Category: 2 Chronicles

HALFWAY ALREADY!!!

~ Patricia ~ 19 Comments

Today we are HALFWAY done with reading the Bible.  Tomorrow we will be closer to the end than the beginning.  YOU DID IT! A brief explanation of all that we have read so far:

  • Genesis answers two big questions: “How did God’s relationship with the world begin?” and “Where did the nation of Israel come from?”
  • In the book of Job: Satan attacks a righteous man named Job, and Job and his friends argue about why terrible things are happening to him.
  • Exodus: God saves Israel from slavery in Egypt, and then enters into a Covenant with them.
  • In Leviticus God gives Israel instructions for how to worship Him.
  • Numbers: Israel fails to trust and obey God, and wanders in the wilderness for 40 years.
  • Deuteronomy: Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) on how to love and obey God in the Promised Land.
  • Joshua (Israel’s new leader) leads Israel to conquer the Promised land, then divides out territories to the twelve tribes of Israel.
  • Judges: Israel enters a cycle of turning from God, falling captive to oppressive nations, calling out to God, and being rescued by leaders God sends their way (called “judges”).
  • Ruth: Two widows lose everything, and find hope in Israel—which leads to the birth of the future King David.
  • 1 Samuel, Israel demands a king, who turns out to be quite a disappointment.
  • 2 Samual: David, a man after God’s own heart, becomes king of Israel.
  • 1 Kings: The kingdom of Israel has a time of peace and prosperity under King Solomon but afterward splits, and the two lines of kings turn away from God.
  • Song of Songs- A love song (or collection of love songs) celebrating love, desire, and marriage.
  • A philosophical exploration of the meaning of life—Ecclesicaties.
  • In 1 Chronicles we read a brief history of Israel from Adam to David, with David commissioning the temple of God in Jerusalem.
  • We also read 150 Psalms that Israel sang to God (and to each other)—kind of like a hymnal for the ancient Israelites.
  • And meditated on the Proverbs: a collection of sayings written to help people make wise decisions that bring about justice.
  • Tomorrow: 2 Kings: Both kingdoms ignore God and his prophets until they both fall captive to other world empires.

We have 20 books (some very short, 1-day reads) left of the Old Testament and then we turn the page to the Gospel.

Do you have this handout? | Bible timeline, Understanding the ...

If you need a copy of the schedule because you hate waiting for me to post (when I fall back asleep after the alarm) 🙂 Click here

There is a handouts section on the website of any cool visuals we have used if you need to reference them at any time. (I am bad about not updating it all the time, but I will try harder)

I know many of you are reading but don’t comment BUT if you want to make me smile, you will write in comments 1 thing you learned reading this year that you did not know before 2021 began,  I would be so happy.

 

2 Chronicles 19-23

~ Patricia ~ 2 Comments

Yes, we are overlapping (repeating) stories again.  Same stories told from different views.

5 chapters today…but not hard!  You got this!

When we see it is just a Chronicles read, we know it is primarily going to concentrate on the tribe of Judah.  Remember Ezra is writing this book as a history lesson for the people that will return to rebuild a temple.  Looking back on the history they are going to want to trace the covenant line of “their” people, so that will be the tribe of Judah.

As I am reading I am doing some memory recall.  Just in case you jumped in late (or just need it) here are some things that make this reading crystal clear:

Chapter 19:

What makes sense now that we have read for 6 months:

  • Jehosaphat lives in Jerusalem- He is the king of the tribe Judah— Judah and Israel split like a civil war.  Judah is the covenant line to bring forth the Messiah-so their capital in Jerusalem.  That makes sense. (the Northern tribe’s capital is Samaria.)
  • He appointed Judges- Dueteromomy 16:18- The king is to appoint Judges to help him rule the land. Makes sense.
  • Priests are only to be from the tribe of Levi. (Levites).  And the HIGH priest MUST come from Aaron’s family (Moses’ Brother) Makes sense. Click here for a visual handout.  Look for Amariah.

Chapter 20

  • The Moabites and the Ammonites.  Who are they?  Go way back to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Genesis 19:30-18.  When Lot fled with his daughters, they did not have a man to create a family so they got him (their father) drunk and made a baby with him.  The children born grew the nations Moabites and Ammonites. Makes sense.
  • When Jehoshaphat stood in front of the assembly he was committing the situation to God and recalled Solomon’s prayer from 2 Chronicles 6 and of course Psalm 136 ❤️:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

  • The Bible never hides the faults of every man/woman God used (gives me hope for my own life).  Jehoshaphat was a fantastic king but he too had his faults.  He did make another alliance forbidden in the Law (Exodus 23), this time with Ahaziah, whose ways were wicked.  So what they built together God destroyed. Makes perfect sense.
  • Verse 15 gave me goosebumps! “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

Let’s break down chapter 21…You can’t make this stuff up!!

