Category: Kings

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Day 179 — I Kings 22 & II Chronicles 18

Did God actually send out a lying spirit to do His work, or was Micaiah’s vision just one of those prophetic visions of something that didn’t really happen? I’d be interested in knowing that myself, but I can only form an opinion. What do you think? Based on the whole counsel of Scripture, my opinion is that it didn’t really happen as Micaiah envisioned it.

Isn’t it incredible how God protected Jehoshaphat in battle, while Ahab suffered a random fatal wound? If God can see His will done in these circumstances, can His power over circumstances in your life be believed?

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Day 178 — I Kings 20 – 21

Again we see God’s unfathomable ways in Ahab’s story. Although His anger was aroused against His people like it had never before been aroused against them, God gave the wicked Ahab victory over the king of Aram. He had numerous reasons for doing so: He wanted Ben-Hadad to die, He wanted Ahab to know that He is the Lord, and He wanted to Arameans to know that He is not only God of the hills but also God of the valleys. It amazes me that He would be interested in pursuing any relationship with Ahab. It likely would have surprised His people that He cared whether the pagan Arameans knew anything about Him at all. We must never think that we have God figured out.

Fully sold out to evil as he was, Ahab wasn’t past humbling himself, and God relented, softening His judgment against Ahab. That may seem disappointing to us, but it is a response demonstrating love. It is also a just response, since God said that if His people would humble themselves, then He would hear and forgive. If Ahab wasn’t past God’s relenting, who is?

What are some things that you can know about God from these stories of His interactions with the unsurpassingly wicked Ahab? Do any of them inspire more love in your heart for Him? Why not tell Him so?

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Day 177– I Kings 17-19

Elijah’s life has some thrilling lessons for us, don’t you think? His life is worth a deeper study, in my opinion. Some of the intriguing points:

  • He was fed by ravens. What an imaginative way for God to meet his needs! If He can meet the needs of His servant in this way, how many other ways could He imagine to meet the needs of His servants? If He could and would do this, why should we doubt that He can and will meet our needs? Perhaps we should see our needs as opportunities for God to do amazing things to provide.
  • When God chose to take care of Elijah’s needs through another person, he directed him to Sidon, which was not part of Israel; in fact, it was the birthplace of the wicked Queen Jezebel. Why didn’t God send him to Judah to have his needs met? He used Elijah’s need as an excuse to meet the needs of this widow and her son who were getting ready to die of starvation, even though she didn’t know God as anyone other than the God Elijah served. We couldn’t possibly have God’s higher ways and thoughts figured out.
  • His thrilling victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. That established him as a spiritual giant, right? So why did he experience doubt, fear, and depression on the heels of that great victory? His example teaches us the great victory doesn’t make us immune to doubt, fear, and depression.
  • He was so down, he told God, “I have had enough.” A prophet of God, one who had such a towering victory, suffered from depression. Depression isn’t necessarily a sign of sin or spiritual failure.
  • God responded to him with an encounter that had to be a thrill for him. If you compare and contrast this appearance with what Moses experienced, and with what Isaiah and Ezekiel experienced, you might get a fuller picture of what God is like, but I bet the reality is that these are each only one point of the full picture of God. He is so far beyond our understanding that they can’t provide a full picture. These appearances by God would be a great subject for an in-depth study.
  • Elijah was a prophet of God, but he apparently didn’t know about the 100 prophets who had been hidden away by Obadiah, or the 7000 people who were still faithful to God. We can bet that God is working today beyond our experience as well, and even though discouragement may threaten because of what we see going on around us, God is doing big things that are unseen by us.
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Day 176 — I Kings 15:25 – 16:34; II Chronicles 17

Observe that when Jehoshaphat sought God and “walked in His commands,” God “established the kingdom in his hand.” Seeking and walking in God’s commands resulted in his being established. Do you want to be established, to last? The example of Jehoshaphat’s life teaches that you should seek God and conduct yourself according to His commands and not according to the culture surrounding you.

Contrast that with Ahab, who did more evil than all who were before him. That’s how sin works: it doesn’t get better or maintain a status quo, but it grows worse and worse. Decay is a facet of corruption. You aren’t allowing corruption to be part of your life, are you? Because the reality of knowing Jesus as Savior gives you a choice in that matter, since He frees us from sin.

Jehoshaphat didn’t just remove the high places associated with idol worship; he attempted to re-direct the hearts of the people by sending officials, priests and Levites to teach the people the Law of God. Removing sin doesn’t just mean getting rid of something; the resulting void needs to be filled with something else. Recall Jereboam’s efforts to direct his people’s hearts away from Jerusalem: he presented a new religion complete with new observances and holidays. He certainly tried harder to lead his people away from God than Asa tried to lead them back. Our enemy is passionate about luring souls away from God; his passion must be matched and exceeded by a desire to win souls back to God. God has demonstrated that passion by coming to earth, suffering and dying for lost souls. Do we share His passion? That is our calling.

