1 Chronicles 28 – Duping the Lord

"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Be careful now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it." - 1 Chrn 28:9-10

 

Have you ever been caught up in a bad situation but you genuinely were not seeking to do something wrong?   Maybe you see or hear something you shouldn't, but you remove yourself immediately.  Now, have you ever sought out a bad situation, but went to lengths to make it look like an 'accidental' occurrence?   The point is, whether on a big or small scale, God knows our hearts and intentions.  God not only sees everything, but He knows our thoughts and plans.   In short, God cannot be tricked.  We can fool other and we can even dupe ourselves, but the Lord knows what is really going on.   Make no mistake, following Christ means a moral conformity to His character; we call this growth sanctification.  While the Bible says "don't," it also says "do."   This short passage shows pragmatically all of the available options.  [1] You can decide to not follow the Lord.  God knows your true thoughts regardless what your actions say (v. 9), and if you choose to forsake Him, you will be forever cast off (v. 9).   [2] You can decide to follow the Lord.  This is what is best (at least from David's point of view) (v. 9), and he rewards those who earnestly seek Him (v. 9 and Heb 11:6).   Not only that, but He has a plan for you, that will require purpose and determination.  We can emphasize the "don't" at the price of the "do."   For Solomon there is something to aspire to, a task that is worthy of a life – to build the Lord a house (v. 10).  Our assigned tasks from God are worthy of our lives as well.   Therefore our encouragement is the same – be strong and do it!

1 Chronicles 26 - The family you always wanted

And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth, for God blessed him. Also to his son Shemaiah were sons born who were rulers in their fathers' houses, for they were men of great ability. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers were able men, Elihu and Semachiah. All these were of the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers, able men qualified for the service; sixty-two of Obed-edom. - 1 Chrn 26:4-8

 

Isn't this the family you always wanted:  eight children that follow in your respectable line of work and ton of grandchildren who are extremely able and eventually become leaders among their peers.  The problem is that often our children don't become the Olympic stars or state senators that we hoped they would.  Or worse, they scorn our line of work, vowing to never follow in our footsteps.  I do not want to detract from the blessing of children, but there is a deeper meaning here than trying to get your kids to be productive in society.  These men are not simply listed because they worked at a time when the king had enough sense to jot down who was doing what.  King David was seen as the 'ideal' king, the father of an unbroken line of kings.  The time is of critical importance in what God is doing in the world - to be named here is to be named in a time and place where God was working out salvation for the world.  But like Lord of the Rings, this line of kings fails, but God still provides a king from the line of David - Jesus.  And right now we don't have a kingdom like David did, with armies, gatekeepers, and tribes leaders, but there is still a need for "able men qualified for the service" of Christ.  The point is this:  what matters most is not a person's profession, but their commitment to the Lord.  Our prayers for others should not be consumed with material goals that we have for them (or, as we often think, that they should have for themselves), but for their spiritual vitality; that they would be counted as a blessing of God.  These men were used by God at an important time - isn't that what we should want for those we care about?

1 Chronicles 24-25 – Sign up to be in the choir

If you wondered about the importance of being involved in leading people into worship, read 1 Chrn 23-26. While the list of names is tough to read, there are several things that communicate the importance of these worship positions. First is the length. The Bible tends to be brief so when we see a lot of text, that is a clue that this event, story, message, etc. is significant. Secondly, this is one of the last acts that King David did (1 Chrn 23:1). David could not build the temple, but he could get the materials and the people all lined up. This task David took seriously. And we should too.

1 Chronicles 23 – Personal effect

The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. - 1 Chrn 23:17

Do we look at our own performance and get discouraged? Even if certain things are out of our control, do we feel the pressure that we didn’t add up? How about in evangelism – we share and share but see little fruit. In a time when legacy is so important, one of the sons of Moses, Eliezer, has only one son. But the next line, ‘but the sons of Rehabiah were very many,’ does not seem necessary, since Gershom has only one son listed as well. The point is that God is in charge of His legacy; He is responsible for His people. Yes, we are to share our faith and yes, we are to be active in pursuing those who don’t know Jesus, but the response is up to God. Just as the people of the OT weren’t to use other methods in securing their lineage (ex: having a child through another woman), we aren’t to use methods that manipulate or coerce people into a ‘profession of faith.’ The Lord is in control of His heritage; He will see that people get saved. Our job is to be faithful proclaimers of the Good News.

