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SEPTEMBER 10
Isaiah 6-7
This is holy ground today. Today we get a couple of great portions of
Scripture.
Isaiah 6
V. 1 Uzziah had reigned for 52 years. The only ruler that two
generations of people had ever known was dead. The king who had kept peace and
brought stability to the nation was gone. Humanly speaking, everything was
shaken. Although Uzziah had messed up, his sin had taught him humility and the
fear of God. The world was growing very unstable. Now what? It may be that
Isaiah was in the temple praying with this concern moving his heart. God had
Isaiah just where He wanted him.
Vs. 2-3 This is the only time that seraphim are mentioned by name in
the Bible. The description is interesting since they have six wings; and the
four living creatures in Revelation 4 have six wings and also say, Holy, holy, holy... It must be that they
are the same kind of angels. The living creatures of Ezekiel have four wings.
The Cherubim, like over the ark of the covenant, have two wings. Normal angels
fly, like Gabriel, but it never mentions him or Michael having wings. I'm
always amazed that these angels naturally declare God's holiness. They will do
this in Revelation, too. Certainly this wasn't scripted; it was their natural
impulse. Whatever is happening among the angels that we don't see, God's
holiness is a very emotional and important issue for them.
Also, notice that they say, and see, that the whole world is full of
His glory. They can't help but see it. We don't see this yet. Because of the
body of death, we see as through a glass eye, darkly. (That's Mark Twain.J)
Vs. 4- 5 I don't think Isaiah was any worse than any of us. Why would
God have chosen to use him if he had had a vile mouth. Still, like Job, when
Isaiah saw the Lord, he realized that much of what he had said was complaining,
ignorant, untrue and unjust regarding the Lord. Think back to Job’s words in
Job 42:1-6.
Vs. 6-7 It is interesting that God wanted to use Isaiah's mouth, so we
have this visual of cleansing. But really, the cleansing was of the heart, from
which the mouth sometimes utters stupid stuff.
V. 8 This is Isaiah's commissioning.
Vs. 9-13 The basis of Isaiah's message to Israel will be judgment. He
will become a testimony to them of their refusal to have faith in God, which
will result in hard hearts, blind eyes and deaf ears. But judgment will also
bring mercy.
V. 9 Jesus quotes this.
V. 10 Paul quotes this.
A remnant would be saved from the exile, and through that seed would
come the Christ and the future nation that will fulfill God's will for Israel.
Isaiah 7
Vs. 1-9 The southern kingdom of Judah was almost always at war with the
northern kingdom of Israel. The occasion of this distress is the alliance of
Syria and Israel against Judah.
V. 4 Notice how the Lord tells Ahaz to chill. Ahaz was to show quiet
strength without anger or pride. This is a good word to us. In 2 Kings 16:2 we
hear that Ahaz was not a God-honoring king. It is amazing to think that God is
going to make this kind of a promise to an ungodly king. But then, think of all
the grace God showed to the northern kingdom through Elijah and Elisha. This
should teach us something about loving our enemies.
Vs. 10-17 So it is the fear of the people of Judah facing certain
destruction that brings the occasion of one of the greatest prophecies of the
Bible. Think of that. How often have we seen impending danger be turned into
praise for the glory of God? Unfortunately it is a part of living on this
planet of death. Fortunately there is a Savior who loves us, who we can trust
and follow.
V. 14 The word for virgin can also mean young woman, but what's the
point? In order for this to have been a sign, it had to be miraculous. It had
to have been miraculous back in Ahaz's day and then also surrounding the birth
of Jesus. Somewhere, a virgin known to the community in Jerusalem would have a
child. Although it would be a miraculous event, it wouldn't be a child like
Jesus, the Son of God.
Why this kind of sign? Well, prophetically, it makes sense; but in that
day, it must have been a sign that although the world was falling apart and
although the northern kingdom would go into exile under Assyria, this child
would grow in peace. You know how you hear people say that they don't want to
have children because of the world they would be bringing them into. God shows
that the kingdom of Judah will be safe for this child; even though, at that
point, everything looked like it was coming to an end.
Knowing Christ, we really know what the world is like, and it's far
more dangerous than anyone could ever guess. Yet even so, the hope in this
world is symbolized and personified by Immanuel, Jesus, God with us.
V. 15 The curds and honey
will be explained below.
Vs. 16-17 The "razor" God will use to "shave" the
kings of Syria and Israel will be Assyria. This event will be a landmark event
rivaled only by the splitting of Israel into the northern and southern
kingdoms. Assyria would take the northern kingdom into exile and those people
would be lost to Israel forever. Remember that people of all twelve tribes were
also living in the kingdom of Judah.
Vs. 18-19 According
to the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT (p. 1049), the flies from Egypt are
Egyptian soldiers and the bees are Assyrian soldiers. In the years of battle
ahead they would occupy and waste the land of Israel.
Vs. 20-25 I've heard the curds and honey explained as the way Assyria laid waste to the countries (BKC-OT, p. 1049). Vineyards and crops didn't fare well. The animals would be taken by the invading troops. The nursing cows would be deprived of their young. So, without cattle to eat, you would have to live off the milk and cheese (you didn't want to kill your cows for meat). Since there were so few cattle, the wild flowers would grow and so would the bee population. If you were hungry, you would have plenty of wild honey. Israel was said to be a land flowing with milk and honey as God promised at the beginning of the nation. There it meant Israel was a land of plenty. In this context, milk and honey meant a lack of plenty.