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Day 175 — I Kings 15:1-24; II Chronicles 13 – 16

Were those high places removed from Judah by King Asa or weren’t they? Apparently he removed them, but they didn’t stay removed, much like a weed pulled off at the ground is removed but not rooted out, and grows back again. What could a king have done to accomplish the removal effectively? Tomorrow we’ll read about the more effectual efforts of Asa’s son.

II Chronicles said that “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life,” but what about at the end when he failed to seek God’s help against Israel and instead removed from the Temple the valuables that had been dedicated to God, in order to purchase an alliance with the king of Aram? The Law didn’t allow one to use for another purpose what had been dedicated to God. It would seem that Asa’s heart was not fully committed to the Lord in his later years. What does that reveal to you about the capability of your own heart?

Asa’s life and leadership offer object lessons to us about the persistent nature of sin. It calls for persistence in our efforts to eradicate it from our lives. The job needs to be done thoroughly, and it needs to be tended to as long as we live. Are you prepared for that? Will you renew that commitment to God today?

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Day 173 — I Kings 12 – 14

Note that Rehoboam’s choice of whose advice he heeded was brought about by God. If God intervenes in such a way in men’s affairs, does it give you some ideas about how to pray for the people and situations that burden you?

Israel is truly distinctive for the mindset revealed by the actions recorded in this account. They wanted the king to be accountable to the people. When he refused, they rebelled against him and made someone else their king. Do you realize how unique that is in a time period when all kings were sovereign over their subjects, and the people lived to serve their king? That mindset was so ingrained that it was never questioned. Israel was unique in considering a ruler a servant of the people. That is a value we take for granted today because of the God-given gift of our republican form of government, but it wasn’t always so. We are truly blessed to live under a government that offers “liberty and justice for all.”

So the nation of Israel was split into two nations: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. Judah retained David’s dynasty of kings; the north had a number of different dynasties beginning with Jereboam. King Jereboam chose a city in the territory of Ephraim for his capital. This is significant because for that reason the northern tribes of Israel were often referred to as Ephraim in prophecy, much like people refer to “Washington” when referring to the U.S.

God offered the same promise to Jereboam that He offered to David and his descendants: if you will serve me, you will remain on the throne. Jereboam failed miserably in that regard because he feared losing his power. He didn’t have a father whose memory God wanted to honor like Solomon did. During his reign God decided that He would root Israel out of their land, scatter them in distant lands, and give them up. He patiently waited hundreds of years to do that, but they did not get better; rather, they continued in their sin and grew progressively worse in it. That’s what sin does.

Judah did little better, so God allowed the king of Egypt to prevail against them. The wealth Solomon had accumulated was all taken away. So much for all Solomon had built and the alliances he had made.

What can you learn about God from His interactions with these men? What lessons for your life can you glean from their lives?

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Day 172 — I Kings 10 – 11

Today’s reading gives us one more opportunity to be reminded from Solomon’s supreme example of man’s inability to remain faithful to God. Recall that Solomon had every advantage: the first-hand example of his father, whom God himself called faithful (although he certainly wasn’t without sin). The heritage of a father who so pleased God that God would show mercy to Solomon for the sake of his father David. God’s special love that showed in the name He gave to Solomon. The wisdom Solomon had requested. Wealth. Power over his enemies. Peacetime in which to build (which he also could have used to seek God). Solomon enjoyed every advantage a human being could enjoy, and represented man’s best hope for pleasing God – and he failed miserably. We would be foolish to think we can do any better than Solomon did. His failure reminds all of us of our desperate need for God’s help to be faithful to Him. Doesn’t that make you feel grateful for Messiah’s work and your great salvation?

We will read how Solomon’s extreme wealth lasted a single generation. It went to the enemy who gained power over the kingdom during the rule of Solomon’s son. That very wealth made Israel a target. The alliance he made with Egypt didn’t last; even in his lifetime, Solomon’s enemies found refuge in Egypt. So much of what Solomon built was destroyed in his son’s generation, except for the high places he had built for the worship of foreign gods. The Temple and worship of foreign gods were the legacy left by this man who had it all, and the former was perhaps more David’s legacy than Solomon’s. Solomon set the nation up for division – in politics, in geography and in heart. Isn’t that a sad legacy? It’s no worse than what any of us would leave, but for God’s grace. Today’s reading is an opportunity to consider the legacy you are building. Any wealth you leave behind may be gone in a generation; what will be left?