1 Chronicles 22 – Preparing for another

David was not allowed to build the temple; that honor went to his son, Solomon. But David did do all he could to help Solomon for this great project. This is how many of our lives operate as well: there is a bunch of work done by a person who does not get to experience the result. People do not grow like corn, that is, in somewhat stable predicable patterns. Your years of involvement as a friend, parent, or relative, could very well be the all-but-completed foundation that someone else gets to build upon. However, God knows our hearts and He sees our work. Therefore, we can be glad – the timing is up to the Lord. Our job is to be faithful in the work He has set before us.

Note: I was away from the computer for a while so the previous posts were backdated.

1 Chronicles 21 – Everyone is disgusted but us

David commands that a census be taken, but Joab pleads against this action. Joab complies with the request, but since he is so disgusted, he does not count the tribes of Benjamin or Levi (v. 6). What is going on here? David has asked for the number of able-bodied men in the nation. The issue is that David has had success without counting the number of troops that he actually has at his disposal. This action is seen as trusting in the strength of the people rather than the strength of God. Are we doing the same? Do we hope that slick marketing will fill the seats or that a sharp youth center will solve our children’s woes? Our hope must not be misplaced as David’s was.

1 Chronicles 19-20 – Rabbah: the story swallowed by a bigger story

Here is the account of Rabbah, the city that Joab besieged in David’s absence. This was the year of David’s affair with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12); note that the accounts are nearly identical (compare 1 Chrn 20:1-3 with 2 Sam 12:26-31 and 2 Sam 10 with 1 Chrn 19). What is missing in 1 Chrn is the story of Bathsheba. Or is it? The Chronicler adds the comment, “But David remained in Jerusalem (v. 20:1).” A moment of indiscretion can haunt our legacy, even an abbreviated one.  

1 Chronicles 18 – The Lord gave victory

And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went (vv. 6, 13 - ESV) is the theme of this chapter. David conducted successful military campaigns and forged strategic alliances, but he also honored the Lord in his campaigns. This was done was by not hording horses (v. 4), dedicating plunder and tribute to the Lord (vv. 7-8, 10-11), and by having a rule that was characterized by justice and equity (v. 14). This is the Lord’s victory: not only that the land is conquered but that the heart of the king is conquered as well. The Lord is still pursuing victory in the hearts of people, whether they are rulers or subjects. We participate in God’s victory when Jesus has conquered us. It is a strange picture, I admit, but David’s obedience to the Lord and the Lord using him to subdue the surrounding nations are juxtaposed within this passage. The question to us is how do we want to meet the Lord of Hosts: as His obedient servant or standing on the opposite side of the battlefield?

1 Chronicles 17 – Who is like you, O LORD?

There is none like you, O LORD, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.  And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? – 1 Chronicles 17:20-21 (ESV)

 

Whether it is the issue of the ark being separated from the tabernacle or his own desire for God's glory, David wants to build the Lord a house.   The Lord, though, responds to this in several ways.  First, David's son will build the house, not David.  Secondly, God will build David a house, that is, a kingdom ruled by his offspring.  Here we see the character of God.   God does not need our efforts; He is fully capable of taking care of Himself.  However, God does use us and wants to establish His greatness through us.  

 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 16 – It’s just the same old Psalm

In 1 Chrn 16, David appoints Asaph and his crew to sing a song of thanks for the ark of God being brought to Jerusalem.  While this does present an interesting worship scenario (with the ark being in Jerusalem while the Tabernacle set up in Nob, ref. 1 Sam 21), the song of thanks is a grouping of several Psalms.   The order is as follows:  1 Chrn. 16:8-22 = Psalm 105:1-15; 1 Chrn. 16:23-33 = Psalm 96; and 1 Chrn. 16:34-36 = Psalm 106:1, 47-48.   All of these Psalms come from Book Four of the Psalms, a small book that only has 17 Psalms.   What is intriguing about Book Four is that the Psalms prominently feature Moses, they exclaim the praise of Yahweh, and they tend to emphasize the reign of Yahweh.  These features are especially true in the compilation that David has instructed the song leaders to sing.   Ps. 105 is a history of the exile out of Egypt, Ps. 96 (v. 10) exclaims the reign of the Lord, and Ps. 106 is a praise to the Lord for this deliverance and rule (and note, this is the final Psalm of the book).

