Tag Archive - Hardened Hearts

Exile softens a hardened heart: 2 Chronicles 35 and 36

August 19, 2010 in Bible Blog with 0 Comments

In 2 Chronicles 35 and 36 we reach the precipice leading to the fall and decline of Judah and its road to exile in Babylon. After the faithful stewardship and tenderhearted rule of Josiah over Judah the kings that rule Judah turn completely away from God. The wrath of God is falling on His chosen people as he promised to Josiah. How is the relationship between God and the sons of Israel to be viewed? How do we view our relationship with God today? God is a loving father that desires to see the best happen for His people through out all time.

God continually sought to bring the hearts of the people of Judah back to Him through His messengers and prophets. How does a persons heart become so hardened against God that they have no respect, thought, or desire for Him? “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He has compasstion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15,16 Continue Reading…

Arise, cleanse, and restore the Temple: 2 Chronicles 29 and 30

August 14, 2010 in Bible Blog with 0 Comments

What was important to Hezekiah? After the reign of Ahaz the kingdom of Judah is left in complete disarray. The temple is defiled and the people are worshiping idols and sacrificing their children. What would you do if you were Hezekiah? “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.” 2 Chronicles 29:3  The greatest concern of Hezekiah when he took over the reign of Judah was to restore the people’s dependance on God. What effect did Ahaz’s damage to the Temple have on the people when they were barred from entry? How should leader handle a situation where people have lost all regard for God?

It was vitally important for Hezekiah to tell the people of Judah how they strayed from God as seen in 2 Chronicles 29:6-11. The heart of Hezekiah is laid bare before the priests and Levites of Judah, “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.” 2 Chronicles 29:10,11  Why is a tenderhearted leader so important? Hezekiah needed the priests and Levites to help point the people of Judah back to God. His openness before the people shows how sincerely he desired that all of Judah seek after God. If you are a leader do you openly share your heart with those you lead? What effect does that openness have? Continue Reading…

Obedience to God found in deliverance from servitude: Judges 3 and 4

May 5, 2010 in Bible Blog with 0 Comments

My journey through the Bible has brought me to the book of Judges. As the generations go by and motives of the sons of Israel have changed the knowledge of God’s faithfulness and leadership of Joshua becomes just a faint memory. The sons of Israel have forgotten the Lord their God as they choose to intermarry with the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Judges chapters 3-16 tell of how God raises up judges to bring Israel back to Him and away from false gods. Continue Reading…

Loving God, loving people, and The Story: Deuteronomy 15 and 16

April 10, 2010 in Bible Blog with 0 Comments

I love how reading through Deuteronomy is not seeming as burdensome as I thought when I started working through the book. I initially thought that I would become bored because of all of the repeated information that I have already blogged about from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. I have however found that the repeating of key details and commands within Deuteronomy were what Moses knew the people of Israel needed to remember and those facts are also necessary for me to remember. Every chapter as I remember that these are the final words from Moses to the people that he led for over forty years I  become sad because I know that change is coming within the story. Continue Reading…

God’s glory from a hardened heart: Exodus 9 and 10

March 21, 2009 in Bible Blog with 0 Comments

I am so amazed at how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart time and time again so that through the pharaoh glory would be given to God. It is interesting how Pharaoh kept acknowledging that he was sinning and never truly meant to turn. I know that there would be no genuine repentance because God was hardening his heart to make an example. I am thankful that I am able to have forgiveness from God because of Christ’s death on the cross for me. What an amazing blessing that is.