2 Chronicles 25-28: A Tale of Two Kings

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, - 2 Chron. 26:16 NIV

Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.  - 2 Chron 27:6 NIV

Power is either a tremendous blessing or a curse.  In the case of Jotham, he learned from watching his father, Uzziah, that if you swell with pride as a result of your power, it will bring your downfall.  Uzziah, who started out as a godly king, ended his reign in isolation, covered with leprosy.

Those of us who seek power from God need to consider what we are really asking for.  God's power is his, when we appropriate that power for our own purposes it ultimately corrupts.  Walking steadfastly with God will always result in more power in our lives, the power of overcomers.  But once we forget what the source of the power is and begin to think it is something that we own or responsible for, we've started down a slippery slope.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 25-28:  Ever Hearing but Never Understanding

2 Chronicles 21-24: Godly Influence

Sometimes all it takes is one or two godly persons to change the course of events.   Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and her husband, the priest Jehoiada, were such a couple.  Jehosheba took it upon herself to hide Joash when she saw that all of her brother Ahaziah's children were going to be murdered thus preserving the throne. 

Jehoiada her husband the priest, was responsible for reinstating the line of David by having Joash crowned king.  Jehoiada then made a covenant that he and the people and the king would be the LORD’s people. All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
   Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the LORD in the hands of the priests, who were Levites, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the LORD as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered.  He also stationed doorkeepers at the gates of the LORD’s temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.
   He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the temple of the LORD. They went into the palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne, and all the people of the land rejoiced. 2 Chronicles 23:16-20 NIV

Unfortunately, for Joash and all of Judah, their turning towards God was only because of the godly influence of Jehoiada.  Once Jehoiada died, it was business as usual and Joash and all of Judah would pay the consequences.  The godly influence of Jehoiada was short lived and so was their prosperity.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 21-24:  Power, Intrigue and Violence

2 Chronicles 17-20: The Voice They Wanted to Hear

   Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”
   Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.”  But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the LORD.”
   So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
   “Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”
   But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?”
  The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” - 2 Chronicles 18:3-7 NIV

There was a marked difference between Israel and Judah.  The kings of Israel led the people astray, to seek after any god but the one true God.  Israel was filled with prophets who would tell the king exactly what he wanted to hear whether it was true or not.  Judah, on the other hand, was ruled by somewhat godly kings who still sought the Lord. Ultimately, it didn't matter what the prophets told Ahab.  God was going to do what he was going to do.  Ahab was not a godly king and no good was going to come to him regardless of what his four hundred men prophesied.  Micaiah, the one who heard the voice of the Lord, the voice of the God of creation, the voice that called Abraham, the voice that led Moses, was the lone prophet who spoke the truth.  Ahab would have done well to listen to him instead of to the multitude of his false prophets.  If he had just once listened to the voice of God, history might have been written differently, but as it was he rode confidently into what was to be his final battle.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 17-20:  God Given Rest

2 Chronicles 12-16: There's Might and then There's Might

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.  Abijah went into battle with a force of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops. - 2 Chronicles 13:3 NIV

From the aspect of sheer numbers, it appears that Abijah was greatly out manned.  But, Judah had God on it's side.  The priests and Levites throughout Israel had fled to Judah because they were not wanted.  Israel had other gods they were relying on, but Judah was trusting in God. As Abijah called out to Jeroboam from Mount Zemaraim, "We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.” - 2 Chron. 13:11-12 NIV

Jeroboam could not win.  There was the might of all of his fighting men, two times the size of the fighting men of Judah and then there was God.  It's always wisest to be on God's side regardless of the size of the enemy.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 12-16:  Forsaken and Forsaken

2 Chronicles 8-11: Any King But God

In less than a hundred years, what God told the people of Israel through Samuel when they asked for a king came to pass.   He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.  He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.  He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.  When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
    But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.  Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles”  - 1 Sam. 8:13-20 NIV

The people got what they wanted.  They got the kings Saul and David that fought their battles and they got Solomon who built up incredible wealth on the resources of the people.  The price they paid for having someone take care of them became a millstone around their necks and when they complained, Solomon's son Rehoboam promised to extract an even heavier price.