 

So what is being sung?  First, the song in 1 Chrn. 16 praises the Lord for bringing them out of Egypt.  Second, the song declares that the Lord is king.  Finally, the song announces praises for the Lord – for His deliverance and for His rule.   This is our song!!  Christ has delivered us from sin and death and now He is our King.  This should result in our praise and thanks to Him!   David's song of thanks is our song of thanks, because God has completed what He was doing through the lives of Moses and David in Christ.  David and Moses merely pointed to God's saving and ruling acts in Christ Jesus.   Sing 1 Chrn 16 boldly – for this is in our hymn book as well.

1 Chronicles 9:1 – With the end in mind

So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. – 1 Chrn 9:1 (ESV)

 

The books of 1 & 2 Chronicles know that the kingdom of Israel and Judah will end.  This is important to note – the author (or at least the final reviewer) can more accurately weigh the relative merits of each regime.   Obviously, this is done with the Spirit's guidance, but the Spirit's insights are not different from what we would expect from what is revealed to us elsewhere in the Bible.   If a king conducts great building projects, expands the borders, averts disaster from rival nations, has a long reign, and leads his people to victory in battle, but he does not obey and worship the Lord God, his rule is detestable in the eyes of God.

1 Chronicles 8 - Genealogy of Saul

The genealogy of 1 Chronicles takes us to the line of Saul.  Here we see that he has a large family and that his clan produces mighty warriors (1 Chrn 8:40).  But being many or being mighty is not what is important to God.  Saul, the seemingly ideal king (non-partisan tribe, very tall, small central government, time of crisis, military success, able to unite the tribes, etc.), turns away from God and Saul's kingly line ends with him.  The 'ideal' situation is not always the situation that God is going to use.  We need to respond to the things we know about God and not presume how He will accomplish His work.  This family, that has an entire chapter devoted to it, is not the line of the great kings of Judah; it is not the line of Christ.  

1 Chronicles 1 & 2 - More than a name

1 Chronicles starts out with a long genealogy. This genealogy is tough to follow; names that jump around and people I don't know. The list is mostly names, but sometimes there are comments. For example:

Stories we already know:
Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death. - 1 Chrn 2:3b (ESV)

The son of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing - 1 Chrn 2:7 (ESV)

Stories where we don't have much information:
And Segub fathered Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. But Geshur and Aram took from them Havvoth-jair, Kenath, and its villages, sixty towns. All these were descendants of Machir, the father of Gilead. After the death of Hezron, Caleb went in to Ephrathah, the wife of Hezron his father, and she bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa. - 1 Chrn 2:22-24 (ESV)

The question is - would you want an annotation next to your name? While many of us may think 'yes', I may be a bit more hesitant. Most of the notes in the genealogy are reminders of foul deeds or circumstances that are far from normal. So what would be important in a genealogy if it isn't individual notoriety? Being in the right one. How can we change our ancestry? Through Christ, we are Abraham's children; through Christ, we are grafted into this tree; through Christ, we are born again; through Christ, we are in the right genealogy. Jesus makes the genealogy ours, even if our mitochondrial DNA says otherwise.

2 Kings 25 - Are we to hope?

Judah has been leveled; the temple has been sacked; the people have been exiled.  It would seem like the dream is over.  Yet the story goes on in fairly predictable fashion:  Zedekiah is killed fleeing from the siege, a governor is placed over the area, he (Gedaliah the governor) is killed but the assassins flee to Egypt, and the rest of the people were afraid of the repercussions so they fled as well.  The situation seems utterly hopeless.  However the book of 2 Kings ends with the king of Babylon releasing the king of Judah, Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:12), to a form of house arrest.  Jehoiachin even eats with the king of Babylon.  It seems that while story in the book of Kings is done, the King of kings is not finished with His story.

2 Kings 24 - Babylon has come

There is a superpower on the scene - Babylon. Having conquered the key Assyrian city of Nineveh seven years earlier (~612 BC), Babylon exerts its influence over the small nation of Judah. Why did this happen? Was it because of the economic and political policies of the time? Was Judah simply located in an unfortunate geographical position? No - Judah had turned away from God and the sins of Manasseh had to be accounted for. The Lord's mercy is not for the 'nation,' but for the people of that nation. Judah has had a string of evil kings and the Lord will not tolerate anymore internal persecution to His people. A painful solution? Yes. But the Lord is still in control and, as we will see, He will bring Babylon to their knees before Him.

