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 7
1 Kings 2:1-3:3
1 Kings 2
Vs. 1-4 While I think it’s good for David to tell Solomon to follow the
Lord and His Word (v. 3), I think that in v. 4, David is too focused on his
lineage and keeping the throne in the family. It is really hard to say how much
of God’s plan of redemption was grasped by David and others. In observing
David, it seems that he became a little dysfunctional regarding his sons, first
thinking it would be Amnon, then Absalom, etc. I would feel better if I saw
something about the glory of God and the testimony of Israel to the nations.
When we see Solomon dedicate the temple, many of his words will have to do with
himself.
As disciples, it
is only by God’s grace that we can see God’s plan so clearly. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and
righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, and did not hear it (Matt. 13:17).
We are living on
the cutting edge of God’s plan. We have all this Old Testament history to
observe, so we need to observe and learn. Then, we have the record of the lives
of these men and women who played a part in God’s plan without knowing or
grasping the things that we take for granted. For us then, our work as
disciples can’t have anything to do with a name we leave behind in a church or
a group. Our heritage and joy is in the name of Christ and sharing what He has
done. As His servants, we work in the harvest, reaching out and making
disciples for His name, not ours.
Vs. 5-9 I’ve
alluded to David’s final instructions to Solomon. You might have thought, with
his closeness to God and the benefit of the Urim and Thummim, David would have
figured out what to have done with Joab during the time Joab committed these
crimes. Somehow I don’t think this speaks well of David. To me, David allowed
too much injustice and deception in those close to him, probably to build a
kingdom, and possibly because it reminded him too much of his own sins. As
disciples, I would say it is better to be honest at all times and trust God for
the results even if it means confessing our sins or not allowing others to “get
away with murder,” even if they are key players in a church or organization.
This isn’t the full story on David’s final instructions to Solomon. On
a better note, in 1 Chronicles, we’ll see David pass on instructions, materials
and blueprints to Solomon for the building of the temple.
Vs. 13-25 This is really Solomon cleaning up after David. David, unlike
Ahithophel, didn’t set his house in order when he died. He allowed this
situation with Adonijah to grow out of his neglect.
The issue here was that Adonijah wanted Abishag so he could marry her
and use this as a way to claim the right to the throne. Legally, according to
the law, he couldn’t marry his father’s wife; but because David had had no
sexual relationship with her, it might not have been considered a full
marriage. Whether it was legal or not is not the point. Solomon saw through the
plan and knew who the planners were.
V. 24 It seems to me that there is a whole lot of me going on in this
statement.
V. 25 This is one of David’s mighty men who became David’s bodyguard.
Now he is Solomon’s hatchet man.
Vs. 26-27 Solomon didn’t kill Abiathar because he was a priest. No one
from this lineage would ever serve as priest again. Note that Jeremiah was from
Anathoth, and was a really good guy. It is interesting to see that this is the
fulfillment of God's judgment on Eli back in 1 Samuel. God is very patient in
judgment.
Vs. 28-35 Now it is Joab’s turn. Joab might have thought that grasping
the horns of the altar would save him and that Solomon wouldn’t have the nerve
to do this. Joab should have died long ago. He had brought poison into David’s
court.
V. 33 For me, this seems a little too focused on himself and the line
of David. God should receive glory and the truth of His Word should be lifted
high.
Vs. 36-46 The final loose end was Shimei. Solomon knew something would
happen to make him leave Jerusalem.
In both situations, God was sovereign and removed two potential threats
to Solomon. If Adonijah, Abiathar and Joab hadn’t tried this idea with Abishag,
they might have gone to the grave in peace and spread more poison. If Shimei
had stayed in Jerusalem and let someone else find his slaves, nothing would
have happened. Solomon didn’t have to press the issue with these men. He needed
only to wait on the Lord.
1 Kings 3:1-3
There is all sorts of foreboding here. In Deuteronomy 17:16-19, among
other things, God commands a king to make his own copy of the law (probably the
first 5 books of the Bible) by hand and under the supervision of the Levites,
and then to read from it every day of his life. Solomon was a busy man and I
doubt he ever did that.
Why did Solomon make an alliance with Egypt, especially through
marriage? Israel had been warned that if they allowed their sons to marry women
who worshiped other gods, these women would eventually turn their hearts. What
was he thinking? Why didn’t Solomon depend on a sovereign God for peace? Why
does God seem so silent here? Did Solomon consult the Lord? Did he ask a priest
to roll the Urim and Thummim? I doubt it. I guess there is a liability for
being too smart and too “wise.”
V. 3 You will see this only
often among the kings. I think Josiah is the only one who put an end to
worshiping on the high places. Again,
later, Solomon will, himself, sacrifice to foreign gods on these and other high
places. It was forbidden in the law to offer anywhere besides the tabernacle. A
wise king, blessed by God, could have put an end to that kind of worship and
drawn the people to worship as God had intended. God’s silence doesn’t mean His
approval.
