We are in the midst of a great battle of allegiance and devotion. In Isaiah 36 and 37 we are privy to an encounter where the king of Israel is faced with a choice to trust men or trust God. What would you choose? When face with insurmountable opposition what choice do you make? When the world around you screams in a seductively alluring whisper to submit to the ways of the nature of sin do you listen to the sirens song? Of the king of Israel is whispered, “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” Isaiah 36:14-18 Continue Reading…
In the battle of allegiance what do you choose: Isaiah 36 and 37
Your heart proclaims your treasure: 2 Chronicles 31 and 32
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:20-24 These verses have been brought to my mind many times by various people the last few weeks. We live in a world that places great renown and power on the accumulation of things. We cannot live a life where we have a mixed allegiance between God and the world. What does it look like when we cast aside the bonds of idolatry that have taken root in our lives and cling to God? What hope is there to break free from the bonds that consistently seek to hold onto our attention? Continue Reading…
Arise, cleanse, and restore the Temple: 2 Chronicles 29 and 30
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…
May God raise up our children to fear Him: 2 Kings 21 and 22
Can there be any way to know with any certainty that your child will grow up to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength? How is a God fearing legacy instilled in children? The scripture is consistently proclaiming that we need to love God and love people as we seek to cling to God. Can we really worry about our children’s faith when holding to our own faith is all consuming? Faith is the evidence of things unseen and the assurance of the hope we have in Jesus Christ for our future. Is the raising of children a great test of our faith? As we live out lives seeking to hold fast to our growing faith in God we will be an example for our children but in the end it is only by the grace of God that our children will grow to know and trust in Him. It feels like a great burden to know that we are powerless but in our weakness God’s faithfulness will be proclaimed. Continue Reading…
Tears shed in troubled times: 2 Kings 19 and 20
In the moments when your world is crashing down upon you and the outlook for life is bleak how do your reactions and actions portray you? What moments have you faced in life that made your whole world come to a halt? Where did you turn? How did you act? The way we act in the midst of trouble, trial, and tribulation will show who we truly are and what we believe. Do your actions point towards an almighty God who is the wellspring of hope or do your actions lash out against fate and destiny in remorse over your lot in life?
At the end of 2 Kings 18 the Assyrians besiege Judah and Hezekiah the king of Judah found himself in the midst of a moment where he was unsure of the future and hope was dwindling. In the midst of this troubled time Hezekiah seeks out God and He proves himself faithful to Judah by turning away the army of Assyria. Continue Reading…
What is learned in exile from all you know: 2 Kings 17 and 18
Why is Israel besieged and taken captive in 2 Kings chapter 17? What does captivity mean for the people within Israel? Does the captivity of Israel mean that God has turned His back on Israel? What lesson can be learned from Israel’s disobedience? These people who were led into captivity had no regard for God because generation after generation they had done what we fitting in their own eyes without care for God. They worshiped the gods of the inhabitants of the promised land, which they were consistently warned about not doing. Was it easy for the people to turn away from God because they made one sinful choice after another which led them far from God? Continue Reading…