A chart of Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns against Judah

2 Kings 23 - The golden calf

Jeroboam son of Nebat (Jeroboam I), created to altars at the northern and southern boundaries of his kingdom - two golden calves (1 Kings 12:25-33). The people of Israel were to worship these calves instead of going to Jerusalem to worship, thereby preserving the Israelite kingdom. These altars have been referred to as the sin of Jeroboam throughout the books of 1st and 2nd Kings. This was Israel's original and great apostasy. Josiah, upon reading the Book of the Covenant (Book of the Law), tore down this laundry list of idols and altars within Judah, but then destroys the golden calf in Bethel (the one in the south). To really follow the Lord, lots of changes have to be made. A life that is lived apart from God usually involves a considerable amount of cleaning. Praise God for His Spirit who prompts and guides us in all righteousness.

This is a silver calf idol found in Ashkelon. The calf was probably a local Canaanite idol that Jeroboam used, tying it to the idol that the Israelites made after leaving Egypt (with a positive reflection of that whole incident of course).

2 Kings 22 – A sudden discovery

When Hilkiah discovers the Book of the Law in the Temple, he has Shaphan read it before King Josiah. Josiah is heart-struck: he tears his clothes because he realizes that his fathers have not obeyed the words in this book. The Bible confronts its readers by what it says about what the Lord wants. We are then given a choice: to be obedient or to not. Often we send the information to a remote part of our memory because the issue being addressed has been a long-standing problem in our life. But what is more important, to avoid dealing with a painful persistent problem or to deal with the Lord our God. Josiah was cut to the core, realizing that they have angered the Lord. He realized the need for repentance and God responds graciously to Josiah’s actions and faith.

2 Kings 21 - Starting down the slippery slope

And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them." But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. - 2 Kings 21:7-9 (ESV)

The Asherah and other gods are being worshiped in the very place that God put His name. Manassah has spurned the glory of the Lord and has replaced it with wooden statues, mediums, and fortune-telling. I want to shake Manassah and ask him what in the world he is doing, but I realize that I too exchange the glory of God for lesser things. When I covet or lust or get unrighteously angry, I defy the character of God and replace something glorious with something shameful and despicable.

2 Kings 20 - Legacy schmegacy

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" - 2 Kings 20:16-19 (ESV)

 

Oh Hezekiah!  Don't you care about the future?  Selfishness rears its head in many ways, but this is particularly sad.  What about his kids and their kids?  Doesn't he realize the trauma Babylon will inflict on Judah?  What about the temple?  More importantly - what about God?  Ezekiel 10 describes the glory of God leaving the temple in those days - the horror of horrors.  Our goal in life is not to avoid problems, but to glorify God.  

2 Kings 18 – Making it personal

Several years after Shalmaneser captured Israel, Sennacherib, his successor, invades Judah. Sennacherib captures Lachish (in Judah), a siege that is well documented by the Assyrians (see pictures below). With all their power and might, the Assyrians feel so confident in their victory over Judah that the Assyrian representative, Rebshakeh, declares (in Jerusalem no less!) that the Lord cannot save Judah. This reminds me of when David accepted Goliath's challenge to fight and Goliath cursed David by his gods (1 Sam 17:43). Both Goliath and Rebshakeh made it personal between their army and the Lord. While, yes, we need to be ready to answer for our hope in Christ (1 Peter 3:15) and even defend the Lord with apologetics, but realize that our God will take care of His name. Our response should be loyalty and faithfulness to Him.

Siege of Lachish

The following pictures are reliefs found in Nineveh (the capital of Assyria) pertaining to Sennacherib's victory at the siege of Lachish.
This relief is depicting Assyrian archers assaulting the men on the walls.

These guys are launching stones using large slingshots.

The report of the battle being given to Sennacherib.

Lachish prisoners of war (Jews) - Note the difference in their clothes

Assyrians were infamous for their horrific treatment of those they conquered. While some were deported to foreign lands, others were tortured and executed in terrible fashion.

Here are the remains of the siege ramp built by the Assyrians to scale the fortified walls of Lachish. Note the person in the left-hand corner for scale.

