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 15
Isaiah 19-21
Isaiah 19
This is the coming war against Egypt. Everyone went to Egypt for help,
but the truth is that Egypt never attained the power they had before they
mistreated Israel and God broke them through Moses. They couldn't help.
Vs. 1-4 God is giving them over to a fierce king. I don’t know what
Assyria did to Egypt, but after Nebuchadnezzar was done with them they were
pretty much like what we see of Egypt today.
Vs. 5-10 Their confidence and economy was in their water and fertility,
and the gods thereof.
Vs. 11-15 Their pride in their wisdom and leadership would also fail.
Vs. 16-25 Now tell me you’re not amazed at this. I have a couple of
thoughts. First, immediately after these pronouncements of judgment, God shows
how His grace will overflow for Egypt. Second, who is this written for? Did
Egypt actually read this? Do they know about this today? Maybe, but primarily
it was for Israel to know not to depend on Egypt in this war with Assyria, and
then to know that God would still show faithfulness and blessing for the “cup
of water” they gave to Israel long ago. When Jesus says that a person who lends
aid will by no means lose his reward, He really means it.
Notice the repetition of in that
day. These are very obvious predictions for the time of Jesus’ 1000-year
reign on earth. Often we get hung on the Israel-church comparison regarding the
end times, some people thinking that there will be no 1000-year reign because
Israel failed and the church was given their blessings. Not only is that a poor
understanding of the church and Israel, but it also fails to consider
prophecies like these that are linked to Israel being blessed for those 1000
years and having its neighbors receive God's blessing.
Notice too that Assyria will be blessed. I have no clue why this is.
The only thing that comes to mind is that the garden, the first home of
mankind, if you will, was where the Euphrates and Tigris were close together.
That would be the region of Assyria. That entire section of country, from the
headwaters of these rivers down to Babylon, has been important in most of the
Bible. At the birth of Jesus, this region is where the wise men came from.
Anyway, who knows, but God says Assyria (Iraq) will be blessed by God. (Nineveh
was the capital of Assyria and is in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul. The
ruins of Babylon are also in Iraq.)
Isaiah 20
Not too many people know about this chapter. It is an object lesson to
teach Israel not to depend on Egypt for saving help. When Assyria took Ashdod,
a city directly west of Jerusalem on the coast, the people were probably
thinking that Egypt would rise up and run up the coast and help.
Isaiah was ordered by God to walk around bottomless for three years, as
a shocking sign to the people that as Isaiah was walking naked, they would see
Egyptian captives being led up the coastal highway naked and humiliated by the
Assyrians as a sign to others not to stand against Assyria.
Years later the people following kings Jehoiakim and Zedekiah would
make the same mistake in depending on the Egyptians against the Babylonians.
Egypt was defeated again.
So much for the glamour of being an important prophet in God's work.
I'm sure this passage was well known to Paul as he yielded his life to Christ
to follow Him in the harvest. And God did "humiliate" Paul often, but
for His glory and to bear much fruit. As disciples in the harvest we have to be
willing to yield up our lives too. And sometimes God uses us for His glory by
allowing us to be humiliated.
Isaiah 21
V. 1 These visions have to do with the nations east of Jerusalem.
Vs. 2-10 Now Assyria did capture Babylon, but there is something
strange in this vision. The Medes/Persians were the ones who captured Babylon
in Daniel 5. Verse 4 would seem like the drunken party that was going on the
night Babylon was taken. But the words fallen,
fallen is Babylon, in v. 9 are repeated twice in Revelation 14:8 and 18:2.
I think this vision sounds a little apocalyptic.
Vs. 11-12 Dumah is apparently Edom, the descendants of Esau.
Vs. 13-17 This is a warning to the clans of nomads living in Arabia. No
one would be safe from Assyria except those who were living in Zion. That's the
point of all of this. The place to have found shelter in this storm was in the
presence of God. Ironically, Jerusalem didn't seem like a good place to hide.
If you didn't like Israel you wouldn't want to go there. And if you were in a
city under siege, you were trapped. The Assyrians thought they were threatening
a walled city, but they were challenging the God, who at that time, was
dwelling in Zion among the godly.
Ironically, during the final drama on earth, the safest place to be
will be following Jesus, even though the wrath of man and hell will be directed
at the followers of Christ. It is because Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. That
is a great message and comfort as we go forward in the harvest.
Galatians 2:1-16
Vs. 1-2 This visit wasn’t the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, but the
famine visit mentioned in Acts 11:27-30. Imagine - fourteen years happened in there somewhere.
