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.
JUNE 19
1 Kings 20-21
You might have
heard people say that there is no love and grace in the OT, just hardness and
law. That shows that they have not really read the OT. Particularly today, you
have to ask yourself, "Why did God include these stories?" It seems
they are included to show His love and grace. And the kicker is, He is showing
love and grace to people who didn't deserve it or respond to it. That is REALLY
love and grace when you show it to evil people. Doesn't that sound like what Jesus
says in Luke 6:35, But love your enemies,
and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be
great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
1 Kings 20
Vs. 1-6 Apparently Ahab had promised to obey these demands. He should
have sent Jezebel along with the messenger. Apparently Ben-hadad was near at
hand and when he heard that Ahab complied so easily, he wanted more.
Vs. 7-12 So when Ahab decided to fight, Ben-hadad was near the city getting
drunk.
Vs. 13-15 Notice that this is God encouraging and saving Ahab, the
utterly bad guy. God went out of His way. Ahab didn't seek God. God just
volunteered His help. Then, after God promised victory, He guided Ahab by
answering his questions. Who says God isn't full of grace?
Vs. 16-21 So, God gave Ahab the victory. Apparently this was a big
battle and a big win. The question is whether Ahab would internalize this and
respond in devotion to God. God's help may have been for many purposes, but when
God's help and kindness is not responded to, it becomes a basis of judgment.
Vs. 22-30 Then God not only warned Ahab about the coming battle, but
this victory was because of God. This was an enormous victory and should have
been the cause for a lot of praise and gratitude. In v. 30 God even brought the
city walls down on 27,000 men. You would think that everyone would have turned
to Him.
Vs. 31-34 This is a flashback to King Saul saving the king of the
Amalekites. Apparently, Ahab was told to kill this king, but Ahab chose to use
his political savvy rather than obey God and eliminate the problem.
Vs. 35-43 This prophet was known to Ahab and apparently it was
necessary for him to be both wounded and disguised so that he could get near to
the king. This "parable" seems reminiscent of Nathan telling David
about the poor man and the sheep and getting David to condemn himself.
Vs. 41-43 Notice that Ahab, given a victory by God, didn't obey God.
Getting God's blessing was great, but not to obey afterward showed that Ahab
deserved God's punishment. What God said through the prophet was true: Ahab was
to have killed this king, but Ahab chose to save himself by making a treaty
with Syria rather than by obeying God.
Notice that Ahab was vexed and
sullen. Apparently he was like that a lot.
1 Kings 21
Vs. 1-6 This land was part of Naboth's family, and under the law Naboth
couldn't sell it. It had to remain in his family.
Vs. 5-16 What a woman. Later we'll see that Naboth's entire family,
wife and kids, were also killed with him. No heirs were left.
Vs. 17-26 Ahab and Jezebel deserved this judgment on so many counts,
but with the murder of Naboth, they had crossed the point of no return. Notice
the degrees of this curse on Ahab and Jezebel. Both Jeroboam and Baasha received
something similar to this, but this was very specific to their crimes. The dogs
would lick Ahab's blood where they had licked Naboth's blood (actually God will
add deep irony to this) and as Jezebel used "dogs" to kill Naboth,
she will be consumed by dogs.
Vs. 27-29 And still, the Lord will show mercy, even if the vilest
respond in repentance. That sounds like love and grace to me. We'll see again,
that this wasn't true repentance; it was just for a minute. Ahab's next move
will be to openly ignore God and he will punish a prophet. And he'll get what
he deserved.
The purpose of these events showed all the people and nations that God
could be sought by anyone. Regardless of what a person had done, if they
repented, God would forgive and show grace and mercy. Again, anyone who says
that God didn't show grace and love, and offer forgiveness, in the Old
Testament, hasn't read it.
Acts 12:24-13:15
Acts 12:24-25
Significant here is not only the growth of the church, but John Mark,
Barnabas' cousin, enters as a disciple and a missionary. The prayer meeting for
Peter had been at the house of John Mark's parents, a well-to-do family. It is
thought that the last supper and the meeting where the Spirit came at Pentecost
were also at this house. John Mark is the writer of the Gospel of Mark, and he
is the disciple wrapped only with a sheet, who, on the night Jesus was
arrested, was grabbed, slipped out of the sheet and "streaked" home.
