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the day's reading, http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/. This
site allows you to select from several languages and several English
translations.
AUGUST 12
Nehemiah 3:15-5:13
Nehemiah 3:15-32
One major miracle here is how the people worked together. Who cares
about moving mountains? This kind of unity makes it apparent that God is at
work. This chapter is a summary of how the work was organized and where
different groups worked. The next chapter will tell of the challenges the
people faced as they worked.
The description of this chapter flows counter-clockwise. Nehemiah began
at the sheep gate and ended at the sheep gate. If you look at the map of
Jerusalem at the end of this document, you can follow this. The "City of
David" was below the valley gate and the water gate. During David's early
years that was all that was walled. The land above this city was lived in, but
it wasn't part of the city. Solomon built the northern part of Jerusalem and
walled it in when he built the temple.
Nehemiah 4
This chapter has to do with the threat from outside. Notice how engaged
Nehemiah was in praying and encouraging the people. You have the sense that he
was working right among them.
Vs. 1-3 This wasn't just jeering. They had some military power. It was
a good thing that Nehemiah showed up with loyal Persian soldiers.
Vs. 4-5 Nehemiah appealed to the Lord for help. The opposition was also
opposition to God and God would take care of it. Nehemiah could have gotten
mired in political fighting, and maybe even won, but that wasn't his mission.
V. 6 The entire project took about eight weeks, so maybe this was four
weeks into the building. These problems occurred when the people were well into
the work and weary. Now it was about to get worse.
Vs. 7-14 This was the main threat. Ultimately, the way Nehemiah
addressed the problem was through prayer.
Vs. 10-12 Word was
spreading outside of Jerusalem into Judah that the people were weary. So the
enemies thought this was a good time to attack, but the people in Judah got
wind of this and warned Nehemiah & Co. 10 times.
V. 12 reads better
in the RSV or NKJV. When the Jews who
lived by them came they said to us ten times, "From all the places where
they live they will come up against us."
Vs. 13-14 Nehemiah
didn't just pray. His hope was in God to save them, and he encouraged the
people by making some strategic show of force and by speaking to the people to
encourage them.
Vs. 15-18 This
made the work go slower, but it showed the opposition that the Jews knew of
their plans to attack. Verse 18 shows that Nehemiah was right there with the
people.
Vs. 19-20 This was
their alarm system and warning plan.
Vs. 21-23 This
summary shows that Nehemiah was right there leading and sweating with the
people. They even slept in their clothes. That reminds me of going to camp when
I was a kid.
I’m impressed by
Nehemiah’s journal of this. He was very close to the people, encouraging them,
working with them, constant in prayer, working long days, sacrificing with the
people. He is a great example of a disciple, who makes disciples, in the
harvest.
Nehemiah 5:1-13
This chapter has
to do with the threat from within. Some of this will spill into tomorrow because
Nehemiah continues with a description of his mercy to the people and his work
to strengthen Israel.
Vs. 1-5 The
situation was that the wealthy and leaders were taking advantage of the people
in these hard times and during this building. If the people were working in
Jerusalem non-stop for two months, it meant they were neglecting their
livelihoods and farms. Instead of the wealthy and leaders opening up their
barns and freely giving to these people for the good of Israel and the nation
of God, they were shrewdly ruining the people. The people had to borrow money
to buy food. When they couldn't pay, they were being forced to sell their
children into slavery. Now the people were really losing heart.
Vs. 6-13 Nehemiah
was mad. In 13:25 we’ll see that he had a bit of a temper. When you look at v.
10 and then the rest of chapter 5 that we’ll read tomorrow, Nehemiah and those
immediately under him were sacrificing to help the people and the nation.
Vs. 6-7 I think
Nehemiah gave himself some time to cool down.
According to the
law, the Jews were not allowed to exact interest from one another. Worse than
this was the disregard of these people for the health and unity of the nation.
The miracle is in
vs. 12 and 13. The leaders obeyed and Nehemiah made them commit to a covenant.
Nehemiah also added some drama to this event.
Ezra showed in 1
& 2 Chronicles that a godly leader led the people both in organizing and in
worship, both socially and spiritually. Nehemiah was that godly leader and an
example of a passionate disciple.
