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.
OCTOBER 18
With
everything going on in the world, you might almost think that reading Jeremiah,
1 Timothy, The Psalms, or Proverbs would only reinforce the gloom. Today might
be a case in point, but take notice of how each of these gives a realistic view
of life, yet they also give a lot of hope in looking toward the future.
Everything about following Christ now, every day, in this harvest is confirmed.
Now is not a great time in this world, and so we work with the Lord, sowing,
reaping and making disciples, who make disciples. The fullness of hope and
rejoicing will be in the future. Yet even so, every day we have the taste and
firstfruits of knowing Christ and receiving His comfort and blessing. We have
this every day, because we walk with Him every day and look into His Word every
day. You might want to listen to “Everyday,” by Hillsong.
Jeremiah 31:27-32:44
In
Jerusalem's darkest hour God gave Jeremiah a far off picture of their ultimate restoration.
Jeremiah
31:27-40
The
structure of this section is marked by the phrase Behold, the days are coming.
Vs.
27-30 Here God will replant Israel and Judah.
Vs.
29-30 The sour grapes message will be
seen again in Ezekiel as a way the present generation blamed the previous
generation. God didn't have much patience for that. During the future time of
renewal, no one will use that saying. In Ezekiel God will condemn anyone who
says this.
Vs.
31-37 This new covenant was initiated with Jesus' sacrifice and the giving of
the Spirit, but its complete fulfillment will be the acceptance of Israel under
that covenant in the Millennium. Much of this is in Romans 11 and it makes
sense.
Vs.
33-34 These promises are still future, but what amazing promises. This passage
is quoted in Hebrews 8 to persuade the people that going back into Judaism was
not an option because the new covenant was better. This promise is one of the
reasons the people listened to Peter on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2 Peter
referred to this promise as spoken by the prophet Joel, but the people saw this
promise in all of the Scriptures dealing with God's future blessing of Israel.
The people understood that only the Spirit of God could give them this heart
and this renewal. The believers of Jesus had received the Spirit and had
experienced this promise.
Vs.
35-37 God pledges His promise on the creation. In other words, this promise is
absolutely solid. In Romans 11:29, Paul mentions one other thing that confirms
this promise.
Vs.
38-40 This is the promise to rebuild the city, which was about to be destroyed.
Jerusalem was destroyed again in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The city is still there
today and without a temple. The future completed city will have the temple from
which Jesus will reign.
Jeremiah
32
Vs.
1-5 Now I know this doesn't seem like a good thing, but if you were the only
prophet speaking the truth in a city that hated you and where the people were
going to be starving, being locked in prison might actually be a good thing.
Seriously, I think this was God's work and that there is some grace in this.
Vs.
6-15 Normally this would not have been a wise move, since Babylon already
controlled everything in Israel. It would have been like selling property in
East Berlin after the Russians took over. Babylon owned everything and all
ownership had no legality. I can see the sellers snickering when Jeremiah
signed the papers. But God was making a point. I have a suspicion that when it
was all said and done, Jeremiah settled down on this piece of land and enjoyed
some much needed R&R.
We
are also introduced here to Jeremiah's secretary and personal scribe, Baruch.
We'll see later that Baruch must have been a well-known person; and as a result
of his work for Jeremiah, God spared him from the multiple disasters that
rolled over Jerusalem and the Jews.
Vs.
16-25 This is amazing praise from Jeremiah. He realized the grace and mercy in
what God was promising. Jeremiah contrasted this mercy with all the sin the
people had committed. Buying that land in such a bad time was a sign that God
would restore Israel in the future. Isn't v. 25 an amazing declaration of hope?
Vs.
26-35 God restated the reason for His judgment on Jerusalem and Judah. Verse 35
didn't describe an act; it described a culture of distorted minds. We've
mentioned before the reasons why Baal worship and Molech worship were
connected. Notice how God mentions both the
children of Israel and the children of Judah.
Vs.
36-41 In spite of Israel's failures, God promises to bring the entire nation back.
Notice the Lord, the God of Israel.
Notice that even though the people will be brought back in 50+ years, the
ultimate fulfillment of v. 39 is in the Millennium.
Vs.
42-44 This promise goes back to the beginning of the chapter and ties in to
Jeremiah buying the land.
Gloomy?
Sure. Hopeful? Incredibly so. And so we don't lose heart, as we work in the
harvest with the Lord, making disciples, who make disciples. We just need to
stay in the Word every day and continue to follow every day.
1 Timothy 3
So,
in reestablishing order in this church, Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, that
all the people should pray for the government, in order to live quiet,
respectful, godly lives under the radar so they can work in the harvest. Then
Paul said the men should pray to maintain a godly perspective on life in
prayer, and the women should focus on doing good works for those around them.
