You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me

Todays reading is the Book of Ezra.
When you intermarry with pagan women, as they did, then you are putting their gods before the LORD God of Israel.

In Chapter 9 when Ezra was told about the intermarriages with the pagan women he fasted and prayed. He ended his prayer not by asking for forgiveness but by declaring that God is righteous. In verse 15 he says, “O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

In Chapter 10 we learn that many of the people in Israel were concerned about the sin in their midst. While Ezra wept, prayed and confessed, these people gathered around him and also wept very bitterly.

There was an assembly of all the men of Judah and Benjamin at Jerusalem within three days. 10:10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”

12Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. 14Please, let the leaders of our assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” 15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jehaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbathai the Levite gave them support.

So they put away their pagan wives. 18Among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their trespass offering.

There were others (vv20-43) who had intermarried. Some had children with their pagan wives, but they still separated themselves from them.

God Can Use Anyone – part 4

33:2Ammon did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manesseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manesseh had made, and served them. 23And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manesseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

24Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

34:1Josiah …2did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3For in the eighth year of his reign,…he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the carved images, and the molded images. 4They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down…

Hilkiah found the Book of the Law
19Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. He commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Abdon,
Shaphan, and Asaiah to inquire of the LORD for him.

22Hilkiah and the others went to see Huldah the prophetess, who said, “…thus says the LORD: “Behold I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the Book which they have read before the king of Judah, because they have forsasken Me and burned incense to their gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be “Concerning the words which you have heard–27because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself nefore Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also heard you, says the LORD. 28″Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.”‘”

Josiah restores true worship. He removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their god. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD god of their fathers. (2 Chron. 34:31)

After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the
Euphrates’ and Josiah went out against him. But Necho king of Egypt did not want to fight Josiah. But Josiah would not turn his face from him, and would not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

23and the archers shot King Josiah…24…so he died and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah and his goodness.

36:1Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 3Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4Then the king pf Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. and Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

5Jehoiakim…did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6Nebuchadezer king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon… Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

Jehoiachin did evil in the sight of the LORD. King Nebuchadezer summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11Zedekiah …12did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. He rebelled against King Nebuchadezer. 14Morever all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the lORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

God Can Use Anyone – part 3

29:2Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all his father David had done.

30:1Two of the things Hezekiah did were to cleanse the temple, and restore temple worship. and Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manesseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.

31:1Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the high pillars and the altars–from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manesseh–until they had utterly destroyed them all…

2And Hezekiah appointed the … priests and the Levites according to their divisions,… the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD. 3The king also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burn offerings.

4Morever he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.

Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem…King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cried out to heaven. 21Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria.

22Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hands of all others, and guided them on all sides. 23And many brought gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah became sick and was near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah had great riches and hpnor. He prospered in all his works.

31However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they sent to inquire about the wonder that was dome in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

33So Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then Manesseh his son reigned in his place.

33:2Manesseh did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

9So Manesseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before he children of Israel.

10and the LORD spoke to Manesseh and his people, but they would not listen. 11Therefore he brought upon them the captains of the army of the kimg of Assyria, who took Manesseh with hooks, bound with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12Now when he was in affliction he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manesseh knew that the LORD was God.

So Manesseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

God Can Use Anyone – part 2

Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Azahiah his youngest son king im his place. 3He also walked in the ways of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

8And when it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab…9Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

When Athaliah saw her son Ahaziah was dead, she arose and destroyed all the heirs of the house of Judah. 11But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, … and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

24:1Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. He repaired the temple.

When Jehoiada grew old and full of days, he died. Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. Therefore he left the house of the LORD of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.

23So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him…24For the army came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Judah. 25And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jejoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

37Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place…2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.

25:3…as soon as the kingdom was established for him, … he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.

Amaziah counted the men of Judah from 20 years old and above and found them to be 300,000 choice men, able to go to war. and he hired 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents of silver. 7But a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel–not with any of the children of Ephraim. But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.”

Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the 100 talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?”

And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” 10So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home.

Now when Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the people of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to talk to him.

16So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?”

Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

Amaziah king of Judah sought to do battle with Joash the king of Israel. Joash tried to dissuade Amaziah. 20. But Amaziah would not heed, for it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom.

21So Joash king of Israel went out, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth-Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 23Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah…and he brought him back to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate…24And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of god with Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages and returned to Samaria.

