I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 15-18.

    Early in his reign, Asa was very faithful to God and led the people of Judah in religious reform. In addition, many from the northern tribes moved south to Judah because of Asa’s religious reforms. All of them enthusiastically embraced the worship of God. However, late in Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel, the northern kingdom, invaded Judah and fortified the border to prevent back and forth over the border. This suggests that as time went on more and more people were leaving Israel to move to Judah. Further, because King Baasha also worked to stop people from Judah coming to Israel it suggests that people living in Judah went north to encourage those living there to worship and follow God (leading those who listened to move south). Unfortunately, rather than depending on God, as he had early in his reign, King Asa chose to bribe the king of Aram to attack Israel in order to remove the pressure on his northern border from Israel. When confronted by a prophet for his unfaithfulness, Asa, rather than repent, had the prophet imprisoned.
    When he was young, Asa enthusiastically worshiped and followed the Lord. This led him to have a good and peaceful life for most of his reign. However, after many years of peace and prosperity, when trouble once more troubled him, he forgot the faith of his youth and instead of relying on God, he relied on human strategies and skills. Let us not make the same mistake.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 11-14.

    When Jeroboam went to war against Rehoboam’s son, Abijah, he was able to field a much larger army than Abijah. The Bible accounts are unclear as to how this war started, but the timing suggests that Jeroboam sought to take advantage of an inexperienced, young king (although the location suggests that Abijah may have been the aggressor). At the start of the battle, Abijah reminded both sides that God had promised David that his descendants would hold the throne forever. Furthermore, he reminded them that Jeroboam had driven the priests and Levites out of Israel. While Abijah was speechifying, Jeroboam outmaneuvered his army and attacked them from the rear while engaging them on the front. Tactically, this was a great move which should have given Jeroboam a great advantage. However, the army of Judah (and perhaps that of Israel as well) had listened to Abijah’s speech and called out to God for help before engaging the enemy. Abijah won a great victory that day, leaving Jeroboam weakened for the rest of his reign. Abijah and his army won that day because they trusted God despite being outnumbered and outflanked. Let us remember to do the same when we face opposition to carrying out God’s will.

     When Asa, Abijah’s son, took the throne he ruled with an eye on serving God faithfully. King Asa destroyed the various pagan shrines put up by his predecessors AND he destroyed those throughout the entire land. He led the people of Judah to serve the Lord in all that they did. As a result, Judah had ten years of peace. At some point in his reign, Judah was attacked by an army of around 1 million from Ethiopia. When Asa with his army of 680,000 faced them he called on God for aid. The passage tells us that God defeated the Ethiopian army in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah. This suggests that the enemy army broke before battle was entered. Asa had been a good king, doing God’s will and leading his people to follow God. Yet he faced this overwhelming army. However, he did not throw up his hands and say, “Why did God allow this to happen?” No, he cried out to God, acknowledging that only God could save him and his nation against these overwhelming odds.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

    David had risen to power and consolidated the unity of Israel by defending the trade routes. He conquered the surrounding nations which either supported banditry or failed to control it within their territories (I am doing a bit of reading between the lines here, but that is what it reads like to me). Solomon took this one step further and built a merchant empire by entering into trade himself (this is clearly spelled out here and in the 1 Kings description of Solomon’s reign). The account of the Queen of Sheba suggests that Solomon’s merchants credited his, and their, success to worshiping God. The Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to find out if Solomon was as wise, wealthy, and powerful as rumor painted him. My pragmatic understanding of politics suggests to me that her visit was also intended to gain advantage. When her negotiations and questioning revealed that his wisdom and faith left him prepared to match all of her machinations, she entered into a mutually profitable agreement with him. The key here was that Solomon lived according to his reputation. When nonbelievers come to investigate us, we should live so that they will see that we live our lives according to what we claim to believe.

