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 29
2 Kings 15-16
2 Kings 15
Vs. 1-7 Azariah is also King Uzziah, well known in Isaiah 6. Notice
that he reigned 52 years. You can imagine the sadness of the event when this
king died. It's interesting here that it mentions that God made him a leper,
but never says why. We'll get to that in 2 Chronicles 26, but Uzziah was
another godly king who was great in his youth; however, later in life, when he
became (fill in the blank), he fell.
V. 3 Notice that his devotion to the Lord was measured in comparison to
his father, not in comparison to David. Only three kings were devoted to the
Lord at David's level. Jehoshaphat was one of them and we'll meet the second
today.
V. 5 Most of these kings allowed their sons to reign with them,
co-regents, until their deaths. Azariah (Uzziah) was forced to let Jotham reign
with him, since Uzziah was no longer allowed to live in the palace because of
his leprosy.
Vs. 8-12 This fulfills the promise to Jehu. Zechariah was the fourth
generation, but only reigned six months.
Vs. 13-15 Believe it or not, Shallum wasn't the shortest reigning king.
Zimri was king for seven days, in 1 Kings 16.
Vs. 14-22 Menahem murdered the other murderer to become king. In v. 16
Menahem began his reign by sending a very clear message to all of Israel.
Imagine having this guy as your king for ten years. In addition, Menahem was
very much into taxation. His name should have been "Mayhem."
Vs. 23-26 It's interesting that there was so much killing and so many
bloody takeovers in the northern kingdom. We go from Pekahiah to Pekah.
Vs. 27-28 Notice that we are still rolling through lots of years. God's
patience is pretty amazing.
Vs. 29-31 Pekah lost most of Israel to Assyria, and that was probably
the reason Hoshea wanted to remove him and prove he could do a better job as
king. "Here, let me try!"
Vs. 32-38 We have very little information about Jotham. He was a godly
king, measured against his father. All of 2 Chronicles 27 is devoted to him,
but the chapter is only nine verses long.
The king of Syria and Israel fought with Jotham to persuade him to
fight with them against Assyria. But God protected Jotham because he ordered
his way before the Lord. He must have been a good guy.
Another interesting thing in this chapter of musical kings is the name
of Tiglath-pileser (Tiggy) of Assyria. Assyria would be the country that would
take the northern kingdom into exile. They were a brutal, fear-inspiring
people. They often led people into captivity by marching them along with a hook
through the muscle of the captive's chest or some other body part, attached by
rope to a wagon or a horse. You wouldn't want to fall. Assyria was poised to
become the first world empire, but in the middle of their conquests, they lost
185,000 men in a single night. That weakened them enough to eventually tip the
scales to the side of Babylon.
2 Kings 16
The importance of this story is that it is Ahaz, an evil king of Judah,
who gets the ball rolling against Israel. These were a very destructive 16
years for both kingdoms. In Jerusalem, Ahaz modified the worship in the temple
to be more reflective of Assyria. Verse 18 gives the idea that the modifications
were actually seen by Tiggy when he visited Jerusalem.
Vs. 1-4 It is hard to imagine that two good kings could be followed by
a king like this. It is also hard to imagine that God allowed him to reign for
sixteen years. He sacrificed his son, but so did Solomon. Still, Solomon, in
some funny way, was partly devoted to the Lord. Ahaz was not devoted to the
Lord. Although he kept the "culture" of Yahweh worship, he introduced
other worship into the veins of the nation.
Vs. 5-9 While Jotham was protected from Syria and Israel, because he
lived his life before the Lord, Ahaz had a better idea. He courted the
Assyrians. This "courting" will be described later in Jeremiah and
Ezekiel. God didn't approve.
Vs. 10-19 Apparently Ahaz didn't abandon the worship of Yahweh, but he
did copy the altar in Damascus. There was a thought back then that if an army
won, their God was bigger. Ahaz became a puppet of Assyria culling their favor
and aping their worship. He did anything he could to show he belonged to them.
V. 17 I think this describes how poor he had become by paying off
Assyria. The stands and the oxen were made of bronze and he probably needed it.
He replaced the bronze with stone.
V. 20 Hezekiah would be a welcome change for Judah and, thankfully,
nothing like his father. He was one of the great kings of Judah and compared to
David.