Why the reference to ten tribes and one, instead of a total of twelve tribes? We’ll see in tomorrow’s reading that Benjamin went with Judah. Also, the tribe of Simeon was surrounded by Judah; perhaps over time boundary lines were blurred and with them the distinctiveness of the tribes. Early on the tribe of Dan had relinquished its territory to the surrounding peoples who seemed to want it more than the descendants of Dan did; perhaps they were no longer counted as a tribe. Any of these could be the reason.

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Day 167– I Kings 9 & II Chronicles 8

These other accomplishments of Solomon may be impressive in the eyes of man: the expansion, the wisdom and learning, the cultural advancements, the capable administration all would qualify Solomon to be labeled a “Great” of history. Yet he isn’t known to history as Solomon the Great. Compare him to his father David, who is seen as a “Great” in history. He didn’t seek to make his name great, but to do all God commanded and observe His decrees and laws, according to God in II Chronicles 7:17.

Solomon’s accomplishments didn’t mask the fact that he turned away and forsook the decrees and commands that God had given him (verse 7:19). God had promised to give Him the wisdom he asked for and other desirable things he didn’t ask for that were dear to the heart of man and would make him great in the eyes of man. Why did God do that? He seemed delighted in Solomon and wanted to delight him in return. God knows how to delight the human heart. Doesn’t that warn us of the danger of seeking after our own human desires instead of the higher ways of God?

Note that Solomon’s alliances made the building, the gold stockpiles, and the security possible. Yet he wasn’t able to oust the remaining former inhabitants of the land with those alliances. Further, he had a wife for whom he had to build a separate palace because the land on which his palace sat was too holy for her presence. What kind of a marital relationship did that promote, do you suppose? We’re going to see that despite that harem and having such a prestigious woman for a wife, Solomon didn’t have a high opinion of women.

We’re also going to see that Solomon’s choices had a huge impact on the nation, leading to division, institutionalization of his sinful practices, and ultimately its destruction. That is not an impressive accomplishment.

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Day 164 — I Kings 8 & II Chronicles 5

It seems rather funny to me that Solomon’s blessing on the people basically told of how blessed they were that God had fulfilled His promise to David in establishing Solomon his son as their king. That looks like a blessing for Solomon himself. However, in our land blessed with a stable government and a peaceful means for transferring power from one President to another, we have the luxury of taking firm leadership and a stable government for granted. Israel’s monarchy didn’t get the best start, and David’s dynasty was barely established at that point; they did not enjoy the luxury of taking a stable government for granted. This reminder offers us an opportunity to thank God for the blessings He has given us through our government, and even go a step further to pray for our leaders.

The Temple also felt more stable than the Tabernacle as a dwelling place for God in their midst. The building made of stone, cedar and gold was definitely more permanent than a tent made of animal skins. When God’s glory filled the Temple, He obviously approved of the place as He had the Tabernacle. He was good to give them the visible confirmation of His acceptance of the Temple and Jerusalem as the city where He would place His name, and of His presence in their midst. This would have cemented the relationship with God in the people’s eyes.

Notice that Solomon refers to the covenant between God and His chosen people as a covenant of love. The terms of the covenant are documented in the Law, but those rules are not the covenant. Rather, the covenant is about relationship, specifically a love relationship between God and His chosen people. Is that how you see your relationship with God?

If the relationship is a love relationship, why did Solomon have to pray the prayer he prayed, asking God to remember His people and respond to them in a loving way when they appealed to Him in the future? He didn’t presume upon God’s promises. He knew God was faithful beyond what the Covenant required Him to be, but he didn’t presume upon God’s faithfulness. He knew God loved His people and sought a love relationship with them, but he didn’t presume upon God’s love. He appealed to Him because He is a faithful and loving God. We also cannot presume upon God’s love and faithfulness. Are you presuming upon God because you have entered into relationship with Him by accepting His salvation? This is a great opportunity to speak to Him today about your relationship, and seek His input about it. If anything needs to be made right, now is a great time for confession and commitment. He wants to give each of us all the help we need to enjoy the intimacy with Him that He created us for and redeemed us for. We can always go deeper in our intimacy with Him; why not use this as an opportunity to seek that? If we neglect to do so, we risk stepping back from Him as Solomon did.

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Day 163 — I Kings 7 & II Chronicles 4

Why the detail about the construction of the Temple? These are not details that teach us about worship like the details about the Tabernacle do, so why would they be preserved for us to review not once, but twice? They certainly reveal the splendor of the place. The craftsmanship also reveals that Israel was no longer a nation of squatters living in homes they had taken over from previous inhabitants, but a distinct people who had developed an impressive culture of their own. That actually is an important detail about the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and Jacob, that He would build their descendants into a great nation. Their greatness wasn’t just evidenced in their numbers and victories in battle, but also in the culture they developed. Considering that Israel ceased to be a nation until relatively recently, that realization would have been an important reminder to readers through the centuries of the faithfulness of God to His promises – not only His promises for good, but His promises for bad as well.