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JUNE 12
1 Kings 9-10
1 Kings 9
Vs. 1-9 So when did this happen? Back when we read 1 Kings 7:1, it
seemed that Solomon could have built the temple and his house at the same time.
Verse 10 says that after twenty years, Solomon had completed the king's house.
That would mean that the seven years building the temple were followed by the
thirteen years building the palace. The Lord spoke to Solomon before he built
the temple and now, twenty years later. If the temple was finished and
dedicated after seven years, it means that since yesterday's reading, and the
dedication of the temple, thirteen years have now passed. I wonder why God
waited until after Solomon stopped building to speak to him. Maybe Solomon was
too busy. Isn't it interesting that if you don't look at the dates, you might
think that God spoke to Solomon the day after he dedicated the temple, simply
because it's the next thing you read. However, thirteen years had passed.
Vs. 4-5 Though the promise that the king who would reign forever would
come through Judah (and now through David) was unconditional, the promise for
establishing the throne under Solomon was conditional. He had to obey. We know
the end of the story: He didn't. After Solomon there would never again be an
independent, unified Israel. God is full of grace and forgiveness, but He
doesn't play games. The line of David would only rule over the land of Judah.
After the exile (which Solomon helps to launch), Israel will never again be a
sovereign nation with a king. Even though the first governor after the exile
will be Zerubbabel, who is in the line of David, he is only a governor under
Persian authority. After Zerubbabel, the line of David passes out of our sight
until Jesus.
Vs. 6-9 How ironic that God will bear testimony to His own
righteousness and truth by destroying all that Solomon built, should Solomon
disobey. God was giving Solomon a very kind and gentle warning.
Apparently, completing the temple and his own house marked a specific
point in Solomon's life. Now what would he do? When people lose their goal in
life, they often drift. I'm amazed at the wisdom of the Lord in giving us a
mission on earth. To lose our passion for our mission just means we’re drifting
on earth. What a waste of time. But to live in the harvest following Christ,
making disciples, who make disciples, should keep our vision clear and our
blood flowing right up to the end. Too bad Solomon didn't have anything left
but being Solomon.
Vs. 10-14 So, what is this story about? I think it is showing that
there is something wrong with Solomon, evidenced in how he treated his friend.
The word Cabul is definable from the
context: worthless or good for nothing. Solomon put so much time into his own
pursuits, but very little into these cities. He could have turned these places
into a paradise, but his focus apparently was on himself.
Vs. 15-28 What do you find in all of this detail? I don't know. I think
it's interesting that there is one small mention of Solomon's worship and many
references to his other activities. This is a good place to remember what God
had said about what a king was to avoid and what he was to do.
Only he must not acquire
many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to
acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to
you, “You shall never return that way again.” And he shall not acquire many
wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself
excessive silver and gold.
And when he sits on the throne of his
kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by
the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all
the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord
his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing
them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may
not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left,
so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel
(Deut. 17:16-20).
Notice in these
verses, not only was a king warned what not to do, but also in v. 19 it says he
should read the law every day of his life. If a king would have obeyed vs.
18-20, humbling himself before the Lord, submitting to the Levites, making a
copy of the law and reading it every day, he would have been guided, protected
and warned by the Lord every day. And, according to John 14:21-23, he would
have known the Lord intimately. It is safe to say that none of the kings did
this every day for his entire life. We’ve seen the wreckage in David’s life,
and Solomon will now excel David in terms of damage done to the nation of God
and the redemptive plan for mankind.
This is written here for our instruction. If we think we can survive
without being in the Word every day, we are ignoring the seriousness of the sin
within us and we are ignoring what the Lord is saying to us through these men.
V. 28 Apparently Solomon liked gold and ignored Deuteronomy 17:17. Remembering
that a talent was 75 pounds makes it interesting to figure out the weight of
all the mentions of gold that Solomon acquired yearly. It isn’t pounds. It is
tons.
1 Kings 10
Vs. 1-13 What do
you observe in this story? It seems to me that it shows the testimony that God
was making to the nations through His blessing on Israel. This was actually a
part of the redemptive plan that God sought to work through Israel to the
surrounding nations. Moses expressed this in Deuteronomy 4:5-9.