Look at the drop from Jehoshaphat to Jehoram…the apple fell FAR from the tree.  The new king of Judah marries Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter.  What?? Why??? Ohhhh the humanity!  His father (Jehoshaphat) brought a huge revival to the nation by teaching the scriptures and trusting the Lord and his son marries the daughter of the most notorious Baal worshiper? (I am going to skim over 21:8 Edom and Libnah revolt, we will talk about that later this week). Just put the word Edom in your pocket for now. (verse 10:To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah)

So how bad was Jehoram!  Bad!

Elijah the prophet writes him a letter. This is the only record we have of a prophet from the Northern Kingdom rebuking a king of the Southern Kingdom. (All the other prophets God sent to Judah were from Judah). The letter stated:

  1. You have not followed in the footsteps of your father or grandfather
  2. You instead followed the ways of your horrible in-laws-Ahab’s family
  3. You murdered your whole family, and they were better than you
  4. The Lord will punish you by striking down your family (all except 1)
  5. And Last but not least, you are going to sit on the “throne” and poop  🤢💩☠️ the rest of your days.

Look at #4.  Why except 1?

“Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest.”

God made a Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 that the line of David will bring the Messiah.  If the Lord had not left him one son to carry the kingship…the Covenant would have been broken.

When God makes a promise…it’s better than a pinky promise!

Jehoram- end of the chapter:

 He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Chapter 22 and 23:

(I keep posting this image because it helps me, so maybe it helps someone else?)

How can his son be worse you ask???

Well, who is Ahaziah’s mother?

2 Chronicles 21 - Jehoram's Poor Marriage Choice | Bible study ...

His mom is Athalia.  His grandmother is Jezebel!!

“He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they became his advisers, to his undoing. 5 He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.”

The irony!  Their grandfathers made an alliance and did the same thing at the same place years ago!

Then I read this:   “He was brought to Jehu and put to death….While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them. 

If he killed his sons who will be king?  What will happen to the Davidic Covenant??

THIS IS CONFUSING (for me) so let’s break it down:

When Athaliah (Jezebel’s daughter) the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah (so her family line would survive and not the line of Judah). 11 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash (her brother) son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba,[f] the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12 He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

So for 6 years the heir to the throne, Joash,  was hidden while Jezebel’s daughter ruled the line of Judah.

OK, I lied.  I said this was not a hard read.  My head is spinning with names, but I think I drew enough arrows to have it in my head.

Chapter 23:  Picture the Priests of the Temple, huddled up making a plan (in my head it looked like a coach and his football players)Group Health Cooperative - Words of Wellness Blog

EVERY detail was planned out to make sure the House of David Survived, even down to making sure no blood came near the Temple.  THE LINE OF DAVID SURVIVES!!!

WOW!  What a daily read!!!

1 Kings 22 and 2 Chron 18

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Today we end 1 Kings:

Last week we read about several kings but we ended with Jehosapaht on the side of Judah. (use your visuals)

I don’t want to lose you as the reading gets a little more difficult.  Lots of names here.  Use your “Kings” visuals to help you get through it.  Who is Micaiah?  Let’s look at the whole thing:

When Ahab ruled over Israel and Jehoshaphat over Judah, the two kings decided to come together to attack the city of Ramoth-Gilead to retake it from the Arameans. Before going to battle, they consulted with more than 400 “royally” appointed (not God appointed) counselors of Israel. These were fake prophets who had no regard for correctly delivering the word of the Lord. To please King Ahab and obtain his favor, these prophets only served to tell the king what he wanted to hear.

When you read this last chapter you can view it from a human standpoint “I think that is a great idea Jehoshaphat, making a treaty with Israel to overtake Aram.” OR you can look at it from God’s point of view and maybe see it a little differently.  Even though Jehoshaphat in chapter 17 started a revival for Judah we now see him 3 years later waiting and waiting for Ahab to be killed just like the Lord had promised OR fear Ahab would conquer Aram completely.

The counselors brought before Ahab all prophesied victory in battle, but King Jehoshaphat remained suspicious. He wanted to hear from an independent prophet who would be faithful to the word of the Lord. Ahab offered to seek the counsel of Micaiah but warned Jehoshaphat that he hated this prophet. The reason? Micaiah always predicted evil for Ahab. An evil king will receive bad news from God, so, if Micaiah was true to his calling, he could do nothing but deliver “evil” messages to Ahab. So Ahab hated him.

Standing before the two kings, Micaiah at first sarcastically told Ahab what he wanted to hear, forecasting good news of victory over the Arameans. But Ahab, knowing Micaiah’s sarcasm, made him swear to tell the truth, and Micaiah told the wicked king what God really had to say. The prophet’s report was devastating: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace’”.

So what happens?  Zedekiah slaps him in the face!

So then what happens??  Micaiah says (I picture it with a smile on his face) “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”

Oh no he didn’t say that!  Yes, he did!  😂. Wait, (now I picture him laughing) he ends with “Mark wy words!” (MIC DROP!)

In the end, Elijah’s prophesy comes true and Ahab meets his fate of death and his blood being licked by dogs. (despite the switcharoo plan…you can’t switcharoo on the Lord!)

Overall Jehsaphat was an accomplished leader and considered a “Good King” following the ways of the Lord (except for removing all the “high places” (altars for worship to false gods).

Next on our checklist, we see (look at the visual near top of the post for Judah Kings)

  • Judah King: Jehoram (slipping
  • Israel King: Ahaziah–52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

(We know that all the kings on the Israel side are bad)

1Kings 15:25-16:34 and 2Chron 17

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

If you like a good checklist to see what we will pick off our “Honey Do” list: Click here.  Looking at it you will see that we are coming up in Elijah (a pretty familiar name) and the book of the Prophets, starting with Obadiah. (completed is the *)

Today we switch to the Northern tribes that Jeroboam led to break off from the line of David.

    • Nadab
    • Baasha
    • Elah
    • Zimri
    • Omri
    • Intro to Ahab

Nadab-25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit. (that pretty much summed it up)]

Baasha-Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. (I am seeing a pattern)

Elah- Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years……they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.

Zimri-Zimri reigned in Tirzah SEVEN days. He must have been busy committing so many sins in just 7 days!  But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. (Good grief)

Omri- After a short tribal split (again) Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years.

  • Omri’s reign is significant because he purchased and builds the capital of Samaria, a strategic location.   This fortified capital lasts the rest of the Northern Kingdom. (we will also talk about it a lot when we get to the New Testament)

FreeBibleimages :: Israel taken into captivity in Assyria :: The ...

Finally, we get to Ahab.  I remember the first time I read this book I about fell over when I found out Jezebel was a person in the Bible.  I thought it was just a nickname for a “bad girl”.  Who knew!

“Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.” (See, now reigned in Samaria makes sense).31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him. 

Raiders-- King Ahab part 1 - Pine Run Church of Christ

When we switch to 2 Chronicles we are switching back to the South/Rehomboma/Judah- Jehoshaphat

3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.

9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

1 Kings 15:1-24 and 2 Chronicles 13-16

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Print whichever one works for you:

Click here for this one

Click here for this one

Adult Ed: Kings

If neither of those work for you: I like this one too-

Click here to print: (I like them all!)

Davidic line - Wikipedia

1 Kings 15 v:1-24 only

Look below: this is interesting! (I am going to post this a lot, you don’t have to print it) This is a common view of the Bible.  This is JUST the Kings from Judah. None of the kings were good from the side of Israel.  So track along. For the life of me I cannot remember the names so I keep this visual on my computer screen as a read:

As we read today (2 Chronicles gives more detail) we will see why the line graph moves up from Rehoboam to Abijah and significantly higher for Asa.

  • 1 Kings is in Blue
  • 2 Chron is in Red

Abijah- v.3 “He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.” (All the kings will be compared to David.  David may have sinned many times BUT he never worshipped any other God than the Lord).  So why was he better than Rehoboam? v.5-5 Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?   Abijah is referring to the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samual 7.  He is talking to Jeroboam and saying “You idiot!  Don’t you know you have split yourself off from the line of the Covenant, God will take his hand off your people,  you even let ANYONE become a priest, even if they are not a Levite…that’s horrible”.

Asa– v.11 “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.” ……v.14-14 Although he did not remove the high places( only the ones in Judah), Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. (this was his mistake, he did not remove the pagan altar’s)  v.11-11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. (You can see why on the line graph he moved up to the GOOD section.)  BUT….not Revival….why?  He did not fully trust the Lod in what he JUST said-16:2 “Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”  WHY MAKE A TREATY?? AND WHY GIVE THEM THE CONSECRATED TEMPLE GOLD?  Oh Asa….close but no cigar.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors.

Kings can be confusing so I hope this helped as we picked off the first 2.  Good Stuff…I could have cut and pasted all of 2 Chronicles!!  Use your visuals!  The next king is “revival”

2 Chronicles 10-12

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

This is the synoptic read from yesterday so if you are jumping in today for the first time…read yesterday’s post for today.   We now see it from a priest’s point of view.  One pattern I am really picking up on is rebellion occurs at times of royal succession, which makes sense because people are opportunists.  Saul to David to Solomon and now to Rehoboam, the passing of the crown is a very dark time.

Since the time of Judges, the tribes have had issues getting along however this is now a total separation from each other like the Civil War in our history.  Here is what cracks me up…Ezra is being opportunistic when he writes this book. Ezra, the author, is a priest (a Levite), writing this History book to encourage the rebuilding of Jerusalem when the people return after the captivity, right? (don’t be confused, the captivity has not happened yet.  This book is written way later to a different audience so he biased…does that make sense?)

13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Ezra is taking a moment to reassure The Remnant People  (the people that will return to Jerusalem after it is destroyed). They were on the “right’” side, they chose the Davidic Line…the Covenant Line.  Does that make sense?  Trivia: Which one is the right side? Put the answer in comments.

Chapter 12:  Read this chapter very carefully.  Click here if you need to reread it.

v1: After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.

v6:6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”

(As a result, remember all the beautiful furniture in the Temple…gone! and Rehoboam replaces them with Bronze??)

12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.

However, remember the other day we talked about the “dash” on a tomb headstone.  How would his life be summed up? Rehoboam, the son of a man who was given Wisdom, brought Peace to Jerusalem and built the Temple his dash unfortunately would say…

14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8

~ Patricia ~ 4 Comments

Our reading today is a short read today so I want you to read it very carefully.  How do these 2 chapters differ?  Remember the Chronicles author,  Ezra,  was a priest (and a pretty conservative one) so his concentration is going to be the duties of the priests, the sacrifices, the feasts…really he is always going to be Temple centered.

Solomon’s splendor was the Temple…after that, it kind of goes downhill.  I know we keep rereading this but it is so important:

Deuteronomy 17:

The King

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

In today’s read, we get the big “IF”… ”Then” statement:

“But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. 

Son of a Nutcracker!  You know I am shaking my head  (I was going to write SMH but my husband isn’t as cool as I am and would not know it meant that).

Solomon was a King of Peace and through his willingness to work with his neighbors AND marry their daughters he enlarged the Kingdom while he reigns.  Solomon knows this is wrong because she can’t even live near the Ark because her pagan rituals would be too close to the Presence of the Lord so he builds her a place distant from it.

Picture

Umm but remember he was supposed to read his Bible, I mean the Laws daily so that he would follow God’s words carefully.  If he had,  he may have seen this:

Deuteronomy 7

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

It is worth the 7 minutes of your day to reread at least 1 Kings to see all the detail.  Click here

So when you read today you can see he really was ignoring God on a lot of things!  (feel free to ask yourself if you are a Solomon)

2 Chronicles:- I know it has been a while but did you have some memory recall when you read this-

12 On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. 

Isn’t is cool that we know what the Bible is talking about! (sort of 🤪)

2 Chronicles 6-7 and Psalm 136

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Very similar to the read from yesterday so I will keep this brief.  Solomon’s prayer is one of the most important prayers in the Old Testament.  In his prayer, Solomon explained the significance of God coming to dwell in His temple. God had come to empower, to have fellowship, and to judge, if necessary.  God was present among His people, and He would hear their prayers when they obediently called out to Him.

Solomon specified seven specific situations in which he asked the Lord to intervene in answer to prayer.

  1. when the people swore an oath in the temple (v. 22-23)
  2. suffered defeat and exile from an enemy (v. 24-25)
  3. lacked rain (v. 26-27)
  4. when they experienced disease or other disasters (v. 28-31)
  5. when foreigners would come to pray toward the temple (v. 32-33)
  6. when Israel was at war (v. 34-35)
  7. when Israel was in captivity due to sin (v. 36-39).

How is this applicable today?  Dear Lord…Please intervene when…

  1. when we make an oath in church(v. 22-23)
  2. suffered defeat from an enemy (v. 24-25)
  3. lacked rain (needs) (v. 26-27)
  4. when we experience disease or other disasters (v. 28-31)
  5. when lost people come to pray for you (v. 32-33)
  6. when we are at war (v. 34-35)
  7. when America will be defeated by our enemeies due to sin (v. 36-39).

The biggest difference between the 2 prayers is the insert from Psalm 132 into the prayer:

40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”

You know me by now, I see the “If” and I KNOW this can’t be good!!!