Acts 13:1-15
Vs. 1-3 Notice that the church in Antioch of Syria was very organized,
very international and very independent of Jerusalem. Since they weren't under
any distress, the leaders were praying and fasting for other reasons, probably
because of the harvest. Notice again, how "talky" the Spirit is. He
is not an impersonal force.
Vs. 4-12 This is the beginning of the first missionary journey by Paul.
There will be three recorded in Acts.
V. 5 It is interesting that Paul, like Jesus, went first to the
synagogues, found those who easily and naturally responded to the gospel, and
then began reaching the Gentile population.
Notice that up to v. 9, Barnabas is always named first. After v. 9 Paul
will usally be seen as the leader. Barnabas was willing to step back. This
shows how the Spirit was on both Paul and Barnabas.
Notice too, that as of v. 9 Saul will use his Greek name, Paul, for the
rest of his career. Paul, the former Pharisee and true-blue Jew, was committed
to reaching the Gentiles for Christ, becoming all things to all men for the
sake of the gospel and the harvest.
V. 12 Although the governor was impressed that the Holy Spirit had
power over the magician, it says that he was astonished at what Paul taught.
This indicates true faith that was based on the teaching, not on the miracle.
Vs. 13-15 Note that John Mark deserted them here and went home to
Jerusalem. It is fair to call what Mark did, desertion, since Paul will
insinuate in chapter 15 that it showed weakness and a lack of commitment. When
we get to heaven we'll have to ask Mark why he left. Here are some thoughts you
can add to your own.
Mark knew the Saul that had hurt people. As Paul began to take the
lead, he might have sounded like the old guy every now and then. Also, Mark was
a true-blue Jew too, and he was a city boy who lived well. This adventure might
have started to look like camp Gitchy-Goomy, and he wasn't used to pork chops
or those who ate them. He might have been having a cultural crisis that
overwhelmed him and he ran home. It is to be noted that Barnabas will not only
pursue Mark and pick him up, but he will go nose to nose with Paul to show his
trust and belief in John Mark. As a result, this failed servant will be
restored to service and will write the first of all the Gospels about the
suffering servant who fulfilled His mission. Mark will eventually travel with
Peter after traveling later with Barnabas. Paul, just before he dies, will
speak highly of Mark and request his presence.
V. 15 Isn't it interesting how the Spirit just set up this situation?
It really is more about the Spirit, than about Paul and Barnabas. It would be
hard to publish a book on missionary strategy or church planting strategy as
our own ideas, when the main concept is watching what the Spirit is doing and
following Him. This is another way of viewing what it means to abide in Christ,
following Him in the harvest, making disciples, who make disciples.
Psalm 137
This psalm is obviously written by one of the exiles from Jerusalem who
was there when the city was finally destroyed. Jerusalem and the temple had
been judged by God because of Judah's continued rebellion and disobedience. It
was brutal when it happened, but God had promised this would happen. And, it
was a just judgment.
Vs. 1-6 Now in exile, how could they sing? And worse, how could they
forget what happened to Jerusalem? Three things are mentioned that were painful
to them. They were taunted as they sang songs to Zion. They deserved to be
taunted, since they really hadn't been worshiping God.
V. 7 Second, the Edomites had been very brutal to them. According to
Obadiah, God would judge them.
Vs. 8-9 Third, they remembered the cruelty of the Babylonians.
It was on the basis of psalms like this one, that C.S. Lewis didn't
think the entire Bible was inspired. How could God inspire or express something
like v. 9? If you lose the graphic image, what you really have is,
"blessed will be he who does to you what you have done to us."
As we have just read about God's judgment on Jeroboam and on Baasha,
God Himself judged their evil with the evil of others. Soon we will see God use
a demon to lure Ahab to his own death and judgment. This is totally just in
that Ahab preferred to listen to lies, rather than God, and he served demons,
rather than God. Jerusalem, as we'll see in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was totally
sick, diseased and infested with evil and idolatry. They deserved it.
When Babylon sacked Jerusalem the final time under Zedekiah, as the
Babylonian soldiers went through the city, rather than stabbing children with
their swords, they would grab a child by the arm and swing it against the
corner of a building, or a rock wall, smashing its head and killing it. God and
the psalmist are saying that the Babylonians will be judged with the same kind
of cruelty that they dished out.
Proverbs 17:16
In English this comes across like a play on the words, money and sense (cents), like, "How can a fool buy wisdom with money when
he has no sense?"
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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