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 30
Isaiah 60-62:5
When I read these verses, I thought what it would be like if Israel
today believed this stuff. They would all call on God and say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord, and the Messiah would come. And He will come someday, and they will
call Him; but it will be in the darkness of the Tribulation.
As you read today remember that Israel was chosen to represent God in
His plan to redeem the world. As a result, every power of hell rained upon them
to stop them. Israel failed and became a visual aid of the sin of man rebelling
in the presence of God's help and love. God has shown us how desperately
hopeless we are without Christ and a new birth. In the Tribulation, Israel will
carry God's Word to a visibly dying world and will pay a high price for that.
So, we shouldn't wonder that when the Messiah comes, all nations will
understand what Israel has "borne" for the world. Jerusalem will be
in ruins and the throne of Jesus will be in the temple. The nations will come,
and in gratitude to God and to Israel, they will help rebuild and console this
battered servant/nation of God.
Isaiah 60
Vs. 1-3 This sounds like the Tribulation and the coming of the Lord.
The Lord will rise upon the Jews at the beginning of the Tribulation and they
will become His servant again. At the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus returns
visibly and bodily to Jerusalem and ends all the fighting, all eyes will be on
His people and His city.
Ironically, as darkness covers the earth, their fearless devotion to
Christ will become a light of salvation for many people on the earth.
Vs. 3-7 This looks like the nations
coming to Israel to beautify the temple where Jesus will have His throne.
Vs. 8-9 This looks like nations bringing wealth to honor Israel. Notice
the last part of v. 9. These are the same words found in Isaiah 55:5. This
verse shows the future fulfillment of the promise made in Isaiah 55:5. These
will be spectacular days in the future.
Vs. 10-14 Notice that, as in all of Isaiah, the city is still a major
focus of God's attention. This is the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Tribulation.
It will become the joy of the nations to rebuild Zion.
Vs. 15-16 What strikes me here is the phrase, from age to age. Those thousand years of the Millennium will be a
long time, but then comes a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem.
Vs. 17-22 This is a grand summary of blessing on the city and on the
people. Verse 19 is also described in Revelation 22:5.
Isaiah 61
Vs. 1-2 There are words similar to these a few chapters back, but this
is the portion that Jesus read in Nazareth in Luke 4:17-21. He told the people
as He read these words, that they were being fulfilled in their hearing. And
they took offense at Him, meaning, they didn't believe that Jesus the carpenter
could be this person. In fact, these people that Jesus grew up with tried to murder
Him after He read this.
Jesus only read to
the word favor in v. 2. And the day of vengeance of our God and
what follows will be fulfilled at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns
to rescue and restore Israel. In this one verse you see the gap of time that is
now the age of harvest for the church.
It is interesting
that it mentions that comfort will come to those who mourn. Choosing to mourn
now shows an understanding of the dire situation the world and mankind is in. I
wonder if Jesus had these verses in mind in Matthew 5:4 when He said, Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.
Vs. 3-9 This is what Jesus will do for His people.
Vs. 10-11 This will be Israel's praise of God.
Isaiah 62:1-5
V. 1 Zion and Jerusalem again. It seems that God is determined to keep
preaching this in spite of the darkness of the times and the sin of the people,
because this future glory and blessing is coming to Israel.
Vs. 2-5 The unity between Israel and God will be complete.
As disciples working in the harvest, we need to keep the vision of the
end clearly before us. God is saying all of this for a reason. It is to give us
hope and strength. In spite of what today looks like, we are to keep working in
hope and joy because we know what the end will look like. I believe this is
what made Paul able to do what He did in following Christ as a disciple in the
harvest, making disciples, who make disciples.
Philippians 1:27-2:18
Philippians 1:27-30
Vs. 27-30 So why this call to unity? I think disunity and each man
becoming absorbed in his own problems was the effect that the persecution was
beginning to have on them. People may have been threatening them and they may
have been very frightened. Some people might have wanted to draw back and give
in.
Vs. 29-30 These are pretty big verses for a disciple. Staying out of conflict
is not a part of our call to follow Christ. In fact, Jesus said that following
Him would bring conflict (Matt. 10:34 and Luke 12:51).
As we have just read in Isaiah, God will bring things to a glorious
end. In light of that, the sufferings now are slight and momentary, and worth
enduring, so that men and women can reach out to Christ while there is still
time.
Philippians 2:1-18
Vs. 1-11 These are great verses. Songs have been written about these.
So, I wonder how this call to unity above fits to the call of unity in vs. 1-2
and rolls into this description of Jesus.
It seems to me that the unity of the church is dependent upon a deep
connection between members as they serve together. Especially in this stress
the church was facing, with all sorts of fears and emotions flying around, it
couldn't become "every man for himself;" but rather everyone had to
bind together. But that binding had to be around the same mindset, which I
think had to do with following Christ in the harvest.
Jesus Himself was
the model for the disciples and is the model for all of His followers. In light
of our salvation and the need of mankind to be saved, each disciple is called
upon to serve one another as we serve in the harvest. For even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark
10:45).
Vs. 12-13 This unity would take some work and be a matter of obedience.
They needed to remember that God was still working, inspiring them, and using
them in the harvest.
Vs. 14-18 At first, the command to do
all things (everything) without
grumbling and disputing seems like a general duty; but it is related to
their witness in the harvest. Since the grumbling and questioning do not have a
clear object, I think it has to do with each member understanding that what was
happening to them (like Job) was from God, for His purpose. Since they could
never be outside of God's control, the situations they faced were sanctioned
and allowed by God. If they followed Christ in love, those circumstances would
put them into situations where they would be lights as they held fast the word of life.
Vs. 16-18 I take this to be Paul's hope as a maker of disciples that
those for whom he had risked so much and for whom he had worked so hard would
follow Christ in this time of stress, bear fruit, and make disciples, who make
disciples.
V. 17 Paul seems to have understood that he might not be released but
would be put to death. When Paul talks like this again at the end of 2 Timothy,
he has no doubt.
Psalm 72
Verse 20 says this is a prayer of David. David was asking God to bless
his son. With that in mind, I'm seeing David talking more about Jesus than
Solomon. God did bless Solomon. But God really blessed the Son of David, God's
own Son. Just for exercise in Bible study, circle each use of may. Also, look at what this king does. You can't fool me (especially
after reading Isaiah), this is the Messiah.
Vs. 1-4 This is a call for God to bless the Son with righteousness and the power to deliver the needy.
Vs. 5-7 As the people fear and follow, He will be to them life and
righteousness and peace.
Vs. 8-11 This is asking for God to give the Son of David dominion.
Vs. 12-14 This
almost sounds like Isaiah 53:12, Therefore
I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with
the strong, because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes
intercession for the transgressors.
Vs. 15-17 His name will endure
forever. How did David know?
Vs. 18-20 Amen and Amen!
Proverbs 24:11-12
Did you get this? This is a very strong warning, but it is nothing a
disciple in the harvest needs to fear. That's why we are in the harvest and it
is what the love of Christ compels us to do. We who have been saved know the
peril of those who do not know Christ. Out of love, we know we have to do
something, and that particular "something" is working in the harvest
following our Lord. The last thing a disciple should say or feel is, "Who
cares?"
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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