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AUGUST 4
This is another “red letter,” “go-out-and-get-yourself-a-Frappuccino”
day. You are finishing 2 Chronicles and beginning 1 Corinthians.
2 Chronicles 35-36
Believe it or not, Ezra is wrapping up 2 Chronicles. You look at the
amount of space he is giving Josiah and how little he will give the kings after
Josiah and realize that Ezra is trying to make an important point to the people
reading this history. The revival under Josiah came by God’s grace. As
spectacular as it was, it only took one generation to reverse all of the
positive influence that the Lord had brought in under Josiah. Hope is always
found in following the Lord, not in following men.
2 Chronicles 35
Vs. 1-6 In putting the worship of Israel in order, notice that Josiah
had given the Levites the task of teaching all of Israel, as God had meant them
to do. All of the priests and Levites were ready to serve the people at the
Passover. Josiah followed all that David and Solomon had set in order, and now
he had Exodus through Deuteronomy to guide him in the preparation. Notice the
reference to the ark of the covenant. This will be the last time we will hear
of it. Apparently it had been moved out of the Holy of Holies. It was put back
by the Levites, and they were told not to carry it in the procession that was
part of the Passover feast. Sometime after this the ark was taken or destroyed.
Vs. 7-9 Josiah led by example and others willingly followed. Not only
that, but Josiah gave of himself and his resources, not just to be an example,
but to enable the people to come to the Lord in worship and devotion. Judah was
in decline, and the chaos caused by the Assyrians brought enough instability
and lawlessness, that the people began migrating to Jerusalem and no longer
were supporting themselves from their lands. By this time most of the people
would have been pretty poor. Josiah’s generosity was infectious.
Vs. 10-14 The Book of Moses
was Genesis-Deuteronomy. Josiah had this and they followed it. Notice the
references to the sons of Aaron. They
considered those books to be precious and they respected and obeyed what was
written in them. We need to have that same wonder for the Word, and
particularly for the Gospels and Acts, our first five books.
Vs. 15-19 Just as David had designed it, Josiah had the singers and
gatekeepers participating in worship. The sincerity and power of this Passover
is expressed here. Imagine this, no other king, not even David or Solomon or
Hezekiah, had honored God this way.
Vs. 20-27 Ezra is skipping ahead now 13 years after this Passover to
continue the story and get Josiah killed. Ezra's point in the book has now been
made regarding leadership and regarding God's grace to this nation. Now it's
time to end the story. This morning I was reading about John the Baptist, and
it made me think the same thing about Josiah. God just wanted him out of the
way so He could continue His plan.
V. 21 In a way this was unnecessary. Josiah was not a fighting king. As
the Egyptian army went through his land they would have looted and pillaged the
towns along the way. It must have been that Josiah had seen God blessing so
much of his work that he thought he would be blessed by God in fighting Egypt.
I wonder if he asked God about this.
V. 22 How would Josiah have known Pharaoh’s words were from God? I
guess he should have asked a prophet. He had Jeremiah standing there and could
have asked him. Also, it wasn't a good idea to imitate Ahab's trick, especially
since it didn't work for Ahab. Actually, it was probably a common ploy among
kings. But if God is with you, why bother?
V. 25 This was a huge loss and major event for Israel. We never hear of
them singing of the loss of David or anyone else. Not only that, Jeremiah was
inspired by the Spirit to write a lament and sing it. Not only that, to this day means it was sung all the
way through the 70-year exile and up to the time Ezra was writing this, 100
years after the first return of the people. That is a great honor to Josiah.
Vs. 26-27 Josiah doesn't have anything said negatively about him. In
reading this, I think his time was over. He had done what God put him on the
earth to do, and now it was time for God to retire Josiah and bring judgment on
Judah. As an act of grace, although the kings who follow Josiah are bad kings,
during Josiah's revival of Israel, God was making a way to save Israel during
their exile in Babylon. The national revival seems to have ended, but it just
went underground and was deported. God would fan it to life again through the
hearts of four teenage boys and a very unusual prophet named Ezekiel. And too,
Jeremiah was also a product of Josiah’s revival.
2 Chronicles 36
Vs. 1-4 We’ve seen this before in 2 Kings. To show that he was in
charge, the Pharaoh removed the king appointed by the people and appointed
Jehoiakim to be king.
