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 23
Ezekiel 45:13-46:24
Ezekiel 45:13-25
As you read this section and make observations, keep in mind that you
are learning something about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit here. We tend to
think that because we know Jesus, everything is over regarding the plan of
salvation, and that after the time of the church comes one big party. After the
Lord returns to earthy reality, there will be a thousand years of Israel
serving God, and there will be a world trying to grasp worshiping a very
visible God. In a way, it will be just like everyone is always saying they wish
it was: God will visibly be here, ruling; we will know answers right away.
Criminals will be caught immediately; the poor will be fed, etc. And to boot,
Satan will be gone. But is that really what everyone wants? Without accepting
the visible Christ by faith, the sin nature will still be unbroken and people will
still be condemned. Ask any of the chief priests, scribes or Pharisees who
persecuted and condemned Jesus; seeing is not believing.
Knowing God, all of what is being played out during the Millennium is
necessary. Some of these sacrifices might seem crazy to us, especially to those
with Western sensitivities, but they will be visual aids and memorial reminders
of what Jesus did for the human race. It will be so easy for everyone to love
and revere Jesus, right?
Vs. 13-17 Notice that David will provide the offerings and notice too
that the Sabbath will still be practiced in Israel.
Vs. 18-20 This is the Passover and notice that the blood is put on the
doorposts of the temple. It seems that this will be the only place where blood
will be used on doorposts. In other words, this will be a symbolic sacrificing
of the Passover lamb for the entire nation, showing that Jesus is the Lamb of
God.
Vs. 21-25 Notice that the Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the
Feast of Tabernacles are mentioned as required. These will be celebration
feasts and are all very visual reminders of spiritual truth. What is missing
from this list is the Day of Atonement with the scapegoat. That won’t be
required because atonement has already been accomplished.
Ezekiel 46
Vs. 1-12 A couple of things stand out to me here. First, at least in
Israel, the Sabbath will be kept. Second, the prince, who we know is David,
will be leading part of the worship. The fact that David will be leading
worship is a very fitting thing. No other king was so passionate about being in
the temple and singing to the Lord, than David. It is also interesting that
David could enter the east gate of the inner court, but he couldn't go into the
inner court. He remained in the east gate and left that way. Reading this
description of him going in and out before the people, I wrote a note in the
margin of my Bible that he was leading the people like a shepherd, going in and
out before the sheep.
Vs. 13-15 In Israel under the law there were morning and evening
offerings like this. Here it will only be in the morning. Again, it will be a
memorial reminder to the world (actually, it had always been a reminder) for
people to get their hearts right with God every day. The morning is a good time
to do this.
Vs. 16-18 The part here about the prince and his sons is confusing. So
far, the prince has been identified as the resurrected David. I don’t think
he’ll have any more kids. But there will be rulers under him who probably will
be identified as princes. If so, this would apply to those who are in
leadership with David, ruling the peoples. I think this will only apply to the
thousand years of this time on earth.
One interesting note here: In Isaiah 55 it says of David, Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples. The next verse talks about foreign
nations. David never really ruled any other nations, but apparently in the
Millennial Kingdom, he will be a leader and commander for them.
Vs. 19-24 The outer court will be so big, with so many kitchens, that
people will meet and eat right in the temple area. I guess this will be like a
millennial food court. It is interesting to me that God is not a vegetarian and
that those who are involved in these sacrifices are required to partake of
them. I suppose this symbolizes that after forgiveness, there is blessing and
bounty.
1 Peter 1:13-2:10
1 Peter 1:13-25
Peter is encouraging these people to remain strong and close to the
Lord in hardship. Knowing this, you should be able to think your way down through
these verses and find principles for strengthening yourself in trials.
V. 13 There is a lot in this verse. What do you see? Do you sense the
tense atmosphere of being under stress? Just the thought of being ready for action protects us from being passive
and defeated.
Vs. 14-16 The emphasis here isn’t just being holy (set apart). The real
point here seems to be living fully alert, obedient and God-honoring in our
conduct at all times, particularly in hard times.
Vs. 17-21 This has to do with having a Father to call on during this
time of exile, knowing we have a future inheritance. This sounds pretty
strengthening and encouraging, particularly for people going through hard
times. Do you think it encouraged them to know they were exiles and that this place
isn’t home? Does it encourage you?
Vs. 22-25 It seems like the Word is the point in this section, being
mentioned twice in v. 25. Verse 22 looks like the effect the truth in the Word
has on us. Verse 23 reminds me of the parable of the sower. The sower sows the word (Mark 4:14). How
does this aid a disciple going through trials?
Vs. 24-25 See Isaiah 40:6-8.
Isn't it interesting that we are also reading Psalm 119 where David is
constantly strengthening himself in the Word?
1 Peter 2:1-10
Vs. 1-3 I think this is still connected to talking about the Word. This
is one of the only ways we are to remain like babies. We are to be constantly
desiring and needing the Word. This is not only a good thing; it is a vital
thing. Notice too that it is a command to long for the Word. That takes
cultivation. It is not automatic. You hear people say that they
"love" reading the Bible, but do they need it so badly and long for
it so deeply that even when they don't "love" reading the Bible, they
are still irresistibly drawn to it? That’s why we’re doing this together.
Vs. 4-8 After being grounded in the Word, we grow into Christ as a spiritual house. We are reading
about the temple in Ezekiel. Here the temple is figurative, but even more
fantastic. We are built into Christ. It is the Word through the Spirit that
matures us in our Lord.
V. 9 is one of the shortest and clearest declarations of our blessing
and joy in salvation and our mission on this planet. We are a priesthood. How?
Notice the privilege that is being spoken of here. Can you see how this is
connected to the harvest and our mission following Christ? Isn’t it amazing how
Peter is encouraging these people, in their trials of faith, to keep following
Christ? This is what we are supposed to do for others as we make disciples, who
make disciples, who make disciples. Through the Word, Peter was obeying Jesus'
command to him to feed the lambs, tend the sheep and feed the sheep (John
21:16-17).
V. 10 And we should never forget this.
You have to admit that Peter had a knack for encouragement. Everything
Peter is saying is focusing these people on Christ. Following Christ in the
harvest is all about our salvation and our Savior. We have an amazing privilege
and task before us on this earth. It is interesting to me that the two
apostles, Peter and Paul, who are shown in Acts as having the largest
ministries of reaching people, are also the two who fell the deepest and were
later restored. Peter denied Jesus, and Paul persecuted and killed Jesus'
disciples.
Psalm 119:33-48
Notice the different words David uses to refer to the Word.
Vs. 33-40 Notice in the first six verses how David asks God to make the
Word known to him. Verse 40 shows that if you are passionate about something,
you keep asking and God keeps answering.
Vs. 41-48 Notice how vs. 41-42 hang together. If you only had v. 41,
that would be great; but v. 42 gives you the context and lets you see how the
Word strengthened David in his trials. In this section it is God's steadfast love that holds David's heart
so that he can be strong to follow and be a witness to others.
Notice the mentions of bearing witness, distress, seeking and worship.
David understood as a shepherd, that the Word was to be spoken of to help and
guide others. We saw in Ezekiel 34:23 that David's future role in Israel will
be as a witness and leader to his people and the nations, going in and out
before them, worshipping God. The Word is what God used to make David this kind
of shepherd.
Proverbs 28:11
Comfort and money make you seem wise, but the better perspective comes
from being needy and dependent on God. Blessed are those who hunger now (Luke
6:21).
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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