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 29
Lamentations 1-2:19
Happy days are here again….not. This is Jeremiah's lament over
Jerusalem after it was destroyed. He refers to what he saw before and during
the siege by the Babylonians. I'm not sure how "artsy" Jeremiah and
the Spirit wanted to be, but of the five chapters, chapter 3, right in the
middle, is a very personal pouring out of Jeremiah's heart. Surprisingly (or
not), out of the crying out of chapter 3, we have gotten many good songs.
Lamentations 1
Vs. 1-10 Verse 1 sets the tone for this chapter and this section. It
describes the humbling of this once beautiful princess, Jerusalem. This part of
the lament is for the city. Notice the references to Zion and Jerusalem, and
notice that the city is referred to with feminine pronouns. Just for fun,
underline, circle or highlight them.
Vs. 11-22 Jeremiah and the Spirit personalize the crying out of
Jerusalem in the first person. The first part of v. 11 explains the situation
and transitions between the third person and the first person. Notice the
repetition of I, my, and me.
Lamentations 2:1-19
Vs. 1-10 Now notice all of what God did. It wasn't the Babylonians; it
was God. If you circle He and His, you might run out of ink; but it is
a good exercise.
V. 6 is ironic in that, because of this judgment, God made Zion forget
the festivals and Sabbath, meaning that they couldn't hold them. In reality,
they had forgotten these things themselves, and that neglect was part of the
reason for their judgment and the downward spiral of their culture.
V. 7 The people never expected God to do this, but He Himself promised
this, if their hearts were rebellious and their worship was useless.
Just an aside, unless the ark of the covenant had already been
destroyed or hidden, it was probably lost here. It is funny that other items in
the temple are mentioned as being taken in Jeremiah 52, but an important item
like the ark is not mentioned. Actually, none of the furniture in the Holy
Place is mentioned either. It is just assumed that it was taken to Babylon.
V. 9 This mention of the prophets is ironic since Jeremiah was the only
true prophet. The others were frauds who lied and strengthened the people's
rebellion against God.
Vs. 11-19 Now Jeremiah is writing about his own heartache during this
destruction. How many different things can you find in these verses that caused
Jeremiah sorrow and anguish? There are at least five.
Vs. 18-19 It was easy to suggest that the people should cry out to the
Lord, but the hearts of these people were very sick. Think of the people who
took Jeremiah captive to Egypt. In spite of every word of Jeremiah coming true,
they still thought that worshiping other gods would help. In one of Ezekiel's
visions, we'll see another view of the depth of the corruption of the people's
hearts. These people Jeremiah is writing about here were lost, blind and
ignorant. It is doubtful that they could call on the Lord.
Like Jeremiah, our job is to faithfully follow the Lord into the
harvest. As we present the Word and the love of Christ, He will draw men to
Himself. We work to make disciples, who make disciples. It is more than tragic
to see people disregard the Lord and lose their souls, but when it comes to
that, it is their choice. We work in the hope of reaching and helping those who
will reach out to our Lord.
Philemon
This letter was written by Paul, in prison in Rome under house arrest,
during the time he wrote Ephesians and Colossians. Philemon was, apparently, a
well-to-do Christian in Colossae, who had a church in his house and who had
lots of slaves. One of those slaves apparently ran off with some stuff and
tried to hide out in Rome. Rome was about 1000 miles from Colossae as the bird
flies, and for a slave like Onesimus, probably at least 1500 miles by foot. And
then Rome was a city of thousands. What a place to hide. But wouldn't you know
it, someone in Rome (maybe Tychicus or Timothy or Luke) recognized him and
brought him to Paul. Talk about bad luck. Then wouldn't you know it, it got
worse. Paul led him to Christ. Oh, brother. Now, although Onesimus did wrong
and fled, in Christ, he had to go back and fess up. Also, although Philemon had
the right to punish this slave and even have him put to death, Onesimus was now
a brother in Christ. And if that weren't complicated enough, when Philemon
looked at Onesimus, he noticed that there was a note pinned to his shirt from
Paul.
