If you don't
have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to
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site allows you to select from several languages and several English
translations.
OCTOBER 16
Today you begin 1 Timothy, the fifteenth book of the New Testament. It
gives us a look into the church and the lives of two disciples, after the
history recorded in the book of Acts. In other words, find something sweet with
which to celebrate.
Jeremiah
28-29
Finally some action and
adventure in Jeremiah; and the further we go, the more action there will be.
So, last chapter, God told
Jeremiah to make a yoke, put it on his neck and then tell the nations and King
Zedekiah, that in spite of what they might have heard about instability in
Babylon, God was requiring all nations to submit to Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah 28
Vs. 1-4 Hananiah was about to
get into real trouble.
V. 1 Notice that the time is
given very exactly.
Vs. 5-11 This false prophecy
was given in Jeremiah's presence, in public, and Jeremiah was made to look like
a fool by this smooth talking, dynamic preacher.
It is interesting to me that
Jeremiah's only retaliation was the word God gave him. Even after the yoke was
smashed, Jeremiah didn't lose his mind. This speaks for his submission to God
and to his maturity. It brought to mind that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit
only spoke on the Father's authority, and then, they only spoke what they
heard. As a disciple the Lord is impressing me with this. People don't need to
hear my take on life; they need to hear the Lord. I should only say what He
wants me to say, since I'm under His authority.
Vs. 12-17 You might wonder
why God even allowed Hananiah to speak, but the people wanted to believe a lie.
They could always have believed Jeremiah. Notice in this section the
occurrences of you. God was not happy
with Hananiah.
V. 17 The people heard of
this prophecy against Hananiah. Where Hananiah projected two years for his
prophecy, it didn't take God two months to fulfill his word on Hananiah.
I wonder if anyone took this
to heart.
Jeremiah 29
This is a very interesting
chapter. Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon. Just think of that.
Nebuchadnezzar allowed that. The people were organized in Babylon. By this time
Daniel had been in Babylon about 10 years. For the past seven years, Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah have been top government officials.
Nebuchadnezzar had already developed a respect for Yahweh, bowing to worship
Him. It is possible that Daniel 3 had already occurred. If so, Nebuchadnezzar
had worshipped Him again, but I'm guessing, by this chapter, that that event was
still in the near future. Anyway, that is all to explain why this communication
would have been possible. God had already made a safe place for His people in
Babylon.
Vs. 1-14 These orders by God to
the exiles give a lot of information and hope.
V. 3 Notice Elasah the son of
Shaphan. Shaphan was one of the officials who found the only existent copy of
the Bible during the early years of Josiah. His heritage can be seen by looking
at “The Line of Shaphan,” Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 1164.
This was a very godly man and
three of his four sons were also godly.
Vs. 15-23 There are lots of
observations to be made here.
V. 15 God would take care of
these prophets. The people already had false prophets in Babylon, so God was
going to raise up Ezekiel in the fifth year of the taking of Jehoiachin. Then
they would know that a real prophet was among them. Since these prophets were
prophesying against Nebuchadnezzar, both Neb and Daniel would have been
concerned about their words, though for different reasons.
V. 22 This is why I think that
Daniel 3 hadn't happened yet, but I don't know because I wasn't there. Here is
my thinking. When you see Neb's arrogance against Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah, I'm guessing it is because he had already roasted these two
"prophets" and Yahweh did nothing. God was setting up Nebuchadnezzar
for a shock that would protect the Jews throughout his entire empire and become
the top of the world's evening news for several months.
Vs. 24-32 If you understand what
is happening here, there is a second letter Jeremiah/God is sending back to
Babylon. Some guy name Shemaiah heard the first letter in Babylon and got mad
and sent a letter to Jerusalem saying they should rebuke Jeremiah. So God sends
a letter back to the exiles in Babylon saying not to listen to Shemaiah, and
that Shemaiah would get whammied. Interestingly, in contrast to the heritage of
Shaphan, Shemaiah will have no descendants.
It might be hard for us to
identify with this conflict and the false prophets, but we live with it too.
Politicians do this all the time, saying things are fine with Fanny Mae and
Freddy Mac when they were totally bad. Now we are paying the price for decades
of abuse. Yet we're not that aware of political things. On the spiritual side
of life we need to be very aware. Not only are there spiritual cults and
counterfeits, we need to make sure, as we work in the harvest, that we are
giving the whole counsel of God and not just what is easy for us to say. The
false prophets in Jeremiah's day were "positive" and likeable and
gave the people hope. You can see how it would be a lot more fun to give people
that message than the one Jeremiah was giving. Our message is not just about
getting one's life or family together and hanging out with God. It is also
about a coming kingdom and a King. It is about judgment and the need to turn to
God. It is about being forgiven or having to face God's wrath for eternity.
Those are just the facts.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
1
Timothy 1
1 & 2 Timothy and Titus
are called the pastoral epistles, because
they were written to two pastors, Timothy and Titus. These three letters were
written after Paul was released from Rome after the history we find at the end
of Acts. Apparently Paul was released after his house arrest in Rome and
hearing in front of Nero. Then for perhaps five years he was free. Then the
persecutions of Nero heated up and Paul was captured and for a second time was
imprisoned in Rome. That is where we find Paul in 2 Timothy. While the first imprisonment
was very civil and Paul was under house arrest in a nice apartment, the second
time he was in jail, he was in a deep, dark, dank Roman dungeon awaiting
judgment and death in 2 Timothy, which was his last letter.
