If you don't
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translations.
SEPTEMBER 3
Ecclesiastes 4-6
Job and Solomon were both rich men who worked hard in life. It would be
easier to hear Job say what Solomon is about to say, since Job lost everything.
As Solomon writes this he is still amazingly rich. It seems that everything
Solomon says lacks any redemptive perspective in life and comes from the
attitude that a man, himself, makes his life. Just like in Job, there is an
abundance of truth here, but it is truth about life when you have lost the
closeness to the Lord. Solomon's focus is on accomplishment on earth and
lasting value. We know this earth must pass away, and only what is done for the
Lord in the redemption and rescue of people will last or have meaning.
By now you know what to do to keep your interest sharp. Look for
recurring words and phrases, and highlight or underline them.
Ecclesiastes 4
This chapter seems to focus on the foolishness of being alone.
Vs. 1-3 This definitely sounds like Job. As Solomon looked outside of
Israel (I hope it was outside of Israel), he saw oppression that could not be
remedied. In his mind, it was better for the oppressed never to have been born.
He didn't know about the church in communist China. If the rule of Solomon had
been about the glory of God and not the glory of Solomon, he might have brought
the testimony of God’s truth and holiness to others and the leaders of other
nations.
Vs. 4-6 Verse 6 appears to be the godly goal, but what is said in v. 4
seems to be said from a bitter heart. Maybe some of what Solomon built came
from wanting to be envied by other nations.
Vs. 7-8 Solomon appears to have had this work ethic, but without
working for the Lord, one wonders for whom the work is done. That ought to be a
message to us as believers. A disciple in the harvest lives knowing the answer
to this.
Vs. 9-12 I wonder if Solomon said this from regret. I think that
ultimately, Solomon was a lonely man without real friends. He apparently didn’t
have anyone with the guts to tell him he was wrong. Also, I think he was love
starved. God designed that a man should have one wife to complete him. Solomon,
the man who had 1000 wives, was really alone on earth and desperately
incomplete.
Vs. 13-16 This story seems to describe the new king as alone, not
accepted and not regarded for his achievements. This wasn't completely autobiographical,
but the feelings might have been the same.
Ecclesiastes 5
Vs. 1-7 This seems to say that if you make God mad at you by not
fulfilling the promises you have made to Him, He will make your accomplishments
meaningless and your life pointless. I wonder if Solomon felt guilty for having
fallen so far from those early days. It is hard to imagine that the guy who
prayed that prayer at the dedication of the temple later wrote these words.
Vs. 8-9 Rulers will take the fruit of your toil.
Vs. 10-17 Ruin through the love of money and greed. Much of this sounds
like Job, particularly v. 15; and much of it seems like it could be
autobiographical, Solomon reflecting on his own life.
Vs. 18-20 This is the only point in life as Solomon saw it. Ironically,
from everything Solomon says, I don't think he enjoyed this simple life. I
think he was miserable. I wonder if he wished he could have had something like
what he described here.
Since Solomon had wandered from God and was experiencing a lot of
darkness of heart, these words have no eternal perspective. In a sense, this is
Solomon saying, "let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." I have
read a commentator who said the statement in verses 18-20 is actually a true
statement coming from God, but I would say this is only, kind of, true in the
sense that a simpler life is better and probably reflects what God intended
life to be had there been no fall.
But knowing the rescue that God is making on earth, (and Solomon should
have known God's plan of redemption), there is so much more to life. In a
sense, this could be seen in what Paul says about godliness with contentment;
but as a disciple, Paul’s life was filled with meaning and activity because of
the harvest and following Christ. IF this statement can be connected to living
to follow Christ in the harvest, I’m all for it.
Ecclesiastes 6
Vs. 1-6 This seems to be autobiographical. Solomon might have already
seen that his son Rehoboam would be a fool. We already know from chapter 1 that
Solomon gave himself to pleasure and didn’t enjoy it. Not only that, with all
the wives Solomon had, you’d think he would have had more children than
Rehoboam; but we never hear of them. We do know that Solomon later
sacrificed/offered children (babies) to Molech. They would have been his own
children, for that "offering" to have been meaningful.
Vs. 7-9 Without someone to pass things on to, Solomon says that our
work is only for our own personal appetites. This is a good reason to invest
our lives in reaching the lost and strengthening one another to make disciples,
who make disciples. Our appetites need to conform to God’s purposes and Word.
Vs. 10-12 This is why the existential philosophers love Solomon’s words
in Ecclesiastes. This is a great description of life on earth without God.
