Monthly Archives: May 2022

Daily Bible Study

May 22, 2022 Bible Study — God Will Be Found By Those Who Seek Him

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

I want to expound on the prophesy which Azariah spoke to King Asa after the latter’s victory over the mighty Cushite army.  King Asa was inspired by that prophecy to seek the Lord, and to assemble the people who looked to him for leadership for them to enter into a covenant to seek the Lord.  Here is Azariah’s prophecy:

The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

This prophecy is not very long, but it says a lot.  When we do the Lord’s will, He will be with us.  And if we seek God, He will be found by us.  If anyone seeks God, He will be found by them.   When the people do not know the true God, their land will be in distress.  Isn’t that what we see in the world today?  It is not safe to travel and people everywhere are in great turmoil.  One nation is being crushed by another.  And why is this?  Because God is troubling the people of the world with great distress because they do not know Him.  Perhaps in their distress they will turn to Him.  Then He will be found by them.  As for us who already know Him, let us be strong and not give up.  We have work to do, let us be about it.  If we do the work which God has given us we will be rewarded…by seeing that God’s work has been done.  And let’s not forget the negative side of Azariah’s prophecy:

If we forsake God, He will forsake us. 

I do not want to be forsaken by God, that may be my greatest fear.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 21, 2022 Bible Study — Do Not Fight Any Battles Which God Does Not Wish You To Fight

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

I am not sure where I am going with this today.  I want to start by talking about how the people and leaders of Judah responded to the prophet Shemaiah.  When Rehoboam rallied the troops to suppress Jeroboam’s rebellion, Shemaiah told the fighting force of Judah and Benjamin not to fight against their fellow Israelites.  While it is not clear from the passage, it appears to me that the army of Judah and Benjamin did not give Rehoboam a choice as to whether he would listen to Shemaiah.  Then, later in Rehoboam’s reign, Shemaiah again prophesied against the rulers of Judah.  Shemaiah told them that God had abandoned them to Shishak of Egypt because they had abandoned His worship.  In response, the leaders of Judah, including Rehoboam, humbled themselves and accepted God’s judgement.  Then we have the account of Abijah, Rehoboam’s son, warring against Jeroboam of the Northern Kingdom.  Elsewhere we are told that Abijah did evil in the sight of the Lord.  However, on this occasion, when he was both badly outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Abijah called on God and was victorious.  I will note that the reliance on God seems to have more been on the part of his army than Abijah himself.  Finally, we have the account of Asa against the Cushite army.  The writer here tells us that Asa was good and right in the sight of the Lord.  Asa was greatly outnumbered, but, when he called upon God, he was victorious.

As I said, I am not quite sure where this is going.  When Rehoboam went to suppress Jeroboam’s rebellion, Shemaiah told his army that God did not support their actions, and the army went home.  When Shishak invaded Judah, Shemaiah told the people of Jerusalem that God was with Shishak, and they surrendered to him.  When Abijah fought Jeroboam and the army of the Northern Kingdom, Abijah told the Israelites of the North that God was not with them, and they lost heart and went down to defeat.  When Asa went up against the Cushite army, he knew that victory could only come if God was on his side.  God was indeed on Asa’s side and Asa was victorious.  Do not go into battle, or any other endeavor, unless it is one which God desires you to fight.  If God is with you, you will be victorious.  If He is not, you will fail.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2022 Bible Study — King Solomon Built A Trade Empire By Partnering With The Phoenicians

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

Every time I have read this passage, and a few others about King Solomon’s building projects I have missed the significance of what he did.  In the past I always saw these building projects as being “vanity” projects (buildings designed solely for the purpose of illustrating how wealthy its builder was) and defensive fortifications.  While some of his building were just that, most of them were improvements the economic vitality of Israel.  Solomon dedicated his reign to improving the economic strength of Israel.  Here is perhaps the greatest thing which he did, he partnered with the Phoenicians in trade.  He did not compete with them, nor did he just trade with them.  Instead, he set up partnerships and sent out trade expeditions in partnership with the Phoenicians.  The evidence we have indicates that the Philistines had been sea traders who competed with the Phoenicians.  The Persians acquired resources and traded them with the Phoenicians (and with the nations of India to the East), but Solomon partnered with the Phoenicians to set up new trade networks based on the land his father David had conquered.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2022 Bible Study — God Will Listen To The Prayer From A Humble Heart

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

I am not sure why, but until a few years ago when I was reading this passage for an earlier entry in this blog, I thought that the Ark of the Covenant was in the same place in Jerusalem as the altar David had set up where Solomon built the Temple.  I am not sure there is any real significance to that fact, just something worth noting about misconceptions which re-reading the Bible will help us overcome.

