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.
NOVEMBER 11
Time to look forward to
something. In our reading on November 18 God will begin taking Ezekiel on field
trips, and then things will get exciting because there will be more visions
dealing with the end times and the restoration of Israel. For some of us,
getting through this heavy reading toward the end of November will be a true cause
for thanksgiving. Look for ways to motivate yourself to keep up with your
reading in The One Year Bible. All of this is very important Scripture,
but honestly, it is hard to wade through. With such a large volume of Scripture
showing God's judgment for spurning His existence and His love, it reminds us
that this world we live in is doing the same thing. If a vote were held today,
God would be voted out of His own creation. To switch analogies, the world is
poisoned by sin and it doesn't know it. Yet we have the antidote, and that's
why we follow Christ in the harvest.
Ezekiel
23
When Ezekiel gave this
message I'm sure the parents ran for their children, this time to cover their
ears. The imagery is purely to rebuke Israel for their idolatry as you'll see
in v. 49. Notice again the mentions of blood and offering children. We don't
see sin as God does. This is how He saw the actions of Israel. He is the
spurned husband having to witness His wives' appalling, sick and humiliating
whoring. And they do it with all He's given them, in every place He's built for
them, right in front of Him. And the judgment is appropriate and harsh. It is
amazing that He was as patient and gracious and guiding as long as He was.
Vs. 1-4 Both sisters are
Israel and their whoredom began in Egypt. This has been a long history. One
sister represents the northern kingdom of Israel and the city of Samaria. The
other sister represents the southern kingdom, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem.
One other note: Jerusalem looked with scorn upon Samaria. After all, Samaria
didn't have the temple or the city of God and they worshiped stupid stuff. Yet
according to God, Jerusalem was worse. The name Oholah means "tent," suggesting that Samaria made their
own sanctuary of worship. But Oholibah
means "my tent," suggesting that Jerusalem was the place of God's
sanctuary.
Some of this language, in the
Hebrew, would be very offensive in our ears.
Vs. 5-10 Interestingly,
little is written about Samaria. They never had a godly king, and Elijah and Elisha
prophesied long and hard trying to stem the tide of ungodliness in that
country. Although Samaria had a fling with Syria, their main attraction was for
Assyria. Samaria was always totally idolatrous.
Vs. 11-21 By the sheer volume
of text directed against Judah and Jerusalem, you can see this is really God's
point. The fact that God had a very special relationship with the Davidic
kings, and that Judah did have some very godly kings, made their sin
exponentially worse than what happened in spiritually ignorant Samaria.
Vs. 22-27 So here is the
punishment on Judah and Jerusalem, and it is graphic and much worse than
Samaria. Notice v. 25. This was how you maimed prostitutes to make them utterly
unattractive.
Vs. 28-35 Jerusalem's pride
in being better and godlier than Samaria will be used to humble Jerusalem.
Vs. 36-42 Lest we think that
God was being too severe, we see what was really the reason behind God's
actions. This was a culture which was perverse and lost every day. The worship
of Baal was every day. The people gave birth to kids as a result. They
sacrificed those kids to Molech. Then they also went to the temple to worship,
and they couldn't and wouldn't see anything wrong with that.
Vs. 43-45 These righteous men
were the prophets and godly men God sent to warn the people.
Vs. 46-49 Oddly, there is a
ray of hope here. The people receiving this prophecy were in Babylon listening
to Ezekiel. They would be spared the destruction of Jerusalem, and eventually
their children would be cleansed of idol worship and come under the influence
of a godly community that would grow in Babylon. Verse 49 seems to be a promise
that through all of the punishment, the people will come to know God.
Working in the harvest, the
lost we work among are at best ignorant of God and at worst they really don't
care, but everyone lost is under Satan's power. It is amazing to see what
people get tangled up with. We don't have to judge or be appalled. God does
that for us. We extend His truth and forgiveness. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible (Eph.
5:12-13). We bring the light. Especially reading what we're reading here, we
know that God forgives. Knowing our own lives and what Jesus has done for us,
we know He forgives and is strong enough to reclaim and heal us. This is what
we bring to the harvest as we reach out to the lost and make disciples, who
make disciples. Sin is devastating, but He is stronger.
Hebrews
10:18-39
This is the part of Hebrews
that will transition from the proofs of Christ's superiority and the warnings
against turning their backs on Him, to the practical exhortations to endure and
follow Him.
V. 18 This should have been
included in yesterday's reading.
Vs. 19-25 Notice the
structure here. There are two uses of since
followed by three exhortations marked by let
us.
V. 20 Jesus' body was the
"veil" that separated us from the holy place of receiving forgiveness
and mercy. Remember that when Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn.
Because Jesus' body was "torn," we are able to enter into God's
presence.
V. 21 Jesus is living to
intercede for us.
