Bible in 90, Day 34: His faithful love endures forever

2 Chronicles 35-Ezra 10

*image courtesy of bosela at www.sxc.hu

While 2 Kings ended on a rather sad note, with Jehoiachin king of Judah in the court of Babylon, 2 Chronicles ends on a high note.  Being written later than Kings, Chronicles has more information, and flashes forward about 70 years to the time of the return from the Babylonian Captivity.  God had prophesied specifically about this return through both Isaiah and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:12, 29:10; Isaiah 44:24-45:13).  As usual, God kept His word.  He swayed the heart of king Cyrus (Proverbs 21:1)to send the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, even decreeing that the costs should be covered by the royal treasury (Ezra 6).

There is a neat connection made between Chronicles and Ezra.  If you notice, the last words of Chronicles and the first words of Ezra are identical.  There is a definite seam or joint here.  The writers of both had a point they were trying to make – Judah was removed from the land because of sin, and restored because of God’s faithfulness.  It was not that Judah was full of great people, or that they did some marvelous thing while in Babylon and Persia.  God had prophesied in advance that a king named would send His people back into the land.  He receives all the glory for the return!

This hasn’t changed over time, and into the New Covenant.  Despite our failures, even as believers, God’s faithful love for His people endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34, etc.).  Paul scolded the Galatians for thinking that they could keep themselves saved and make themselves holier, even though they had only been saved by the working of the Spirit (Galatians 3).  We do the same thing today.  We come to Jesus with nothing in our hands, we throw ourselves on His mercy and grace, and receive forgiveness and salvation through no work of our own but by the sacrifice of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Then, we pick ourselves up, dust off a bit, and think we can carry it from there.  But it is not our goodness that prompts God to action.

It’s His love.

Let’s live in light of this.  Let’s not think that we can make ourselves holier on our own power.  We need the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the mercy of Jesus, and the forgiveness of the Father.  Since we began in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17).

originally appeared at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 28: The Bad Samaritan

2 Kings 15-25

*image courtesy of alitaylor at www.sxc.hu

Today we witnessed the down-hill tumble of both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  It wasn’t pretty.  If you’ve tried at all to keep up with which king was in which kingdom (which ain’t easy!), you may have noticed that all the kings of Israel were judged as wicked, and only some of the kings of Judah were judged as doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.  They both trace back to Jeroboam (the wicked king of Israel who set up the golden calves in Bethel and Dan, 1 Kings 12:25-33), or David.  Because of Israel’s idolatry, worship of false gods, and wicked kings, the kingdom fell first.  We also witnessed the birth of the people who would later become known as the Samaritans (1 Kings 17:1-6, 24-41).

In 722 B.C., Shalmaneser, king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to other lands, and brought people from other lands into Israel’s land.  This was to keep the people subdued.  When God’s anger struck the new settlers in Israel, Shalmaneser had some of the Israelite priests return to the land to instruct the people in how to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.  The people accepted some of these teachings, but continued worshiping other gods and simply blended the belief systems.  The Israelites left in the land also began intermarrying with these new people.  Thus, a new group of people arose who were both ethnically mixed, and religiously mixed.  This is why the hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans existed by the time of the 1st century (John 4:9; Luke 10:25-37).

First Kings 17:7-23 tells us that all this happened because Israel had sinned against the Lord.  The kingdom of Judah, unfortunately, doesn’t learn anything by watching this happen.  Even after the amazing reforms of Josiah (2 Kings 22-23), Judah still went after other gods and worshiped with idols.  God is a patient God.  He gave chance after chance after chance to both kingdoms in Israel.

And still they rebelled.

God sent prophets to warn the people.  He promised blessing if they would follow Him, and yet they rebelled.  He threatened cursing if the would not follow Him, yet they rebelled.  He sent disasters on them, trying to get their attention and draw them back to Himself, yet they rebelled.  Finally, he sent Israel off into captivity as He promised He would (Deuteronomy 28).  Even then, Judah did not listen.  In the end, Judah went into captivity at the hands of the Babylonians, just as God had foretold (2 Kings 20:12-21).

Let us heed God’s warnings in our lives.  Let’s not let sin so entangle us that we lose sight of who we are in Christ, and just how righteous He is.  Paul told the Corinthians that there were those who were weak and ill, even dead, because of sin in their lives (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).  Just as God sent warning after warning before taking Judah out of the land and into captivity, sometimes God may have to take a Christian out of the world to put an end to their sin and shameful blaspheming of Christ’s name.  Let us not be those who have to suffer the punishment of God before we repent.  Let us heed the warnings and turn back to Jesus in repentance, casting ourselves on His mercy.