Chapter 7 ends with:

19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Listen, if I get started on this topic, this post will be longer than the Bible.  If this is your first time reading- SPOILER ALERT- It WILL happen.

Don’t forget to read the Psalm, if I hadn’t posted the song yesterday…I would have totally posted it today.

His love endures forever.

Mercy, or loyal love, is one of the most prominent attributes of God’s character. By His very nature, He shows unstoppable, limitless, everlasting mercy, even to those who don’t deserve it.

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy” (Micah 7:18).

1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

1 Kings 8:

In the first paragraph you can establish the Who, What, Where, When, (we get to the Why later).

Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

The WHEN is so cool.  This is a HUGE moment and Solomon chose the month of Ethamin, the seventh month.   Ethamin means “ever-flowing streams,” “enduring” “strong” “everlasting” The name of the month gets changed after the captivity to Tishri or Tishrei. The word “Tishrei” comes from the Syrian “tishrin,” and it means “beginning” or “commencement”.  How fitting for this moment (little geeky info for you).

What do you see? The Feast of Tabernacles. This was one of the feasts that the Mosaic Law specified that all Israelite males must attend (Lev. 23:33-36). This feast was a commemoration of the Lord’s faithfulness during the wilderness wanderings. It looked back to their slavery in Egypt and forward to their Promised Land. The bringing of the ark into the temple symbolized the fulfillment of that hope. Solomon waited for this feast in order to celebrate the dedication of the temple. This festival would bring everyone to the tabernacle (now the temple) to celebrate all week. This is a fantastic day with a spectacular crowd to see the dedication of the temple as the Glory of God fills it.

The ark has been in the Tabernacle this whole time at the house of Obed-edom.  David brought it there after the Philistines had captured it and returned it (2 Sam. 6:17).  The Levites properly brought the Ark into the Temple.

When did Jerusalem become the Capital of Israel? - Ancient Questions

“When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.”

The “shekinah” cloud, means “to dwell”.  It symbolized his presence among the people.  The same word was used when he filled the tabernacle in Exodus 40.

Solomon addressed the people regarding his father’s heart wanting to build the temple, but he was not allowed since he was a king of war, not peace.  God raised up Solomon to do that, as He had promised. He has a large crowd for the festival and he is restating the Davidic Covenant BUT I am also thinking he is letting them know he is king.  A king takes his rightful place after his throne is built (we read about that yesterday):

Solomon’s Prayer was AMAZING!!!  It is the longest prayer in the Bible.  It begins with:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

He did not confuse God’s presence with God Himself. (I think we need to think about that in our own lives)

27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

When Solomon prayed his requests were specific.  In Leviticus and Deuteronomy God spoke of Blessing if they followed the law and consequences for disobedience. Solomon specifically addressed each consequence in his prayer.  However, he uses the word WHEN not If.  (Must be the Wisdom speaking)

7 Petitions:

  • When anyone wrongs their neighbor…judge between the innocent and the guilty
  • When your people are defeated, sin, turn their back to you…forgive them
  • When there is a drought…teach them what is right
  • When there is a famine, plague, natural disasters….know their hearts when they call out
  • When a foreigner comes to you (Gentiles)…may all the people know you
  • When we go to war…uphold the cause of your people
  • My favorite: 46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; ….(and when they repent)…forgive them and bring them back.

2 Chronicles:

After reading Chronicles, I thought: “If Chris Tomlin was the entertainment for the Festival, what would the encore song be”.  I know you thought about it too!!

 

1 Kings 7, 2 Chronicles 4

~ Patricia ~ 8 Comments

Extra Credit Question at the bottom

So the pinnacle of Solomon’s reign was the Temple.  However, after the 7-year construction of the Temple, Solomon decided to build his Palace which was so massive it took 13 years.  We already saw the offerings and donations that funded the Temple.  Now, who is going to pay for the Palace??  Hmmmm.  This might become an issue.  Money always is.  In the meantime, let’s compare the two.

Solomon's Temple vs. Palace | Quick view bible, Bible knowledge ...

 

Here is a great visual so that you can see size difference between the Temple and the Palace. 😭

 

Solomon's Palace Model | The Temple. View from the northeast ...

Extra Credit Question:  One of the pictures has a compass rose on it.

  1. What direction was the entrance of the Temple?
  2. Why did it face that direction? (Two possible good answers here: 1 from our discussions the other from the video yesterday)

For those not in a first-time read-through: Extra extra credit– how is the funding of the palace going to bite the Hebrews in the butt?  (Very theological wording 😂😂)