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JULY 8
1
Chronicles 5:18-6:81
1 Chronicles 5:18-26
I think the purpose of this
grouping is that these were the three tribes on the other side of the Jordan.
Vs. 18-22 Notice that Ezra says
that this victory was because they cried out to the Lord. The result was a lot
of booty. This must have been after they returned from helping the other tribes
take Canaan. They were warned about taking slaves because of the idolatry of
the people.
V. 21 says that they took
100,000 men alive. Now the people outside of the land of Canaan were not under
the ban, unless God had specifically told the Reubenites to kill all of these
people. The reality is that they must have joined with these people. Verse 25
indicates that this is what happened.
Vs. 23-26 Actually, idolatry
came into Israel immediately after Joshua. What we have here is 400 years of
history summarized until the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser III, took the
people into exile. Notice that as of this writing, after Judah's exile in
Babylon, these tribes were still in exile.
1 Chronicles 6
After determining the lineage of
Judah and David, the next lineage of great importance is that of Levi. After
the exile, they had to know who could serve at the temple. It should be noted
that after the Babylonian exile, idolatry was never an issue for Israel. The
Jews never worshiped on the high places around Jerusalem, but the Samaritans
still felt free to do so. Something happened during the exile that the Lord
used to cure the Jews.
So, for the sake of staying
awake and for Bible study, as you read the paragraphs, decide why Ezra made
these groupings. What new themes (singers, dwelling places, etc.) was Ezra
taking note of?
Vs. 1-15 Verses 4 and 15 give
you the goal of this section. This established the priesthood through Aaron to
the exile.
Vs. 16-30 These are the chief
men of the other families. Notice that Samuel is listed here.
Vs. 31-48 These are the singers.
Notice that this is related to David’s organizing of the singers for worship at
the temple. This theme of David being the organizer of the worship will be
developed in a few chapters. Ezra will underscore that a true leader of Israel
leads in the worship and makes sure this is all ordered and maintained.
Vs. 49-53 The priests.
Vs. 54-81 As the Levites were
coming back into the land after the Babylonian exile, it was important for Ezra
to let everyone know what land and cities had been allotted to them. I’m sure
for some people returning, the land looked completely open and you could take
what you wanted. Ezra wanted Israel to respect what the Lord had given the
Levites.
Acts
26
There are lots of good things in
Paul's testimony. I'll mention only a few.
Vs. 1-8 It was important for
Paul to establish his early life as a Jew. This not only showed the change that
Jesus made, but he would show that his new faith, and Christianity itself, was
a fulfillment of Judaism.
Vs. 9-11 Notice the plurals here.
There were many people Paul saw put to death. There were many people Paul beat
and tried to make blaspheme the name of Jesus. And, Paul went to more than one
foreign city.
Vs. 12-18 The Lord knew the
right time to intervene. I think that Paul was under conviction, not only
feeling bad about his violence toward believers, women in particular; but I
think their determination to suffer for Christ began to show Paul the reality
behind what they believed.
V. 15-16 Notice that Jesus
appeared to Paul. It wasn't just a voice and blinding light. Notice too, that
Jesus didn't chide Paul, but rather commanded him to obey.
Vs. 17-18 Notice that these are
Jesus' words. Salvation involves going from
darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. This is good to think
over.
Vs. 19-23 Not only does Paul
conclude with his obedience, but he lets them know that this testimony he is
giving them is part of that mission that Jesus gave him.
V. 24 Good old Festus, showing
again how smart he was.
Vs. 25-27 Thanks to Festus, God
gave Paul a very natural way to bring the decision to Agrippa. Paul knew that
Agrippa was a firm believer in Judaism.
V. 28 Agrippa, I think, was
putting Paul off in a lighthearted way, to bleed off some of the intensity.
V. 29 I'll bet Paul got a laugh
with the last line.
Vs. 30-32 Agrippa was wrong.
There is no mistake here. Paul should have been released long ago, but with
Festus being corrupt and trying to win the friendship of the Jews, Rome was the
only option. Yet, God had built such a case over these two years that when Paul
finally appeared before Nero, he had no choice but to declare Paul and
Christianity “not guilty.”
As disciples, we are seeing some
things in Paul's life that "look" out of control. The stories are
there to teach us patience as we strive to work in the harvest, following
Christ during times when it seems like little is happening. Abiding in Christ
in the harvest means following His lead, even if it means what we're seeing
here. Knowing that the Lord always sees us and is always working makes all the
difference in the world.
Psalm
6
I can see these words coming
from David as he ran from Saul. With all that Paul had been through, he
probably could have written this psalm too, but I'd guess that Paul's maturity
in Christ kept him from experiencing some of these emotions.
Vs. 1-3 I don't think David was
physically sick. I think he was heartsick over the injustice of his situation
and the determination of his enemies. I can imagine that David thought the Lord
would "cure" this situation quickly, but as one year ran into another
I'll bet he dealt with some darkness of soul.
Vs. 4-5 David often promised to
praise God publicly before nations and the people. The point here is that he
couldn't do that if he were dead. He wanted God to save him.
Vs. 6-7 This sounds like
depression to me.
Vs. 8-10 At some point in
David's prayer, David strengthened himself in the Lord and realized the Lord
heard his prayer. Perhaps he remembered that the Lord had commanded Samuel to
anoint him as king when he was twelve. God would keep His promise since His
character is not subject to our problems and emotions. He remains true to His
Word.
V. 8 The first part of this
verse is verbatim to Matthew 7:23, And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you
workers of lawlessness.” You see this in the Greek, not in the
English translations.
Regardless of how we feel about
ourselves or our work in the harvest, we are defined by Him, not by our
feelings. He leads and we follow, whether we "feel" good or not. Look
at Paul's situation above.
Proverbs
18:20-21
I think these verses sort of
echo James' words on the tongue. If you control it, it brings you satisfaction.
If you let it control you, the tongue brings you ruin. I sure saw a lot of this
growing up.
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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