In 1 Timothy we find Paul
still free and traveling urgently to the churches in Macedonia. He left Timothy
in Ephesus to repair whatever had happened there. Now he was sending Timothy a
letter with instructions. Although 1 Timothy and Titus are similar in the
instructions on choosing elders and setting up order in the church, it is
alarming that Timothy was having to do this in a well-established church like
Ephesus. What awaited Timothy there was stress and, it looks like, having to
rebuild the leadership structure in the church. In Acts 20, Ephesus seemed to
be pretty strong. Here it looks like major problems had torn the church apart.
As usual, as a result of this disaster, we get some great teaching. It is also
very possible that the Roman persecutions under Nero were beginning to heat up
and had resulted in churches being persecuted and losing their leaders. In 2
Timothy, Paul appears to be weeks before his death. Paul died in 67 A.D.,
executed by Nero. Three years later the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the
temple, fulfilling Jesus' pronouncement of judgment on that generation of
Israel He had spoken to, who had rejected Him.
Although 1 Timothy and Titus
cover some of the same ground regarding church structure, the letters to
Timothy are much more personal in tone, pointing to the unique relationship
Paul had with this disciple. Rebuilding Ephesus is in the forefront of Paul's
letters to Timothy, yet they are also very much about Paul building into
Timothy. Hardly anything Paul says is just for teaching or guiding the church.
Everything Paul says seems to have some message to Timothy to strengthen him
and clear his vision for the task of making disciples, who will make disciples,
who will make disciples, long after Paul is gone.
V. 1 This is an unusual
greeting for Paul, unique for Timothy. What is Paul directing Timothy's
attention to? God our Savior is
unique, as is Christ Jesus our hope.
Notice how there is a focus on the gospel and the harvest right from the first
verse. This would be the emphasis of Timothy's work, and it was something
Ephesus had lost.
V. 2 Paul apparently led
Timothy to Christ. This is not Paul's usual "grace to you and peace"
benediction. Timothy needs all of these in his fight.
Vs. 3-4 You notice the
urgency in this letter immediately. We'll see that the confusing influence that
tore this church apart had a very Jewish bent to it.
V. 4 The RSV says, the divine training that is in faith.
There is a pattern of life, of building and working forward in the harvest that
is in view here. There is a training that takes place every day in following
Christ in the harvest.
Vs. 5-7 You could begin v. 5
with "whereas" and end the verse with a comma, not a period.
You see, once again, it was
legalistic, hard, conservative Jewish teaching that was creating difficulties.
We'll see this clearly in chapter 4.
Vs. 8-11 The point here is
that Christians are to be focused on Christ and the harvest, not on the law.
The law focuses on condemnation; grace focuses on Christ, forgiveness and His
coming. This focus on the law had probably stopped the church from being salt
and light, and it may have also blown the leadership of the church apart
through judging people according to the law.
Vs. 12-17 Aren't we glad this
happened in Ephesus, so we would have this testimony and look into Paul's walk
with Christ? Maybe the Lord allows stuff like this in our lives for the same
purpose.
Vs. 12-13 I sense the burden
and weight of this on Paul.
V. 14 For ministry, I believe
that Paul received a supernatural equipping and gifting of faith and of love in
Christ. I think this working of the Spirit turned this scrawny Jewish boy into
Captain America, I mean Captain Gospel.
V. 15-17 Even near the end of
his life, Paul never forgot what he had been and how/why God had saved and
equipped him. It wasn't for himself, but for Christ, for others, for the
harvest.
Vs. 18-20 Paul is charging
Timothy to wage war. Paul was in the battle and Timothy was to stay in the
battle. He was to remember and be inspired by what God had said about him.
V. 20 Hymenaeus gets
mentioned in 2 Timothy. False teachers were on the rise. “Handing over” these
men was to exclude them from the safety and protection of the church and its
fellowship.
These words to Timothy are
some of the most complete on keeping the church focused on the harvest and
making disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples. The harvest and the
making of disciples is a part of everything Paul is saying in these letters. If
the church falls, so does the commission we were entrusted with.
Psalm
86
As you read the psalm, look
for words to underline, especially O
Lord, you, and your. It gives the
psalm an interesting emphasis as you read.
Vs. 1-7 As we have seen in
David, the desperation of his life was used by God to make him the man he was.
David cried out and sought no other hope but in God. Through all of these
experiences, he saw over and over that God was loving, faithful and mighty to
save.
Vs. 8-10 In keeping with His
promise to Abraham and His faithfulness to Israel, not only was God great above
all others, but all nations were destined to worship Him.
Vs. 11-13 These are what we
always see expressed by David. He loved God and His truth. He promised to
praise God, and he rested in God's steadfast
love. Verse 11 is interesting and sounds like this "uniting" was
bringing peace and understanding to his heart.
Vs. 14-17 Though David had
powerful enemies, he was busy looking to the Lord in hope, remembering how God
had constantly helped and saved him.
Proverbs 25:17
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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