Vs. 1-3 Philemon was a worker. It is thought that there was a church in
his house. It could be that Apphia was his wife and Archippus was his son.
Archippus is also mentioned in Colossians 4:17 and may have been a pastor.
Vs. 4-7 It is interesting that Paul was not only moved that Philemon
was growing in Christ as a disciple, but it looks like he was a good friend and
had been a source of comfort and encouragement for Paul personally.
V. 6 Notice that Paul says that by sharing his faith, Philemon was
growing into the fullness of knowing Christ. I really think this is how it is
meant to be. If we are not involved in the harvest, we can't grow in really
knowing the Savior.
V. 7 Philemon had a ministry to workers in the harvest, strengthening
and helping them. His actions were from his evident love for Christ and His
people.
Vs. 8-14 Introducing another of Christ's people to love: Onesimus. From
v. 13 it seems that Paul would have been happy to have kept Onesimus, but there
had to be due process of forgiveness and asking permission. The very fact that
Paul is being so diplomatic shows there might have been something going on
behind the scenes. It may be that Onesimus stole something when he left or was
a real problem to everyone and deserved severe punishment. Paul seems to be
going out of his way to defuse a situation that might have gotten the better of
Philemon.
Vs. 15-16 Paul adds a little eternal perspective and some sovereignty
of God into the equation.
Vs. 17-20 I don't think Paul is being manipulative here, but rather
fatherly. It seems that Paul also led Philemon to Christ. It is important for
parents to see their children do what is right. Sadly, stuff doesn't always go
right in the home or in the church. Paul is guiding him, and again, it seems
that Paul was being persuasive because he felt like he needed to be.
Vs. 21-22 This sounds a little like Philippians, where Paul had a
feeling he would be released soon.
You just finished another book of the Bible!
It is kind of comical to think of Onesimus trying to escape from
Philemon and slavery, and hiding in the super city of Rome. He had the
"bad luck" of running into the hands of God. It is hard to escape
from the long arm of the Lord.
Psalm 101
If I were a guessing man, I'd say this was written after David became
king of the entire nation and just after he brought the ark of the covenant
into the city of David. David's confidence and purity of heart seem to be
"pre-Bathsheba." David seems to be saying that because of his
confidence in God's steadfast love,
he can be firm with those who are sinful and perverse. It might get him in
trouble to be just, but his hope was in God. He knows that the steadfast love of the Lord will pull him
through all the anger of men associated with this stand he is taking.
V. 1 What an interesting combination - steadfast love and justice. David learned both of these as he ran
from Saul and waited on the Lord for the Lord's justice and vindication. In
spite of all the hatred and warfare aimed at David, God fulfilled the promise
of bringing David to the throne.
V. 2 This is the next part of the declaration of this psalm. It is hard
to know if David is saying you to God
or to the blameless way. David knew it was important to meditate on God and to
keep himself pure before God. David wanted this to be true of those in his
house.
Vs. 3-5 David was resolved to keep the dishonest and evil away from
him.
V. 6 In contrast to the evil and faithless, David would protect the
faithful in the land.
Vs. 7-8 We don't hear of David judging Israel, other than from his
throne when people were brought before him. He never led wars against the
wicked in Israel. During the time of the judges and the time of King Saul,
lawlessness was allowed to grow. These wicked people were lawless and robbing
and harming others. David would bring justice and order to the land. This need
for justice is how these verses should be understood. Notice that David's
desire was also to keep evil out of the city of the Lord.
Reading David's desires here, but knowing David's life, brings sad
thoughts. Knowing what happened in the book of Jeremiah brings sad thoughts
too. For us as disciples, knowing all of this should humble us and make us grow
close to the Lord as we work in the harvest.
Proverbs 26:20
Think of this proverb in terms of what you just read in Psalm 101.
Interesting connections.
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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