1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Vs. 25-28 The distressful context of these verses helps you understand
what Paul is saying. The main idea is to live with your treasure in heaven, not
on earth, and to live with your full devotion on Christ and not on anything
else.
V. 25 People who were engaged is the special group that is being
addressed here. That is clear from the context, although the ESV says betrothed; it is interesting that the
actual word Paul and the Spirit used was the word for "virgin." It
was assumed that there would be no sex before marriage.
Vs. 29-31 Here, Paul changed the tone to address everyone in the
church. Notice that for Paul, the appointed
time was drawing close, and in v. 31, the form of this world is passing away. He was not referring to the
coming of Christ, but to the judgment on that generation of Jews. The Roman
Empire was caving in; Jerusalem was about to be destroyed, and Christians were
about to be tested.
Vs. 32-35 Again, keep this in context. Paul is addressing all of the unmarried,
including the engaged, saying that if they are anxious in caring for one
another as married couples, they might have a hard time taking risks and
following Christ during that time of distress.
Vs. 36-38 This again is addressed to the engaged and fits perfectly to
the context. If the passions were strong, they should marry. I often quote v.
36 and leave out “let them marry.” Then I wait for a second and look at all the
wide-open eyes and then correct myself. The group is usually relieved to see that
marriage, not sex, is the solution to passion. So actually, this is saying that
the proper context for sexuality is marriage, right?
Vs. 39-40 In Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured for Christ, he
tells of a Christian woman who was targeted by the Romanian police. They waited
for her wedding day, crashed the wedding just as they were pronounced man and
wife and arrested her. This is sort of what Paul had in mind here. Waiting
until the storm of persecution passed over was what he and the Spirit were advising.
As disciples in the harvest, all of us are asked to lay some things
aside for the good of the kingdom and for the harvest. In the crisis Paul was
referring to, it would have been better to wait and see what would happen. Most
of us will never face such life and death situations, but the Spirit still
nudges us to do without, for the sake of what is happening now. One of the
first principles Jesus taught about following Him was denying ourselves, taking
up our cross daily and following Him.
Psalm 32
It is hard to say when this psalm was written, but it is supposed David
penned this after he was confronted by Nathan for his sin against Uriah and
Bathsheba.
Vs. 1-2 I wonder how Paul felt when he read this psalm after what he
had been doing to Christians and then knew that he had been wrong. Paul quotes
these two verses in Romans chapter 4, showing that God forgives sin by grace,
not by works. I’ll bet these verses helped Paul.
Vs. 3-4 This suggests that David went a long time without confessing.
Actually, David "hid" his sin for over a year and only confessed when
confronted.
V. 5 If this is the situation after David was confronted by Nathan,
this acknowledgement was less noble than this verse implies. On the other hand,
we have seen other kings who sinned, like Solomon and Asa, and never
acknowledged their sin regardless who confronted them.
Vs. 6-7 These are very interesting verses. The time to repent and call
on God is when the heart is soft. God can always be found, but in the flood we
often do not have the presence of mind. When God touches us, we need to
respond.
Vs. 8-9 David is sharing his experience and advice. When it comes to
repentance and humbling ourselves before God, we shouldn't be donkeys about it.
Vs. 10-11 David’s hallmark was his understanding of the steadfast love of the Lord. The reason
David could rejoice and why the wicked
remain in their sorrows is simple -
humility and repentance. David fell and faced great consequences, yet he still
repented and humbled himself. The Lord restored him and David lived to rejoice
in the Lord. We all fall, but we need to take the advice of David and the
Spirit to return to the Lord, acknowledge our sin and begin honoring Him in our
lives.
Proverbs 21:5-7
It seems that vs. 6 and 7 are examples of trying to get what you want
with haste. The two favorite modes, it seems, are lying and violence.
More and more I see that following Christ in the harvest is bearing
fruit with patience and diligence. Following God means being observant of what
He is doing, and following at His pace, which is seldom a quick one. This is
what makes for a fruitful walk with Christ in the harvest, and I think it is
what is meant by abiding in Christ.
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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