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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.
NOVEMBER 10
Ezekiel 21-22
As
you read this, keep underlining, shall
know that I am the Lord. It is behind all of what God is doing. Also, just
think about this very intense judgment of Israel and others. If God is this
focused on cleansing and judging His own people, what is it going to be like
for those who deny Christ and for the generation on the earth who rebel against
God and persecute His people during the Tribulation?
Ezekiel
21
Vs.
1-5 As a result of the people ridiculing or criticizing Ezekiel because of his
cryptic visions, God "sharpens" the focus. Now it is a sword brought against Jerusalem and the
land. That’s pretty easy to understand.
Vs.
6-7 Ezekiel was to add public groaning to this message. Apparently he walked
around the market making noises, causing the parents once again to scramble and
find their children.
Vs.
8-13 Somehow I think this must have been a very loud prophecy. It is almost
funny. They didn't respect the rod,
so now they get the sword.
Vs.
14-17 I think Ezekiel acted this out publicly with a sword, sending parents
scrambling again to save their children. Imagine the shock of seeing Ezekiel
just walking down the street, wondering what insane thing he might do next.
Vs.
18-23 I'm not sure how Ezekiel acted this one out, but it sounds like it was
visual. Apparently v. 21 actually happened. Nebuchadnezzar had a choice to go
to Ammon (modern day Amman, Jordan) or to Jerusalem, and he and his advisors
did the superstitious version of flipping a coin. Oddly enough their
divinations told them to go and attack Jerusalem. Hmmmmm.
Vs.
24-27 The prince of Israel is
Zedekiah.
Vs.
28-32 The Ammonites were in the
alliance with Egypt and Israel to fight against Babylon. When Nebuchadnezzar
chose to go to Jerusalem first and destroy the city, these allies were very
happy. Also, when Babylon did take Jerusalem and appointed Gedaliah to be
governor of Judah, the Ammonites sent Ishmael to kill Gedaliah. That is the
reason for this "honorable" mention of judgment for the Ammonites. In
a few chapters there will be more judgment predicted for them.
Ezekiel
22
Vs.
1-16 These pronouncements of judgment must have been ringing in people's ears.
Here, once again, the nation is shown to be totally corrupt, not just because
of idolatry or neglecting the things of God, but because of the spilling of
innocent blood. Notice how often you find blood in this section. Notice too
that it began with the leaders and became a part of the culture. If you have a
concordance or an online Bible, do a search on "innocent blood."
You'll notice that God takes that very seriously. And also for the innocent blood that he (King Manasseh) had shed. For he
filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon (2
Kings 24:4).
Vs.
17-22 So what do you do if your "ore" is totally impure? You burn out
the impurities. Note that this isn't just for punishment, but also for
redeeming some who will know that He is the Lord and who will acknowledge why
God has brought this upon them.
Vs.
23-31 The point of this cleansing is seen in the punishment of different groups
of people. Find and circle them. Here the corruption began with the religious
leaders and seeped into the life of the people.
V.
30 is very famous. Now, there was still a small remnant of godly people and
there were men like Jeremiah still in Jerusalem. So what does it mean that
there was no one who would stand in the gap? I think it means there was no
leader who was willing to lead and fight against the corruption of the nation,
to lead them back to God. Moses would have been this kind of man. Jeremiah was
not designed to be that kind of a leader, although he was courageous, yet he
only moved as God moved him. It seems that all of the godly leaders had been
killed in trying to stop the corruption and had had their blood spilled in the
city. This then was a judgment not only on their murders; but in murdering the
good leaders, the people had removed the protection these vocal leaders could
have provided.
When
I think of standing in the gap, I don't think it is courage as much as love for
Christ and conviction that gets the job done. You come to the point of saying,
"If this stuff is really true, then somebody's gotta do something." And
you know that that somebody is you. It's time to live dangerously in the hands
of God. Check out the song, “Living Dangerously in the Hands of God,” by Steve
Camp.
Hebrews 10:1-17
Vs.
1-4 This is a brilliant argument. The very fact that the sacrifices had to be
repeated year after year meant they could not bring a person to lasting
forgiveness. They were only an image of what was to come in Christ.
V.
4 is a rather famous and important verse and declaration.
Vs.
5-7 Laura and I have Psalm 40:1-10 memorized, and these verses are from that
psalm. Verse 5 in the Hebrew says "but you have given me an open
ear." The translators of the Septuagint (Greek OT) understood this verse
as being figurative for a body. The Septuagint would have been the Bible that
Jesus and His generation read from. The fact that this verse is stated here
shows that "body" is a proper rendering and understanding. Jesus was
given a body and was given understanding of His mission.
Vs.
8-10 Again, these are very strong and logical verses. Already in Psalm 40 God
was showing that a new covenant was necessary and it would be instituted by the
Son presenting Himself for sin.
Vs.
11-14 These verses say it all. Notice how the author brings v. 14 back together
with v. 1 through the words perfect/perfected.
Vs.
15-17 These, again, are the spiritual promises to Israel from Jeremiah 31.
Israel receives both the spiritual and physical promises for the Millennial
Kingdom. The church partakes of the spiritual promise now as the Bride of
Christ. I still find it interesting that the Jews knew that the Holy Spirit was
promised. And while staying with them
he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of
the Father (Acts
1:4-5).
Psalm 108
Vs.
1-4 Most of The Psalms begin with a declaration of confidence, but this one
seems to stand out. This was probably during the early days of David being
king. He knew of God's faithful provision through all the years of running and
through all of the uncertainty. I've never seen before how David declared the steadfast love of the Lord so often.
Laura added to this by showing me that God's steadfast love and
faithfulness are often mentioned together.
Vs.
5-6 I think that when David knew how God had saved him so many times, it gave him
a vision of God making His glory known in all the earth.
Vs.
7-9 David's confidence in the Word.
Vs.
10-13 David knew to pray, yet he was confident in God's care.
Proverbs 27:12
Compromise is one thing; prudence is another. Jesus told His disciples
to beware of men, and therefore, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Paul told Timothy to beware and avoid Alexander the coppersmith.
On the other hand, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar, willing to die if
necessary; and God brought an incredible blessing for all of Israel in exile.
Wisdom must be in knowing the difference in these situations and understanding
the Spirit's leading.
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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