Year 8, Day 40: Ezra 1 & 2

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Ezra 1 & 2 is a rollercoaster of emotion.  Honestly.  I know it doesn’t read that way on the surface, but it truly does show us the awesomely humbling power of God and how it relates to us as human beings.  I’m going to take a closer look.

Think back to the Exodus.  There was a pre-iron age civilization.  In Egypt, even the most conservative estimate of the Hebrew population rose to a half-million.  There could have been as many as two million people.  God brought that host out of Egypt and created the Hebrew nation.

Unfortunately, they disobeyed.  The Hebrew people went into decline and then went into captivity.  Israel fell into captivity under Assyria.  Judah went into captivity under Babylon.  That huge host of people was reduced to being servants of another nation.

Here in Ezra we hear how God brings the people out once more.  This time, there is no great Exodus; God uses a Persian king to free His own people without any plaguelike depictions of His power.  The number of Hebrew people who come back are less than a half of a hundred thousand – a shy cry of the possible two million that came out of Egypt.  Nothing in this congregation of the Hebrew nation matches the first one.

Nothing, that is, except the God who is empowering it to happen.  God doesn’t need massive numbers of followers.  God doesn’t need great displays of power.  God is enough all by Himself.  That’s why this chapter is the gamut of emotion.

On one hand, this chapter is incredible humbling.  God doesn’t need us to be great in number or in person.  He doesn’t need us to be powerful.  He doesn’t accept us because of our power or prestige or anything else.  Yet, this chapter is exhilarating because we can recognize that God is incredibly powerful!  He can make a nation out of millions of slaves.  He can rebuild the nation with less than two percent of that with which He originally started. He is an incredibly awesome God who is able to do anything with big or small things.

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Year 8, Day 39: Romans 16

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Romans 16 reads like a family gathering.  Paul gives us a list of the people in Rome that he knows or has heard about according to their faith.  Paul then gives a list of the people with him who are also in the faith.  At the very minimum, Paul is trying to make connections and ensure that the body of Christ stays connected.

I think Paul is trying to do much more than that, though.  Paul is trying to lift up attributes of faith and demonstrate examples in our midst.  Look at how many people Paul indicates have worked hard in the faith.  Listen to how many people Paul says have stood under pressure and persecution.  Hear how many people Paul says are like family to him.  These are all attributes that help people grow strong in the faith.  These are models and examples that we can look up to – and so can the faithful people in Rome!  This is more than just a greeting; Paul is helping establish the reputation of the faithful and help people figure out who they can look upon as a mentor?

However, this greeting isn’t just a means for connecting people.  Paul also gives a few pieces of advice.  First, Paul tells us to watch out for smooth talk.  Paul reminds us to be wary of people who look to take advantage of the naïve.  We should be careful when people try to get us to believe that our salvation rests in anything other than the grace of God as revealed to us through Christ. We will have differences in some things – I spoke about that topic over the past few days.  But we shouldn’t be led astray from the core truth of the faith.

The second neat teaching that Paul gives us in this chapter is the teaching at the very end.  What is it that Paul wants to leave in the back of everyone’s mind?  It is God who establishes us.  It is God who made Himself known to us.  It is God who has brought salvation not just to His own people but to the whole world.  It is God who is the focus and the center of the faith.

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Year 8, Day 38: Romans 15

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In this chapter we hear about Paul’s call to the Gentiles and his desire to come to Rome to visit the followers of Christ there.  Those are fairly mundane – yet important in their context – points.  Therefore, I’m going to focus on the beginning third of this chapter.

I love how Paul wraps up his theological treatise in this chapter.  He continues the theme of living in love.  He is clear that we should be active in looking out for the best for the people around us.  It’s not just a suggestion, it’s a calling!

But the true capstone of Paul’s theology is that his position is rooted in a response to God’s action.  Paul reminds us that our relationship with God starts because God had our best interests in mind!  God saved us.  He loved us.  He provided for us.  He does all of these things when He didn’t have to do so!  He did them because He had our best interests in mind.

Therefore, just as Christ accepts us, we should accept one another.  As Christ loved us, we should love one another.  As Christ served us, we should serve one another.

When we live like this, we will be filled with hope.  We will be filled with peace.  We will be filled with love.  When we live like Christ, we will be filled with Him.

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Year 8, Day 37: Romans 14

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I love the fact that Paul puts this passage immediately following his section about how we should live in love. If we are living in love, then we should be thinking about the other person ahead of ourselves.  We should be able to live with our differences, accept God’s gifts in each other, and stand with Christ who unites us.

