in Nazareth, and sent out his Twelve to preach and heal. While the
disciples were gone, John the Baptist was killed by Herod. Now the disciples
have returned to Jesus, and have tried to go to a lonely place; but the crowds
have pursued them. The disciples are emotionally exhausted and need rest, but
they won't get it today.
Jesus will not be in Jerusalem for this Passover, that we know of. The
multitudes are mobilized to go to Jerusalem, but this is the pinnacle of Jesus'
popularity. Knowing what Jesus could do for the sick and needy, the crowd will
make a detour on their way to Jerusalem.
Vs. 1-4 This is leading up to the only event that is in all four
Gospels, the feeding of the 5000.
Vs. 5-9 Notice that it is Andrew who came with the boy and his lunch.
Vs. 10-14 This was actually training for the disciples for the future.
Based on what Jesus was doing here, they would know what to do in Acts 2 when
3000 people would give their lives to Christ. This crowd, with women and
children, numbered near 15,000. Along with what Jesus did here is the lesson to
the disciples that they gathered up 12 baskets of fragments. They ended with
more than they began. God's ability is unmatched and so our trust in Him should
be very generous, even when He doesn't meet our expectations.
V. 15 Jesus is in "stealth" mode, avoiding the people. He
sends the disciples out on the sea and goes back up on the mountain, so the
people see they are separated.
Vs. 16-21 The people wait for Jesus; but at night, He walks down to the
sea, slipping in and out of shadows and begins walking across the sea to meet
up with the disciples. If you put all of the Gospels together you get a little
more detail, including Peter walking on the water. This will be a very
important event. None of the other writers tells us what happened immediately
after this. The people were fooled, but not for long. When they catch up to
Jesus, instead of making Him their king, they will begin to leave Him.
As disciples, we learn to serve God but not to trust ourselves, or to
understand our service according to the praise of people. Sin is powerful, and
even the people we serve and help can become indifferent or turn away. Our
strength is in following our Lord and knowing His love. He is the One who gives
us our direction and focus. Because of Him we can serve and love without
needing the praise and acceptance of people.
Psalm 106:13-31
Reading this makes me think of the faulty reasoning of "seeing is believing."
It didn't work for Israel. There has to be the need for deliverance, repentance
and believing and doing the Word.
Vs. 13-23 In spite of the great signs God did to show the people they
could depend on Him and to show them He was to be awed, they still rebelled.
Sin is powerful. Verse 21 seems to be the point in this section. The result was
that Moses had to plead with God not to destroy them. How would you like to
sing this in a worship service?
Vs. 24-27 Verse 24 of the song tells how they despised God's plan and
the land He had promised Abraham.
Vs. 28-29 And as if that weren't enough, although they saw the daily
death total because of the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea, they still decided to
rebel at Baal-peor.
Vs. 30-31 This is the only bright spot in this part of the song.
Phinehas intervened and his faith was
counted to him as righteousness.
I think the point of singing this psalm was to make the people humble
and repentant. We are all capable of the same things.
Proverbs 14:32-33
I think the refuge that is found in the death of the wicked is
"justice," knowing that God is just and that righteousness will win.
I like the idea of wisdom resting in the heart of a person. Wisdom is
so much a part of a person that it naturally comes out in all situations.
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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