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.
DECEMBER 27
Zechariah 10-11
Zechariah
10
This
chapter seems to be saying that in His future blessing of Israel, God will give
the nation a good shepherd.
Vs.
1-2 A good shepherd would lead the
people to God. Without a good shepherd they wander. Notice the encouragement
for them to call on and seek the Lord instead of relying on junk and the words
of others. Nothing has changed since then and God is telling us the same thing
today.
Vs.
3-5 First, God will provide a shepherd to the tribe of Judah. Notice the
references to ruling and leading into battle. As we'll see tomorrow in both
Zechariah and Revelation, the Lord will come first to Jerusalem to gather His
people and then head north to the battle. And there will be an actual battle in
both Jerusalem and 75 miles north in Megiddo (Armageddon).
Vs.
6-7 God will then strengthen all of
Israel represented in the leading tribes. Again, tomorrow the references to
battle will make more sense. According to v. 7, when the Lord leads them to the
battle of Armageddon, the people will be so "drunk" with the Spirit
that they will go forth in joy and power. They will be invincible. And their
leader, this time, will not be turning the other cheek.
Vs.
8-12 With this victory behind Him, this shepherd will gather all of the sheep
to Jerusalem and they shall walk in His
name.
Zechariah
11
But
first, the nation will reject the shepherd and be given to judgment. It might
be that Zechariah did some role playing here in vs. 4, 7 and 15.
Vs.
1-3 This is a poetic picture of ruin.
Vs.
4-14 Jesus became the good shepherd of the flock or generation of Israel that
was doomed to slaughter. Jesus' generation was doomed because they didn't
accept Him. This generation was scattered and Jerusalem was destroyed by the
Romans in 70 A.D.
V.
8 The three shepherds may have been
the chief priests, the Pharisees and the scribes. These were the main leaders
of the people. Most of the priests were Sadducees, not believing in angels or
the resurrection. I was reading this morning how hard Jesus was toward the
Jewish rulers, Pharisees and scribes. They took away the key of the knowledge
of salvation from the people. They themselves didn't enter and they made it
extremely difficult for anyone who found the way through the grace of God. In
John 19:15, it was the chief priests who cried out, We have no king but Caesar.
V.
10 Because of His rejection by the leaders, the staff of Favor was broken.
V.
13 This is what Judas was paid to betray Jesus. It is interesting that the
money here was thrown to the potter, and in Matthew 27:5 the priests used the
betrayal money to buy the potter's field.
V.
14 The staff of Union might
symbolically describe the Jews being scattered in the Roman persecution.
Vs.
15-17 This is the judgment on those chief priests, scribes and Pharisees who
led Israel after Jesus' resurrection. We see in the early chapters of Acts that
these Jewish leaders were completely worthless in recognizing what was happening
and in leading the people.
For
an interesting connection here, read John 10, about the Good Shepherd. You'll
see some of this imagery in Jesus' words.
As
those who are seeking to make disciples, who make disciples, Jesus said that a
disciple is not above his master. That means that those we teach will be like
us. That's pretty scary. That means that we better be like our Teacher, the
great Shepherd. And we can only be like Him if we humble ourselves daily in His
Word and follow Him, with our cross, into His harvest.
Revelation 18
Vs.
1-3 It appears that God has used the antichrist's own anger to judge whatever
nation or city is represented by Babylon. You have to wonder why this is such a
big deal in heaven. I think that this Babylon, without any of Satan's
influence, is the expression of mankind's self-indulgent rebellion and sin.
This is how our hearts flow and how we work to ruin one another. If you read
Romans 1:18ff, you'll notice that mankind's rebellion and punishment is
mentioned without reference to Satan. Man ruined man and all men are under the
power of sin.
V.
3 This verse gives us the scope of this world influence and dominance. It is
sensual, material, commercial, pleasurable and addictive. As mentioned before,
we don't have the name of this nation, but the U.S. would be an example of a
nation that has this kind of influence in today's world, enticing the pride,
pleasure and greed of men.