The main thrust of what I wish to write today covers Solomon’s prayer dedicating the Temple and God’s reply to him.  Solomon acknowledges that the Temple cannot contain God, but asks that God put His Name upon it and hear supplications prayed towards it.  Solomon prayed that when the people sinned and were defeated by enemies as a result that God would forgive and rescue them when they repented and prayed in the Temple.  Further Solomon prayed that when there was no rain because of the people’s sins, if they turned from their sin and prayed toward the Temple God would hear their prayer and forgive their sins.  Perhaps the most moving part of Solomon’s prayer is when he asks that God listen to the prayers of foreigners who cry out to Him.  I want to follow that with God’s reply, which is two part.  First, God says that yes, He has chosen the Temple which Solomon built as the place for sacrifices to Him.  Then God replies to the second portion of Solomon’s prayer and I see something interesting.  Solomon had asked that after the people had sinned if they turned toward the Temple and prayed to God, God would answer their prayer.  But God replies that after they have sinned, if they humble themselves, pray, seek Him, and turn from their evil ways, He will answer their prayer.  He does not mention a need to pray towards the Temple.  God does say that His eyes and His heart will always be there and that He will be attentive to any prayers prayed there.  Finally in His reply, God warns that the Temple will become a heap of rubble if His people are not faithful.

You know I was going to stop there, but considering the state of our country today (and the state of most countries in the world today) I had to go further.  In His reply to Solomon God made this promise

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This is a promise I cling to dearly.  Our land needs God’s healing, people need God’s healing.  Let us humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways.  Please note that God does not ask us to get others to turn from their wicked ways, He asks us to turn from ours.  Perhaps we may seek to encourage others to join us in turning to God, but we should never think the threaten them for refusing.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 18, 2022 Daily Bible Study

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

I feel like I am being redundant what I write this, but this passage holds Solomon up as a model for all people, but especially rulers and leaders.  When asked what he most desired from God, Solomon requested wisdom and knowledge.  Wisdom and knowledge may lead us to power, wealth, and a long life, but seeking power and/or wealth will not lead us to wisdom.  More importantly, wisdom will show us how to find joy in God’s plans for our life, even if those plans do not include wealth or power.

I think I have touched on this before, but I want to focus on something Solomon wrote to King Hiram of Tyre about the Temple he was about to build.  Solomon wrote that the temple he was going to build needed to be great because God was greater than any other god.  But, unlike other gods, God would not live in the Temple which Solomon (or anyone else, for that matter) built for Him because not even heavens could contain Him.  I am confident that Solomon was referring to the Universe which we see when we look up at night when he wrote heavens there.  So, Solomon was pointing out that the God of Israel was unlike the gods of other nations, because those gods lived in the temples which their people built for them, but Israel’s God did not live in the Temple which they would build for Him.  And this is one of those places where the fact that this book was compiled after the Return from Exile is important.  Those who returned from Exile were making a similar statement about the rebuilt Temple they were working on.  And the peoples around them still worshiped gods who lived in the temples built for them.  I will make one further note.  Jesus built a Temple for God in which He does indeed live.  That Temple consists of those who put their faith in Jesus.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 17, 2022 Bible Study — We Have Nothing To Give To God That He Did Not First Give Us

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

Today’s passage starts with a continuation of the lists of people who ran things under King David. Unlike the last few days, I did not find anything interesting hiding in those lists.  I did however want to write about what David had to say during his commissioning of Solomon to build the Temple.  When the vast amounts of wealth (gold, silver, bronze, etc.) had been gathered for building and furnishing the Temple, David rejoiced at the generosity of the people.  However, he pointed out an important point; what had been given towards the Temple had come from God in the first place.  A point we should carefully remember, everything we have came to us as a gift from God, so we should never begrudge giving any of it back to His purposes.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 16, 2022 Bible Study

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

As I have repeatedly written, I find passages such as today’s, which are lists of names and appointments difficult to read and get something to write.  However, today as I read the passage I was struck by the comment about some of the Levites being set aside for the ministry of prophesying accompanied by musical instruments.  This cements the idea which has been growing in my head that prophesy as used in the Old Testament, and perhaps even into the New Testament, has a completely different meaning than what we commonly mean when we use the term today.  Today, when we say or write the word “prophesy” we generally mean proclaim the future.  However, here it seems to be used to mean leading people in worship of God.  There are enough places in the Old Testament where prophesy contains elements of predicting the future for me to believe our modern definition is not completely wrong, but there are also enough like today’s passage to make me think we need to give serious thought to what God wants us to understand about prophesy.

