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.
AUGUST 20
Esther 8-10
Whoa, this is our last day in Esther. If Daniel had been considered an
historical book because of the history of the first six chapters, it would have
come immediately after 2 Chronicles. The history of those chapters in Daniel
would have prepared you to have a better understanding and appreciation for the
events here in Esther, and you'd have a better context for Ezra and Nehemiah in
general. Reading your Bible through every year eventually gives this to you,
because after two or three years, you'll be surprised by what you remember from
the entire Bible when you begin reading a certain book. It takes a few years
for the Spirit to get your saturation level to a certain place and to set up
all the connections between the different books and events. At that point, your
love and appreciation for the Lord begins to go deeper too.
Also, keep in mind as you read this, that what is recorded here
explains why the next king, Artaxerxes, will show such favor to the Jews, in
general, and to Ezra and Nehemiah, in particular. In God’s hands, disasters
lead to good things.
Just for fun, notice how often it says, Mordecai the Jew.
Esther 8
Vs. 1-2 This sudden turn of events looks surprising here, but if you know
the first six chapters of Daniel, you've seen this before and you just smile.
Vs. 3-8 A law or command of the Persians could not be revoked, even by
the king who issued it. This "rule" was thrown in the face of Darius
in Daniel 6, when he realized he had been tricked into putting Daniel in
danger. The king's suggestion here was to write another law that would help the
Jews.
Vs. 9-14 The genius in how this worked out was that the enemies of Jews
had had two months to be arrogant and make their intentions known, bragging
about what they were going to do to the Jews. Now the Jews knew who they were.
There were still nine months before the event, so everyone had time to prepare.
Vs. 15-17 Mordecai was now greatly honored. And he was a much different
man than Haman. Notice the result of this edict in comparison to the last edict
that left Susa and the entire empire in confusion. Many of the non-Jews in the
Persian Empire even began speaking Yiddish, acting Jewish and eating bagels.
Most nations in exile became absorbed in their surrounding culture and
ceased to exist. Here and in Daniel, you can see how God saved Israel as a
nation and showed them tremendous love and grace. When God makes a promise, it
is as good as, as well, it's as good as God Himself.
Esther 9
Vs. 1-10 Notice that in all of this, the Jews only defended themselves
against their enemies. They didn't take property or stuff.
Vs. 3-4 Apparently word about Mordecai spread throughout the entire
government, and the government officials in all of the empire decided to help
the Jews. How many times now has God let us know that Mordecai was becoming a
great and important man? And we're not done.
Vs. 11-15 Since Susa was the political capital of the empire, it is
interesting that this day of retribution was extended an extra day "on
Capitol Hill," or in "Parliament," so to speak. The fact that
Haman's sons were killed (v. 10), and their bodies spiked on the pole by
Haman's house, made a great demonstration of power and inspired fear in anyone
who dared to speak against the Jews.
Vs. 16-19 This is a summary of the entire event throughout the entire
Persian Empire.
Vs. 20-32 This is the official decree to make Purim a national Jewish
holiday. This holiday is never mentioned in Ezra or Nehemiah. The focus of both
of those books is the reestablishment of the worship of God in Jerusalem, and
that, according to the law of Moses.
Esther 10
Vs. 1-3 Note that it says that although Mordecai was second only to
King Ahasuerus, his greatness was primarily among the Jews. This is actually
the third time in biblical history that God put one of His people in high rank
in a foreign power. Joseph had a similar position in Egypt, with the king's
ring. But Daniel tops them all. While it is probable that Daniel held the Babylonian
government together during Nebuchadnezzar's seven years of grazing, on the
night when Babylon fell, Daniel was the only surviving ruler of the Babylonian
Empire. You would think that Iran (Persia) and Iraq (Babylon) would be
respectful of the blessing God brought to both empires through these men and
the Jews in general.
So, what do you take away from God's message in Esther? Think about
this.
Here are two things that I see.
First, God is always working for good, whether I hear His name or see
His hand. While I might rejoice in the "random, chance events" that
work for my good, saying they come from God, I also need to accept the same
kinds of "events" when they appear to be against me. They are still
from God, as we'll see in Job.
Second, disaster isn't a bad thing. Often it makes people show their
true feelings and loyalties. God can work these events to "good,"
according to my expectations, in a flash. If He chooses not to work them for
good according to my expectations (note the words of S, M, & A in Daniel
3), I still serve Him and trust Him. His goodness and purpose do not need to
meet any of my human expectations. He is always God, and is always good. Though
it sure is nice when the story turns out this cool. (If you liked this, you'll
love Daniel.)