For example, here are some unique ways that I bring faith into my life.

• I don’t wear white as a reminder that one day after the resurrection I will be given a white robe cleansed in the blood of Christ.  Much like the singer Johnny Cash, so long as I look around and see the evidence of sin in my life and the world around me, I won’t wear white as a devotional reminder of the fallen world in which I live.
• I don’t close my eyes when I pray.  I used to, and I found that my ADD very quickly took over and before long I wasn’t even hearing the words being said.  Then, I heard someone challenge me by asking why I closed my eyes and bowed my head when I pray.  I told them that I do it out of respect for God.  They told me they pray with their head held high and their eyes to the sky, looking for the Son whenever He should return.  I kind of liked the thought, so I tried it.  Now I pray looking up to the sky now.  The upside is that the visual helps keep my ADD in check and I can focus on what’s being said far more easily!
• I never say the name of God that contains the letters YHWH.  I don’t do it because of Jewish tradition.  In the ancient world of Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah you only used someone’s personal name if you had power and position over them.  I never say the name of God as a reminder that He is God, I am not.  I don’t have power over Him, and I don’t say the name of God as a way of reminding myself of that fact.

The reality is that there are more things than that in my life, those are just the easy examples to lift up.  Here’s the neat thing about that list of expressions of faith.  Salvation doesn’t hinge upon any of the things in that list.  I can be a follower of God and do those things; other people can be a follower of God and not do those things.  These aren’t things that make me better; they are ways that my faith is enhanced within me.  I don’t feel the need to get offended by those who don’t do what I do.  We are all created unique in God’s image, who am I to say that other people must look like me and live out their faith like I do?

That’s what Paul is talking about here when he says to not judge one another.  That’s what he means by not being a stumbling block.  One genuine expression of my faith need not offend another, and another’s genuine expression of their faith need not offend me. 

On the other hand, if I know something offends another person and I continue to do it in their presence, then shame on me!  In that case I am not expressing myself, I am throwing myself into their path and forcing myself to be a stumbling block.  That’s a very dangerous proposition to make.  It’s one thing to express my faith according to God’s uniqueness.  It’s another thing to intentionally offend.  As Paul says, we should do everything in our power to lead one another to peace, not offend one another.

Of course, it is worth saying that there are a few things that are unable to be compromised.  Jesus is the only way to salvation, and my salvation rests solely upon Him.  God is our creator, and we will one day live with Him by His grace.  He is the source of all that is good within me and within the world.  I should be actively looking for and repenting of the sin in my life.  I’m sure there are a few others that could be added to this list, but those are the pretty big ones.  Those are the things that bind us together in unity.

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Year 8, Day 36: Romans 13

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Romans 13 gives us an interesting teaching that I always feel the need to place an asterisk behind and amend.  Paul tells us to obey our government.  He tells us to follow their direction.  He tells us to respect their decrees, pay our taxes, and live life under their rule.

There is always a part of me that wants to add an asterisk and say, “so long as the government is righteous.”  Naturally, God wouldn’t want us to support people who promote unrighteousness, right?

To be honest, as I read this passage today I realized that to put such an asterisk is missing Paul’s greater point.  Look at the context of this passage.  This is a greater passage about love.  This is a passage about how when we live in love we need not worry about the Law.  When we live in love, we are living obediently to God’s authority.  After all, what leader is afraid of people who live in love and who live life looking to be a blessing to the people around them?

For me, that’s the real hidden nugget of wisdom in this passage.  If we want to live, live rightly.  If we want to act, make sure it is in love.  If we want to live in peace, live in love.  When we are living in love towards the people around us, we will have nothing to fear. We will then be clothed in Christ.

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Year 8, Day 35: Romans 12

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Paul starts this chapter by reminding us that we are to live as sacrifices to God.  This should take us back through our theological training.  Why are we sacrifices?  We are sacrifices because we are slaves to God.  We are slaves to God because the alternative is being a slave to sin, which is not a good option!  We are we slaves to sin?  We are slaves to sin because of our flesh.  If we put this all together, what we see Paul encouraging is for us to be willing to sacrifice our sinful self-centeredness and exchange it for being His servant and living according to His ways.

In this light, it is easy for us to hear the rest of the words of this chapter.  Live humbly, Paul says.  How do we live humbly?  We live humbly because we are God’s servants.  We live humbly because we are about the greatness of God, not the greatness of ourselves.  We live humbly because as God lifts us up, we look to lift others up in the same way.  We live humbly to be a benefit to others.

