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 26
2 Kings 9:14-10:31
2 Kings 9:14-37 These are Jehu's first actions against the house of
Ahab.
Vs. 14-16 This sets the stage. Joram was wounded and recovering at
Jezreel. Ahaziah the king of Judah, and fellow descendant of Ahab, was there
with him. They were awaiting news of the battle at Ramoth-gilead.
Vs. 17-20 Remember that Joram was hoping for news of a victory and
peace. He thought that Jehu was still one of his best and most loyal leaders.
Jehu was coming on so fast that the riders had to fall in line behind him.
Jehu's reply to the messengers will be explained in a few verses.
V. 20 This could be a cool bumper sticker: Driving like a Jehu!
Vs. 21-26 Joram and Ahaziah went out thinking there was a message of
peace. They got a big surprise.
V. 22 This is what Jehu meant by his cryptic words about peace.
V. 26 This is where we understand that earlier (1 Kings 21:13) when
Naboth was killed, his sons (probably wife and daughters too) were killed with
him. It is interesting to note that Jehu and all of these men knew about this
word from the Lord.
V. 27-29 Ahaziah, though from Judah, was still related to Ahab through
Ahab's daughter. Jezebel was his grandmother! Killing him was a fulfillment of
the judgment on Ahab. Jehu didn't need to pursue him since he was interested in
Ahab's descendants in Israel, not Judah.
V. 29 With Joram dead, Jehu officially began his reign.
Vs. 30-37 And here was Jehu's first order of business. It is apparent
from her words that Jezebel knew this would be her last appearance so she
wanted to go out looking good. I can imagine that Jezebel was not well liked
and these eunuchs were finally living their dream.
V. 36 Notice again how well they knew what the Lord had spoken. So, why
didn't they obey earlier? Better yet, why won't they obey in the future?
Just so we don't get too caught up in the aftermath of Jezebel's
"burial," remember that she wasn't there. The minute her head hit the
pavement, she shot into the presence of God, which would have been a great
place to have been, had she not been the person she had been. Those moments in
God’s presence and being sent into Hades were far worse than the dogs eating
her corpse. The thing with the dogs was to show those still living that God is
faithful to His words of judgment. Jezebel could have repented but didn't. And
then too, we should give a care for those poor dogs.
2 Kings 10:1-31
Vs. 1-11 Notice in all of this that Jehu was very tactical and that he
also appealed to the prophecy against the house of Ahab.
Vs. 9-10 It is interesting that Jehu took the responsibility on himself
for this event. That was a good thing.
V. 11 It should be noted that God judged Jehu, among other things, for
his excessive zeal and violence (Hosea 1:4). I think killing all of the great
men and close friends might have been part of this. If Jehu worked for Ahab and
Jezebel and hated them, there were probably many in the government who also
hated them and would have been loyal to Jehu. Killing everyone was excessive
and it might have shown some insecurity on Jehu's part, clearing the field of
any would-be competitors.
Vs. 12-14 Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This
apparently was an intersection ordained by God. Some of this may have been
warranted, since Jehu had the command to kill everything related to Ahab. But
not all of these people were related. It may be that Jehu got carried away,
killing the innocent with the guilty.
Vs. 15-28 Jehu's final step was to eliminate Baal worship (and the
other associated gods) from Israel.
In v. 15 we meet Jehonadab the son of Rechab. We don't know it here,
but this guy is a full, 100% follower of Yahweh. He's one of those 7000 who
hadn't bowed the knee to Baal. In Jeremiah 35 we'll hear about him (called
Jonadab there) and meet his kids. God will make an eternal promise to his
family, to the effect that one of Jehonadab's descendants is running around
today, as we speak, and is a fully devoted follower of Christ. Maybe it's you!
Apparently Jehonadab was known to be a follower of Yahweh, but Jehu had
only recently appeared to be following the Lord. Jehu wanted to be seen as
united to Jehonadab.
V. 27 Nice touch.
Vs. 28-31 So, in spite of all of the prophecies and their fulfillments,
Jehu still did not follow God. Rather than simply trusting and honoring God,
there was fear of losing the kingdom if the people were to return to Jerusalem.