1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
V. 27 It is good to be reminded that the church belongs to God, not us.
V. 28 I'm sure these words rang loud in the division in Corinth: God has appointed. God does this, not
us.
V. 31 There was a great desire for gifts in Corinth. We'll see this in
chapter 14.
1 Corinthians 13
It is interesting that this chapter is really corrective to an ongoing
conflict. No wonder it is used at so many weddings. J
Vs. 1-3 These verses are hyperbole and exaggeration. People who build a
doctrine from v. 1, that the gift of tongues is "angelic language,"
go too far. Every place in the NT where tongues are used, including chapter 14,
they are a known human language, though, unknown to the speaker. Even if this
wasn't exaggeration, it still wouldn't mean that the gift of tongues was
angelic; since in Acts 2, tongues were in understandable human languages.
In the same tone of exaggeration, Paul refers to the other gifts. Who
has prophetic powers and understands all mysteries and all knowledge and has
all faith so as to move mountains? No one, except Jesus, has had all of these.
Paul is exaggerating.
Vs. 4-7 The ESV follows the RSV in irritable
and resentful. The newer One Year Bible has a note for the literal
translation. Apparently resentful is
the emotional result of counting up wrongdoing. In a way it's helpful to know
what happens if you keep count. Stored up resentments are the hardest things to
work through with couples who have been married a long time.
Vs. 8-10 I'm just saying this so you know what's happening, but Paul is
preparing his argument against the misuse of "tongues" in chapter 14.
Notice that the gifts of prophecy and knowledge are linked with pass away, and then these two gifts are
repeated in the next sentence. The gift of tongues, on the other hand, is said
to cease, and then it is not repeated again in the chapter. Chapter 14 will
make this clearer.
V. 11 This is an interesting progression the way Paul states it:
Speaking, thinking, reasoning. Just trivia.
V. 12 This is a great verse.
V. 13 This is a great verse for weddings, and church.
Now, having warmed our hearts with love and having read the wonderful
analogy of gifts and the body and the church, you have to wonder why we need
the gifts. What's the body supposed to do? What is the function of the church?
Once you understand what the church is supposed to do and how it is supposed to
do it, you can make sense of the gifts. If you get the function of the church
wrong, or if you don't understand how the church is supposed to do what it's
supposed to do, the gifts will be defined into meaninglessness and theoretical
importance. In other words, if we don't know what we're doing here on earth, we
won't really need the gifts and they won't really matter to us whether we use
them or not. The church is meant to be working in the harvest. If the church
does anything else or if any other function becomes its focus, like music and
worship, then the gifts and the functioning of the members together lose their
meaning.
Psalm 37:1-11
This psalm is similar to Psalm 119 in that each stanza begins with a
successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In Psalm 119 it's the same pattern,
except that all the sentences within the stanza begin with that same letter.
The more I read these psalms, the more impressed I am with how well
Jesus and Paul knew them. As I'm reading over this portion for today, I'm
constantly being jogged to think of something Paul said in Romans or something
Jesus said. In fact, Jesus’ teaching to His disciples sounds like so much of
this.
Vs. 1-2 Not that any of us fret over these things, but we do. And
frankly, when we do, they don't fade fast enough. I guess David and the Spirit
are telling us to be patient and wait on the Lord.
Vs. 3-4 Notice the contrast here to the past two verses. It is almost
as if to say, "Don't think about them. Trust
in the Lord." But it goes beyond trusting the Lord. We are to delight
in the Lord. Only in delighting in the Lord can the Lord nurture our hearts so
that our desires revolve around Him. He gives us our desires, in that He
teaches us to desire what is really satisfying.
Vs. 3-5 are good verses to memorize.
Vs. 5-6 Committing our way to the Lord is the next command. We don't
need to defend our honor. The Lord will do that.
Vs. 7-9 Waiting on the Lord is a command too, and this one is tough. It
says twice that we are to wait. Notice too that it mentions twice that we
shouldn't fret or let our minds be consumed by these people. If you are
interested, read Romans 12 and notice that there are three references in that
chapter to not retaliating against abuse. I think Paul knew this psalm.
Vs. 10-11 This is what God promises if we set our hearts on Him and
wait. I think Jesus might have known this psalm too.
When you see what God did in Esther, how would you put the message of
this psalm together with what you read in Esther?
Proverbs 21:23-24
V. 23 Amen!
V. 24 This scoffing is at wisdom apparently. And his mouth probably got
him in a lot of trouble, too.
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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