V. 22 Drawing near to God
with a clean conscience is only possible because of Christ's payment for our
sin.
V. 23 Publicly enduring and
holding fast is based on Jesus, who He is and what He has done.
Vs. 24-25 Encouraging one another and hanging
tight together is another way to obey Jesus' commandment to love one another.
Vs. 26-31 This is a very
strong warning that is really a summary of everything that has been said in
Hebrews up to this point.
Vs. 26-27 This is written to
a Christian who strongly and resolutely turns his back on Christ through
actions or attitudes and continues in this defection. The question then is,
"what more can God do to awaken this person since Christ will not die for
him again?"
As for the judgment of
believers, you only have to look at Acts 5, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 and 1
Corinthians 11:30 to find that there is judgment for the saved. Jesus Himself
exhorted and warned His disciples to endure. There is a sense of loss now on
earth when we cave in and give up. Look at Matthew 10:22 and James 1:12.
Vs. 28-29 You see the
connection between these verses. Just as the law promised judgment when
violated, so also the new covenant requires punishment for those who disregard
Christ. These people are definitely Christians and are saved. Look again at the
wording of 1 Corinthians 11:28-32, to see that this is possible for believers.
Look at 1 Corinthians 10 to see more of this. Those believers in 1 Corinthians
were dabbling with worshipping demons. These are just a few examples of born
again, eternally secure believers, defaming Christ through their lifestyle and
decisions.
Vs. 30-31 Would we think that
somehow God would not punish His own children if they willfully walk away from
Him? The point of God doing this is restoration of the person, and salvation of
the lost by not allowing His children to defame Christ's name. Look at 1 Peter
4:17 or John 15:6.
Vs. 32-34 Now we can see the
situation of these believers in a slightly fuller perspective. When they first
came to Christ, in the reality of their salvation and the power of that first
love, they were alive, courageous and sacrificial. But now, after these years
of routine belief and becoming comfortable, quietly allowing the flames to die
out, they were not willing or able to face persecution and the loss of their
lifestyle and the things that gave them comfort and meaning. Now it seemed
better for them to be quiet, to blend in and to compromise their faith in
Christ by returning to the law and Jewish custom. God wasn't asking them to
become political or social activists. They could still live a quiet life, godly
and respectful in every way; but they needed to keep their lamps burning and to
be salt. They had to follow Christ with the cross on their shoulders, ready to
share what He had done for them.
Vs. 35-39 These people were
saved and had had great confidence in Christ. If they didn't endure the present
threat and if they compromised their faith, they would lose what it meant to
live in Christ. If they shrank back from Christ to help themselves, Christ
would shrink back from them and not send them the strengthening help that He
would gladly send to them. The destruction that would come would not be loss of
salvation, but damage on earth of their faith, their hearts and their lives.
Psalm
109
As you read this you can
imagine David in the middle of his years of running from Saul. He is hunted
without having done wrong and his name is constantly lied about to gain the
sympathy of the people for Saul. The hope was that these lies would set the
people against David. In the meantime, David heard of what Saul and his nobles
are doing to the people, how they are neglecting them, twisting justice, using
everything for their advantage while people suffered.
Now this is a very negative
psalm. How could God inspire something so negative and vindictive? Good
question. Many times what David felt and experienced was meant to show what
Jesus would live through. Oddly enough, there are several allusions to Jesus'
crucifixion and rejection by that generation of Israel. God did promise a
special punishment for those people who demanded Jesus' death. That judgment
came in 70 A.D., and I'm sure the judgments pronounced here came upon those
people.
Vs. 1-5 If you read about
what Jesus had to put up with as He hung on the cross, you understand this.
Verse 3 sounds like John 15:25.
V. 4 This is something David
learned and that Jesus commanded to His disciples.
Vs. 6-15 This section may apply to the people who said to
Pilate in Matthew 27:25, And all
the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
V. 8 It may be that this
section also is a judgment pronounced on Judas. Acts 1:20, “For
it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let
there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
Vs. 16-20 When I read this I
thought of what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees in Luke 20:47, who devour widows' houses.
Vs. 21-29 This is the
hallmark of David's life, knowing the steadfast
love of the Lord. This is a hard way to learn God's steadfast love, but
this is how we all must learn.
V. 25 Matthew 27:39 - And
those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads.
Vs. 30-31 And this is the
response of David to God's deliverance and knowing God's steadfast love. He
always gave praise to God to the entire congregation.
And when God takes us through
trials as we follow our Lord in the harvest, He teaches us all of this so that
we will gain amazing faith and confidence in Him and praise His name.
Proverbs
27:13
The word adulteress is not necessarily here. "Foreigner" might
work better. The idea is one we've seen before. God is telling us not to make
ourselves responsible for those for whom we should not be closely associated.
In other words, we are not to be yoked to unbelievers and we should not make
ourselves liable for the foolish.
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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