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JULY
25
2
Chronicles 14-16
These three chapters are all
about Asa. He was a great king who we hardly got to know in 1 Kings 15. As you
read these chapters, take care to think about the time markers that the Spirit
is giving. What we're reading here is both amazing and awful. Asa, like David,
is someone you would want to be like, or name your son after. Yet, like David,
he fell. What is frightening is that the kings will all "fall"
differently, and it will look like something we are just as prone to do. They
will have great faith when they are young, but when they are older,
established, secure and strong, something will tempt them and they'll give in.
David gave into dishonesty and adultery. Solomon gave in to stuff, pleasure and
finally idolatry. So here's your job. Figure out what it was that shook Asa.
2 Chronicles 14
Vs. 1-8 The mentioning of time
and years is the key to understanding this section. They are not here by
accident. This is Asa’s first act of devotion and it established him as a godly
king. Notice the mention of Asa leading the people to seek God and notice that
it was God who gave him peace. You wonder why he spent so much of his energy
fortifying the land when it was God who was helping him. Ironically, none of
Asa’s military strengthening would help him regarding the challenge he was
about to face. This is good to consider.
What would you say is the
strength of Asa?
Vs. 9-15 No other king ever
faced an army this big. In spite of his military might, it was small compared
to the million men who came against him. Yet, Asa’s victory came through the
Lord, and Asa had faith to cry out to God.
V. 13 I'll bet it was like
Christmas, but the gift God gave Asa was a Wal-Mart.
2 Chronicles 15
Again, do you see what God
required and what Asa did? (vs. 2, 12-13) Asa was a great man and this is what
defined his walk with God and his leadership. I’m sure Ezra wants Israel to see
this.
Vs. 1-7 This is God's promise
and blessing to Asa. Asa responded well because he was a man of deep faith.
Notice that with God’s promise there is also a warning. I’m sure Ezra wanted
Israel to see this too.
It is sobering to think that in
most of the places God has warned people, they did exactly what He warned them
against. He knew they would fall in a hole. That should have given God’s
warnings an even greater significance.
Vs. 8-15 This is now the second
time Asa cleansed the land. What is amazing is v. 9. People in the northern
kingdom were drawn by Asa’s devotion and by God’s blessing on the land. I’m
sure that this is what God always had in mind. The godly people of all lands
would be drawn to Israel.
Vs. 16-19 This was Asa’s third
cleansing. Notice that v. 17 says that Asa was wholly true to the Lord all of
his life. Hold that thought.
V. 19 This note is important,
and in order to figure out what happens next, you need to understand how long
Asa had lived in peace and blessing without a fight. How long was it between
fights? Asa had peace for 10 years and then there was a huge challenge. Then
there was peace until his 35th year, meaning that from one challenge
to the next there were 25 years of peace. The question is, did his faith grow
in that peace or did peace make him weak and sloppy?
2 Chronicles 16
Vs. 1-6 This seems like a shrewd
move, but it wasn't. Asa was aggravated and threatened. He didn't seek God.
This new threat shook him, irritated him and got him mad. He figured out a way
to get even and it was sweet and tricky and it worked. And it was without God.
Vs. 7-9 This is the verdict and
it scares me to read it because I can see me doing something like this. When he
was young and the threat was great, Asa had outstanding faith and received a
great reward. Now, 25 years later (or 15 if a scribe messed up), he reacts in
rage and trickery and doesn't seek God. There are lots of possibilities here as
to what motivated him, but the result is the same.
V. 9 is a famous verse. Who
would have guessed it came as God's judgment on a formerly faithful king?
Vs. 10-14 Asa got mad at God,
took it out on the prophet and hurt some of the godly people, I presume, who
tried to get him to see reason. And then for at least two years nothing
happened. God didn’t punish him. Why not? It looks to me like God wanted to
test Asa's heart. If there weren't an immediate punishment, would Asa come to
Him or seek Him? Also, notice the prophet’s name. You’ll meet his son in 2
Chronicles 19.
Vs. 12 is a terrible commentary
to Asa's anger and stubbornness. The seeking of God, that had been the mark and
strength of his faith when he was young, was gone. When he was younger he had
the faith to lead Israel against the largest army ever named in the OT. But
after years of peace, when he was older, the frustration of a smaller,
incessant irritation drove him to forget God and make an agreement with the
ungodly to punish his enemy.
Now, knowing all of this, what
did God and Ezra mean by saying that Asa remained wholly true all his days? It
seems to me that although Asa got mad at God, he never went after other gods.
He grew bitter and backslidden, but he never worshiped anyone but Yahweh.
As disciples, regardless of our
acts of faith and obedience in the past, it is possible, in our comfort, to
suddenly become enraged at something small and persistent that shreds our faith
and our desire to seek God. I have heard of godly people saying and doing the
most ungodly and unspiritual things to office clerks and family members over
small, frustrating things. As disciples we need to keep our hearts before the
Lord, always following and working in the harvest, aware of what the Spirit is
showing us about ourselves. Sin is always dangerous. We always need to submit
to God in the unexpected events that plague us and to seek God.
Romans
9:1-21
So, what is this change of topic
all about? Did Paul think, "I'll write eight chapters about salvation by
faith and then eight chapters about something else?" When you read this
section today, you have to wonder.
It seems to me that all of
Romans has to do with the redemptive plan of God. Chapters 1-8 describe one
purpose of God and one way to salvation and completion in Him. Chapters 9-11
describe one plan of God involving two peoples, the Jews and the church, and
how these are distinct and yet still one plan. God didn't make a first trial
and then come up with a better idea. Chapters 12-16 don't present any problem.