See, I have taught you
statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded
me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take
possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these
statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people.” For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And
what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all
this law that I set before you today?
Only take care, and keep your soul
diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they
depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your
children and your children's children—
You can see in what the queen of Sheba says in v. 9, that she
understood this was of the Lord. I wonder if the other "stuff" and
all the "bling" didn't get in the way of a full and complete
testimony to the Lord.
Vs. 14-29 Think about all of this detail in terms of Deuteronomy 17
above. Even more than Solomon ignoring what God said about going to Egypt for
horses is that the first thing he did as a king was to make an alliance with
Egypt and marry Pharaoh's daughter. The worst is yet to come and, ironically,
Egypt really hurt Solomon.
As disciples, we have some very grave lessons to learn from Solomon. Up
until now we have seen some minor "cracks" in his life that seem
completely overshadowed by God's blessing and Solomon's expressive worship. But
the cracks remained and now appear to be getting bigger. Regardless of what we
have accomplished for Christ, no matter how glowing our devotion has been in
the past, allowing sin into our lives (as seen with David) brings disaster.
Buckle up and put on your helmet. What we'll see tomorrow with Solomon will be
unbelievable. What will be more unbelievable will be God's grace.
Acts 8:14-40
Vs. 14-25 Now, you might ask why Peter and John went to Samaria and not
Thomas and Thaddeus. I think it is because this was a very important event, and
the apostles wanted to send the two men that God had already singled out as the
authoritative voice of the apostles.
V. 16 The only been baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus doesn't mean anything was missing in the
formula, but that everyone knew that the Holy Spirit was missing.
It is interesting that Peter and John had to lay their hands on the
Samaritans. To understand what this meant for the Christians in Jerusalem, like
Peter and John, try to imagine what it would have been like years ago in a very
racially bigoted area for a white preacher to have given an altar call and have
a black man come forward and lay his hands upon him. It shouldn't be assumed
that just because the apostles and other believers were saved and indwelt by
the Spirit that their racial prejudices fell away. They didn't. That is part of
the drama being played out here by God, withholding the Spirit until two leaders
of the Jerusalem church (true-blue Jews) saw for themselves how the Spirit came
upon the despised Samaritans as they laid their hands on them. I wonder if they
both went for the anti-bacterial gel after they touched them.
One more thought here: How did they know the people received the
Spirit? It doesn't say, yet it was noticeable or visible, even by Simon the
rat. It can be assumed that there was a display similar to what happened to the
disciples and apostles on Pentecost. What happens to Cornelius (a Gentile)
later, we know, will be completely identical to the coming of the Spirit at
Pentecost. The reception of the Spirit in a visible way was a point of
connection that helped the Jewish Christians let go of their prejudice toward
the Samaritans and the Gentiles.
V. 18 This whole drama with Simon seems like "just a story,"
but I think it is similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira. With A&S,
the threat to the church that would grow would be seeking position and status
in the church through giving. With Simon we see someone who recognized the
status that would come with using God's power. You probably think this would be
impossible to use God's power for personal gain, but Paul tells Timothy it was
happening (1 Tim. 6:5); and Jesus said that many would come, calling Him Lord,
who had prophesied, done mighty works, and cast out demons. The problem was
they didn't know Him and He didn't know them. Here, I think, we see the first
entrepreneur who figured out how to market the blessing of God.
V. 21 It should be noted that not everyone who recognizes Jesus' person
and authority goes to heaven. The demons know Jesus, but don't love and follow
Him. Simon believed in the reality of the power, but he didn't love Christ. He
just wanted the power and the honor. In that case, as Peter made pretty clear
to him, he really wasn't "saved" by what he believed, anymore than
the demons are saved by what they know to be fact.
V. 25 I think
preaching through the towns of Samaria was a big step for these two guys. At
one point John was ready to call down fire on the Samaritans. I'll bet Peter
and John smiled at each other as they realized that Jesus had prepared them for
this moment. Maybe they realized this was the fulfillment of part of what Jesus
had told them in His final words to them in Acts 1:8, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth.
Jerusalem: Check! Judea and Samaria: Check! Now for the ends of the
earth…
Vs. 26-40 The Ethiopian eunuch, not Cornelius, was the first Gentile we
know who came to Christ. So God used Philip, one of the seven, not only to open
Samaria, but also the ends of the earth.