Vs. 5-8 This began the Babylonian exile when Daniel and his friends
were taken. This is the first deportation. Thankfully Jehoiakim was obedient to
Neb for three years (2 Kings 24:1), giving the Lord time to establish Dan &
Co. in Babylon. We get some new information here. Somehow Jehoiakim was
captured, without Jerusalem being approached by the Babylonian army. Maybe he
was on vacation. Jehoiakim was either released or escaped and returned to
Jerusalem where he died and was given the burial of a donkey. Nebuchadnezzar
was mad and came to Jerusalem again, but even Neb knew the fear of God by this
time.
Vs. 9-10 This was the second deportation when Ezekiel was taken along
with 12,000 skilled workers. Now there was no tech support in Israel. This left
the country destitute. Neb also took more out of the temple. It could be that
he took the ark. As we saw in Kings, Jehoiachin’s surrender of the city was in
obedience to Jeremiah’s preaching. His obedience would be rewarded later.
Vs. 11-14 Zedekiah was the final king of Judah; and because of this
rebellion, the city and temple were destroyed. He was not only ungodly, but he
was also a coward. His nobles led the kingdom. Notice that in spite of all the
bad things that were happening, Zedekiah would not humble himself before the
Lord. In Jeremiah we will see the personal conversation that Jeremiah had with
this wimpy king.
Vs. 15-16 This is Ezra's commentary. The returnees needed to watch
their hearts too.
Vs. 17-21 This is a summary of Nebuchadnezzar’s final visit to
Jerusalem. The destruction was total and the violence done to the people was
shocking. Yet God had warned them that this would happen. The fact that Neb
found and released Jeremiah shows that he understood that God was using him to
bring judgment to Israel. It is likely that Neb had Daniel advising him.
V. 21 Apparently no king of Israel ever gave the land its Sabbatical
seventh year when there would be no sowing or reaping. The 70 years of the
exile were designated by God for every Sabbath year that was missed. This means
that Israel had gone 490 years without giving the land its Sabbath. They had
never obeyed God in this. That ought to be shocking and make us think about what
we might be neglecting. It is probably something very simple, something we
might think we’re actually doing and something totally indispensible in our
devotion to Jesus.
Vs. 22-23 Years before this, while Hezekiah was king, Isaiah had
predicted that a king named Cyrus would send the people back to Israel out of
exile (Isaiah 45:1). This is great grace on God's part to preserve His people
during their exile. Even in Deuteronomy, the Lord already knew the people would
rebel; and He knew how He would save and preserve them in exile.
After 2 Chronicles the Hebrew Bible has the books that naturally follow
the end of the exile: Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. All three of these people
lived after the return of the people and during the Persian Empire. But what
Ezra doesn't mention here is the event that happened just before Cyrus told the
Jews they could go home. It's the purrrrfect kid's story (Daniel 6) and it is
much deeper than anyone realizes.
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Back in my first year of marriage with Beth, sometime before Easter,
she came up with the idea to memorize 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, so that by Easter
of 1979 we would have it memorized and could say it to each other. You do lots
of crazy things your first year of marriage. During that time, I was driving
from Waukegan to Kenosha every day for school, 45 minutes there and 45 minutes
back. This was in the days before smart phones and texting. So I memorized. I
really enjoyed those few verses, and so I set a goal to memorize all of 1
Corinthians 15 by Easter. And I did it. Now, I was becoming a memorizing
junkie; and I still had that long drive every day, so by the time I graduated
from Parkside in May 1981, I had memorized all of 1 Corinthians. What a
blessing that has been in my ministry and personal life. That was over 30 years
ago, and Beth has been with the Lord since 2002. Yet every couple of weeks when
I go over 1 Corinthians, I think that this was all because of the suggestion
and encouragement of the girl God gave me who was my dearest friend on earth.
Thanks, Beth.
V. 1 Notice Sosthenes. Last time we saw him was in Acts 18:17 as an
unbeliever getting beaten up. Now he is a brother, and it is important that
Paul is mentioning his name here because he was a respected person and could
validate the issues mentioned in this letter. Probably, when some of the
Corinthians heard his name being mentioned by Paul in this letter, they said,
"oh, oh."