    When Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon on the throne of Israel, the people of Israel demanded that he reduce their tax burden (I am oversimplifying into today’s terms). Rehoboam wisely chose to delay giving them an answer so that he could consult with his advisers. First he consulted with those who had been his father’s advisers (who were older men). They advised him to be conciliatory and yield to the people’s demands. There is a hint in their wording to suggest that they believed the people’s demands to be justified, but they also suggest that if Rehoboam yields to their demands now, he can make demands on them later. Rehoboam did not like their advice, so he turned to those he had grown up with. They told him to tell the people that he was boss and not only would he not reduce the demands his father had made of the people, he would increase those demands. When the people of Israel heard Rehoboam’s response, they rejected his rule. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal. When Rehoboam sent out his subordinate to enforce his rule on those who had rejected it the subordinate was killed. It was then that Rehoboam realized that his power to rule over the people of Israel came from the willingness of some portion of them to uphold his rule. Rehoboam failed because he did not listen to the advice of those with greater experience, who had explained why their course of action was the one to take. Rather he followed the advice of those who played to his ego.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

    This passage describes the ceremony which took place when Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant brought into the Temple and the dedication of the Temple which took place at the same time. It is really two separate descriptions of that ceremony. The first is a description of the process of bringing the Ark into the Temple and it ends with the following:

At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

The second is a description of the dedication of the Temple, which occurred at the same time as the Ark being brought into the Temple, but continued beyond. In the middle of this second is the following:

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it.

I am convinced that this second quote is meant to be another description of the event which happened in the first quote. It seems to me that the thick cloud which filled the Temple was a result of the burning of the massive number of sacrifices which were made as part of this dedication. I am tempted to say that the description of fire falling from heaven to burn the burned offerings was hyperbole, but clearly something amazing happened which caused all of the witnesses to fall face down and the ground and worship God. We must remember that a dispassionate observer will often see something different when a miracle happens. Of course, we must also remember that very few of those who witness a miracle will still be a dispassionate observer after the miracle has happened. There is a reason for this: miracles are designed by God to overcome our ennui, they are designed to arouse our enthusiasm.

    In today’s passage there is a record of Solomon’s prayer of dedication and God’s response to that prayer. These are very similar to that recorded in 1 Kings 8 and 9. However, there is a difference in what is recorded of God’s response. Solomon asked that when people turned from their sins, turned to God, AND prayed towards the Temple that God would hear and answer their prayers. In Kings it tells us that God heard Solomon’s prayer and had set the Temple apart to be Holy. In this passage, God responds that He had heard Solomon’s prayer and chosen the Temple as the place for sacrifices. Then the passage records that God further responded that when people are suffering because of their sin, if they humble themselves, pray, seek God, and turn from their wicked ways, He will hear their prayer and rescue them. There is no mention in either place about facing the Temple when making this prayer of repentance in God’s answer (but this one makes that absence more clear than the one in Kings).
    The important thing about this is that God has promised that when we humble ourselves, pray and seek Him, and turn from our sins, He will answer our prayers. As in the passage in Kings, Solomon asked that foreigners who have heard of God’s name and glory and turn to God be counted among those whom God will hear when they turn to Him. Solomon sought for all people to come to know, fear, and worship God. Let us do the same. As a follower of Christ, it is my deepest desire, not that sinners, no matter how wicked, receive punishment for their sin, but that they come to know, fear, and then love God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 1-4.

    When King David moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he left the Tabernacle, and its altar, in Gibeon. We learn from today’s passage (and the account of the same event in Kings) that worship of God continued in Gibeon even after the Ark was in Jerusalem and worship took place there. I wonder if the existence of these dual places of worship (Jerusalem and Gibeon) were what inspired Jeroboam to set up two golden calves at either end of his kingdom rather than just one?