We also live humbly to allow the gifts of others to rise up.  God has gifted His whole body, we should make room for many to work.  If I think so highly of myself that I do everything, then I don’t allow others to use their gifts.  We live humbly so that we can all experience being a part of God’s plan.

Finally, I love what Paul says about love being sincere.  When we give space for others to use their gifts, we need to do it sincerely.  We should want others to be a part of God’s plan.  We should want to give space to others to utilize their talents and abilities.  We should not live humbly in a begrudging fashion, because doing so robs us of the very joy of being in Christ in the first place.  No, true humbleness comes out of a love for God and a love for others.

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Year 8, Day 34: Romans 11

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In Romans 11, we have two main thoughts.  First, we hear a warning much akin to what I have been saying in the past few blog posts.  We who are in Christ have no right to look down in judgment upon others.  We are not God’s people because of our greatness or even our works.  We are grafted in to God’s family because God supports us and brings us in.

Second, we hear a discussion on if God failed His people.  After all, if they rejected God, yet God desires to save them, isn’t that saying that God wasn’t successful?

That’s really an important question.  It really boils down to the proverbial discussion on free will.  God desires all of us to be saved, but He does not force it.  If God forced it, then our love would be meaningless.  What’s the point of love if the person who gives the love has no option other than giving love?  Without free will, our worship and love of God is greatly tarnished.

That being said, in order for us to have free will, God must put aside His desire for all of us to be saved and allow us to accept His offer or reject it.  The fact that some people reject God isn’t evidence of His failure at all!  It is evidence of His love and His desire to be loved.

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Year 8, Day 33: Romans 10

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In Romans 10, we take a bit of a departure in Paul’s writing to talk about his concern for his own Hebrew people.  There is a good bit to learn from his words.  Above all else, though, we learn that Paul is remorseful about people who do not desire to turn to God.  Paul is not angry or vindictive of judgmental; Paul is burdened with sorrow and remorse.

So where do we begin?  First of all, Paul reminds us that his people did have the word. God’s Word was among His people.  God’s Word was proclaimed by the prophets.  The people had priests.  The people had some righteous kings.  There were leaders and people to follow.  They had the opportunity.

Paul also tells us that God held out his hands in opportunity.  God was with Abraham and his offspring.  God brought the people out of Egypt and gave them the Law.  God stood beside them even when they wanted a human king to follow.  God sheltered them from adversaries, even when they turned to foreign gods.  God gave them opportunity.

Where then do we end up with this?  We end up in a simple place.  Not all of Paul’s people have turned to God.  Some have, no doubt.  But not all.  Paul then tells us that God’s people have been found in a nation that did not seek Him.  In other words, there are people who are following God.  But they are not necessarily the people we would think.  They are from among the people of the world.  There are people in the world who hear about God and who turn to Him in love.  There are people in the world who voluntarily turn to God because they want to respond to the truth.

In the end, we come back to where we started.  We celebrate the fact that we can come to God even though we aren’t a part of the Hebrew people genetically speaking.  But we should not look upon others in judgment.  We aren’t God’s people because we’re better.  We are God’s people because God reached out to us.  We mourn for those who haven’t responded to the hand of God as it reaches out to them.

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Year 8, Day 32: Romans 9

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Romans 9 contains some of my favorite verses.  As a Biblical scholar, the reason why it is some of my favorite verses is because it is challenging.  In this chapter, Paul steps out on a limb and says some things that will hard for his own people to hear.  In fact, Paul is willing to sacrifice standing for the truth.  That’s admirable.

The reality is that it is not the physical decedents of Abraham that are God’s children but the spiritual ones.  To say it another way, it is not the genetic seed but the spiritual seed who carry on God’s promise.  It is not the literal heirs to Abraham but the spiritual heirs to Abraham who live in God’s promise.

Paul then goes on to quote the Hebrew Scriptures several times with words like “I will call those who are note me people ‘my people’” and those who are “not my people will become children of the living God.”  “Only the remnant will be saved.”

Think about how these words would sound to a traditionally Jewish audience.  Here we have Paul saying that the group of people who trust in their genealogy have placed their trust in the wrong thing!  It isn’t their genealogical connection that is important at all!  If anything, it is their genealogical connection that puts them in proximity to the Law, which merely points us to why we need Christ’s sacrifice for us.

I believe this to be a good lesson for all of us.  Every single one of us have those moments where we think we have God figured out.  We have moments where we believe we know everything God asks of us.  It is in those moments that we are in great peril.  We will never have God figured out.  We may have a belief that we think we know where God is leading us.  We should absolutely act upon those beliefs.  But far be it from us to claim that we know the mind of God with absolute certainty!

