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.
SEPTEMBER 11
Isaiah 8-9
Today we have another prophecy concerning Jesus, delivered during
desperate times. The situation in Judah would get even worse, but these
prophecies would remind the people following God that He was still present with
them. The same is true for us today. Regardless of who is in government, we
know that until the coming of Jesus, things will get worse on earth. Yet, Jesus
is Immanuel, God with us, guiding us in the harvest, giving us joy and fruit as
we live under the radar doing His work, reaching the lost and making disciples,
who make disciples.
Isaiah 8
Vs. 1-3 Although one child had already been foretold as a sign that God
would stop the attack coming from Israel and Syria, now another child is
foretold. The first child, Immanuel, would be born in this distress, but would
live and thrive, being a symbol of God’s presence and peace. But when would
there be a breaking of the enemy? That time would be signified by this second
child, a son of Isaiah and his wife, the
prophetess.
So, if you follow the math it would be nine months of pregnancy and
then the birth. Then before the child can say “dada” or “mama” (another year?),
Assyria could take captive Israel and Syria. The people of Judah would have to
wait patiently for maybe 18 months.
By the way, Maher-shalal-hash-baz
is the longest name in the Bible. Surprisingly, it’s not in my spellchecker.
Vs. 5-10 Because the northern kingdom didn’t listen to God, they will
be smashed by the coming of Assyria and the destruction will reach “Immanuel” (Jerusalem?),
but Assyria will be shattered, proving that God is with them. This will happen
in the years of Hezekiah.
You notice that v. 10 also has the name Immanuel (God is with us) in it. My German Bible has both as Immanuel.
Vs. 11-22 This is a warning to Isaiah to stand firm. Judah will prove
to be utterly faithless and ungrateful to God. King Ahaz, rather than honoring
God for this deliverance, will honor and revere the king of Assyria. In spite
of the promises that God has made, the people, led by the king, will see deliverance
as coming from Assyria. Isaiah is not to lose heart or stop following God
during these years of sin and arrogance. This is where you understand Jesus’ words
from Matthew 13:15 as He quotes Isaiah 6:10.
Vs. 11-15 Isaiah was to fear the Lord and not give into interpreting
truth as the people did. Living during Ahaz's ungodliness was going to be hard.
Equally as hard would be watching people get swept into Ahaz's beliefs and
lifestyle. Those who resisted God would be broken and taken.
Vs. 16-18 Isaiah and his children would be testimonies against the
people. Remember too that his children had special names that would be signs to
those who believed. Isaiah and his family would hunker down and wait on the
Lord.
Vs. 19-22 The people would actually ask Isaiah to inquire of the dead on their behalf. God's argument here is,
"Why call on the dead when you have a living God?" Since there was no
good answer, all that was left for them was judgment.
Isaiah 9
Vs. 1-7 You will recognize these prophecies as having to do with Jesus.
This is holy ground. The connection here is that destruction and threat always
came upon Israel from the north. The two tribes mentioned here were northern,
so they are the peoples who would feel the fear the greatest because they would
be hit first.
Everlasting Father could be referring to the king being called
a father to the people. This wasn't a heavenly designation, but how those whom
he ruled over would regard Jesus.
Just as God gave Isaiah two prophecies dealing with children who would
symbolize God’s presence and His deliverance, now God is giving Isaiah a view
of a coming child who would be the ultimate Savior of Israel. The darkness of
the Tribulation would be the ultimate threat against Israel; but then, their
ultimate Savior would come. In much of Isaiah, Isaiah did not see the gap
between the first and second comings of Jesus, and so he went from the birth
and coming of the Messiah to His physical reign on earth. This was obviously
confusing during Jesus’ time; but then, all they really needed to do was ask
Jesus.
Vs. 8-21 The cause of this distress from the north, at that moment, was
the northern tribes of Israel being joined to the kingdom and armies of Syria.
There are three divisions in this section, all ending with the phrase, For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Vs. 8-12 God had been sending word to the northern kingdom for years,
most notably through Elijah and Elisha. The people didn't listen. Instead they
thought, "Whatever." In v. 10 they just put a good face on things and
said they would rebuild. But God promised His unfailing wrath in v. 12.
Vs. 13-17 The people didn't repent or turn to God either. As a result,
God wouldn't bless them or allow them to prosper. He allowed them to weaken, to
become corrupt and His hand was stretched out still against them.
Vs. 18-21 Over the years the land was consumed little by little, and
the people were miserable. But they didn't learn or turn to God, and God kept His
hand stretched out against Israel.
This reminds me of
the verse in Romans 5:11, More than that,
we also rejoice in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have now received reconciliation. Without being reconciled to God, there
is no peace and there is no reason to rejoice in God. Jesus makes the
difference, but people need to turn to Jesus. That is our message in the
harvest.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
You’ll have a great time discussing this in a group. Having read Job
and so much of the OT, this is an amazing passage on being a disciple and
having the Lord own your life. I guess I’d be tempted to say what a great man
Paul was, but the point here is what a great God we serve. Jesus talked about
pruning the vines for fruitfulness. As if all the disasters Paul mentioned weren’t
enough, God allowed Satan to humble Paul.
