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translations.
NOVEMBER 17
Ezekiel 35-36
Ezekiel 35
In restoring Israel and bringing them to a place of blessing, God will
take away their reproach and their enemies. Of all Jerusalem's neighbors, no
one showed the level of hatred that Edom did. To see that this peace was hoped
for and connected with the Messiah, look at Luke 1:72-74.
Vs. 1-9 Until we get to v. 5 we don’t understand the reason for this
judgment, but even so, we won’t understand it fully until we get to the prophet
Obadiah. The Edomites allowed their hatred and hostility to get the better of
them. And then they mocked God. The judgment in Malachi 1:4 shows that God was mad.
Vs. 5-6 Notice the word because
in both of these verses. This is one of the reasons God is not happy. There is
one more reason in a few verses, also introduced by because.
V. 9 Notice how often God says, you
will know that I am the Lord.
Vs. 10-15 Not only did they use their mouths against the Lord, in
Obadiah we’ll see they were on the temple ruins drinking themselves silly.
Ezekiel 36
Vs. 1-7 You may remember that God had Ezekiel speak to the mountains in
chapter 6. For the renewed people of Israel, the mountains will be a place of
blessing instead of judgment. God will humble the nations that reviled and
reproached Israel.
V. 5 Notice how God refers back to the past chapter in explaining why
His judgment is so hot.
Vs. 8-15 Notice v. 11. This section is hinting at a change of heart
that God will give Israel. The nations will no longer be able to ridicule
Israel for devouring its own people. God will bless them and change them.
Vs. 16-32 In this second part of the message, God declares why He will
bless them. If you underline the word name,
you'll figure this out. Also, in Daniel 9, Daniel utters one of the best
prayers in the Bible, absolutely stellar (and probably what he was praying in
chapter 6 of Daniel). God's concern here was also Daniel's concern there.
Vs. 16-21 The name of God was blasphemed among the nations because of
Israel. See Romans 2:24.
Vs. 22-32 This is clearly millennial blessing. Notice the steps in
this. First, the Lord will gather them from all nations. Some think this will
happen during the first three years of the Tribulation, when the nation of
Israel will be at peace. It will definitely happen at the end of the
Tribulation when the Lord returns. Verse 26 is the second step. There was a
partial fulfillment of this on the day of Pentecost. Peter mentioned that the
prophecy in Joel was fulfilled in the coming of the Spirit, but there, like
here, it is only a partial fulfillment of what will happen to the entire
nation. Apparently there will be some blast of recognition at the beginning of
the Tribulation so that the nation (the majority of the people) will understand
that Jesus is the Messiah. They will need that to begin to fulfill their
destiny during the Tribulation. Verse 28 will be fulfilled after the
Tribulation, with Jesus ruling the world from Jerusalem.
Vs. 33-38 This promise of blessing ties the two parts of the chapter
together. What an amazing blessing, and it will be the hope of every believing
Jew during the Tribulation. I think that as disciples, this promise for them
gives us hope and perspective too. After all, we have been blessed with the
firstfruits of that blessing: salvation and the Holy Spirit.
James 1:1-18
"Everybody loves Romans. Nobody loves James." At least that
was sort of the motto during the Reformation. This letter was written by James,
the brother of Jesus, who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. It is
very likely that James is the very first letter written. It went out to the
Christian Jews who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, but some think,
particularly to the east of Israel. Why to Jewish Christians? During the birth
of the church at Pentecost, the city was full of Jewish pilgrims from all
nations. During those days and weeks, the city swelled from the few thousand
who lived there, to over 25,000 people. During that time there was a great
harvest in the city. The numbers mentioned in Acts 2 and Acts 4 suggest that
8,000 men came to faith, besides women, and more people were being added to the
church every day. When these people left Jerusalem, there was a need for
teaching and follow up. We know of what happened north and west of Israel
thanks to Acts, but many of these people returned to their homes in the east,
toward Persia and Babylon. It is thought that some of the apostles went east to
work with these people, some as far as India. The ministry to Jewish converts
everywhere, and to those in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire, was the
focus of James' letter.
Vs. 1-4 It is interesting to me that the benefits of trials are mentioned right at the
beginning. Paul waits until chapter 5 in Romans. A new view of trials is
inherent to a new view of life on this planet once we've been born in Christ.
These new believers would face persecution when they returned home to their
Jewish communities. Notice that trials are to make believers steadfast and able
to endure.
Vs. 5-8 This is best seen in the context of the trials. The double-minded man is what we've just
seen in Hebrews. Either God has spoken in Jesus or He hasn't. If a man straddles
a fence he gets hurt. It's that simple. Certainly some of these converts under
persecution would be brought to the point of doubt. Jesus spoke often about the
reward of endurance.
