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 19
Today the readings in Jeremiah and in the first part of Psalm 89 link
together. This is one of the side benefits of reading The One Year Bible.
It is interesting to see how the promise to David was to inspire hope in the
people. We know who that Son of David is, and He is the One who gives us hope
too, as we follow Him in the harvest.
Jeremiah
33-34
We are inching closer to the
fall of Jerusalem. There will be one notable look to the past; but from now on,
everything will be fairly chronological, leading to God's unrelenting
punishment of Jerusalem and Judah. It is instructive to see that interlaced
with hard words of judgment, there is a reminder of the hope that will still
save Israel.
Jeremiah 33
However, we are still in that
section called "The Book of Consolation." It is always a good idea to
underline, circle, or somehow mark words and phrases. Once you notice certain
words, the structure and logic just pop out. And besides that, you stay awake.
Vs. 1-5 Notice both the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah
and thus says the Lord.
As we have seen so often,
there is a description of some event, in this case a bad one, followed by a
declaration, in this case a good one.
The houses were broken down
in the center of Jerusalem, and the stones were taken to build up the walls
where the Babylonians were trying to get in. The holes where the houses had
been would be used as places to dump bodies. That was a bad thing.
Vs. 6-9 The ultimate
fulfillment of this will be after the Messiah returns. Notice the mention of health and healing. This is a contrast
to the first five verses. The city would be called by God's name in the future.
Vs. 10-11 Thus says the Lord, but what is the
focus of this?
Vs. 12-13 Thus says the Lord, but what is the
focus of this?
Vs. 14-16 Here is how God
will bring this blessing, through the Branch, the Son of David. Notice in v. 16
how the land, Judah, and the city are addressed, referring back to what was
just said about the city and the land in vs. 10-13.
Vs. 17-18 Thus says the Lord, but what is the
focus of this?
Interestingly, this doesn't
say that a descendant of David will always sit on the throne, but that David
will never lack descendants who could sit on the throne. Both Joseph and Mary
were descendants of David.
Vs. 19-26 These are very
definite promises of God. The ultimate fulfillment of the covenant with David
was unconditional, making it a promise from God's side. God initiated it. The
same was true of the covenant with Levi which probably refers to the covenant
of peace with Phinehas in Numbers 25:7-13. Also, the covenant with Abraham was
unconditional. God chose Abraham and made a promise to him. Since these are
based on the very character of God, they are more stable than creation itself.
Jeremiah 34
It is interesting to see how
God made promises and gave hope as an encouragement for faith and obedience,
but also as a test of faith.
Vs. 1-5 This appears to be a
word to Zedekiah because of the good thing they had just done in releasing the
slaves. So, to really understand what is happening with the rest of this, you
need to read v. 21. This explains why the people went back on their actions.
The Egyptians came against the Babylonians, and the rulers and people thought
they were OK again and recaptured the people they had set free. God was
probably the one who stirred up the Egyptians and created this little time of
confusion.
Vs. 6-7 This is a small
historical note as to the stress of this particular time. There were only two
other cities besides Jerusalem that hadn't fallen to Babylon. It looked like
the end.
Vs. 8-16 What you see in this
event is that the people obeyed God for themselves, to relieve the pressure. As
soon as they "made" God answer them by their good deeds, they didn't
need the good deeds anymore. They got what they wanted. Now, with
Nebuchadnezzar leaving, they had to rebuild Jerusalem and they needed those
slaves again.
Vs. 17-22 God would call the
Babylonians back to finish their work against Jerusalem. Since the people had
broken a covenant, God would punish them. This obedience and then lapse back
into disobedience was a small, visible reminder to them that their punishment
was just.
V. 18 Remember when God made
the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15; animals were cut up and a lane was
made through the body parts. Normally, the parties who made the covenant walked
through that lane and swore the covenant saying that if they didn't keep the
bargain, they should end up looking like those animals. In the covenant with
Abraham, the promise of the new covenant, only God walked through that lane,
taking the full responsibility for the covenant. This is why the ultimate
fulfillment of that promise doesn't depend on Israel.
Here, many of the people who
violated this covenant would soon look like road kill and probably be the
bodies thrown into those lots where houses had stood in 33:5.
Israel only ever needed to be
faithful. God would work out the rest because of His promise. In the work we do
in the harvest, it is good to remember that in ways we do not know, behind the scenes,
with amazing depth and wisdom, God is working out His purpose. Even our
mistakes and lack of clarity are used by Him to accomplish His purpose. God has
made a promise. He doesn't ask us to be perfect in all points, just faithful in
following in the harvest.
1
Timothy 4
Having told Timothy how the
foundation of the church is made secure, Paul warns him of the coming
resistance and how to deal with it positively.
Vs. 1-5 Many people wonder
what this teaching was or is; but the point is that Paul is telling Timothy and
us, there will always be resistance. This challenge would look religious, very
conservative and righteously judgmental, but it would be self-focused and
isolating. I think what we read in chapter 1, about people becoming inwardly
focused on the law and self-righteousness, rather than focused on Christ and
grace and the harvest, comes into play here.