Vs. 2-3 All those who in every
place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is an important message
and connection for this very "elite" church. Paul will use words like
this to bring them back to earth several times. Paul will show them that “they”
are out of step in their pride and arrogance. Behind their criticism of Paul
might be the suspicion that he gave this church harder instructions than he had
given other churches. This church certainly thought they were better than other
churches because of the spiritual gifts they had received. Paul will address
all of these things.
Vs. 4-9 This church burst into life with all sorts of manifestations of
the Spirit. In chapters 12-14 Paul will "minister" to them to give
the right perspective on these gifts, especially tongues. The main church in
Corinth was directly next door to the synagogue, and I think this accounts for
the outpouring of tongues and the other sign gifts.
Vs. 10-16 The problem Paul begins to address here will continue until
the end of chapter 4.
V. 11 Chloe's people probably
signifies a church that met at this person's house. Chloe's people were
"snitches." Sosthenes might have been a part of that group or he was
the messenger telling of issues in the church. He also brought with him a list
of questions the leaders/people had for Paul.
Vs. 12-13 The Corinthians were focusing on names and purity of
teaching. We’ll see in 2 Corinthians that they had self-appointed “super-apostles,”
who were causing people to focus inward. We’ll see that they had not only lost
sight of the harvest, but some of their groups were a horrible testimony for
Christ in Corinth.
Vs. 14-17 It is hard to read these verses and think, as some people do,
that baptism is necessary for salvation. Paul didn't think it was. It is the
preaching of the gospel that is vital for salvation. Baptism is a sign of
devotion to Christ and is important, but not vital to salvation.
What we’ll see from Paul is that our message and walk in the harvest
always remain simple and focused, if we are following our Lord and living only
for Him, doing His work and reaching out to the lost.
Psalm 27:1-6
Laura already had the last verse of Psalm 27 memorized, so she
encouraged me to memorize the whole thing with her and we did. Surprisingly,
this has been a major blessing and a help during a very crucial time of our
lives. Once again, I’ve been blessed by the suggestion and encouragement of the
girl God has given me to be my dearest friend on earth. Thanks, Laura.
If you're going to memorize this, look at a couple of different
translations. We memorized it in the KJV; and I like the sense of the psalm
better there, particularly the last verse, than in the ESV. It's too bad they
split the psalm over today and tomorrow because David is driving toward the
proclamation at the end...Wait on the
Lord. I'd suggest reading the entire psalm today and tomorrow.
V. 1 This is the statement of what God had become to David in all of
his years of trouble.
V. 2 This is something David had seen over and over again during these
years of running.
V. 3 Imagine what it would be like to have this kind of strength of
heart and confidence. This is peace that knowing and abiding in our Lord can
give us.
V. 4 This became the great passion of David’s heart. This is why David
had to have the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem, why he wanted to build a
temple for the Lord, and why even when he was told he couldn’t build the
temple, he still sought the Lord for the temple plans and amassed materials for
its building.
V. 5 This is the first indication that David is still experiencing troubles.
He knows the Lord will save him.
V. 6 Another passion of David was to give testimony to God’s
deliverance and mercy.
Proverbs 20:20-21
V. 20 I'm sure there are different ways to understand what lamp means, but if it is
"understanding," then I think I get this. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your
eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23but if your eye is bad, your whole body will
be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the
darkness” (Matt. 6:22-23). Jesus was talking about our ability to
understand.
So many people are taught to blame and curse their parents, without ever noticing that we are on a dying
planet where every one of us is diseased and dying. I recently had to go back
through some photos of my grandparents and great grandparents and even beyond.
It is all so sad. One lost generation behaved like lost people influencing the
next lost generation. Someone who was dear to me in all of that mess began
cursing those around her early in life, and you could say that her light went
out a long time ago. Understanding God's Word and His compassion for a dying
world gives us compassion and understanding and keeps our lamp seeing clearly.
V. 21 This is another one of those "understanding" kinds of
proverbs. Just like those who curse their parents, these people don't have
enough understanding to know that what comes to us too easily won't be
appreciated.
omething we need to work on, we should take it to heart, humble
ourselves and submit to His wisdom.
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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