Vs.
4-8 Note that there are still saints within her. Notice also that this
destruction by fire takes place in a
single day. Those believers within that city will have a warning, if by no
other means than by opening their Bibles. Notice here it says that Babylon was
destroyed in a single (one) day. It will refer to this destruction two times
more as "one hour." That gives the indication that it will definitely
and literally take place in one hour.
Vs.
9-10 This is the mourning of the kings or the rich of the world. You notice
that the immorality is not literal, but spiritual.
Vs.
11-19 This is the mourning of the merchants and consumers of the earth. Notice
again that Babylon's destruction came in
a single hour. Apparently this will be "breaking news."
Vs.
20-24 Notice that judgment is being given for the saints and apostles and prophets. Somehow this nation represents
the heart of man opposing God and His servants. The deciding verse here is v.
24, where the blood of the prophets and saints was found in her. I was thinking
this morning that two of the archenemies Paul faced were Demetrius the
silversmith and Alexander the coppersmith. They were businessmen. Alexander,
apparently, was responsible for Paul's final imprisonment, and Paul told
Timothy to avoid him.
Notice
that God has given us two chapters about a nation and influence that dominated
the world. And, we'll hear more about it tomorrow. This nation led people away
from God. It seduced people and nations through pleasure, music, goods, power
and a focus on greed and self. It killed God's people not because of Satan, but
because God's people, by their love for Christ and very presence, were a light
to the sin of this nation. By following God, they were a threat. This nation
defied God and it defied Satan. Mankind doesn't need Satan to be ruined from
sin. We do that fine by ourselves. As C.S. Lewis said, "The dwarfs are for
the dwarfs." During the Millennial Kingdom where everything is perfect and
where Satan is locked up, mankind will still harbor lust and desire and greed.
By the end of the Millennium, there will be many who will hate Jesus. They will
see Him and despise Him. When Satan reappears, there will be multitudes who
will follow him. The desires of our sinful nature create Babylon and lead us
away from God.
Man
may be for Man, but as disciples, we are for the Lord and His harvest.
Psalm 146
What
speaks to me here is that God teaches us to look beyond the human. He is our
only hope. We deceive ourselves thinking that we or anyone else are our help
and hope. God may use others to help us, but it is He alone and always only
Him. I'll praise God for hard times because that is where I learn and learn to
praise Him alone.
Vs.
1-2 This is the call to praise and the declaration of the psalmist. Can we say
this?
Vs.
3-4 Since men die, our sure hope is in an undying and unfailing God.
Vs.
5-7 In these short verses you have the promise to Abraham. This promise and
faithfulness are illustrated in how God still stayed with that dishonest
follower, Jacob. Then there is the creation and how God in faithfulness holds
all that together. Finally, God is the Judge of the earth who cares for the
poor.
Vs.
8-10 I read this morning how the Good Shepherd healed a women who was bent over
from satanic oppression and released her of that bond on the Sabbath day. Then
a worthless shepherd stood up and opposed Him. And in a few words, Jesus
rebuked all of those leaders and put His adversaries to shame. There was
definitely no cheek turning as the Good Shepherd defended one of His own. He is
our strong Deliverer. It is amazing to think of what Jesus has done, still does
and will do to save us as we follow Him in the harvest.
Proverbs 30:33
Anger is a good thing not to "press." The joke regarding this
verse is that some guy challenged a preacher saying that the Bible wasn't true.
The preacher called the guy up on stage, read this verse, and as he reached out
for the guy's nose he said, "Let's see if this verse is true."
My German one-year Bible put vs.
32-33 on the same day. Luther gave an accurate and variant translation of v.
32. Putting both verses together, the import would be that whether you have considered
something like a fool, or whether you have really done a good job of
considering a point (the word consider is the same word as Proverbs 31:16 for
the godly woman weighing the pros and cons of buying a field), put your hand
over your mouth because stirring up anger and strife is still to be avoided. So
whether you are wrong or right, don't cause a fight. Only a fool causes a fight
to be right.
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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