Imagine what it would have meant for Isaiah to be commissioned seeing the glory of God, but commissioned to bring a message of impending judgment and salvation only being found in turning to God. We don't have to imagine that at all. As disciples, we were captured by the glory of Christ, His love and sacrifice; and we are commissioned to bring that same message to a dying world. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16).
Vs. 20-25 I've heard the curds and honey explained as the way Assyria laid waste to the countries (BKC-OT, p. 1049). Vineyards and crops didn't fare well. The animals would be taken by the invading troops. The nursing cows would be deprived of their young. So, without cattle to eat, you would have to live off the milk and cheese (you didn't want to kill your cows for meat). Since there were so few cattle, the wild flowers would grow and so would the bee population. If you were hungry, you would have plenty of wild honey. Israel was said to be a land flowing with milk and honey as God promised at the beginning of the nation. There it meant Israel was a land of plenty. In this context, milk and honey meant a lack of plenty.
Imagine what it would have meant for Isaiah to be commissioned seeing the glory of God, but commissioned to bring a message of impending judgment and salvation only being found in turning to God. We don't have to imagine that at all. As disciples, we were captured by the glory of Christ, His love and sacrifice; and we are commissioned to bring that same message to a dying world. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16).
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Vs. 16-21 These verses kind of explain themselves. Note that these super-apostles
took the liberty of striking people, possibly thinking of Nehemiah at the end
of that book. In order to show the Corinthians the ungodly mindset and
attitudes of the false apostles, Paul would have to, uncomfortably, show how
the Lord had worked with him. It will be a shock to see how the Lord confirmed
Paul. In v. 21 Paul's words are very pointed.
Vs. 21-29 Paul wrote something like this before in his very famous
words in Philippians 3, but here there is a little more attitude. Actually the
tone here seems to be one of sorrow rather than sarcasm or irony. Paul seems to
be hurt that the Corinthians hadn't defended him.
V. 22 This is how we know the super-apostles were Jews. Corinth was a
very, very Jewish church, and so these people found it easy to show they were
true blue Jews. Remember, Paul was born in Tarsus in today's Turkey, not in
Jerusalem. So Paul lacked that qualification on his pedigree.
Note that in this catalog of sufferings and mishaps, many things are
mentioned that are not in Acts. The shipwrecks are not mentioned, and the one
at the end of Acts hasn't even happened yet. We know of one beating in Philippi
at the hands of the Romans, but nothing of these five at the hands of the Jews.
That means that Paul received 195 lashes. Paul sounds like they should have had
an action figure made after him. His theme song could have been, “Man of
Constant Sorrows.” Even though Paul could have mentioned his triumphs, all he
is mentioning as proof of his apostleship is his suffering for Christ. That is
a very interesting mindset. You don't find too many people who see their
sufferings as God's confirmation.
Vs. 28-29 And this alone would be enough to choke a goat. I'm sure the
Corinthians understood that they were a case in point.
Vs. 30-33 This sounds cool, but I think the idea is that of being
hunted like a criminal. I'm willing to bet that none of the Jewish super-apostles
had anything like this happen to them. In fact, because they were trying to
bring Christianity back to the law, they might have had some approval with the
orthodox. Paul could have talked about the disciples made in Damascus, but Paul
pointed to his suffering and humbling.
What is interesting here is that God did all of this to Paul. The Lord
“made” Paul in the harvest; Paul did not make himself. Our ideas of our heroes,
even today, are driven by the world we live in. Jesus said, for he who is least among you all is the one
who is great. The Lord of the harvest made Paul the man he became. It
wasn't Paul's education or guts. Few of us would be willing to suffer as Paul
did. We should just look to following our Lord in the harvest and trying to stay
the least of all and servant of all. And we might also need to view our
"failures" and "weaknesses" as those things that confirm
that we are on the right track following the Lord.
Psalm 54
These were still the early days of David running from Saul. David had
600 rag-tag men and their families following him through desperately rough
terrain. There were many, many troubled days and ups and downs. Now, Jonathan
came to encourage David in the Lord. He left, and then David heard that Saul
was on his way and the Ziphites were telling Saul where to find him. It was
time to run again.
Vs. 1-3 Notice that David needed salvation and vindication. Not only
was it hard to stay alive, it was hard to be regarded as a worthy leader when
times were tough and lies were being spread.
Vs. 4-5 God's faithfulness was in response to His
promise to David and His promise to all who choose to acknowledge God's name. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my
Father who is in heaven (Matt. 10:32).
Vs. 6-7 We have
come to see how suffering and being delivered moved David to constantly promise
to declare God's faithfulness and deliverance. We see David's commitment to
praise the Lord clearly in Psalm 40:9-10. Here, we have to wonder if David was
writing this in retrospect and had already been delivered, or if David knew
from his experience following the Lord, that he knew deliverance would come. At
this point David was still running, and so this was written by faith, following
a God who was as good as His promise. We do that too, following our Lord in the
harvest, facing daily uncertainties and challenges, reaching the lost and
making disciples, who make disciples. Yet in faith, we know the Lord will use
us and use our suffering and emotional ups and downs. We just stay at His feet
in His Word, following, and even now, we can praise Him for the victory to
come.
Proverbs 23:1-3
I've actually applied these verses. There will be something similar in
Proverbs 25. What I see in them is to be cautious in humility when you are in a
place where you are to represent the Lord. This is sort of along the lines of
what Jesus said about not taking the prominent place in a gathering, but rather
taking a place in back. When we represent the Lord, we should be cautious and
respectful and never lose sight of the situation. Too often we relax, laugh too
loud, speak too openly, eat too excessively; and the result is that we are
caught off guard and do not realize we've gone too far and endangered our
testimony in the harvest. An ambassador is always on duty representing his
Lord.
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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