After all, did Paul know where God was leading him on the way to Damascus or even later in life when on his way to Rome?  Did Peter know where God was leading him when he told him to come out on the water?  Did John the Baptizer know the kind of death the he would face when being called out into the wilderness?  We follow in faith, absolutely!  But we cannot know.

That’s what I love about Paul’s chapter here.  Paul isn’t afraid to speak the truth and challenge the status quo.  Our confidence isn’t in who we are.  Our confidence is in who God is and what He has done for us.  Our confidence is in who God is and the relationship that He has extended to us.

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Year 8, Day 31: Romans 8

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As we turn to Romans 8, we are primed to hear Paul’s exhortation to live in the Spirit instead of living in the flesh.  Paul begins by reminding us that in Christ we are called to live outside of the desires of the flesh.  Those who live in the flesh are bound to die.  But those who live in the Spirit live in God’s ways and live in His ways because we have Christ in us.

Paul then goes on to remind us that those who are in Christ groan in anticipation with all of creation when we look at the world.  That doesn’t mean we despise the world around us. Far be it from that!  God created this world for us to live in and enjoy.  When we groan, it is because we see the reality in comparison to the way god created us to be.  We groan because we see a world that isn’t living up to its created potential.  We see a world that chases its own sinful desires instead of chasing after godliness.  We groan because we cannot wait for God’s reality to be life.

While we may groan because we see a broken world around us, we also live in confidence.  We live as conquerors because we know that God has already won.  When Christ died on the cross, God sealed the future.  His reality will win out.  We may deal with a sinful world around us.  We may live in a world that doesn’t live up to God’s desire for us.  But we know that in the end God will conquer and He will bring us with Him.  God justifies us; He can bring us into salvation.

Where does that leave us?  It leaves us in a mix of states.  We are in the world, groaning for it to live better than it does.  We are immensely hopeful because we know what is coming.  We live free, because God has freed us from the bondage of sin.  Yet we live in suffering because the world does not all share our perspective.  But above all else we know that we live in an inseparable relationship with our Creator.

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Year 8, Day 30: Romans 7

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Romans 7 is often cited as the most confusing chapters of all of Paul’s writing.  It certainly is cited by Biblical scholars as one of the more difficult to translate.  Romans 7:15-20 is typically quoted in passing when a person wants to lift up an example of how difficult Paul is to understand.  In light of this, we’ll try and make sense of this chapter and see if we can learn something along the way.

First, we need to be careful to not overstretch Paul’s words.  Many people read Paul’s writing here and think that Paul is giving us permission to abandon the Law.  This is especially true if we focus too much on Romans 7:4-6.  I believe that what Paul is saying in this portion of scripture is that when we are in Christ, we live beyond the Law.  In other words, when we are living obediently to God’s will and His ways then we have no need of the Law.  That should make sense.  If I am living in true righteousness, then I have no need for the judgment of the Law!  I’m not discarding the Law, I am living beyond its grasp.

When we look at the rest of the chapter, we see the balance of this chapter. After Paul sets up the reality that when we are living in God’s will we are living beyond the Law, he talks about the rest of reality.  The truth, unfortunately, is that we don’t always live up to God’s will or His ways.  In those moments, we need the Law to remind us about what we are doing and the difference between that and His will.  In those moments when we are walking away from God, we need the Law to point that reality out to us!

Ultimately, it is God who saves us.  It is God who paves the way into relationship with Him.  When I follow Him, I have no need of the Law to show me the way back to Him.  But when I stray from His ways, the Law is there to guide me back.  This is the inherent balance between Law and Gospel, judgment and grace.  Until such a time that sin has been removed from us, we need both grace and the Law.

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Year 8, Day 29: Romans 6

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I’ve always thought that America was uniquely prone to missing the point of Romans 6.  Notice that in Romans 6 Paul doesn’t give us the option that we think he does.  We hear Paul say that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  We assume that Paul therefore says that we are free.  In one sense of the word, we are.  We are freed from bondage to sin.

However, look at the conclusion that Paul reaches.  If we are no longer slaves to sin, then we are slaves to righteousness.  We are slaves to God’s ways.  We voluntarily put ourselves in a position to see God’s ways as worth pursuing and we submit to them.  Christ frees us from sin, but He does it so that we can follow Him.

I think that this is a very important point.  If I consider myself free from sin and the seek to pursue what I desire, I am really just putting myself back into being a slave to sin.  My nature is sin; my flesh corrupt.  Where true freedom is found is recognizing that I need to follow something other than the sinfulness within.  I need to follow Him and His ways.  I need to listen to the calling that He has set for me and my life and find my identity in Him.  True freedom comes in embracing the identity that God has set before me and living into that.

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Year 8, Day 28: Romans 5

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I think that there are at least two main points in this chapter, and with Paul I am betting that there are far more than 2!  Paul speaks to us about the nature of God and our relationship with Him.  He also speaks about the means through which God works.

Let’s talk about God and our relationship with Him.  I love how Paul phrases his case.  While we were enemies, God reached out and offered salvation to us.  God loves us even when we are His enemies.  Therefore, if we find ourselves wrapped up in His salvation, then how much more we shall know His love!  For me, this is an amazing reality.  God loves His enemies enough to extend salvation to them.  How much He must love us, especially when we receive His grace.

The second major theme in this chapter is the way that God works.  I have met many people who ask, “How can Jesus’ death on the cross mean anything to me?”  Another way of asking this is how God can take away my sin through the death of someone who lived two thousand years prior.

This chapter speaks to that question.  This chapter gives us insight to the greater picture.  Sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, when one man and one woman violate what God created in perfection.  The result of that action, though, is that sin and death became a reality for them and for all of us who followed.  That sets up a pattern.  One great act can affect the person and those who come after them!  In the same way, Jesus’ death can affect us, too!  Just as sin stained us, Jesus’ death can remove that stain.  This chapter speaks to the grand movements of God’s hand over all of His creation.

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Year 8, Day 27: Romans 4

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In Romans 4, Paul sets straight a very old argument.  What is it that makes God’s people?  For centuries, Jews have believed that what made them God’s people was that they received the Law.  We in the church think similar things.  Some say that we have baptism.  Others talk about special gifts from Godlike miracles or speaking in tongues.  The truth is that we like to put our faith into the evidences of our salvation.

However, let’s go back to the example that Paul lifts up in this passage.  Abraham was one of God’s people, given the promise of God centuries prior to God giving the Law through Moses.  Abraham wasn’t loved by God because of his ability to keep the Law perfectly.  Abraham was one of God’s people because his heart was with God.  It was the condition of Abraham’s heart, not his perfection, that caught God’s eye.

The same is true for us.  Does God love us because we perform miracles in His name, speak in tongues through His power, or even because we are baptized in His name?  Of course not!  He loved us before we did any of those things!

The truth is that God gave His people the Law because of His love for them.  The same thing is true about us.  He gives us His promise of baptism because of His love.  He gives us His gifts because of His love.  He works miracles through us because He already loves us.  All of these things come to us as a response in love, not things we must do or have in order to obtain His love.

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Year 8, Day 26: Romans 3

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When I read Romans 3, it is easy to focus on the end of this passage.  That makes it a great place to start.  When it comes t righteousness, there is no difference between Jew or Greek.  In other words, regardless of where we come from, we can be made righteous.  Christ’s death can bring righteousness upon any of us.  We are saved by God’s act, not by our own.

That’s a good thing.  After all, look at the perspective of Paul in the section that immediately precedes the last passage.  Nobody is righteous.  There isn’t even one righteous person.  Our mouths are aced with venom.  Our throats are open graves.  Wee don’t know peace.  We are quick to do evil.  In case you are curious, Jesus Himself teaches us that there is no one who is good except God alone.  The reality is that we are not good.  We cannot be righteous apart from Christ; therefore it is a good thing that we have Christ so that we can be righteous!  That’s an important perspective to have.

That leads us up to the initial point of this chapter.  If righteousness comes through Christ and not through us, what is the point of being a Jew?  In the modern age, we might say: “If I am forgiven and made righteous in Christ, why worry about whether I sin or not?”  This is an important question to answer, and Paul gives us a great answer.  The answer is that while our righteousness does not come through our works, when we live in a righteous manner we put God’s ways on display and show what living in His inheritance looks like.

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Year 8, Day 25: Romans 2

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As I read through Romans 2, there is a really important message that often gets overlooked.  Who am I to judge?  This message is so important that Jesus Himself teaches it when He says, “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.”  The reality is that I have no right to look upon another in the light of condemnation while I myself sit in the light of grace.  If grace has been extended to me, then it has been extended to anyone who is willing to receive it.  Human beings have no right to look upon one another in condemnation.  That’s is God’s job, not mine.

That being said, we often take that message too far.  Just because I shouldn’t look upon another person in condemnation doesn’t mean I don’t preach the truth.  Right is right.  Wrong is wrong.  Righteousness is righteousness.

That leads me to the real trick in this passage.  How does one teach right from wrong but do it in a way that doesn’t assume condemnation?  I think there are several important principles, and I’ll admit that I’m going to probably miss a few.  The most important part is that it comes from God’s Word as that is truth.  It is also important that we teach through relationship so that when people hear us teach they already know our character and will be able to hear the spirit of our words should we say something in human error.  We also need to remember to be transparent; people are more receptive to hearing about their imperfections when they realize that we acknowledge our own imperfections.

These things set us up for an understanding of where this passage ends.  Can we prove to be God’s people by outward appearances?  No, of course not!  We are God’s people by what is on the inside.  It is a penitent heart that evidences the salvation that comes from God.  That’s why I have to be careful not to judge!  Can I see the heart within, or can I only see the outward appearances of another through my own jaded perspective of what I see?

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Year 8, Day 24: Romans 1

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Roman 1 is such a great introductory chapter to faith.  In it, Paul gives us a great perspective on faith.  First, it is wisdom that comes from God.  Genuine relationship begins with Him and it is rooted in His Word.  Then, it spreads outward to others.  We encourage and edify one another with the faith that comes from God.  We teach one another and build one another up with our shared faith.  This is what faith looks like.

Having said that, Paul also gives us a perspective of what faith doesn’t look like.  God allows us to chase after the desires of our own heart as well.  He allows us to walk away from Him if we so choose.  He allows us to exchange truth for a lie and to pursue that instead.

This brings us to what I think is another great moment in this chapter.  Paul looks forward to come to the Jews and the Gentiles.  He wants to preach to anyone who will listen.  Relationship with God is based upon His righteousness, not upon our worthiness!  There are Jews who are faithful; there are Jews who walk away from God.  There are Gentiles who are faithful; there are Gentiles who walk away from God.  Relationship with God is for all people, anyone who wants it.  We are fortunate to have it!

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Year 8, Day 23: 2 Kings 25

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In this chapter we bring the plight of the kings of Judah to an end.  It’s a whimper of a story.  Siege is laid to Jerusalem.  The people are starving.  The king makes a move to run away, but he is caught.  As punishment, the king’s sons are killed in his presence.  All in all, it’s a pretty bad chapter in the history of Judah.

As I read through this, I couldn’t help notice something mentions as Babylon takes over the city.  The temple is stripped of its valuables and then burned.  I truly find this fascinating.

Sometimes we as human beings wonder why God allows some things to happen.  I’m not arguing that God makes some things happen; I’m arguing that God stands by and allows things to happen.  I honestly think that the reason we find ourselves in such turmoil is because we don’t have the perspective of God.

It’s easy from a human perspective to think that God would be upset about some of the things we care about.  For example, the temple.  Couldn’t God have worked within Nebuchadnezzar to have His temple spared?  He’s God, of course He could!  But He doesn’t.  He doesn’t flinch when His temple is stripped and burned.  After all, what is a temple made of earthly things to God?  In fact, if you remember, it was David’s idea to build the temple, not God’s idea!  God was happy dwelling in the tabernacle that He had ordered constructed.

I think this chapter can teach us much about perspective.  God’s people go captive.  God’s temple is destroyed.  Yet God continues to still be God.  Nothing substantial has really changed.

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Year 8, Day 22: 2 Kings 24

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In 2 Kings 24 we finally see the long-promised downfall of Judah.  I don’t say that with anticipation.  In truth, I say it with sadness.  The kingdom that God establishes through David lasts a bit more than four hundred years.  Most of those years were lived in rebellion against God.  Knowing that only more rebellion is to come, God sends Nebuchadnezzar to finish the task.

What I find interesting is how Judah becomes captive to Babylon.  It comes bit by bit.  Judah is slowly dismantled through its desire to buy off the Babylonian invasion.  Judah voluntarily becomes a vassal to Babylon, slowly selling off its national treasures to alleviate the threat.  Before too long, the wealth and splendor of Judah is transferred to Babylon without much fighting.  Only a small siege is necessary to defeat God’s people.  Most of the pride of Judah goes willingly, no resistance necessary.

This really is tragic.  It teaches us a lesson that our pride and our self-centeredness is really blinding.  We’ve watched the people of Judah chase after their own desires, chase after other gods, and chase after the things of this world that are not sustaining.  They never saw the end truly coming.  When it came, they didn’t have the strength of character to recognize the danger.  If we are as blind, we are equally as susceptible.