27After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

26:1Now all the people of Judah took Uzziah and made him king instead of his father. 5He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

16But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah went in after him…18And they withstood King Uzziah, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor with the LORD God.”

Uzziah became furious and while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 21KIng Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper, and he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house judging the people of the land.

23So Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.

27:2and he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, acording to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the LORD). But still the people acted corruptly.

3He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively on the walk of Ophel….6So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

9So Jotham rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

28:1Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD as his father David had done. 2For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. 3He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnon, and burned his children im the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

5Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria.

22Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the LORD. 25And in every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.

27So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city in Jerusalem but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

God Can Use Anyone – part 1

In Second Chronicles today I am comparing the kings with each other, emphasizing the ones who worshiped God and showing how God can use anyone to accomplish what He desires for His people. Even when it is not obvious while the events are happening, God has a plan, God is working, and He is bringing about His desired result.

King Solomom was given the opportunity by God to have anything he desired, and Solomom very wisely asked for wisdom and knowledge (2 Chron. 1:7) He had military and economic power. He built the temple and brought the ark back into the temple. Solomon had great wealth.

Now Solomon married foreign wives who pulled him into worshiping their gods, so Solomon defected from God during the latter part of his reign (1 Kings 11:1-4). The LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10And had commanded him concerning this thing; that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. His defection disqualified his descendants from ruling over Israel. 1 King 11:11Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

King Rehoboam–He got off to a wrong start with the people. His making the yoke heavier than his father’s yoke was on the people served to fulfill His word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

When Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. Shishak king of Egypt came against Jerusalem in his fifth year of reign, because they had trespassed against the LORD. The LORD sent word to him through Shemaiah the prophet saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.'”

After this they humbled themselves and the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of other kingdoms of the nations.

13Then Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. 14And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD…And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16So Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was burined in the City of David.

After Rehoboam died, Ahijah became king over Judah. Jeroboam came up against him, but God struck him and all Israel (2 Chron.13:18). Thus the children of Isael were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.

20So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah. After Abijah rested with his fathers, Asa reigned in Judah.

Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Azariah the son of Obed. 2And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, he will forsake you…”

12And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.

After Asa rested with his fathers, his son Jehoshaphat reigned in Judah. (2 Chron. 17:3)Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the forner ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, 4but sought the God his father, and walked in his commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. 5Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand.

Ahab in Samaria asked Jehoshaphat to go with him against Ramoth Gilead, which he did, because all the prophets except Macaiah advised favorably. So they went up to Mount Gilead. Now the king of Israel was shot by a random bow, and about the time of sunset he died.

Jehoshaphat made it safely to his home in Jerusalem. 19:2And Jehu, the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. 3Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.”

So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers.

Ammon, Moab mnd Mount Seir came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah and saying, …17You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.

And Jehoshaphat and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed nefore the LORD, worshiping the LORD. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.

22Now when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

So Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

After this Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. He allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, and the ships were wrecked. (2 Chron.20:35-37).

Then Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David.

Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 4Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

6And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab for a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

18After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19…After the end of two years, his intestines came out necause of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burnings of his fathers.

A Comparison, Deaths of Saul and David

In comparing the death of Saul with the death of David, I went back to 1 Samuel 15:10 when Saul was rejected as king.

1 Sam.15:10Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11″I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

Saul made excuses to Samuel, saying that the sheep and oxen he could hear were brought back to sacrifice to the LORD; and the rest they had utterly destroyed.

16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! and I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”

17So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight aganst them until they are consumed.’ 19Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”

But Saul argued that he had obeyed the voice of the LORD; and that the people took all those things to sacrifice to the LORD.

22So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

27And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

In an effort to save face Saul said to Samuel, 30″…I have sinned, yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

1 Chron.17:7 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. …Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house. 11And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14And I will establish him in My house and in My kinghdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ‘ ”

16Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that you have brought me this far? 17And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God. 18What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant. 19O LORD, for Your servant’s sake and according to Your own, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. 20O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, accordng to all that we have heard with our ears.

23″And now, O LORD, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have said. 24So let it be established, that your name may be magnified forever saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 25For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before you. 26And now, LORD, You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant. 27Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.

So the LORD built a house for David, and his son Solomon reigned following him. Whereas, Saul and all his house died together. And Saul’s blessing by God had been removed by God. David was a true worshiper of the LORD God. Also God had promised to give David an everlasting kingdom which has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose human ancestry is through the royal family of David.