He took care of Baal worship, but he left the calves up and didn't honor God.
And then, even though people knew there was a presence of God because of
Elisha, they still were not interested in asking God's will and following His
leading. In order to do that, they needed to get rid of the calves and embrace
worshiping God's way in Jerusalem. Ironically, at this moment, God wasn't being
worshiped in Jerusalem either.
I think these events show us that as disciples we need to be very
serious and devoted in serving the Lord in the harvest as He says we are to
serve. Jehu obeyed to a point, but then stopped. Had he been personally devoted
to the Lord, he would have made his own copy of Deuteronomy and read from it
daily, all under the instruction of the Levites. He would only have sacrificed
at the altar in the temple. He would have fearlessly followed the Lord and been
a model to his people.
Acts 17
Vs. 1-9 This is the beginning of the church in Thessalonica. In saying
that Paul was in the synagogue for three Sabbath days, it means that was the
length of time he worked in the synagogue. He was in Thessalonica longer than
that. In Philippians Paul says he received financial gifts from the church in
Philippi two times. Paul also worked there for some time as, literally, a tentmaker.
V. 5 It could be that Jason was a relative of Paul's who is mentioned
in Romans 16:21.
Vs. 10-15 It is funny that Luke wrote that the Bereans were more noble
than those in Thessalonica. Didn't they think this book would circulate?
Apparently they took time to hear Paul and search the Scriptures; and on
verifying what Paul said, many more came to faith.
V. 13 When they had worked long enough to establish the church, these
God-ordained agitators were used by God to show Paul and the new church that
Paul had to leave. It was time for them to get organized and begin working in
the harvest, following Christ.
V. 14 Compare this verse to v. 10.
V. 15 Notice the similarities of Paul's work in Thessalonica and in
Berea. Notice too, that when Paul fled to another city, he immediately began to
work. Everything was seen as God's leading and will.
Paul sent word for Silas and Timothy to return to him. Silas and
Timothy had remained and gone back to Thessalonica to see if the church there
was OK.
Vs. 16-34 Some people go nuts, and say this was a total failure by
Paul, and that Paul became vague and wishy-washy in his preaching. What do you
think? The reality is - people were saved. I could live with that. Paul began
in the synagogues like usual, but this was a totally secular and confused
environment. God blessed with fruit. I think I'd have been happy.
When you look at Paul's message, what do you think were the high
points? In a way, it looks like what Jesus told His disciples to preach. There
is one God whose kingdom is coming. He will judge mankind, so turn to Him
through His Son, Jesus Christ.
As disciples, we should keep the message simple and biblical, and
remember that only those who the Father draws to His Son will come forward. Our
job is to work in the harvest and be clear and clearly in love with our Lord.
Athens, the cultural center of Greece, had gone to seed and was full of
confusion. It didn't have a fraction of the importance of Corinth, Paul's next
stop.
Psalm 144
This psalm of David looks like it could have been written after he
finally became king of the entire nation. In those early days he faced many
foreign enemies and God brought them into submission to Israel. What do you
think the purpose of this prayer is? What is David asking for the nation?
Take notice of the repetitions of words that give structure to
different sections of the psalm, like may.
Vs. 1-2 David had come to know God's steadfast love in his days of running and during the civil war with
Saul's house and northern tribes. Now as king of the entire nation, David was
beginning to see God's plan unfolding that would bring the nations into
submission to Israel.
Vs. 3-4 You have to wonder why David says this. It's almost like a
moment of reflection.
Vs. 5-8 David again was asking God for help and deliverance. In spite
of what God had given, David didn't take God's help for granted or think that
he himself was sufficient for any task without God.
Vs. 9-11 I wonder if these verses were penned just before David was
going into battle.
Vs. 12-15 This seems like a prayer for the blessing God promised to
Abraham. God promised that Israel would be a light and a blessing to all
nations because He was with them. The nations would see this blessing and be
drawn to seek the Lord.
Proverbs 17:27-28
So, what kind of knowledge gives you the ability to keep cool and
control your words?
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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