 “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”  - 2 Chron. 10:14 NIV

That's what governments do.  Even those which begin with God in charge eventually extract too heavy a price for the people to bear.  The United States was founded by people seeking relief from the burden placed on them by the King of England.  They tried to set up a government 'of the people' that would not rob the people of their freedom, but any government comes at a cost.  Once the trust of a nation transfers from God to the government it is inevitable that the cost will eventually become too great to bear.  Man always ends up asking for a king....any king but God.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 8-11:  A Kingdom Divides

2 Chronicles 6-7: Why Has the Lord Done Such a Thing?

...the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
  “As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’
 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them,  then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 
 And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’  People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”  - 2 Chron. 7:12-22 NIV

We have just returned from Israel where we once more saw the western wall and the tunnels underneath where one can stand at the site closest to where the temple once stood.  Both Solomon's temple and the temple that Herod built are gone.  Any remains are lost to layers of building on top of the rubble. The temple that was so imposing, no longer exists.  All because God's people chose other gods. 

It has always been that way.  We can build all the fancy monuments and temples we want; all the great ministries and broadcasting networks, even governments can be built in the name of God. but if we embrace them, worship and serve them instead of God, we will bring the same disaster upon ourselves.  There is only one God.  There is only one deserving of worship.  He chooses to dwell where his glory will be shown, where people are in awe of him, and only of him.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 6-7:  A Promise Keeping God

2 Chronicles 1-5: A Holy Place

The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.  All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:
   “He is good;
   his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.  - 2 Chron. 5:11-14 NIV

Solomon built a magnificent temple for God, the likes of which had not been seen.  It was not an altar like those where the other inhabitants of the land worshipped their gods.  It was a temple where God, the only true God, would actually reside.  It was a holy place, full of the glory of the Lord and suddenly, all of the work that had been done, all of the magnificent works by all of the craftsmen, all of the gold, silver and finest materials that went into the structure, all of the worship and praise by all of the priests and musicians became insignificant.  Every one fell speechless. The glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

2010 Post - 2 Chronicles 1-4:  Who Am I To Build a Temple

1 Chronicles 27-28: If You Seek Him

We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.  - 1 Chron. 29:15-18 NIV 
David's words are difficult to understand for many of us who feel that the country we are living in is the be all and end all; those of us who trust in our government and form of government more than we do in God.  For most of us, in spite of what it says on our money, God is the last person we trust.  God  recognized this tendency on the part of his creation.  He warned the Israelites through David and through the prophets,  "If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (1 Chron. 18:9 NIV), but just like all of the generations to follow, they did not heed his words.  The kings and kingdoms that they trusted in all let them down and eventually ended in captivity, just as any government will do. 

There is only one path out of any morass...seek the Lord.  There is only one answer to any relationship problem, health problem, emotional issue, or financial situation...seek the Lord.  He is not hiding, he will be found.  But we have to stop looking for any other solution before he will be found.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 27-28:  The Task is Great

1 Chronicles 25-27: It Takes a Village

David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:  - 1 Chron. 25:1 NIV

Long before the phrase 'It takes a village to raise a child.' was popular, David knew that it took more than one person to perform all of the duties necessary in serving the Lord.  The sons of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman all participated in thanking and praising the Lord.  In addition to those who provided the music and worship, there were the gatekeepers who were posted as guards and the Levites who were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the dedicated things. (1 Chron. 26:20 NIV)

David had a heart for the Lord and was an able ruler over the people, but he could not do it all alone.  There was and continues to be a lot of work to be done both to worship and to serve God.  We all must carry our share of the burden.  No one person is responsible for doing it all.  We are only tasked with what we are called to do, with the talents that God has given us.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 25-27:  Begin the Music

1 Chronicles 21-24: A Reign of Peace

David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ - 1 Chronicles 22:  7-10 NIV

Our God loves peace.  He is not timid.  He will smite his enemies and destroy them, but ultimately, he is a God of Peace.  There was peace during Solomon's reign, but not much after.  Solomon was followed by years of in-fighting, seeking out other gods, corruption and eventually destruction.  But someday, Solomon's throne will be established and the Prince of Peace will reign forever.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 21-24:  David Numbers the Fighting Men

1 Chronicles 17-20: God's People

And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.  - 1 Chronicles 17:21-22 NIV

