When you tell someone your testimony do you sugarcoat the story to make it more palatable and interesting to the people listening? Do you skip over moments of failure when you were not the nicest person and only relate the moments of personal triumph and success? What benefit do all the details both good and bad have in our testimony? As we recount our history and how God worked throughout it to bring us into fellowship with Himself we share the lessons that we have learned through life with those around us. Do you listen to the advice gleaned from a person’s testimony? Do you find encouragement and hope as you see how God works mightily in the lives of people? Do you look back upon God’s faithfulness in your life and find help and hope for the present difficulties and troubles you face? Continue Reading…
Find hope in God’s unwavering faithfulness: Psalm 78
Living signposts pointing everyone to God: Psalm 48
When was the last time you walked into a building and were completely amazed from all that you beheld? Did the experience take your breath away? Have you visited a world renowned city with a multitude of architectural masterpieces? Did the collection of buildings leave you speechless? In Psalm 48 the sons of Korah are describe the city of Jerusalem. Their description of the city is not based in its own renown but upon the value that God has placed upon Jerusalem and the people of Israel. God’s blessing upon Israel and the City of David was evident to all who beheld it, “For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. They saw it, then they were amazed; they were terrified, they fled in alarm.” Psalm 48:4,5 The renown and power of Jerusalem was impacting everyone who beheld the city. It is imperative to remember that this blessing of strength upon Israel was from God alone and not because of the power and cunning of men. Continue Reading…
God is never blind to the actions of mankind: 2 Chronicles 27 and 28
In 2 Chronicles 27 why did Jotham not enter the temple of the Lord? Do the corrupt actions of the Israelites result from a lack of spiritual leadership from Jotham? Chapter 27 recounts Jotham’s life and that he ordered his life towards God. Why is the human race so obstinate and headstrong? We so readily run off and seek out idols and whatever else seemingly meets our needs and desires to only realize our failure when we are ensnared in the grip of sin.
Did the wickedness of Ahaz, who ruled Judah after Jotham, stem from the perverse wickedness of the people of Judah during the reign of Jotham? When Ahaz wholeheartedly turned away from God what effect did it have on the nation of Judah? The protection and blessing of God was removed from Judah as they were invaded by Israel. God will ordain or allow difficult moments in our lives to remind us of our dependance upon Him. Continue Reading…
Life on the road of faithfulness and failure: 2 Chronicles 13 and 14
“But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites attend to their work. Every morning and evening they burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. Now behold, God is with us at our head and His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.” 2 Chronicles 13:10-12
The history of the kingdom of Judah given in 2 Chronicles is more encouraging than the history of the kingdom of Israel. In 2 Chronicles 13 and 14 the kingdom of Judah clings to God and seeks their strength from Him. God is fulfilling His promise that He made to Solomon; the kingdom of Judah remained faithful to God and were blessed by Him while the kingdom of Israel was sent off in captivity. Continue Reading…
Visit to find wisdom and a nation asunder: 2 Chronicles 9 and 10
In 2 Chronicles 9 and 10 the stories from 1 Kings 9 through 11 are retold. You have the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon because of his wisdom. I thought is was interesting how she needed to witness his wisdom firsthand with her own senses before she would believe it existed? The rumor of Solomon’s great wisdom proved to pale in comparison to the reality the queen found leaving her breathless. Why are the faults of Solomon left out as he is described in 2 Chronicles? We see the greatness and wisdom of Solomon but It does not speak of his ravenous lust for women which lead towards his downfall. Why the emphasis on the positive side of his life? Chapter 10 recounts the nation of Israel splitting into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the rest of 2 Chronicles will follow the story of the kingdom of Judah. Continue Reading…
Context, perspective, and history: 1 Chronicles Summary
How would you summarize the story of God at work in the Old Testament? There are many ways you can talk about how God has interacted with mankind. The book of 1 Chronicles uses the genealogies of men from Adam through David to portray the story. Emphasis was given to the people who were present at key events throughout the history of the descendants of Israel. What is the importance of the history of Israel given through the genealogy of men? What is gained when you know your history?
The relationship between God and Israel can be summarized by His faithfulness and the peoples collective inability to follow Him. The foremost command that the people were given was to love God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength as they clung to God from day to day. Continue Reading…
Many names and many questions: 1 Chronicles 7 and 8
I’ll be completely honest that many questions are brought to my mind today as I read 1 Chronicles 7 and 8 with few answers. There is a distinct change in the way the genealogy is presented in chapter 7. The previous 6 chapters detailed at most the genealogy of two tribes of Israel at a time but in we are given details of six different tribes. Why is there such a change to the way the text is written? Were the descendants of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher not as important or as large as the others? Why are just the descendants listed for some of the tribes while others have detailed ordered genealogies? Why is only one verse given about the sons of Naphtali? Are the people that are detailed in 1 Chronicles the people of renown that had influence or an impact upon the history of Israel? The book of 1 Chronicles almost seems to be similar to the book of Deuteronomy where all that happened in the previous books was retold for the people.