    Solomon’s first official act after taking the throne was to hold a national worship service at the Tabernacle in Gibeon. While there God appeared to Solomon and told him that He would give him whatever he asked for. Solomon asked for two things. We normally do not pay much attention to the first, for good reason. The first thing Solomon asked for was that God would continue to keep the promise He had made to King David. Solomon’s second request is the more important of his requests. It was a two part request, but those two parts were (and are) dependent on each other. Solomon asked for the wisdom and knowledge to lead the people of Israel properly. These two things go hand in hand. While wisdom is the more important of the two, it is impossible to make a wise decision if you completely lack knowledge of the situation. Perhaps the most important part of Solomon’s request was the fact that he acknowledged that he needed God’s knowledge and wisdom. Human knowledge and wisdom were insufficient for the task to which he had been called. The same is true for us, whatever task God has called us to is going to require us to depend on His wisdom and knowledge. We need to recognize that we cannot possible be wise enough, or knowledgeable enough to make the decision which God desires of us. We need to call upon God for Him to give us the wisdom and knowledge which we need to do His will.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 27-29.

    As he was turning over his kingdom and the task of building a temple for God to his son Solomon, David gave Solomon some instructions. At the core of those instructions was the statement that if we seek God, we will find Him. This is a theme which is all throughout the Bible: those who truly seek God will find Him. Before David got to that statement he said some things which give us an understanding of what it means to seek God. David told Solomon to worship and serve God with a whole heart and a willing mind. There are those who claim that they are seeking God, but they are unwilling to truly serve Him, or in other cases their hearts are divided and they have other loyalties. If we are such people we will not truly find God. If we forsake God for other loyalties, He will let us go. God will not force His love on anyone.

    When David finished giving Solomon and the leaders of Israel instructions he prayed a prayer of praise. In that prayer he made a point which goes closely with his instruction about seeking God. We cannot truly give anything to God because everything is already His. We only have the things which we have because God has chosen to loan them to us. If we truly recognize this as true we will realize that having divided loyalties is pointless, because those things which we put ahead of God are subservient to God. Everything of value which we can have, whether it be physical, spiritual, or emotional, comes from God. Therefore we should be willing and eager to give it back to God for His use. We have nothing which did not first belong to God and if we willingly return it to Him, He will replace it with something of even greater value. This is where we face one of those great paradoxes of the Christian faith. If we give to God because He will replace what we give with something of greater value, we are not truly willingly giving…and we will have missed part of the value which God is offering us. It is only by recognizing in our hearts and not just in our minds that all we have belongs to God that we can fully experience the joy and value which God wishes to give to us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 24-26.

    As David established himself he assigned the various duties of priests and Levites to the clans of priests and Levites. He was careful to make sure that the duties were assigned in a non-preferential way. Duties were assigned using the lot in front of witnesses. These witnesses were representatives of all those with an interest in who was assigned what task. David was careful to make sure that it was clear that the duties were assigned in a fair and open manner. By following the procedure which he chose David ensured that no one would have a basis for resentment over who was chosen for what task. When we divide up tasks in our Congregations today we should strive to follow a similar system. We should seek to make sure that no one gets the preferred jobs because they are better liked by those who make the decision.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 20-23.

    I really struggled with knowing what to write about today’s passage. My problem is that I am not sure what David’s sin was here. I know that the sin was taking the census, but I am not sure why that was a sin. That being said, there is an important lesson for us in David’s response when he was told that he had a choice of what punishment he would suffer. That response was “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord.” David realized that he was not going to be able to avoid the negative consequences of his sin. In that situation he preferred to suffer at the hand of God rather than at the hand of man. David knew that God would have mercy in handing out the punishment which he was due. Let us also throw ourselves on God’s mercy. Let us accept the punishment we are due at God’s hands because we know that when we have suffered what we are due God will relent and relieve our suffering. God will punish us sufficiently for us to learn our lesson and no more.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

    After David built himself a palace he felt guilty for not building a temple for God. Actually, I am not sure that he did. Throughout his career David showed a clear understanding of politics. One of the motivations behind building himself a palace was to create a focus for political unity. A temple would also provide a focus for political unity. More importantly, a temple would provide a focus for religious unity. David’s interest in religious unity was not just, perhaps not even primarily, a matter of strengthening his power. Greater religious unity means that people are less likely to interpret their own desires as God’s will. However, David was wise enough to consult with others before putting his plans in motion. In particular, David was wise enough to consult his spiritual adviser(s).