As disciples witnessing all of this lostness, we need to trust the Lord
so that regardless of our situation or circumstances, we honor Him. As The
Psalms are saying, God helps those who cry out to Him and seek His help. There
is a lot of help to be sought and lots of help to be found in our world, but it
doesn't always lead us in the right direction. Paul said in Romans 5:3-5, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that
suffering produces endurance, 4and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because
God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us. As we've seen with David, he became overwhelmed with the
steadfast love of the Lord by seeking God while enduring his trials. He was not
only helped, but he also fell incurably in love with the Lord and knew he could
trust Him in everything. There is a price to seeking God's help, but there is also
an incredible reward. Who would want it any other way?
Acts 19:13-41
Vs. 13-20 These two events are a part of the atmosphere of wonder that
God had created in Ephesus to get the church there up and running.
It is interesting that the demon said he knew Jesus. He'd only heard
about Paul, but he knew Jesus.
Notice that the people burned their books of their own accord. There
were no Baptists back then. This was done by the newly saved. Verse 19 is sort
of tipping us off to what is about to happen. The word for the money is
unknown, so it is hard to say what the actual value was, but it looks like it
topped $50,000.
V. 17 It is interesting that this story became known to all and led to
the next event.
Vs. 21-22 seem to have the first part of 1 Corinthians 16 in view. Paul
was ready to leave Ephesus to go to Corinth and pick up the contribution for
the believers in Jerusalem. Unknown to him, God was ready for him to leave
also.
Vs. 23-34 Here we meet Demetrius, a silversmith, who led this riot of
other makers of statues and other craftsmen. Later there will be another of
these guys, Alexander the coppersmith, in 2 Timothy 4, who will be responsible
for Paul's final arrest and imprisonment. Paul tells Timothy to beware of him
because of his violence toward Christianity.
The real issue here was their idol-making business. There were other
cities that worshipped Artemis, so her worship was safe. The temple of Artemis
in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the world. If the city had become
believing and idols were rejected, they would lose a ton of money.
Apparently this was a loud, hysterical assembly, but no one was hurt.
In v. 34 the Jew, Alexander, tried to calm the crowd, but Jews were also
against idols. The people went nuts.
As disciples, there is some wisdom in staying out of harm's way. Not
because we're afraid or embarrassed, but because our focus is on the harvest,
not the barking dog. When Jesus says not to throw what is holy to the dogs or
throw pearls before swine, it has nothing to do with fear, but rather not
wasting our time on the hard of heart.
V. 34 Can you imagine people in a stadium yelling this for two hours?
I'll bet the neighbors were mad. They probably called the cops.
Vs. 35-41 This guy was like the mayor of the city, not just a clerk.
Notice that Luke is showing here that Christianity was being pronounced
"not guilty" again. This would have gone into the official records of
Ephesus.
Knowing that we are put here as disciples to abide in our Lord in the
harvest, following His lead, we need to remember that there are no random
events. This was not a random event. God is working, and our job at times is to
be observant and see what the Lord is doing. Even in a chaotic situation like
this, God was working a purpose for His harvest. Imagine all of the
conversations that must have taken place in Ephesus the next morning.
Psalm 147
If I had to choose a verse from this psalm that speaks to me, it would
be v. 11. Which verses stand out to you?
Vs. 1-6 In praising God, the writer is focused on how God cares for the
outcasts and brokenhearted. Verse 4 sounds like Jesus saying, even the hairs of your head are all
numbered. I find it encouraging to remember this.
Notice too, the emphasis on building up Jerusalem. This would either be
David establishing the city, or it could be written after the exile, after
Nehemiah rebuilt the city. I would vote for David.
Vs. 7-11 Notice the pattern in this section. The first verse says to praise the Lord, and the rest of the
verses tell why He should be praised. Make a list. This is true of vs. 1-6
also.
With God's great creative power, our true hope should be in Him. We are
saved by Him being our heart's desire.
Vs. 12-20 God is to be praised because true peace and prosperity come
from Him. Not only does He bring the blessing of children, but He brings the
blessing of nature. All of this, for Israel, was because of God's promise to
Abraham, as seen in making a nation out of Jacob and giving Israel His Word.
Proverbs 18:4-5
Amen.
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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