V. 26 If an angel of the Lord told Philip to do this, it means Philip
must have seen the angel. Later, Philip will be given instructions by the
Spirit. I assume this was an audible voice in his head. It must have been an
angel that walked up to Philip and told him what to do and Philip recognized
him, by the Spirit, as being such.
V. 27 What is interesting is that the eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship; but because he was a eunuch, he was
not welcome in the assembly at worship. This would have put this guy a step
below a proselyte. So, he must have been a very convinced believer in Judaism
since he had everything else, nationality and physical state, going against
him. (I mean, really though, would they check you at the door?)
V. 31 Really? Another "What must I do to be saved?"
situation. And the guy was reading Isaiah 53 (which, by the way, you should
memorize). In those days, apparently, you read out loud, so Philip knew where
he was in the text.
V. 36 Somehow this doesn't happen every day.
V. 39 So, the eunuch, we assume, received the Holy Spirit. That would
be normal: you believe, you receive and the Holy Spirit silently comes in.
Philip being swept away was not normal then or very normative for today.
V. 40 Philip is an unsung hero as a disciple. What a guy. We'll see
Philip again twenty years later at Caesarea toward the end of Acts. Apparently
he settled there. Caesarea would become a very important hub for the church and
the next big Gentile adventure will happen there.
So, is what we're seeing in Acts completely normative for today? We
don't see believers saved without receiving the Spirit. This was for the period
of Acts, to convince the apostles. I have never heard of anyone taken miles
away instantly after baptizing someone. Can God do it today? Sure. Is it a
common occurrence? No, not even in Acts. Yet, as disciples, the leading of the
Spirit in Acts, though not as dramatic today, might be closer to the norm than
we think. The question has more to do with our willingness to focus our lives
on following Christ in the harvest, making disciples and being led by the
Spirit.
Psalm 130
I'm sure as the pilgrims came to Jerusalem three times a year, many
people couldn't completely resonate with every psalm being sung, because their
hearts were being pressed by their circumstances. In worship there is a sense
of knowing that God is our only hope, and we wait on the deliverance and answer
only He can give. This psalm would have echoed their deep need to find hope and
comfort in God.
Vs. 1-2 At this point we don't know why they are pleading for mercy, but
they are pleading.
Vs. 3-4 It is for their personal sin. Which of us cannot cry out to God
for mercy for what we've done this past week, much less in the past three
months or the past year? Do you remember the weight of your sin before you knew
Jesus? Do you sense the weight of the sin within you now?
Vs. 5-6 What wonderful words. Our souls wait for the Lord and we hope in
His Word. But our waiting is over because we know the living Word and we
live with Him every day.
Vs. 7-8 Notice all of the key themes of life: hope, love, redemption
and forgiveness from our sin, oh, and the Lord.
There is a kind of living in affliction and waiting before God that is
constant and godly, and you are only trained for it by living on this planet,
being afflicted and having to wait. The result of momentary affliction is that
we cry out to God and learn that He is our hope and our deliverance. This can
produce a spiritual sense of affliction and waiting. You see the world as God
sees it, and you make the choice to be "hungry now" and to "weep
now" as we walk this planet following Christ in the harvest. You live,
crying out, waiting on and clinging to God, our hope. We learn to keep crying
out even in joy. The urgency of this life doesn't diminish if we’re doing well
or in a good mood. We learn to see things in the spiritual, and the spiritual
situation is pretty sobering and desperate.
Jesus said that the person who is forgiven much…loves much. If we know
how deeply needy we are and how deeply urgent the drama of this life is, the
love of Christ and His calling are a great source of joy and worship.
If you have some time and a computer search engine (or concordance),
search for the word "wait." Then read those occurrences you find in The
Psalms and in Isaiah.
Proverbs 17:2-3
I guess many things can test the heart. Working for an immature,
out-of-control master, foreman or boss would not qualify as fun. Acting wisely
is the key. Living for the honor of God is the heart of our wisdom as
disciples. The testing is not God's "plan B." The Father prunes us to
become more fruitful in the harvest. That is "plan A."
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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