Vs. 6-8 This is a challenge
to Timothy to wage the good warfare from chapter 1. If Timothy did his job
right, at times, he would be in opposition to false teachers and to the
prevailing opinions and moods of the people.
Interestingly here and even
more so in 2 Timothy, Paul strongly warns Timothy to stay out of arguments over
stupid stuff. I think this was Timothy's "youthful passion." He was good
with his mouth and thought that he could win every argument. Paul directs
Timothy to teach, not to argue.
Train
yourself for godliness, I think, means to mindfully
understand that you are being led by the Spirit into all circumstances and to
respond in those situations in a way that honors God. You mess up sometimes,
but you keep training. In the Greek, the word "godliness" does not
have the word "god" in it. It means to give honor in everything. God
is the assumed recipient, or as it says in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.
Vs. 9-10 This is the charge
to Timothy and it is based on the gospel again. God is called the Savior for
the third time. It seems that Paul is saying that it is this mission that has
moved them to set their hope on God and to live following Christ into this
harvest.
The words, trustworthy and deserving of full
acceptance, have only been used one other place in this letter, and there
it was a very emotional declaration for Paul. I think this is an equally
emotional declaration here also.
Giving up "stuff"
to give the look of being serious and suffering and making God happy seems
religious. But following Christ as a disciple, setting our hope on Him, giving
ourselves to the work in the harvest to reach the lost and make disciples, who
make disciples, is the real deal. It is what we have been called to. It isn't
religion. It is following Him, and it is full of grace. It involves suffering
and putting aside things here, but even in the case of putting things aside, it
is the Spirit directing us and showing us what does not fit into our lives on
this earth so that we can follow in the harvest and do the work we are
commissioned to do now.
Vs. 11-16 Notice the emotion
and urgency in this. It pours out of vs. 9-10. Look at the crisp, short
commands. This is the positive of what Timothy is supposed to do. He isn't
supposed to waste his time countering the silliness; he was to teach and model
what was healthy, sound and godly.
Notice the emphasis on
getting the Word into people. The best way to grow disciples or protect people
from error is to get them into the Word. The Word is used by the Holy Spirit to
be our meds, our defense, our nourishment and our strength. It is truth and it
consecrates us to God, to His service and to reality.
I think vs. 15-16 are very
important. How many of us as disciples make this our hobby and passion? We need
to perfect and get good at what God wants us to do in the harvest, and to live
to be an example to others. Not many people take this to heart. We dabble,
thinking we will keep God happy if we look semi-serious about actually getting
good at being harvesters. If Christians put as much effort into their jobs as
they put into their commission, they would probably be fired or working for
minimum wage. Doing what you are doing now, reading through the Word every
year, is a good place to begin.
V. 16 is important for all of
us, not just preachers. We often let ourselves get out of shape emotionally,
physically, sexually, etc., and we get tripped up. Some translations insert
"your" before the teaching
because of the word yourself that
precedes it. Often too, we teach one thing and don't heed our own words. If
more teachers, preachers and disciples did what they taught, they would save themselves from a lot of problems.
Save,
here, obviously isn't salvation from damnation, but salvation from damage and
becoming shipwrecked.
I think that reading the Word
every day is a given. But beyond that, think of skills that would be good to
learn for the harvest, that would be like a gift you could give to the Lord.
Ask the Lord if this is something He would like, and if so, throw yourself into
it. You might be surprised how the Lord will open doors for you to get good at
that skill and use it to bear fruit, seeing lost people saved and making disciples,
who make disciples, who make disciples. Begin now by faith, and in a year or
two you'll be surprised to see what the Lord has done. A line quoted in Oswald
Sander's book, Spiritual Leadership, has always inspired me, "The
heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but
they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night."
It's time to toil.
Psalm
89:1-13
This is the first of three
days in Psalm 89. In some respects, this is a very redemption-oriented psalm.
The steadfast love of the Lord runs
through it. The promise to David is messianic. The might of God in the creation
and among the angelic hosts shows that God is in charge of everything. And
somehow, in the middle of all of this, He regards us and loves us. What can we
do but sing of God's love in the harvest?
And remember how much about
David we just read in Jeremiah 33.
Vs. 1-4 It is interesting
that not only did God make a promise to David that all of Israel could hold on
to, but God Himself made David's life a visual statement of God's faithfulness and steadfast love.
Vs. 5-10 God's power and
faithfulness are seen in creation. He controls the angels and He controls the
raging of the elements. The most threatening powers are under God's control.
Vs. 11-13 The creation
belongs to God and the creation gives praise to God. We should too.
Proverbs
25:23-24
I wonder if being that person with the backbiting tongue also makes you liable to marry the quarrelsome wife? In any event, I think the
Lord is cautioning us not to be these people.
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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