They are practical chapters dealing with issues in the Roman church.
Chapters 9-11 expose a
misunderstanding in the thoughts of some people. How could God begin the plan
of redemption one way and then finish another way? Paul will show it was always
one plan, and that Israel, the nation, will fulfill its destiny. Chapter 9
presents the biggest problem to our understanding; because Paul gets in the
face of those who are "large of brain" and argumentative, basically
saying to them, "Who are you to try to out-think God and tell Him what He
does is unfair?" Remember those words back in Romans 3:4b, That you may be justified in your words and
prevail when you are judged. God will come out righteous and fair. In
chapter 9 Paul and the Spirit sound hard, but this will soften by the end of
chapter 11. These arguments here, though hard to understand at first, are God’s
way of smoking out the arrogant and telling them to submit themselves and their
understanding of the things to a wise, sovereign God. That is the same argument
God used on Job and his friends.
Vs. 1-5 Paul will show that
God’s plan with the Jews did not fail in spite of what people thought. Notice
that when he uses the word belong, it
is still the present tense. These things still belong to the Jews.
Vs. 6-13 This is an interesting
argument. When I read it, I thought, "Yeah, that's right." Abraham
had Ishmael and Isaac had Esau. They were all descendants of Abraham, but did
not belong to the promise.
V. 13 You have to understand OT
history to understand this. God didn't dislike Esau because he was hairy or
chewed with his mouth open. This has nothing to do with "love" in the
emotional sense. Actually the quote is from the first chapter of Malachi. Both
nations sinned against God. Both were taken into exile. Only one nation
returned. Guess which one. Why did it return: God was faithful to His purpose
and calling as promised to Abraham. It was all a part of God's eternal plan of
redemption. If you really want to see this up close and personal, go back to
Genesis and read about Esau. He was his own raw kind of person, but God still
blessed Esau. He just wasn’t a man of faith in the promise.
This is not saying that the
church and Israel are the same because of faith. As seen in chapter 4, a true
Jew not only had the blood connection to Abraham, but also had the faith
connection to Abraham.
V. 14 The question here has to
do with unfairness in God’s calling and use of people. This is definitely a
deep subject. The immediate subjects are Esau and then Pharaoh, but it will
extend to the nation of Israel in a few verses. The only real answer Paul will
give is that a person ought to trust God and not question His integrity. In
essence, this is the same answer God gave to Job.
Vs. 15-21 This break at v. 21 is
unfortunate. Keep reading to v. 24 to keep the thought together.
Vs. 15-16 What is said here
needs to be understood along with God’s love and wisdom. There is no injustice
on God’s part, but there might be a lot we don’t understand.
Vs. 17-18 Pharaoh hardened his
own heart and God then hardened his heart. God used this arrogant man for His
purposes.
Vs. 19-21 The key to
understanding what Paul is saying here, and what balances this argument, is v.
20. This is exactly what Job did. He questioned God. We know from the book of
Job that many things were going on around Job and behind the scenes. God’s
answer to Job is simply to trust His wisdom, and Job shut his mouth and
declared God righteous.
The thought to keep in mind is
that God doesn't create anyone just to go to hell, but God can use those who
resist Him for His own ends. We have too much Scripture telling us that God is
good and doesn't desire anyone to be lost.
I think the way to understand
this is by God's foreknowledge, mentioned in chapter 8. God knows who will come
to Him and who won't. (For an interesting thought on this read John 6:64.) Once
this is known, God has the right to mold and make and use a person as He wills.
We do something similar. For example, in the past presidential election, guess
who the large prison population in the US voted for: no one. The guilty forfeit
their rights. Why you need those next verses, 22-24, is to see that God uses
these people for His purpose and still shows them incredible patience and
kindness, knowing full well that they will rebel against Him until they die.
That can't be pleasant for a holy, loving God to be scorned and spit on by
those He made and is seeking to save.
A final thought: When we come to Christ and become
disciples, we also give up our rights to control or to lead our own lives. We
live for Him and His glory, right? We submit to His purpose and His will,
knowing that He is wise and loving and knows what is best. Right? Romans 8:28,
again in the RSV, We know that in
everything God works for good
with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. The real
issue is whether we really believe and trust that God is wise, loving and good.
If so, then as disciples we can lay it all on the altar as we serve our Lord in
the harvest.
Psalm
19
It's interesting being in Romans
and then reading this psalm.
Vs. 1-3 sound like Romans
1:19-20.
Vs. 4-6 Believe it or not, Paul
will quote v. 4 in Romans 10 to show that the Jews all heard the Word of God.
Vs. 7-14 Think of these verses
in terms of what Paul is saying in Romans 9. Anyone who would accuse God of
being unfair in His dealings with people does not understand God or this time
of harvest.
Proverbs
20:1
To make anything an idol is
dangerous. God brings trial, pain, and "pruning" into our lives to
show us our need for Him and to make us stronger in Him. Putting our hope in
wine or anything to "escape and ease the pain or make us forget or cope"
is to be led astray. These things, like all things in submission to God, can be
what He designed them to be. In Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,
when Aslan brings the thaw and allows Bacchus (the Roman God of wine) into
Narnia, Lucy remarks that if it were not for the presence of Aslan, she'd be
afraid of Bacchus and his girls. The same should be true of us.
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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