Acts 13:22And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all My will.’ 23From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior–Jesus…”

2 Sam 7:16And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

Luke 2:4Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Narazeth, in Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

King Josiah

Today’s reading is 2 Kings Chapters 21-25.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

In his eighteenth year of reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan the scribe to the house of the LORD. The high priest Hilkiah had found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD, and he gave it to Shaphan, and he read it. Shephan then took the book to King Josiah and read it before him.

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. He commanded Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan and Asaiah, saying, 13″Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shephan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, … And they spoke with her. 15Then she said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants–all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read–17because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched'”‘ 18But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard–19because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD. 20Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.”‘” So they brought back word to the king.

23:3Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.

21Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of Covenant.

29In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. and Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him. 30Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.

So Josiah did not see the calamity that was to come upon Judah. Surely it was because his heart was tender and humbled himself before the LORD when he heard what the LORD spoke against Judah and its inhabitants. He did not hesitate–he did not sleep on it–he tore his clothes and wept before the LORD when he heard the LORD speak.

Hezekiah’s Faith

In 2 Kings chapters 9-20, all the kings continue to be evil, not worshiping the LORD. Then Hezekiah the son of Ahaz began to reign. 18:2″He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem…” 3And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

4He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. 7The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

13And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib King of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

Sennacherib boasts against the LORD
17Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah… 19Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt,…”

Isaiah assures deliverance
19:1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2Then he sent…to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

6Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”‘”

Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed. 9And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah king of Judah…”

14And Hezekiah received the letter from the hands of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD…”

20Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard….'”

Now Hezekiah knew that there is a greater king than the king of Assyria. He trusted in the LORD and he trusted in the power of prayer. And his prayer was answered favorably (See 2 Kings 19:21-34) through Isaiah the prophet. His faith in the LORD caused him to be delivered from the hand of the enemy, Sennacherib king of Assyria. The LORD’s answer to Hezekiah’s prayer begins, “Because you have prayed to Me … I have heard. Such reassurance–to be told by the LORD, “I have heard.” What I notice about Hezekiah is that he took everything to the LORD in prayer. His faith in the LORD God made the difference in his life, for the LORD God is faithful.

A Double Portion

In 2 Kings Chapters 1-8, the theme running throughout is that the kings were all evil. But there were two outstanding men of God in those days, the prophet Elijah, and Elisha. After the LORD had Elijah throw his mantle on Elisha, Elisha became his servant and went with him. When the LORD was about to take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, he tried to get away from Elisha to go to Bethel. But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know, keep silent!”

Twice more Elijah asked Elisha to stay, for the LORD had sent him on. Both times Elisha responded with, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

10So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.” “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over.

15Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.

Elisha saw what Elijah had and wanted a double portion of it. So by Elisha’s asking, a double portion of Elijah’s spirit was upon him. Had he not asked, he probably would not have received that double portion. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us what will happen when we ask. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”(Luke 11:9) And in James 4:2 we are told, “…. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” Elisha is a good example of asking for a double portion and receiving it just because he asked.

Ahab

Today’s reading is 1 Kings chapters 19-22. The theme running through these chapters can be summed up in 21:25, “But there was none like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.

19:1And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4″But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree.” He stopped to rest. An angel woke him and fed him cake baked on coals and water, and he lay down again. 7And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

9And then he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Twice the LORD asked this question of Elijah, and twice he answered the same way.

Now Ahab coveted the vineyard which Naboth the Jezreelite owned next to the palace of Ahab, and tried to buy it from Naboth. But Naboth wouldn’t sell or trade it. Ahab told Jezebel about it and she schemed and had Naboth stoned to death. Then she told Ahab to take possession of the vineyard.

Then the LORD sent Elijah back to meet Ahab king of Israel.

21:20So Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?”

And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord: 21Behold, I will bring calamity on you….23and concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ 24The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.

Ahab was wounded in battle and propped up in his chariot, and died at evening. They took him to Samaria and buried him. Then someone washed his chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken.

Though Ahab was king of Israel he was highly influenced by his pagan wife Jezebel. She could stir him up to do wicked acts.
But according to the New Testament, that is not what we should do. Heb 10:24 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works…” We need to keep ourselves from the negative influences of the world.

Ahab’s actions reflect no genuine love for God and no love for his neighbor Naboth. The New Testament tells us in 1 John 4:8, He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:13