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 3
2 Samuel 20:14-22:20
2 Samuel 20:14-26
Vs. 14-22 This story wraps up the civil war. The hero isn't Joab, but a
wise woman who rescued her town.
Vs. 23-26 is the return to order. Benaiah will come into the story
again later. He apparently led an elite group of fighters who may have had
Philistine ties. Ira wasn't a priest. Remember that David's sons were called
priests, but the word really meant "official." Ira was David's
personal administrator, or administrative assistant.
2 Samuel 21
Vs. 1-14 Chronologically, this must have come after the country was at
peace again. It is interesting how this plays out, because during the civil war
there must have been questions of Saul's family coming to the throne again.
What happens here will put that hope to rest. Also, in this story there is
another lesson about the long legacy of sin and wandering from God. Saul did
this with religious and patriotic zeal, but in disobedience to God. Now it will
hurt his family. I think we all get the point.
Sometime while Saul was chasing David, moved by some kind of patriotism
or "god thoughts," but not by God, Saul decided to try to exterminate
the Gibeonites. These are the people who had tricked Joshua about 300 years
earlier. As a result of their trick and the ensuing covenant, they were saved
and became a part of Israel, doing servant work for the tabernacle. After 300
years they were as good as being Israelites. Who knows where Saul got the idea
to do this.
V. 1 It is interesting that it took David three years of famine to
figure out to ask God.
V. 3 When the Gibeonites felt that justice had been done, they would
ask God to bless Israel. Even today, if someone is really seeking forgiveness,
they should ask the offended party what restitution would look like.
V. 7 David spared Mephibosheth because of his oath to Jonathan. Notice
that there was another guy named Mephibosheth. It must have been a popular
name.
V. 8 This is sad and interesting because Merab should have been given
to David to be his wife. She was a part of the reward package for killing
Goliath. I wonder how David felt having to take five of her sons.
Vs. 9-10 The bodies hung out until the rain came, meaning the curse was
lifted. Normally you couldn’t leave a body hanging on a tree overnight, but God
must have allowed it because of the aspect of having violated a covenant Joshua
made with these people. When the rain came, everyone knew the curse was over. I
feel sorry for this concubine of Saul's, Rizpah. Apparently so did David.
Remember, he knew all of these people.
Vs. 12-14 This literally and figuratively lays the house of Saul to
rest in David's reign and in the history of Israel. Except for Mephibosheth,
there were no other heirs to vie for the throne of Saul.
Vs. 15-22 This story lays to rest the conflict with the Philistines. I
don't think we'll ever hear of them again as a threat to Israel. Also, David
hung up his sword and it seems that the giants were exterminated from the land.
You can see how this chapter is sort of "tidying up" the
history of David.
2 Samuel 22:1-20
What we have here is almost identical to Psalm 18. This psalm will
continue into tomorrow and will be complementary to 2 Samuel 23:1-7; in that,
chapter 22 celebrates God's deliverance that brought David to the throne and
chapter 23 celebrates God's preservation of his kingdom. In chapter 22 we might
have David's first words of worship as a king, while chapter 23 holds some of
David's final words.
Vs. 1-6 This seems to sum up David's thoughts of his ten years of
running from Saul.
Vs. 7-16 But when David cried to the Lord, God came to his aid, with lots
of visual and sound effects.
Vs. 17-20 This is God rescuing David.
We're not through with the record of David's life yet, but with all the
lessons God has given us, the good, the bad, and lots of ugly, David was still
a man of God. We all fall. We all fail. What we learn in seeing God's grace to
David is that, in spite of our failings, we can still get up and serve Him if
we truly love Him and will follow Him as disciples.
Acts 1
Whoa! This means you’ve read all four
Gospels. When’s the last time you did that in the same year? Now we’re into the
adventures of the Holy Spirit leading the disciples.
Vs. 1-3 This gives us some good information. Apparently, Theophilus
enjoyed the first installment.
Note that Luke talks about what Jesus began to do and teach. That means
that what we'll be reading, and what we are doing as His disciples, is the
continuation of what He began. The mission is to be the focus of our following.
V. 2 Some wonder if Acts 1:8 is a command. I think that Acts 1:8 and
the Great Commission are the commands referred to here.
V. 3 Immediately after the Passover, came a weeklong Feast of the
Firstfruits. Then you had 49 days and on the 50th day (Pentecost) you had the
"Feast of Weeks" or "Feast of the Harvest." The name for
this feast that began at Pentecost is really the Feast of the Harvest. It is
called the Feast of Weeks because it was seven weeks from the last feast. Isn’t
it interesting that the feast that began on Pentecost is called the Feast of
the Harvest?
This feast also lasted for a week. For both the Passover and the Feast
of Harvest, all males in Israel were required to attend. This will make
Jerusalem a very crowded place.