There is one other item I want to note.  Among the list of Levites who were Temple gatekeepers it mentions descendants of Obed-Edom.  We were told earlier in this book, and in Kings, that Obed-Edom was a Githite (a Philistine from Gath). Even here it tells us that Obed-Edom’s descendants were on this list because he was blest by God.  I want to point out that all the evidence suggests that Chronicles were compiled by people from the same group as those who composed Ezra and Nehemiah, two Old Testament books which seem to insist on racial purity for Jews.  Yet, here they are acknowledging that the descendants of a Philistine had duties among the most holy in Israel.  I am really glad I finally noticed this, because it sheds a new light on passages which have long troubled me.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 15, 2022 Bible Study — David Built An Altar Where The Angel Stopped

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

Usually when I look at this passage I look at David’s census and the plague which followed it.  However, it struck me today that this writer includes the census and the plague as setup to explain why the spot to build the Temple was chosen.  David chose the location of Araunah’s threshing floor as the place to build an altar to God.  Later, Solomon built the Temple there.  I find the description of how David chose that spot somewhat confusing (I am not sure that confusing is the correct word).  First the passage tells us that God told the angel to stop spreading the plague when it was at Araunah’s threshing floor.  Then the passage tells us that David saw the angel at Araunah’s threshing floor and begged God to stop sending a plague upon the people of Israel, who were innocent of this wrongdoing.  Then David went to Araunah’s threshing floor to build an altar in order to make an offering to the Lord (or, maybe, David went there as part of pleading with the Lord).  Finally, the passage tells us that Araunah was threshing, saw the angel, and then saw David approaching.  This reads to me as if the writer of this passage had several different accounts which contained slightly different details and were not told in a way which allowed him to determine exactly how they fit together.  It reads to me as if David began praying for God to stop the plague as soon as he became aware of it.  As the plague came to Jerusalem, Gad instructed David to have an altar built to make an offering to God.  As David headed for Mount Moriah, which was the obvious place in Jerusalem for an altar, he saw the angel of the Lord at Araunah’s threshing floor.  At the same time, Araunah saw the angel as well.  At that moment God instructed the angel to stop, or perhaps God instructed the angel to stop just before David or Araunah saw it.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2022 Bible Study — Nathan Prophesies About The Coming Messiah

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

Initially, when King David proposed building a Temple for God in Jerusalem, the prophet Nathan approved the idea.  However, that night God came to him and revealed that David should not be the one to build the Temple.  Instead, God tells Nathan to tell David that one of his offspring will be the one to build the Temple for God.  Now, the simple view of Nathan’s prophecy holds that King Solomon fulfilled it when he built the Temple.  However, the prophecy also says that his throne would be established forever and that God would set him over His kingdom forever.  Considering that Solomon died and was buried, remaining in his grave, I would argue that Solomon was not the fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy, or, not the complete fulfillment of it.  Instead, Nathan was prophesying the coming of the Messiah, who I believe to be Jesus Christ.

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

Daily Bible Study

May 13, 2022 Bible Study — Significant Details When David Brought The Ark To Jerusalem

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

This passage suggests that David consulted all of the leaders of Israel about bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and built a consensus to do so.  That is consistent with the accounts presented elsewhere.  This passage also places David’s two defensive battles against the Philistines between when David first started to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and when he completed that transfer.   I think the writer means to suggest that David consulted God, and perhaps the Book of the Law, before completing the transfer of the Ark to Jerusalem (which is consistent with everything else we have about David as a leader).  In this passage we are also told that David appointed Obed-Edom the Gittite and his associates to minister to the Ark after it was moved.  This is noteworthy because Obed-Edom appears to have been a Philistine (being a Gittite indicates that he was from Gath, and Gath was a Philistine city).  This is one of several places where we get a suggestion that the Ancient Israelites had a different idea about what it meant to be a Levite, or a priest, than we normally understand the references in the Bible about those groups suggests.  At some point, I may do a study to see if possibly there was an understanding that God might “adopt” people into the tribe of Levi and even into the priesthood.

Finally, it struck me that Abiathar, who at the end of David’s life supported Adonijah’s attempt to seize the throne was appointed to minister before the Ark in Jerusalem, while Zadok, who supported Solomon, was appointed to continue ministering at the Tabernacle in Gibeon.  When I read about Adonijah’s attempt to make himself king and Solomon’s ascension to the throne I was struck by how it seemed that Adonijah had cultivated the support of those whose power came from being part of King David’s government, while Solomon appeared to have the support of those who actually ran the country.  None of that is spelled out, but reading between the lines, Adonijah spent his time giving himself the appearance of being kinglike, while Solomon was actually doing the things which a nation needs a king to do.  So, if that is the case, Abiathar had become part of the social circle of government officials in Jerusalem, those who thought that appearances mattered more than actions as a result of spending so long in Jerusalem,  While Zadok remained more connected with what needed to be done because he spent less time in the capital.

You know, when I started to write that last paragraph I had a clear idea of what it would say.  I failed to express my thinking as clearly as I had hoped.  I pray that my readers will see through my poor wording to the point I was trying to make.

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