2 Kings 17 – The new people don’t like the lions

So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. – 2 Kings 17:33 (ESV)

 

With the deportation of Israel, Assyria now plants other people in the cities of Samaria.   Since these new people did not fear the Lord, lions were sent to kill some of the people.  The Assyrian government tries to solve the problem by having a priest of the Lord go back so the people can learn about the 'law of the god of this land' (2 Kings 17:27).   As you might have guessed, the people quasi-feared the Lord but they still served their other gods.  Syncretism does not please God anymore than outright idol worship.   This is such a dangerous trap for us to fall into – we try to make God into something that occasionally challenges us, but by and large, we want Him merely to endorse what we are already doing and thinking.

 

2 Kings 17 – A sad day for Israel

Hoshea is captured by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, due to potential alliances with Egypt (an enemy of Assyria) and for a failure to provide the required tribute. This leads to Assyria capturing the capital city of Samaria and deporting the people to various regions in the Assyrian empire. Israel is no longer a nation and the narrator comments as to why this happened:

And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. – 2 Kings 17:16-18 (ESV)

While there are dangers of correlating disaster and oppression with particular conduct (like hurricane Katrina, etc), the flip side of the coin is that God does act against sin and wickedness. These two golden calves have been a stumbling block for Israel since their inception as a nation distinct from Judah. This particular abomination, referred to as the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, has not been taken care of throughout Israel’s history. As God’s people, we cannot just go on doing what we want and worshiping the Lord in any manner that we see fit. This was demonstrated in the life of Ahaz (2 Kings 16) not to mention all the other kings who overstepped their authority. In our rebelliousness, we want to be king and domesticate God. God will not bow to our whims, our stubbornness, or our selfishness. He is the Lord Almighty.

2 Kings 16 – Upgrading the ol’ Temple

Ahaz, a very evil king of Judah (even sacrificing his own son – 16:3), sees an altar in Damascus that is very impressive to him. Immediately he sent orders to his priest, Uriah, for a copy this altar to be built in Jerusalem. This 'great altar' replaces the bronze altar for all the sweet aroma sacrifices made to the Lord. The bronze altar is moved from the entrance to the Temple on the west side to the north side of the Temple. The bronze altar is now to be used for 'special inquires' by Ahaz (read: divinations). If we are not following the Lord, we can be convinced to do some of the most outrageous things. As we read this story, we know that what Ahaz is doing is very wrong, yet he goes on and does it anyway. There are things that the Lord explicitly tells his people to do, and yet, some manage to worm their way around them and not think much about it. Recently there was a bishop of a particular branch of the Lutheran church who advocated the practices of polygamy and homosexuality "provided they promote the cause of the Gospel." Likewise, Ahaz probably thought that God would be impressed with this new altar and he maybe thought that God would give him special wisdom now that there was an altar dedicated for that very task. We need to be careful to know the Lord (Joshua 23:11) otherwise our worship will be idolatrous, because we are doing the very things that the Lord despises.

2 Kings 15 – Building a country but not a legacy

Jeroboam II and Uzziah had a great deal of land under their control. Not only were their reigns long, but they did several great projects and kept the land safe from invasions. For all that Jeroboam had done, he could not secure a kingdom for his son, Zechariah, who lasted only six months. The time after Jeroboam’s reign is characterized by revolt, assassinations, and oppression from foreign invaders. As for Uzziah, the object of note in his biography is that the Lord touched him so that he had leprosy. We see two ‘successful’ kings who are either quickly forgotten or infamously remembered. What will we be remembered for? Are the accolades of the day enough or do we want something more? We don’t want to build up our personal empires, but instead we should work towards things that matter more – objects of eternal consequence.

2 Kings 14 - Humiliation

There is an interesting episode in 2 Kings 14 - a good king of Judah, Amaziah, confronts an evil king of Israel, Jehoash (well they're all bad in Israel). Jehoash warns Amaziah that Judah shouldn't pick a fight with Israel because Judah would lose. Amaziah does not listen and gets badly defeated by Israel. Shouldn't the good defeat the evil? The Lord is interested in building His kingdom, not merely winning military victories. There are times that, yes, God does command the destruction of His enemies, but here it seems that Amaziah was trusting in his own ability as a military force (note the small victory over Edom) rather than listening to the voice of the Lord his God. A victory in one area does not mean that we can rush headlong into other areas that the Lord has not lead us to go in. Our duty is to be faithful to our Lord Jesus, not to be carried away by the emotion of a successful endeavor.