I mention all of this, because in the time between His resurrection and
Pentecost, there were 57 days. Forty of those were taken up with Jesus teaching
His disciples about the kingdom of God. This would mean that after Jesus left
and told them to wait for the Spirit, they would have to wait at least two
weeks. Interesting. It just seems to me, that the Lord expects His disciples to
do a lot of seeking and praying and waiting.
Vs. 4-5 Apparently, after Jesus met with the apostles and other
disciples in Galilee, He went with them or met them in Jerusalem. This was the
reason He gave them the command to stay in Jerusalem, in spite of what had just
happened there.
Vs. 6-11 So on one particular day, when they were on the other side of
the valley on the Mount of Olives, boom, He was gone.
V. 6 The time of the establishment of His earthly kingdom was a logical
question to ask, since Jesus had been telling them about the Kingdom of God for
the past 40 days. Even though that earthly kingdom still hasn't happened as it
will in the Millennium, Jesus taught them to have it anchored in their minds
that it was coming. They had the sense of expectation and now, they would work
and live with the end in view. Not a bad way for a disciple to follow Christ,
with the end in view. If you read Luke 19:11-28, you'll see that Jesus was very
clear that the kingdom would not appear immediately and they were to do
business until He returned.
V. 8 This is a key verse for every one of us. After giving the
disciples the future vision and expectancy, he told them to focus on their
mission. The you will be is what we
are. Notice that the Spirit's power is given to us for this mission.
Notice too, the pattern of outreach and harvest. This is the structure
of the book of Acts and it is vital to any group of believers. You start close
to home, your neighbors. It amazes me that churches still do outreaches to the
inner city and send missionaries to other countries, but it isn’t easy to find
a pastor or elder who has seen a neighbor come to Christ or to church. As
disciples we have to understand that if we are not reaching out close to home,
the other areas further out can become an excuse to relieve our guilt for being
ineffective at home. Also, disciple-making involves the process of leading
someone to Christ and leading them to lead others to Christ, thereby making
them reproducing disciples. If you can't reach people at home, you can't make
disciples. It's impossible. Our job is not to fill the room and then close the
door. We are to be reaching out constantly, making disciples and leading them
to reach out and make disciples. The church is to be a moving stream of
salvation/disciple-making, not a stagnant pool.
Vs. 9-11 Talk about an interesting way to get the disciples to remember
these words. The connection to the kingdom is also here in Jesus going before
their eyes. The kingdom will be established on earth, when Jesus returns the
very same way, probably on that very same spot, at the end of the Tribulation.
Vs. 12-14 They were all together in Jerusalem and prayed for the Spirit
for two weeks. Of course, they didn't know it would be two weeks. That's a long
time to pray. I wonder if Thomas was getting antsy.
This upper room was thought to belong to the well-to-do family of John
Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark. This would also explain why they had
the room for so long, since this was a feast where thousands filled Jerusalem
and meeting space was hard to find.
Vs. 15-26 Jesus told them they would be sitting on 12 thrones judging
the 12 tribes of Israel. They needed a twelfth guy. Note that Peter took the
lead.
V. 18 There are lots of theories of how this happened and they all end
up with a mess.
V. 22 Note that both of these guys had been with Jesus the entire time.
In the Gospels we see that Jesus had lots of other disciples. This is
interesting to see these guys were still following even though they were not a
part of the Twelve.
Some people think that the disciples made a bad choice, but that is
because we know about Paul and think that they should have chosen him. They
didn't know about Paul; God didn't tell them, but He did lead them to do this.
Who knows, Paul might sit on a throne in Revelation anyway, since there are 24
of them. On the other hand, knowing Paul, he won't mind if he doesn't get a
special honor and sees everything from the stands.
Psalm 121
As a pilgrim walked to Jerusalem singing this song of ascent, he might
have thought, "But who's holding down the fort while I'm gone?" God
promised in Exodus 23:20 and Exodus 34:24 that He would guard them and their
lands when they attended the feasts.
Vs. 1-2 As they were walking up to Jerusalem, that hill upon which the
tabernacle or temple stood would have been their goal. It was from the presence
of God that their help would come.
Vs. 3-4 As they left their lands and houses, it was God who would watch
and protect them, without sleeping or resting.
Vs. 5-6 The Lord was also their help and their comfort.
Vs. 7-8 As we learn from David and from Paul, even in danger with death
a step away, God always keeps us. Particularly when we leave this body, we are
the safest we will ever be.
As disciples, we need to remember that our hope for protection and care
is ultimately in the Lord. If we can't rest in that, then our worry, and Satan,
will find a thousand reasons to keep us out of the harvest.
Proverbs 16:18
As we've seen in David and will see with many other kings, when they
were weak and dependent, they were men of faith and close to the Lord, but when
they were (insert a word) they got into trouble. Pride and arrogance come in
many forms. That is good for us to remember as disciples. I can hardly drive to
the store and back without showing my arrogance and pride a couple of times.
Being needy and fearing God helps to keep our sin in view and our hearts in
check.
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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