As disciples, we see that some of the little tendencies of these men of
God became huge failures later and led them, and others, into ruin.
Organizationally, everyone has an opinion about things, but where the Word is
crystal clear, we need to stay with the Word. No compromise. Personally, we
need to look at ourselves too. Do we allow ourselves the luxury of committing
little sins? We are no better than these men. It is better that we lay things
aside now and focus on the harvest. Once our work is done and we’re in heaven,
we’ll enjoy true vivid joy and enjoyment; and we won’t miss the “joys of life”
we thought we would miss here on earth, if we focused too steadily on following
the Lord into the harvest.
Acts 5
Vs. 1-11 The church was young, only weeks old. During this crucial
beginning period of the church, God did something here, to protect the church,
that, thankfully(?), He doesn’t do today.
Ananias and Sapphira had seen the reaction of the church leaders to
Barnabas’ selfless sale of his property and his giving of the entire sum to the
apostles. They wanted that kind of “fame” for themselves, to be known among the
apostles and in the church. Their sin was not that they didn’t give all the
money, but that they said they gave
all the money. They really sold it for more than they said and kept a good part
of the proceeds for themselves. Their sin was their claim that they were
super-sacrificial, having given it all, in order to gain fame and importance in
the church.
V. 3 This verse is used to show the personhood and deity of the Spirit.
You cannot lie to a “force;” you can only lie to a person. In v. 4 it says that
lying to the Spirit is lying to God. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the third
member of the Trinity.
V. 10 What would you think if your service for the Lord was burying
disobedient Christians? You’d definitely have job security. Frankly, I hate
digging holes, but today we use backhoes.
V. 11 Fear in the church was the intended result. For now there was
fear. That wouldn’t last, and God wouldn’t keep striking down disobedient
Christians. This was a special time.
Vs. 12-16 Notice that the church keeps growing and that all of the
apostles are doing signs and wonders.
So I’m guessing the church was now at least a third of the population of
Jerusalem. Many of the people who came to Christ who were there for Pentecost
would eventually return to their homes in the Gentile world. The gospel was
going out.
Vs. 17-26 Isn't it interesting to think that God let the apostles get
arrested so He could break them out? God was doing big things in a big way. And
then God broke them loose from prison, not for them to escape, but to send them
back into harm’s way.
Vs. 27-32 This is supernatural boldness in the face of these frustrated
leaders. Notice that Peter referred to the God
of our fathers. This is a great little message.
Vs. 33-42 Now the leaders wanted to imitate their "father" by
killing the apostles. We haven’t heard this yet, but Gamaliel’s star pupil was
the Pharisee Saul, soon to become the Apostle Paul. Gamaliel was a Pharisee
speaking to Sadducees. He must have been well respected for them to listen to
him.
Vs. 38-39 This shows that Gamaliel was perceptive enough to see that
something strange was going on. I think his sincerity, even in error, is
reflected in his star pupil. Saul of Tarsus was deadly sincere.
V. 40 I find it cute that, to feel good about themselves, the leaders
had to rough up the apostles.
Vs. 41-42 But the word around town was that the council wouldn’t do
anything to them; therefore, they must be OK. Again, this is another example of
Luke showing Theophilus and all of his readers, that the Jewish authorities had
no real or legal complaint against the disciples or Christianity. In a sense,
the church was declared “not guilty.”
As disciples we don't always want to put ourselves completely in God's
hands, but we have the words of Jesus and stories like these to tell us it's
OK. God will glorify Himself and help us if we trust Him, even if the way looks
tedious or hard. God allowed the apostles to be arrested in order to break them
out, have them preach and confuse the leaders and get Gamaliel to say what he
said. God will do the same with us if we wait and follow.
Psalm 125
In going to Jerusalem to worship, the direction is not given as north,
south, east, or west. It is simply “up.” As the worshipers approached the
rocky, defensible heights of the city surrounded by mountains, they thought of
the Lord being the one on high, who protects and surrounds His people.
Vs. 1-2 The people singing this knew that Zion had experienced its
share of affliction. Yet, God still protected the city as He had promised. Even
after the exile, He brought them back to Zion. And in the future, the Lord will
rule from Zion.
V. 3 God would not allow foreign powers to completely dominate the city
or the land, or there would have been a loss of hope.
Vs. 4-5 Rather than closing with a prayer for the city, there is a call
to the Lord for justice. Those who were righteous would be the ones who the
Lord would use in leading Zion to blessing. The presence of evildoers brought
God's judgment. The judgment of the wicked would bring the peace Israel and
Zion needed.
Proverbs 16:25
This is a very famous verse that I’ve used a lot in witnessing. The
older people get, the more they either think they have it figured out or they
figure it doesn’t matter if you figure it out. Without Jesus, the end is death.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment