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 8
Ezekiel 18-19
Ezekiel 18
Vs. 1-4 God does a little housekeeping here. Seen here and in v. 25,
the people were actually blaming others and God for their misfortune. This
portion is interesting when you place it next to the Scripture that says God
visits the sins of the fathers on the sons down to the fourth generation (Ex.
34:6-7). With this text in Ezekiel you see how God Himself understood that
declaration. If the generations persist in the sins of the fathers, as they
probably will, judgment will follow. But if a single person is different or if
he repents, God treats that person according to his own behavior.
Vs. 5-9 A righteous man. God is giving a basic definition regarding
behavior. Not only that, He is not talking about eternal life or damnation,
rather how this person would fare in the upcoming judgment of Jerusalem. This
would be similar to Abraham talking to the angel of the Lord (Jesus) in Genesis
18:23-33, where Abe was basically trying to save Lot.
Vs. 10-13 An unrighteous son of the righteous man shall surely die.
Vs. 14-18 The righteous son of the unrighteous son of the righteous man
shall surely live.
Vs. 19-20 This sums up these past three examples, and v. 20 says it
all.
Vs. 21-23 This is an unrighteous man who repents. Notice that this is
not talking about eternal life. It is life on earth, and in terms of the coming
judgment of Jerusalem, who would live and who would die on earth.
V. 23 This is why we are left on earth, to proclaim this in the
harvest. Some people will turn to God.
V. 24 This is a righteous person who goes bad. The penalty is death on
earth, not eternal judgment. Imagine someone in Jerusalem getting caught up
with the hopelessness and the "tomorrow we die" mentality and
deciding to go for the gusto and go nuts morally. God is saying that person
would receive judgment. That is the same as today if a good person goes on a
one-night binge and drives drunk and kills a person.
Vs. 25-29 It is clear to us that Israel was shifting blame to God.
Eventually they would see that their own sin and judgment was caused by
themselves.
Vs. 30-32 What a very "grace-full" and loving declaration.
Ezekiel 19
This is a lament on Judah's kings.
Vs. 1-4 The mother is the
nation of Israel. This lion taken by
the Egyptians is the son of Josiah, Jehoahaz, whom Pharoah Neco took into
captivity.
Vs. 5-9 This is Jehoiachin, whom Nebuchadnezzar took into captivity to
Babylon. Jehoiakim is skipped here because that donkey of a man only deserved
the burial of a donkey.
Vs. 10-14 This is Zedekiah. After him, there will be no more kings in
the line of David until Jesus. Truly, it was lamentable.
We've been reading about times getting worse and worse in Judah. We've
seen bad rulers destroy what was good and allow a culture of ungodliness to
grow. The word "ungodly" may seem subjective, but God being God is
very objective. He is greater than human opinion on any subject. He is the One
who says what reality is. For the people who were obeying and following God,
there was the despair of seeing the land and its people come under judgment.
But, God was still working and giving hope to those who sought it. God's
declarations of judgment and hope were meant to give people an opportunity to
turn to Him. Sending men like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel was an act of
compassion on God's part.
Today in the harvest we know that judgment is coming. Human governments
and nations are only incidental. The book of Revelation is the only book in the
Bible that promises a blessing for reading it. God wants us to keep our perspective
on the world and our commission. We cannot have heaven on this earth. Here is
where we follow our Lord in the harvest, reaching out to the lost and making disciples,
who make disciples, who make disciples, until our Lord returns.
Hebrews 9:1-10
Vs. 1-5 The approach to God in the law was very guarded and not
available to everyone. Contrary to the people's habit of worshiping on hills,
there was only one place that forgiveness could be sought, the
tabernacle/temple.
One note here is that in v. 4 in the ESV it mentions the altar of
incense being in the Most Holy Place
instead of being in the Holy Place in
front of the veil. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it does not
say altar, but censer. This is also the translation of the King James Version. A
censer was a metal container on a chain that was filled with incense and swung
to fill the room with the fragrance of the burning incense. That censer was
probably what was inside the Most Holy Place and used on this one day when the
high priest went inside. The altar of incense was in the Holy Place and stood
in front of the veil.
Vs. 6-10 This sort of worship under the law was very limited. Only the high priest was allowed into
the Most Holy Place and then only once a
year.
This description of the Most Holy Place, the priest and the rituals
leading up to the Day of Atonement under the law is building up to v. 11. In a
way, this is not only saying the earthly routines and regulations of Judaism
were limited and ineffective, but it is also saying that anything we do today
that involves religious routines and regulations are equally as ineffective. We
are always tempted to coat following Jesus with ritual. With what we'll see
regarding the work of Jesus, no routine or liturgy or regulations are required
for our spiritual life. We still insist on a liturgy in the West because it
makes us feel more spiritual. I doubt that they have much liturgy in house
churches in areas of the world where Christians are persecuted. A couple of
believers in China meeting quickly and privately, praying and encouraging each
other in the Word, is very honoring to God. This is perhaps more of what God
has in mind, than what happens in most churches in the West on any given
Sunday. What is essential to being a disciple in the harvest is following
Jesus, reading His Word, and making disciples.
Psalm 106:32-48
Vs. 32-33 This rebellious people also assisted Moses in missing out on
going into the land. Notice that they
made his spirit bitter.
Vs. 34-39 This is a summation of the history of Israel in the land.
This is what we are reading about in Ezekiel.
Vs. 40-42 This history of judgment goes from the judges right up to
what we're reading in Ezekiel.
V. 43 Notice the interesting role this verse and this truth has between
what is said before and what comes in v. 44. In spite of God continually
rescuing them, they still rebelled. And although He punished them, God never
gave up. Who says there is no love in the Old Testament?
Vs. 44-46 The psalmist is not only praising God for this; he is
reminding God that there is a precedent for what he is about to ask. Notice the
mention of hearing their cry, the covenant, the steadfast love and pity.
V. 47 Here is the plea. I would say that these are Ezekiel's people.
V. 48 Whoever wrote this understood that God would hear and act. The
point of this long song is found in vs. 44-48. In spite of all of that, God
still showed them mercy and heard them. Therefore, they should keep on praying,
trusting Him and praising Him.
Proverbs 27:10
This proverb has to do with friends as opposed to relatives. The idea
of not going to your brother's house in
the day of your calamity is that, in this case, the brother lives weeks
away. Instead, just go to your friend.
By not forsaking your friend and
your father's friend, you will have friends who are near you in the day of your calamity.
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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