We have just returned from Israel and I am more fully aware than ever before that Israel is not just a country, a physical place in the Middle East, but Israel is a people, God's people.  The covenant making God made a commitment to Abraham and to Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, that he would be their God.  Period.  They may have gone after other gods, but that never changed the covenant.  Israel may have paid the price for straying, but they were never abandoned.  As the Apostle Paul told the Romans:   I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
   “The deliverer will come from Zion;
   he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.  - Romans 11:25-26 NIV

How fortunate we are that God made a way for us to be grafted into the root of Israel.  The root that will be delivered after the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  Many of us do not understand the love that God has for Israel, chosen to be his very own forever.   But then again, I don't understand why he chose me either.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
   How unsearchable his judgments,
   and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
   Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
   that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
   To him be the glory forever! Amen. - Rom. 11:33-36 NIV

1 Chronicles 17-20:  Do What You Will

1 Chronicles 13-16: Be Very Careful How You Touch the Ark

You can't fetch the Ark of the Lord in any old way.  The Israelites found that out when they tried to bring the Ark back from Ashdod where the Philistines had taken it after they captured it.  The first time they tried to bring it back, Uzzah was killed when he tripped and accidentally touched the Ark.  The Israelites left the Ark like a hot potato at the home of Obed-Edom who prospered because of the Ark's presence.  Obviously, there was some power attached to the Ark that the Israelites were missing. 

The second time, David was going to make sure that everything is done properly and in order. The priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.  The Levites appointed fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. Doorkeepers were appointed for the Ark.  So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.  1 Chron. 15:25-28 NIV

There is only one way to approach a Holy God and it is on his terms.  Sometimes I think we've gotten too loose with our worship.  There is nothing sacred about the way we approach God.  We approach him in our everyday clothes, give him a pat on the back, sing a song to tickle our ears and call that enough.  Just as the Ark was a force to be reckoned with, we should not approach God lightly.  Our God is an awesome God.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 13-16:  The Splendor of His Holiness

1 Chronicles 9-12: Gatekeeper of the Temple of God

Altogether, those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds numbered 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. The gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and Samuel the seer. They and their descendants were in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the LORD—the house called the tent of meeting. The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north and south. Their fellow Levites in their villages had to come from time to time and share their duties for seven-day periods. But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God. They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning. - 1 Chron 9:22-27 NIV

The following chapters list David's mighty fighting men, and while they were important, they were no more important than the 212 gatekeepers, the ones in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the Lord.  Where would David have been, where would the nation of Israel have been without those guarding the house of God.  The gatekeepers, the guardians of the temple of God, had a tremendous responsibility.

Likewise, we are now the gatekeepers of the temple of God, our bodies, our hearts.  David's son, Solomon realized that true success depended on guarding the heart.  Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Prov. 4:23 NIV

Fighting with all the strength and might we can muster will do no good if we are not faithful gatekeepers of our hearts.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 9-11:  David's Mighty Men

1 Chronicles 4-8: Insignificant or Not

It's easy for us to mistakenly think that we are the center of the universe, especially when we're young.  Perhaps a prerequisite for turning twenty-one would be to read these chapters in Chronicles that list all the descendants of the tribes of Israel.  Some of the tribes such as Judah and Levi kept very detailed records of their descendants.  Others like Naphtali were condensed to only one sentence: 
The sons of Naphtali:  Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem—the descendants of Bilhah - 1 Chronicles 7:13 NIV

While the names of  most of the sons of Naphtali are lost to history, does that mean they were not important, that their lives were insignificant as opposed to those from the other tribes?  Or, are our names just names.  Are we part of something, this history of creation, that is bigger than any name.

One thing we can be sure of,  we are not the center of the universe.  That belongs to God alone, but we are important to him, he is aware of every event that takes place in our entire lives.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. - Matthew 10:29 NIV

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 4-8:  Sons of Promise

1 Chronicles 1-3: Sons of Promise

Every being that has ever been born starts out with the same promise.  Some become great, some fulfil their destiny, and most are lost to history.  Some become great nations who bear their names for generations to come such as Israel.  Some begin a line of great rulers like Judah who with his daughter-in-law, had Perez who had Hezron, who had Ram who had Amminadab who had Nahshon who had Salmon who had Boaz who had Obed who had Jesse who had David.  Some of them had cities named after them that survive until today such as Bethlehem.  Some of them had cities named after them that are lost to oblivion such as Avith. 

But all of us bear one thing in common.  We all share a life that is fleeting.  Our hours on this earth are numbered.  Whether or not our name survives here on earth after we're gone is not that important.  What matters is if our name is written in the book of life; the book mentioned in both Daniel and Revelation
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. - Daniel 12:1 NIV

Any that choose can become a son of promise, a right given by a new birth that ensures our destiny will not be lost to history.

2010 Post - 1 Chronicles 1-3:  Fearfully and Wonderfully

2 Kings 20-25: Turn, Turn, Turn

Sometimes good isn't good enough.  Josiah's grandfather Manasseh was so evil that he corrupted the entire kingdom of Judah and even Josiah's godly ways would not compensate for the fifty-five years of degradation, debauchery and idol worship under Manasseh.  In spite of Josiah's contrite heart, God's plans were already underway to send Judah the way of the rest of Israel, however, God made a promise to honor Josiah's faithfulness. Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’” - 2 Kings 22:19-20 NIV

Josiah's goodness was not enough to stave off God's actions nor was it enough to change the hearts of his sons.  All three of his sons, who reigned as kings for relatively short periods of time, were as wicked as their great-grandfather, Manasseh.  They all chose to to evil in the eyes of the Lord and the final result was that God banished Judah just as he had Israel.  Once more a humiliating turn of events took place, orchestrated by God's hand.

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late - Adapted from Ecclesiastes

2010 Post - 2 Kings 20-25:  Josiah

2 Kings 17-19: The High Places

       

This scripture passage reminded me of this devotion which I wrote in the 90's...long before 9-11 took place.

The high places have always held a fascination for us. In our recreation, we pursue the high places:  climbing mountains, hiking high forest trails, ballooning, hang gliding.  Even young children love to climb to the top of the jungle gym or swing as high as they can. We try to establish our dwellings in high places also.  We choose home sites on the sides of mountains.  We build mansions on top of the highest hills.  If there are no high hills, we build high towers instead.   At the root of our quest for the high places is something inherently good, something formed in us from the beginning of time, a desire to be close to our creator.  But along with our desire to be close to God, there is something else which gets sidetracked and begins worshipping the high places, as the children of Israel began to do, instead. 

The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. - 2 Kings 17:9-11 NIV       

We have always worshiped and erected temples to the god of the high place.  Once the highest building in any city was the cathedral.  In many small towns in our country it was the church with it's steeple.  When the focus shifted to the god of government, city halls, court houses and state capitols became the highest places in our cities.  And, now we worship the god of commerce.  We build buildings that are great monuments to the business transacted within.  The highest buildings in our land are all dedicated to the gods we worship.

God says he will tear down our high places and that means that someday even the best engineered building will probably fall.  But before we start worrying needlessly about the skyscrapers falling down, we need to look at the high places we have erected in our own lives.  Perhaps it is our beautiful home, or our career, or even our family.  What do we lift up and exalt?  What are the towers that we have built around us?

God wants to be our only fortress, our only high place.  To truly be His people we must tear down all of our other high places:  the people or positions we idolize, the things we run after, even those things we think will provide our security, and run after Him.

The children of Israel weren't all so different from us today.  They didn't start following other gods because they were wicked.  Instead, they had the same fears for their security that we have today, so they began to worship the harvest god so that they would have a guarantee of food and then the fertility god so that they would be blessed with children.  Simple desires, simple gods, but they took their eyes off of their true provider.  Soon the other gods became prominent and the God of Israel was relegated to the background.

God, the God of Israel, demands our total devotion.  O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!  - Isaiah 40:9 KJV         

Those of us who work in those high places dedicated to other gods; in government, in business, even in churches, should be proclaiming to those around us that the Lord, he is God.  We should not look to the high places for what they can provide for us, but should look to the one true God and his ever faithful provision. The high places are not for us to worship, they are for us to climb, to climb and proclaim to the world. "Behold your God!"

      
2010 Post - 2 Kings 17-19:  From Watchtower to Fortified City

2 Kings 14-16: God Knows

Jehoahaz, the king of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and God caused Israel to be under threat from King Ben-Hadad of Aram.  But when Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor, God listened to him. The same thing happened with Jeroboam.
     Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea,in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

    The LORD had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering there was no one to help them. And since the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.  - 2 Kings 14:23-27 NIV

Reading these chapters it is easy to see that the end is at hand.  Israel was spiraling down him.   But God was still acutely aware of everything that was transpiring in both Israel and Judah, and when even the most sinful of the kings called out to him he heard their cries.  We often labor under the misconception that God is only interested in the lives of those that follow him.  But God is interested in everything and everyone.  It's all his after all, whether or not it is acknowledged.  He may use ungodly rulers to protect his people.  He may use ungodly rulers to punish his people.  He may use the ungodly any time he wants.  He is God, they are all under his influence whether they or we acknowledge it or not.

2010 Post - 2 Kings 14-16:  How Do You Live?

2 Kings 11-13: Trust and Obey

Joash was just a boy when he became king so he did not have time to be corrupted by his surroundings.  His life, however, was not that long.  He was killed when he was forty seven years old by his own officials who conspired against him.  His reign would probably have been longer if he had trusted God completely.  Instead, when he was threatened with attack by the king of Aram, he gave all of the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers and himself and gave them to Hazael in order to get him to withdraw from Jerusalem. 

There were wicked kings who refused to obey God and they always met their end.  There were godly kings who trusted God and prospered under God's protection.  Joash tried to do what was right, but he never learned to trust God completely and that was his downfall. 

2010 Post - 2 Kings 11-13:  The Same Old Story

2 Kings 8-10: He Drives Like a Mad Man

For a brief period of time, just when it was necessary, the zeal of the Lord burned in the heart of Jehu.  Elisha sent a young prophet to Ramoth Gilead to anoint Jehu as king with the mission of destroying the house of Ahab, Jezebel included.  Just the act of anointing Jehu King was so dangerous that Elisha told the young prophet to:  take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!” - 2 Kings 9:3 NIV

'Get out of there fast,' Elisha told the young man, 'It's going to be an explosive situation.'  And it was.  The Zeal of the Lord consumed Jehu and he set out to take care of Joram, and all the descendants of Ahab.  The messengers that Joram sent to see if the approaching troops were coming in peace were all told the same thing by Jehu.  “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.” (2 Kings 9:18 NIV)

Joram's lookout watched what was going on and:  reported, “He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a madman.” 2 Kings 9:20 NIV

Jehu saw nothing but what the Lord had commissioned him to do.  Extract vengeance for all the evil that had been done by Ahab and his descendants.  Fittingly, Joram dies on the plot of ground that belonged to Naboth who was killed so Ahab could have his vineyard. 

Jehu was not a perfect king.  While he destroyed all of the priests of Baal, he did not keep the law of the Lord with all of his heart.  But for this one brief moment in time, he was relentless in doing what God called him to do.  He drove like a madman.

2010 Post - 2 Kings 8-11:  The Zeal of the Lord

2 Kings 5-7: The Penalty for Unbelief

“My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. - 2 Kings 5:13-14 NIV

Naaman would not have been healed of leprosy if his servant had not convinced him to believe the word God sent through Elisha.  Over and over again, throughout Elisha's ministry, we see the results of belief versus unbelief.  Although Naaman was somewhat insulted by what he was told to do, he obeyed when he could have laughed at the far-fetched solution. 

The officer at the gate of Samaria saw Elisha's prediction as foolishness as well.  Samaria was so besieged by the Aramean's that they were eating their own children.  Scarcity and inflation were killing off the population.  When Elisha gave God's word that the next day there would be plenty, the officer laughed.  'It will happen,' Elisha told him, 'you will see it, but not enjoy it.'  And sure enough, as the crowds rushed out of the city to steal the plunder from the abandoned Aramean camp, he was trampled to death. 

The penalty for unbelief is missing out on God's blessing.  It wouldn't be belief, God wouldn't be God, if what he asked us to believe in was reasonable.  He is a miracle working God.  Anything that can be done or imagined by man is not a miracle and is not how he chooses to work.  God asks us to believe in miracles; he asks us to believe in him.

2010 Post - 2 Kings 5-7:  God's Way the Only Way

2 Kings 1-3: Where is the God of Elijah?

Elisha didn't want to lose Elijah.  He had been following the godly prophet around since Elijah found him plowing in the family field and anointed him at God's command.  Elisha burned his plowing equipment and left his family to follow Elijah.  When the prophets at Bethel and Jericho told Elisha that God was going to take Elijah, his reply to both groups was 'Be quiet!'  He didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to lose the one who had become his spiritual father. Even when Elijah told him to go back, he kept following until a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. - 2 Kings 2:11-14 NIV

Elisha suddenly has no one to follow.  When Elijah disappears, Elisha thinks for a moment that he has lost God as well.  “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah? he asks.  And the answer comes.  Just as it had for Elijah, the waters parted when Elisha struck it with Elijah's abandoned cloak.  The God of Elijah was still alive and his power would now flow directly through Elisha just as it had through Elijah.

2010 Post - 2 Kings 1-3:  Godly Follows Godly

1 Kings 20-22: The Prophet He Wanted to Hear

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”  - 1 Kings 22:8 NIV

Ahab's entire reign was characterized by his refusal to listen to or obey the word of the Lord.  He hated the true prophets of the Lord who told him the truth.  Like the Emperor with no clothes, he loved his own prophets who told him what he wanted to hear.  The only time Ahab truly listened to God, was when Ben-Hadad taunted him and demanded a ransom Ahab could not pay. God promised him victory against Ben-Hadad's vast armies even though Israel was greatly outnumbered.  The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside. (1Kings 20:27 NIV)  God's power was at work when, as prophesied, the two small flocks of goats defeated the army that covered the countryside.  Of course, contrary to what God told Ahab, he let Ben-Hadad live and even negotiated a treaty with him proving that a leopard cannot change his spots. 

Ahab so stubbornly refused to listen to God's prophets that even when he was told that disaster would come at Ramoth Gilead, he proceeded at the advice of his own prophets.  Even sending Jehoshaphat king of Judah into the battle dressed as king and donning a disguise himself, could not save Ahab.  He died and they washed the blood from his chariot at the well where the prostitutes bathed.  Which was fitting in itself, since he had been prostituting himself throughout his entire reign. 

Even today, we would do well to distinguish between those who would prophesy out of their own self interest and those who truly hear the voice of the Lord.  One will ultimately lead us to disaster, while the voice of God may not be the words we want to hear, but it will be truth.

2010 Post - 1 Kings 20-22:  Sullen and Angry

1 Kings 17-19: Don't Be Afraid

“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.  - 1 Kings 17:12-16 NIV

Over and over the events in Elijah's life, such as the one with the widow of Zarephath, illustrate what God can do with nothing.  The flour and oil were never exhausted.  Nothing could prevent the fire of God from consuming the water drenched sacrifice.  And the voice of God was not in the great and powerful wind, earthquake or fire.  The voice of God was a whisper.  We look for power, for strength.  We stockpile provisions against scarcity and look for hedges against inflation when all the time, we should be listening for that whisper.  The whisper of God will always tell us what to do.  The whisper of God will be our provision when all hope is gone.  The doomsayers would say these are perilous times:  the dollar is going to fall, inflation will become rampant, there will be rioting in the streets.  Instead of listening to the doomsayers, we should be listening to the voice of God, the whisper that says, 'Don't be afraid.'

2010 Post - 1 Kings 17-19:  Power Revealed Through the Prophets

1 Kings 15-16: The Wages of Sin

While Judah enjoyed relative tranquility, the kings of ten tribes of Israel that had broken off from Judah seemed to have trouble learning from their mistakes.  God had promised Jeroboam that his line would not continue because of the sins Israel committed during his reign, so his son Nadab was overthrown and killed by Baasha.  Baasha killed all of Jeroboam's family but instead of turning over a new leaf, he followed the same course, committing the sins of Jeroboam.  Once more, as God promised, shortly after his son Elah became king, Baasha's entire family was wiped out and Elah was replaced by Zimri.  Zimri's reign lasted only seven days and he was succeeded by Omri and  later by Omri's son, Ahab.

During all of this time, forty-one years in all, Judah had only one king, the godly Asa.   Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. (1 Kings 15:14 NIV)  What a difference that made.  Fully committed to the Lord meant he was secure.  The intrigue, fighting, and rebellion that characterized the reigns of the kings in Israel was absent in Judah.  There was a hedge of protection around Asa that the kings of Israel did not enjoy. 

These kings are a supreme ilustration of the wages of sin being death.  While the kings of Israel may have thought that they were in control, God was orchestrating their downfalls all along.  What is God doing now that we are not aware of?    What fate awaits those who are running after other gods?

2010 Post - 1 Kings 15-16:  Who's in Charge