I am continually amazed at how profitable the Bible is even when I initially think the chapters I am reading will be boring. 1 Kings 15 and 16 comes across as a prelude to the book of 2 Chronicles because you are given very quick snippets of the kings who reigned over Judah and Israel making it a little boring to read about all of the kings, sons, and their complete depravity without getting more details. Why was I initially bored with these two chapters in 1 Kings? The pattern displayed by these kings of Judah and Israel has been continually repeated throughout the Old Testament where men fall away from God and I was desensitized from all the repetition. What is the question that I could have been asking about these chapters? Why is God consistently repeating the how unfaithful men are and driving home the insufficiency in the ability of man? When we are faced with our limitation and inability we start to look at our lives and actions in a different way and we start looking for the true way to make it through life. All the repetition that is given throughout the Old Testament is a signpost to the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Continue Reading…
God’s faithfulness evident in destruction and death: 1 Kings 15 and 16
In the midst of wonder temptation entangles: Joshua 7 and 8
Does a moment of great spiritual devotion, amazing christian fellowship, intense prayer, or dynamic worship exclude you from temptation allowing you to relax? I have at times in my life equated my spiritual relationship with God as tank of gas that I only fill up when the chime and light goes off to warn me that I am running low. It is easy to think that I can live life focusing on my own routine and needs until I am confronted with the feeling I need to be closer to God. Can you function in this way? Is this the kind of life that God wants a christian to live? Continue Reading…
Confidence and pride destroyed by God in Joshua 5 and 6
How did the Canaanites react to the entry of the Israelites into their land? In Joshua 3:16 it says that the waters of the Jordan stood and rose up in one heap. This event would not go unnoticed by the Canaanites because having the water rise up in a heap is not something that was normally seen. Joshua 5:1 says that, “all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted and there was not spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.” Fear spread throughout the land because God had showed His might and power before the Israelites. Continue Reading…