You will notice in Paul’s writing that there is a tension regarding the
authority in Jerusalem. I don’t think Paul had a problem with Peter and the
boys, as much as the false teaching that was coming from the circumcision party
of the church in Jerusalem. This faction claimed that the “authorities,” the
Twelve, encouraged circumcision and other practices. It could be that Paul is
also resisting an attempt by some Christians to create a church hierarchy of
authority with heroes, bosses, costumes and action figures.
V. 2 Paul did submit his teaching for review by the disciples/apostles.
V. 3 This was telling. Titus was an uncircumcised, full-blooded Greek,
and no pressure was put on him to be circumcised. By the way, the reason Paul
circumcised Timothy, and not Titus, was that Paul did a lot of evangelistic
work in synagogues. Timothy had a Jewish mother and would be allowed into a
synagogue, but Titus was fully Greek and would never have been allowed in a
synagogue. Paul circumcised Timothy in order not to give offense to unbelieving
Jews in synagogues and therefore to have an open door for the gospel (1 Cor.
9:19ff).
Vs. 4-5 Here was the conflict. There were false brothers and there were the true brothers, who included Paul,
Barnabas, Titus and the Twelve. The “we” means the other apostles were also
against these legalistic Christians.
Vs. 6-10 Paul and Barnabas got the seal of approval, even though Paul
didn’t feel like he needed it, having gotten everything from Jesus. Humbling
himself like this was a good way for Paul to build unity and peace.
Even though Paul had been a Pharisee and persecutor of the church,
these apostles who were of the Twelve who had followed Jesus accepted Paul.
What leveled the playing field wasn't just genuine faith. By this time Paul was
a very scarred and battered follower of Christ. By this time Paul already had
received several of those 40 lashes minus one and he had had some of those
shipwrecks. Paul didn't look like a rich, prissy Pharisee anymore. He looked
like a veteran, battle-worn follower of Christ.
Vs. 11-16 We definitely don’t have this in Acts. It probably happened
sometime just after Paul and Barnabas were in Jerusalem, and therefore, before
the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. I've read that this might not have happened
at once, but over the space of a few days. These men from Jerusalem brought
fear and pressure with them, and eventually Peter and Barnabas were lured into
separating themselves from the Gentile believers.
Notice that above all of this action, God supervised the situation into
existence. He taught Peter and Barnabas; He exposed the political pressures and
the men who came from James, and God gave us an amazing passage of Scripture
that probably knocked Martin Luther right out of his sandals. The record of
this event, even of Paul’s courage, was a world changer if you consider the
reformation a world-changing event.
I feel bad for Peter in this, but Peter was now an even humbler guy.
I'll bet he smiled knowing that Jesus had put him in this position. As
disciples, we need to have a quick response to our failures. We know that the
Lord knew about them and allowed us to stumble and to learn from them. That is
how we realize how much we need Him. And the Lord keeps working behind the
scenes, doing all sorts of stuff we might not even know about. We need to learn
the lesson, learn humility, then just chuckle at the fun Jesus just had with us
and get back into the harvest.
Psalm 59
This could have been subtitled, “Howling like dogs.” I like the German,
"Howling like the hounds."
The event was when Saul sent to get David at his house and kill him.
The soldiers must have been prowling in the shadows. What is interesting to me,
knowing the story, is that David was very scared and did some really desperate
stuff, from lying to the priests and getting them killed, to going to Gath for
refuge where he did the crazy man act to get away. This is written some time
later and David can see, in retrospect, that God had saved him, not he himself.
Vs. 1-2 David cried out for help against the evil and violence of these
enemies.
Vs. 3-5 David pleaded his innocence and asked for God to rouse Himself
and punish them.
Vs. 6-7 David must have seen them outside his house, watching and
waiting, night after night.
Vs. 8-10 These are great verses to hold on to.
Vs. 11-13 David didn't want them killed, but to be used as an example
to the people that God judges. As these evil men suffered in the sight of the
people, the people would learn to trust and follow the Lord.
Vs. 14-15 Here is that refrain again.
Vs. 16-17 Here you have the hallmarks of David's faith. He is singing,
taking refuge in the Lord and he is resting in the steadfast love of the Lord. David had been running blind. When
David came to his senses, his heart settled on the one thing that would guide
him all of his life: The steadfast, unfailing love of the Lord.
Proverbs 23:13-14
V. 14 reads slightly different in my German Bible and has a kind of
ironic contrast to it. It’s like, “you hit him with that piece of wood, but
you’ll save his soul from hell.” It's interesting that the Father struck the
Son "with" a piece of wood to save our souls from hell.
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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