Vs. 9-11 Position in life might be one of those things that makes trials
hard to bear. The poor need to rejoice that the message of the gospel was meant
for them. The rich are not better off spiritually because they have resources.
They also have a lot to lose. You could imagine that there would be financial
repercussions for those who had zealous Jewish employers who didn’t think Jesus
was cool.
V. 12 This is a summary declaration of the benefit of enduring trials.
Notice again the word steadfast. This
is what David learned from God as a result of running from Saul for ten years.
Vs. 13-15 When a person falls in times of trial and trouble, it is not
God who lured them into a fall. The mechanism is already within us. God allows
trials to test us and reveal what is within, but He doesn't lure us in to
sinning. Hard times do funny things to all of us. In Luke 8:13, the seed that
sprang up quickly fell away in time of persecution when temptation overcame it.
The next seed was overcome by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. Persecution
can also affect our jobs, our possessions and our comfort.
Vs. 16-18 In trials, as new creatures in Christ, as the firstfruits of
His salvation, we look for blessings, not on earth, where moth and rust
corrupt, but from the Father, who never varies in His love and approval of us
as He sees us in Christ. Trials have a way of making us think we are under
punishment from God. It is in those times of trial that we are able to
appreciate the very subtle and quiet gifts He gives us that become more
meaningful than stuff.
Following Christ in the harvest, we learn, like so many other disciples
who have come before us, that God's love is steadfast and faithful.
Psalm 116
This is a beautiful psalm/song of being delivered. In Ezekiel 36:16-32,
the name of the Lord was very
important. Underline name here also. It
is the key to understanding this psalm and living as a disciple in hard times.
Vs. 1-4 This kind of sounds like the effect of obeying James 1:2-4. How
else do you experience this? Notice when David learned to seek help.
Vs. 5-7 How does your soul learn true rest and peace? The psalmist made
God his hope. He cried out; he endured and he was never the same.
Vs. 8-9 Apparently the writer was in deep despair. This definitely
sounds like David in Psalm 27.
Vs. 10-11 This is the bitterness of feeling helpless and having
powerful enemies like David did. Notice that God didn’t take David out of this.
He led him through it.
Vs. 12-14 If this is David, it is his constant refrain that as a result
of God’s mercy, he would praise God before all the people and all the nations.
Calling on the name of the Lord here
is the result of calling on the name of
the Lord in v. 4. There, it was out of desperation. Here, it is out of
praise for deliverance.
Vs. 15-19 The psalmist wasn’t killed and was able to praise God in the
tabernacle or temple in Jerusalem. Even when God allows His saints to be
killed, they are still precious. When we get to Revelation, we’ll see that the
slain saints were very precious to God. They not only defeated Satan, but they
revealed the righteousness of God’s judgment against the peoples of the earth.
Their secret was that they called on the
name of the Lord.
Proverbs 27:23-27
Vs. 23-27 Especially here in the West, we are unconsciously ruled by
our resources and our wealth. Even as believers we still weigh our stuff and
our needs above the need to give everything to the Lord and work in the
harvest. How different are Jesus' words to the disciples, pray….give us this day our daily bread. The Lord has put what we
need before us and if we maintain and "honor" Him in it, we will
never lack what we need, spiritually, physically or emotionally. According to
Jesus, what makes us fruitless and needy is desiring too much for ourselves.
See Luke 8:14. If we take care of the things that are important to Him, we will
be taken care of by the things He has produced in and around us as we have
labored for Him.
V. 23 This is the key and leading thought of the proverb. Tend the
flock and all will be well. As disciples, we need to tend the flock first,
making disciples who are stable, growing in the Word and obeying our Lord by
following Him in the harvest. He will take care of us if we follow Him first
and obey. Being anxious to meet our needs first leads to fruitlessness and fear
of loss. Notice Jesus' words to Peter in John 21:15-19. This "fisher of
men" was to begin by feeding lambs and tending and feeding sheep. The
entire church is to be a disciple-making community and the disciples who
comprise it need to be tended and fed.
V. 24 The NIV has a better translation here, crown is not secure for all
generations. The German translation implies that the crown doesn't
protect forever.
Vs. 25-27 Even if it is not stuff that the Lord provides through our
service, realizing that our time on earth has mattered for Christ will keep us
clothed and nourished. Knowing that there are people who have been brought
closer to Christ as disciples and are going beyond us, making disciples, who
make disciples, will give us something that few people on earth possess. And,
it will be a heritage and a help to those closest to us.
Luke 12:31 Instead,
seek his kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. 32
"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom…”
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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