Bible in 90, Day 27: The God who cares about tools

2 Kings 4-15

*image courtesy of asheley at www.sxc.hu

“What do you want to pray about tonight?” I asked my 2½ year-old son.

“Umm… snacks!”

“You want to pray for snacks?”

“Uh huh, that God will give us snacks.”

“Ok, go ahead.”

“God, please give us some snacks tomorrow, amen.”

Elisha’s request of Elijah was that he would receive a double portion of the spirit that resided on his master, Elijah.  Second Kings goes on to relate the fulfillment of this promise by recording twice the number of miracles in Elisha’s ministry as in Elijah’s ministry.  Second Kings 4-6 shows us several, rapid-fire miracles.  A common theme throughout these miracle stories is that each one met a need.  These weren’t just flashy shows of the power of God in Elisha’s life, they met various needs in various ways.  Some were weightier than others:  we see a widow being saved from poverty, a son given, then restored to life, and a commander being healed of leprosy.  These were all dire situations into which God intervened.

However, several were needs that we might consider mundane: fixing a pot of stew that otherwise would have been thrown out, feeding a hundred men with a small amount of food, and getting a lost ax head back for a prophet who had borrowed it.  These might seem trivial, especially the last one.  We might even think them beneath God’s concern, and certainly His miraculous intervention.

God loves His children.  What is important to us (assuming godly standards of course) is important to Him.  This man lost a valuable piece of equipment, and worse, it was borrowed!  There was no running to Lowe’s to get a new one.  The man was concerned about his reputation and relationship with his friend.  Now, did he expect God to move heaven and earth, to temporarily suspend the laws of physics to bring it back?  Probably not.  Nonetheless, God cared, and met the man’s need.

We serve the God who even cares about our tools!

When he first said he wanted to pray for snacks, I thought it was silly.  But then I realized that my son had better theology than I did.  I had taught him that every good gift comes from the Father above (James 1:7).  He accepted my words as the words of God, as they were in this case(1 Thessalonians 2:13)!  So, snacks are good, God gives all good things, God gives snacks!  God please give us snacks tomorrow.  And God heard it.

And I’m sure He smiled.

God is our Father, and He is a good Father who meets our needs and wants us to come to Him with them (Matthew 6:9-11, 7:7-11; James 4:1-3).  He knows the little details of our lives, right down to the hairs on our head and he cares for us more than anything else in creation (Matthew 10:29-31).

Let’s never think that our need is beneath God’s concern.  If we are asking not out of selfishness, but in child-like faith, and according to God’s will, God will hear us and answer us (James 5:15; 1 John 5:14; Matthew 18:3).  Let us approach God with the simple faith of a child, humbly asking Him to supply our needs.

He will hear, and He will smile.

Bible in 90, Day 26: Who ya gonna call?

1 Kings 16 – 2 Kings 4

*image courtesy of jazza at www.sxc.hu

On everyone’s short list of baby names, I’m sure, is the name of today’s hero: Jehoshaphat.  Aside from having a snazzy name, and apparently being known for his jumping abilities, Jehoshaphat had a remarkable characteristic that reveals itself in today’s passage.

Particularly in 1 Kings 22 and 2 Kings 3, Jehoshaphat shows his dependence on God.  In both these situations, Jehoshaphat finds himself allied with the king of Israel (Ahab and Joram, respectively) in a military situation that requires some guidance.  In the first instance, the question is whether or not the two kings should go to war against Aram.  In the second, the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom find themselves in the predicament of having run out of water in the midst of the desert.  In both situations, Jehoshaphat’s natural tendency is the same:

Let’s ask the Lord!

Whether it was seeking wisdom (yes!  three days in a row!  sweet!), or seeking provision, Jehoshaphat went to God.  He asks virtually the same question both times, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord that we might inquire of?”  He also affirms this sentiment further.  In 2 Kings 3, when told that Elisha is nearby, he says “The word of the Lord is with him.”  In 1 Kings 22, he mildly rebukes Ahab for not accepting the message from God through Micaiah just because he doesn’t like it.  Jehoshaphat valued the wisdom of God even when it wasn’t convenient for him.

Let us be the same!  When faced with a decision, let us always first think of asking God.  When faced with a need or some threat, let us always first think to go to God with our need.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t even have to go through a prophet!  We have a new and living way into the presence of God, and because of this Way (that is, Jesus), we can enter His presence boldly (Hebrews 10:19-23).  If we ask anything in His Name and according to His will, He will answer us (John 14:14; 1 John 5:14).  So let us enter boldly, not on our own worth but Christ’s, and seek God.  We will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13)!