    At this point, the spiritual adviser whom David consulted was Nathan the prophet. Nathan’s immediate response was that building a temple for God was a good idea. However, once he had time to think about it, God revealed to Nathan that this was not the time, and David was not the king, to build a temple for God. As part of God’s message to David telling him not to build the Temple Nathan was to tell David that one of his sons would build the Temple. While the writer of this book certainly believed that promise to apply to Solomon, there are definite Messianic overtones to it. The prophecy was that God would never take His favor from this descendant of David. Yet, God later promised to tear 10 of the tribes of Israel from Solomon’s heirs. It is Jesus who truly fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus built a temple for God which will last for all time. That Temple is the Church, the Body of Believers.

    I want to stress that David did what he did because of his faithfulness to God, not just because they were the best thing to do to secure his throne. That is the key to David’s success. He did many things which advanced and protected his power, but his first concern was doing what was God’s will. We see this as early as when Saul was chasing him and David had the opportunity to kill Saul. David chose not to take advantage of that opportunity because Saul was God’s anointed ruler over Israel. David knew that he had been anointed to take Saul’s place, yet he had both the patience and the faith to wait for God to make that happen. In today’s passage it would have benefited David to build a temple for the worship of God in Jerusalem, but when God let him know that it was not his will for David to do so, David refrained. David managed to walk that fine line of acting according to God’s will and waiting for God’s time. I struggle with that myself.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 13-16.

    The writer creates an interesting juxtaposition in today’s passage. The passage begins with the account of David’s initial attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem with its tragic ending. We are told that this represented a renewed interest in the Ark. King Saul had paid little, if any, attention to the Ark throughout his reign. By deciding to move the Ark to Jerusalem, David was declaring that he was going to make worshiping God in Jerusalem a centerpiece of his reign. But David did not do this by royal fiat. First he consulted with the “assembly of Israel”, something which appears to have been a representative body of all of the people of Israel. We have no idea how this body was selected, but it is clearly not ALL of the people of Israel because after gaining their agreement David summoned all Israel to celebrate moving the Ark. (Wow, I just realized I have a lot more to write about this passage than I initially thought).

    Having gathered the people to celebrate moving the Ark and to worship the Lord, David had the Ark placed on an ox cart for the move. When they have almost gotten to Jerusalem, the cart carrying the Ark tips and Uzzah reaches out to keep the Ark from falling. Uzzah is struck down immediately upon touching the Ark. David is angry and afraid after this happens, so he gives the Ark into the care of Obed-edom of Gath. It is at this point where the writer tells us that the Philistines attacked David as soon as they learned he had been made king over Israel. The writer wants to make sure that we connect David transporting the Ark on a cart with when the Philistines returned the Ark after capturing it in battle just before Samuel became judge over Israel. After defeating the Philistines twice, David realizes what he had done wrong. The Ark was not just a piece of luggage to be transported by cart. It was to be carried by Levites.

    The point of this juxtaposition of the Philistines with David’s two attempts to bring the Ark to Jerusalem is to show that while God will honor those who are making a preliminary effort to honor Him, He will hold those who have fully dedicated themselves to Him to a higher standard. When the Philistines put the Ark on an ox cart to send it back to the Israelites, they were making a primitive effort to honor God while saying they wanted nothing to do with Him. Whereas the Israelites, including Uzzah, were proclaiming their full devotion to God. They should have known better. When people make a clumsy attempt to honor God for the first time, God will honor them for their attempt, no matter how flawed or lacking. On the other hand, when we have been worshiping God for an extended period of time, He expects us to learn how to do it right. This does not mean that there is a rigid formula for worshiping God. What it means is that God will accept the worship of someone who has just learned of Him who adapts an idolatrous worship practice, but He expects those who have known Him for years to abandon such practices as we come to know Him better.