The women should not be given the authority of establishing the teaching and
guidance of the church, rather, that belongs to….
Vs.
1-7 …the men who are the elders.
V.
1 I would say, from my experience, to aspire
means they are actually involved in the lives of other people for the sake of
the harvest and the Great Commission, coming alongside people in the church to
encourage them to do likewise. I think to aspire is already to be doing it in
some measure.
V.
2 I believe "one woman man" meant the same back then as it does in
the US culture today: marital and sexual stability and faithfulness.
V.
3 Not a drunkard. This doesn't even
say he can't get "merry" (see Ruth 3:7) on occasion, but drunkenness
should not be a regular state, and wine cannot be an addiction.
Not violent means literally "striker,"
that is, someone who has fits of anger, losing his cool.
Not
mentioned here, but putting all Scripture together, this person needs to be
active in reaching the lost and making disciples. Too often you have this
squeaky clean guy as an elder, who isn't involved in the harvest and doesn't
know which end of the scythe to hold. These "executive elders" often
have no natural desire to involve themselves in making disciples, who make
disciples. Elsewhere, Paul says that we should look for examples and models
(Phil. 3:17). I can't imagine making a person an elder who is not an example or
a model of what it means to follow Christ in the harvest.
Vs.
8-13 Servants in the church.
V.
8 Paul addresses the men first with three characteristics similar to the
elders.
V.
11 This is a very unfortunate translation. Although wives can mean "women" or "wives," it is the
same word Paul used in chapter 2 and was never translated "wives"
there. Also, here it is translated their
wives, but that is not accurate since there is no genitive here, no case of
ownership or possession. Honest to the Greek would be "the." I
understand the King James doing this since it was translated in a culture and
time when women would never have been accepted in this position, but the
translators of the ESV had no excuse here. I think this poor translation
is a result of the King James and the cultural prejudices of that time.
There
were women deacons. In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a "servant" of
the church at Cenchreae. The word is deaconess in the Greek. Why should
this be a problem?
Also, why would there be some
special condition for the wife of a servant of the church and not for the wife
of an elder of the church. Elders' wives would have much more information and
have much more influence over their husbands and the affairs of the church.
V. 12 is now using the masculine
to describe all deacons, the same as we do rather than saying "him or
her."
Vs.
14-16 Now, there are some very famous verses here, and the priority of the
church is strongly presented; but this all really just underscores the vital
importance of everything Paul has said since 2:1. The magnitude of these verses
means we should go back and carefully follow all of chapters 2 and 3. If we
don't, these are just nice flowery verses, and the church and the harvest
suffers.
I
still like the image of the church being a group of laborers gathering at some
place in their part of the harvest. They meet to gain strength and encourage
each other, get something to eat and then they go back out into the harvest.
Psalm 88
This
is said to be the saddest psalm in The Psalms. It is possible that this psalm
was linked with Psalm 89, possibly written by the same guy. The next psalm is
very positive, and in tandem with this one, they would have made a nice part of
the worship service.
Vs.
1-2 This is the plea to God, crying out to Him.
Vs.
3-7 This isn't just trouble; it sounds like depression. He is faced with many
troubling situations and feels like God's wrath is focused on him. That is so
"normal."
Vs.
8-12 Not only does he have bad situations, but his friends have become like
traitors. This sounds like Job. The writer's plea to God is that once he is
dead, God won't be able to use him in declaring God's praise and love.
Therefore, he doesn't want God to let him go into the pit. Along with this is
probably the sense of not wanting to be put to shame for having given praise to
God and having put his hope in the Lord.
Vs.
13-18 It is odd to leave a psalm on such a down note. The crying is still
there, the danger is still there and the sense of abandonment and desertion is
still there. There is no final affirmation of trust and confidence in God's
deliverance. However, the next psalm is coming.
Just
a couple of observations:
First,
we have seen in Job and even in Paul that great
things come out of deep personal distress. If we are servants and slaves of our
loving Father, we have to allow Him to do this to us for His glory. Having said
that, we have to come through it the right way. It doesn't glorify God to give
up, yell at your wife, kick the dog and defect from the faith.
Second,
the very fact that the Holy Spirit inspired this psalm and its words should
tell us that these words are what we need to imitate and model in our crying
out to God. God is teaching us how to cry out.
Psalm
40:3 says, He put a new song in my mouth.
God himself put that new song there, but only after He had led David through a
similar experience.
We
cry out and wait patiently. When He is done, He will put a new song in our
mouths, a song of praise to our God.
Proverbs 25:20-22
I
think Paul used all of this in Romans 12.
V.
20 It is a command to weep with those who
weep. Being witty and happy isn't always the best thing.
Vs.
21-22 Read Romans 12:19-21 for the full story, and then add the promise found
here of reward.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment