These are my thoughts as I reflected upon my reading in Nehemiah with more questions presented than answers found. Nehemiah 7 and 8 has driven home the fact the Christians cannot live outside the community found within the church. When we perceive that we can live a life marked by solitude apart from the fellowship of believers I honest believe that we are living outside the intentions that God has for mankind. The journey that the Israelites progressed from being set apart by God to this moment where a remnant has returned to Jerusalem has always focused on the community of the people. Consistently the punishment for sinfulness and disobedience was either death or expulsion from the community. The culture of the Israelites is one where people were in contact with one another and living out life together. In society today we can go through our day with little regard and thought given to any other person other than ourself. We are surrounded with self serve, self improvement, and self help which only facilitate our solitude enabling behaviors. Continue Reading…
That which is shattered by God: Nehemiah 7 and 8
Faith developed in communion: 2 Chronicles 11 and 12
It is exciting to read through 2 Chronicles after reading through 1 and 2 Kings because details are drawn out that I didn’t notice. There was preparations for a civil war among the kingdom of Judah and Israel after they split. It amazes me that they so easily lost their focus on God and sought to keep what they deemed their own after the death of Solomon. The idea of civil war in Israel is nothing new because you have the fighting that occurred between the descendants of Saul and David in 2 Samuel and you have the sons of Israel rising up against the tribe of Benjamin in Judges 19 and 20. Why does God prevent the battle among Judah and Israel from occurring? We know that both kingdoms of Judah and Israel are taken away in exile from their homes by reading 2 Kings 25. Are some lessons learned more readily why when we are taken away from everything we know? It will never cease to amaze me how God chooses to sometimes use war while other times he uses exile to remind people they need Him. Continue Reading…
Unthankfulness to God for blessings leads to idolatry: 1 Kings 5 and 6
What is inspirational and life changing about 1 King chapters 5 and 6 where Solomon’s building of the Temple is detailed? I have historically just read the passages where all the details about the Ark of the Lord, the Tabernacle, or the building of the Temple with little interest or reflection on all the details. When we skip over passages of scripture that do not initially have a moral or an exciting story we are missing opportunities to get a glimpse of God. What can you glean from 1 Kings chapters 5 and 6? Continue Reading…