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Year 8, Day 21: 2 Kings 23

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When I read the chapter for today, I am glad that I read the chapter from a few days ago.  He we go, reading a whole chapter on how great Josiah is and how seriously he took the reforms of the Lord.  We even hear God’s Word tell us that there was no other king like him before or after [excepting David, no doubt].  Yet, we hear the Bible say that in spite of all of this, God would not forget the wrath that he planned against His people.

Originally, it is easy to sit back and ask how God could be unforgiving!  After all, how can His people undergo all of this reform and yet God won’t relent?  How can Josiah and the people be so faithful as to go back and unroot the worship of foreign gods dating the whole way back to Solomon and God is unrelenting?  How is this possible, when we profess to believe in a God who forgives with every one of our repentance moments?

The answer is in the end of the chapter.  Listen to what the Bible has to say about what happens after Josiah.  The people rebel once more.  The kings are evil once more.  Everything that Josiah fights for is gone as soon as he is.

Why does God not relent?  God doesn’t relent because He knows what the future holds.  God stays His hand because Josiah is faithful.  But God knows the repentance is only temporary.  God knows that it won’t last and it won’t stick.  It’s not that God is unforgiving at all!  It is that God is all-knowing.  He will happily forgive us in our repentance.  In our disobedience, He will hold us accountable.

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Year 8, Day 20: 2 Kings 22

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Quite often when I read this chapter, I love to focus on the character of Huldah the prophetess.  Here is a woman of faith, who isn’t afraid to tell the truth.  Here is a woman to whom the spiritual and political leaders of the nation turn when they want to know truth!

Today, though, I plan on going a different route.  Towards the end of the reading we get to a major point in Huldah’s speak.  Huldah tells us in plain words about the power of repentance.  God plans to come and lay siege to Judah.  God plans to take His own people into captivity.  But because Josiah repented when He heard the Word of God, God stays His hand of wrath for the time being.

There are many neat places of learning that we can explore.  What a testimony to God’s forgiveness!  Here is a God who plans to destroy the whole culture because of their rebellion.  Yet, because one person, their leader, is willing to display humbleness God is willing to forgive and postpone judgment.

Of course, this leads us to the power of humbleness!  Josiah’s willingness to hear and let his heart be touched is one of the most powerful reactions that he can have in the eyes of God.  We are flawed human beings.  What God looks for is whether or not we can admit our failings and then go forward in repentance.

Finally, we can see that God does indeed care for all of His people.  The promise that God gives to Josiah through Huldah is that Josiah will be gathered to His ancestors.  God cares not just for the living, but for the dead.  We can trust that God will not be our God in life, but that He will be our God in all time.

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Year 8, Day 19: 2 Kings 21

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I’ve always been curious as to why God would punish Hezekiah so harsh just for showing the Babylonians the temple and the wealth of the kingdom.  I get that Hezekiah was prideful.  I get that Hezekiah may have been more interested in financial security and not interested in sharing the greatness of God to the Babylonians.  But I have often felt that those things aren’t as big and significant as all the other things that God has put up with over the centuries since David was king!

In reading this chapter something important comes out.  The perspective that I have is incredibly human.  When I hear God list out punishments, I make the human assumption that the punishments match the crime as recorded.  With God, though, that doesn’t need to be true.  God’s perspective is not linear as is mine!  God knows what is going to happen when Hezekiah dies and his son takes over.  God knows what will happen when Hezekiah’s grandson takes over.

When God tells Hezekiah that the Babylonians will conquer them, but it won’t take effect until after Hezekiah’s reign, it is actually a demonstration of God’s wisdom!  It is a demonstration of God’s foresight!  God knows of all of the awful practices that Manasseh and Amon are going to initiate.  He knows about the defacing of His temple.  He knows about the child sacrifice.  He knows about the worship of the starry host.

On the surface, this chapter is all about the sins of Manasseh and Amon.  Under the surface, though, this chapter is about the magnificence of God.  God knows what is to come well before it happens.  God can set and execute judgment well before it is even required.  From my human perspective, it may seem unfair or unreasonable.  The problem is with me, though, not God.  The Babylonian advance that we heard about yesterday is perfectly fair and perfectly righteous when we have the ability to see the whole story as God does.

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Year 8, Day 18: 2 Kings 20

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Today we get a story that fills in a bit of the bigger picture of the story of Hezekiah.  We get an opportunity to see the real Hezekiah, much like we got an opportunity to see the real David.  We see him in his glory, we see him in his faults.

In his glory, Hezekiah is a bastion of faith.  Sick, he prays to God.  He believes God can heal him.  When Isaiah comes to tell Hezekiah that God is going to heal him, Hezekiah is willing to believe it.  Here is a man who understands the power of God and understands the preeminence of God.  He gets it in a very real and personal way.

A neat part of this is that God knows that he gets it.  God heals him.  In fact, it seems to please God to heal Hezekiah.  This is a man who has a positive relationship with God and it shows all around.

That being said, Hezekiah is no perfect man, either.  He makes mistakes.  When some emissaries from Babylon come to see him, he is taken by their concern for his health.  He shows them around.  Like a proud man, he puts on a demonstration of what makes him great.  He never thinks about the idea that these emissaries could go back to Babylon and brag about the wealth the see.  Hezekiah never thinks about the possibility that his pride could lead to the king of Babylon coming to Judah to take that wealth from him.  In Hezekiah, we see a fault of blind pride.

Furthermore, we also see a man who is a bit self-centered.  When he is told about the judgment to come, Hezekiah’s reaction is really interesting.  Hezekiah is okay with the judgment because it will happen after he dies.  I hope the self-centeredness of this reaction is obvious.

Hezekiah is a great man.  He has a great relationship with God.  But he isn’t perfect.  He is short-sighted.  He suffers from pride.  He has flaws.  But in the end, God still loves him.

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Year 8, Day 17: 2 Kings 19

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This is a great chapter of the Bible.  Remember what the chapter from yesterday said about Hezekiah?  Hezekiah walked in the ways of the Lord according to David.  That is an epitaph that hasn’t been said since David; it’s very high praise.  It’s worth focusing on.

I think we see something in today’s chapter that should remind us of David.  Hezekiah is full of what looks like doubt.  He goes to the temple and seeks guidance.  He seeks out the prophets.  Hezekiah doesn’t know what is going to happen, but he knows that he doesn’t have the answers and he needs help.  He goes to God especially in the midst of his worry!

Doesn’t this sound just like David?  Hezekiah doesn’t have any more answers than David did!  Hezekiah’s no more perfect than David was.  But he does believe in God.  He does seek God.  He does wish to follow God’s directive.

Unlike many of the kings between David and Hezekiah, Hezekiah doesn’t try to buy help.  He doesn’t place his faith in anything except God.  He goes to the temple and prays for help.

This is the cool part of the story; it’s my favorite part.  Isaiah consoles Hezekiah.  Isaiah tells him that God is on His side and God will force Sennacherib to go home.  Later that night, hundreds of thousands of Assyrians are found dead outside of Jerusalem.  Sennacherib tucks his tail and goes home.  His military failure gets him killed by his own sons, who rise to power.

God lives up to His promise to protect those who truly trust in Him.  He can make our path through the darkness of life.  Hezekiah gives us a great look at what this kind of faith looks like.

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Year 8, Day 16: 2 Kings 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today we begin one of my favorite teaching stories on the topic of faith.  We meet Hezekiah the king, who is one of the elite among the faithful kings of Judah.  We hear about Sennacherib, who is one of the great kings of Assyria.  We hear about a great defiance, a lie, and the faithful response of the people.

Before we get to all of this, make sure that we understand the context of what is going on.  The Assyrians have been chosen by God to be His punishment upon Israel.  The Assyrians take possession of the land and pull the Hebrew people of the northern kingdom away from their inheritance.  There has been no nation that has stopped the Assyrians.  Whatever the Assyrians have wanted, they have taken by force.

Now, however, the Assyrians come to Judah and plan to take Jerusalem.  They have even taken many of the fortified cities of Judah.  It looks bleak, especially when no help arrives from Egypt.  The Assyrian army encircles Jerusalem and begins to lay siege against it.

In this context the mouthpiece of Sennacherib comes to the wall around Jerusalem.  He announces their impending doom.  He tells the people of the city, especially the guards upon the wall, that their city will fall and there is no hope on the horizon.  He even indicates that they shouldn’t rely upon God.  After all, what god has any nation believed in that has saved them from the hand of the Assyrian onslaught?

Here’s the thing that Hezekiah understands, though.  He knows that God will deliver them.  He tells the people to not even acknowledge the Assyrians.  He knows that God may have brought Assyria upon Israel, but God has not brought Assyria upon Judah.  Hezekiah holds fast.

I praise Hezekiah for this bold stance.  Here is a faithful response in the face of an overwhelming enemy.  Here is a response where Hezekiah draws a line in the sand and says, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”  He then turns and invites the people around him to stand upon the same line in the stand.  This is what leadership looks like.  This is why the story of Hezekiah is one of my favorite faith teaching stories form among the kings.

Tomorrow we’ll see how the story ends.

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