One note here is that if you go back 14 years before this letter, you
go back before Barnabas brought Paul into the work in Antioch in Acts 11. It is
also possible that many of Paul’s sufferings, beatings, and shipwrecks date
back to that time before Acts 11. Paul was loved by the Lord and was a very
devoted disciple; but God used Paul, and some of that use entailed abuse. We
hear of this great vision, similar in some respects to Daniel, but what came
before and after was lots of work and lots of suffering and lots of blessing. I
think Paul’s model for a disciple was Jesus, as described in Isaiah 53.
Vs. 1-4 Unlike Paul’s opponents, Paul couldn't even show what he knew
from the vision because he was forbidden by God to express what he had heard.
So why talk about the vision in the first place? Here we go.
Vs. 5-7 As a result of this vision and the confidence it gave Paul, God
allowed Satan to attack Paul and give him a permanent disability. This is very
similar to Job. So the evidence that Paul had been honored by God was a
disability brought on by a successful spiritual attack. What a thing to share.
I'm sure the super-apostles didn't think this was something to share with
others.
Vs. 8-10 Not only that, God didn't answer Paul's prayer. So how great
an apostle was Paul if God didn't answer his prayer? How great a man was Job?
They might be in the same category. Imagine finding your strength in weakness, because your weakness drives
you to Christ and to His power. And then imagine being OK with that; I mean,
really at peace with the disability from Satan and the weakness because you
realize these are why you know the power
of Christ. I'm sure this caught the false apostles off guard. After the
reading of this section of the letter, I'll bet the false apostles woke up the
next morning limping, saying, "Look what God allowed to happen to me
because I'm so great."
I remember being a very little kid and my mother asking me what
position I wanted to play if I was a baseball player. I said I wanted to be the
batter. I understood much later that you had to work in the field before you
earned the right to come up to the plate. I need to work a lot more in the
harvest following Christ. It is the only place to learn the closeness of the
Savior.
Psalm 55
The sense of betrayal in this psalm is very strong. It is hard to say
when David experienced this. It might have been in his early years running from
Saul. It would have been convenient for some of his friends to have turned
their backs on David, not only to gain the position that David left vacant in
the army, but also in feeding Saul information to gain status and show their
allegiance to Saul. On the other hand, it could also be that this is referring
to the time when David ran from Absalom. The mention of going to the house of
God in v. 14 might suggest that the ark of the covenant was already in
Jerusalem. Who knows, but we know that David faced betrayal and knew where he
could pour out his heart.
Vs. 1-3 In David's cry for mercy, not only was he emotionally restless,
but his enemies were angry with him and bearing old offenses. This would fit
the situation with Absalom.
Vs. 4-8 If it was Absalom who was seeking David, David's old sins would
be nagging at him too. The desire to escape and just flee would be natural.
Even with David's past sins, he understood he could go to the Lord and would be
accepted and receive refuge.
Vs. 9-11 This prayer could have applied to David's earlier flight as
well as to his later flight. As a result of both events, Israel was weakened.
Since the city is mentioned, it must be Jerusalem and this could point to
Absalom's takeover.
Vs. 12-15 The friend here could either be Absalom in a figurative, but
deeply emotional sense, or Ahithophel, David's close advisor. Both of these men
had deep grudges against David, and unfortunately, rightly so. Yet, harboring
hate and not extending forgiveness is an affront to God Himself. Regardless of
the reasons for our pain, we are told to forgive.
V. 13 This looks like something Jesus could have experienced.
Vs. 16-19 David was a veteran of calling out to God and receiving God's
deliverance. He was broken and knew how to present his heart and wait on God's
answer.
Vs. 20-21 Again, this could have been either Absalom or Ahithophel.
Probably as David thought of those last conversations before all of the
betrayal came to light, he thought of how he had not suspected their brewing
hatred for him.
V. 22 This looks like the lines for a very sweet song, yet behind this
thought there is emotional and relational bitterness woven into the verse. Few
things we endure are harder than relational betrayals. Even in Job, the most
dangerous threat came through the accusations and pressure from his friends.
V. 23 This is the final appeal to God. David knew there would be
judgment, but David would concentrate on trusting in the Lord.
Proverbs 23:4-5
Amen. The image of the eagle here adds a sense of certainty to what the
writer is saying. The eagle was very strong and fast, and in this context,
almost unstoppable. Earthly wealth is fleeting and doesn't deliver on what it
promises. Trusting in the Lord and seeking Him is what brings real wealth in
heaven, and we have confidence and strength on earth as we follow in the
harvest.
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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