In reading this, we need to remember that what happened to Solomon
could happen to any of us. Solomon was "destroyed" spiritually by
living in the flesh and drifting from God. Here is what Paul said regarding
former disciples. For many, of whom I
have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the
cross of Christ. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their
belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20But
our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the
power that enables him even to subject all things to himself
(Phil. 3:18-21).
The best defense is a good offense. Love Christ for His salvation and
forgiveness; follow Him in the harvest. Stay in the Word, growing in the Lord;
and make disciples, who make disciples. And did I mention staying in the Word
every day? Many of us start well, but living on this planet has an eroding
effect on our vision. Only love for Jesus can keep us alive. And that love for
Jesus is kept alive by being in the Word daily and following in the harvest.
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
So who is Paul referring to here? Is he talking about marriage? I think
Paul is talking about the Jewish super-apostles and other frauds the
Corinthians had in their group. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul told them, For some have no knowledge of God. I say
this to your shame. This is a good general principle, but here I think Paul
is telling the Corinthians to distance themselves from those who said they were
believers, but were not believers, or those who were believers, but were a
problem to unity.
These factious
people were also setting the people against Paul. Here is what Paul says in Romans
16:17, I appeal to you, brothers, to
watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
Why Paul needed to appeal to the church in Rome and why he needed to say this
to the Corinthians is that we resist doing this to those who are in the church,
who keep the church from its mission by criticism and stubbornness. Our
misguided thoughts of tolerance and love for one another need to be in
conformity with the Word and to following Christ in the harvest.
These verses (vs. 16-18) are from Isaiah and Ezekiel and
they have a point. We cannot be close to God and have Him reveal Himself to us
if we are intimately mixed with those who have no love for Christ in conformity
to the Word. Following the Lord has to be our first passion, and everyone
opposed to Him and His Word cannot be in the innermost place in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 7:1-7
V. 1 Which promises are those? The ones Paul has just quoted from the
Old Testament. Seeking the promises here will only make sense to the person who
loves Christ. To all others it will sound too extreme or theoretical. This
verse also sounds like Romans 12:1-2, offering themselves back to Christ.
Vs. 2-4 Paul is coming full circle to chapter 1. In this long
explanation of his distress that began in 2:14, Paul is now making his final
appeal to the Corinthians to accept him and his coworkers because of their
sincerity and love. All of this is written because of his love and heart for
the Corinthians. Notice that v. 2 is full of defense of his ministry among
them, and everything else is a testimony of his love for them. Paul had the
heart of a shepherd and maker of disciples.
Vs. 5-7 This continues the narrative from 2:13. Paul was waiting for
Titus. He was anxious about the impact of the letter he sent with Titus. When
Titus found Paul, he told him that the majority of the people saw what was
happening and had tender hearts toward Paul. Notice all the mentions of
afflictions and comfort. This all goes back to the first chapter of this
letter.
One of the toils in the harvest is seeking to move believers back into
the arena of following Christ in the harvest. This is discipleship too. It’s
not easy to do this when people have redefined Christianity as what they like
to do and is comfortable for them. The goal suggests the strategy. They need to
be in the Word every day; they need to fall back in love with Christ who saved
them, and they need to give themselves to Him, following Him in the harvest.
These are the basics of what it means to belong to Jesus Christ.
Psalm 47
I think this was written in the afterglow of God saving Jerusalem from
the Assyrians.
Vs. 1-4 When God destroyed the Assyrian army, they had already
ransacked many countries and cities. The entire world sat up and took notice of
Jerusalem and Yahweh. It says that nations sent gifts to Hezekiah, because they
were so thankful that God had humbled the Assyrians (2 Chron. 32:23).
Vs. 5-7 This is a call for the nations, not just to rejoice, but to
praise the God who did it, the King of all nations.
Vs. 8-9 Notice that in v. 9 the people of all nations gather as if they
belonged to the promise of Abraham. Actually the promise of Abraham is a
promise of redemption to all mankind. Through Abraham’s seed, Jesus, all
nations would be blessed.
This seems like a simple song of praise in worship. I wonder if the
sons of Korah understood that God was working in the world and in Israel to
bring salvation and redemption to all of lost humanity. If you miss this part,
what really is the difference between Solomon dedicating the temple and Solomon
writing Ecclesiastes? I'm so thankful that we are defined by Jesus and not by
church or worship from any culture, or by perceived blessing. We follow Jesus
as His disciples in the harvest.
Proverbs 22:16
Either on earth or after, Amen.
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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