1 Kings 17-19
Ahab versus Elijah! An evil king confronted by the righteous prophet! Ahab has a co-conspirator, his ultra-evil wife, Jezebel. Elijah works alone. Ahab and Jezebel have all the resources of Israel. Elijah has nothing and no one, except, of course, the Lord. These three chapters contain some of the richest, most powerful accounts of spiritual warfare in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The struggle begins with Elijah’s famous prayer that God would keep it from raining. After three years of drought, Elijah presents himself to Ahab and challenges his idolatrous prophets to a contest. Atop Mt. Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the one prophet of the Lord meet. They are each to make a sacrificial offering; “and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:24) All morning long, the prophets of Baal chant and cry out to Baal, while Elijah mocks them. On into the afternoon, they cut themselves in an effort to heighten the effect of their prayers; no response. When it’s Elijah’s turn, he soaks his sacrifice with gallons of precious water three times, prays, and, immediately, fire descends from heaven to consume the offering. Elijah seizes the moment and the crowd’s support to command that these prophets of Baal be destroyed. Having cleansed the kingdom of Baal worship, Elijah announces the return of the rain!
Elijah’s victory is short-lived. When he hears of Queen Jezebel’s intent to kill him, he descends into deep depression. We wonder how the mighty prophet who defeated the prophets of Baal so soundly could fall prey to a darkness based solely upon a threat. But such is spiritual warfare. How many of us have had our worst bouts of depression on the heels of great spiritual breakthroughs.
God is gracious to Elijah. He allows Elijah to run away, say depressing things, eat and sleep. Then God calls Elijah away to himself. And where do they meet? The same mountain upon which God met Moses! There God speaks to Elijah in a “still small voice,” corrects his mistaken, woe-is-me thinking, sends him back to work, and gives him a helper.
Enter Elisha!
Until Monday,
Pastor Gary
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
APRIL 4 1 KINGS 12-16
1 Kings 12-16
The kingdom of Israel split in two.
From God’s point of view, it was inevitable. He had told Solomon what would happen in the face of his idolatry, “I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant,” all but one tribe, he later added (1 Kings 11:11-13).
But from a human point of view, it was avoidable. The split needn’t have happened. A little humility was all that would have been required for Solomon’s son to keep Israel whole, but Rehoboam’s arrogance was as thick and sticky as molasses.
I love to tell young people (as I’ve told my sons for years) that they should honor the friends of their parents. “To honor your parents’ trusted friends,” I say, “is an extension of the Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.”
Had Rehoboam an ounce of respect for his father’s friends, the nation might have remained united. But when given the choice of following the advice of his friends or his father’s friends, he chose the latter, and responded to Jeroboam and the ten Northern tribes with harsh arrogance. The kingdom divided.
The split was a spiritual disaster for the Northern tribes (They kept the name, Israel), and only slightly less so for Judah. To keep people from going to Jerusalem in Judah for worship and atonement, Jeroboam built his own idolatrous worship centers, complete with golden calves! Where did he get that idea? Not one of the kings of the North ever sought the Lord with a sincere heart. Judah’s kings were a mixed bag, some bad like Rehoboam and Abijah, some good, like Asa.
But none of the Northern kings was quite as bad as Ahab, who appears first at the end of 1 Kings 16. So bad was he that God had to send one of the greatest prophets to do battle with him.
Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary
The kingdom of Israel split in two.
From God’s point of view, it was inevitable. He had told Solomon what would happen in the face of his idolatry, “I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant,” all but one tribe, he later added (1 Kings 11:11-13).
But from a human point of view, it was avoidable. The split needn’t have happened. A little humility was all that would have been required for Solomon’s son to keep Israel whole, but Rehoboam’s arrogance was as thick and sticky as molasses.
I love to tell young people (as I’ve told my sons for years) that they should honor the friends of their parents. “To honor your parents’ trusted friends,” I say, “is an extension of the Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.”
Had Rehoboam an ounce of respect for his father’s friends, the nation might have remained united. But when given the choice of following the advice of his friends or his father’s friends, he chose the latter, and responded to Jeroboam and the ten Northern tribes with harsh arrogance. The kingdom divided.
The split was a spiritual disaster for the Northern tribes (They kept the name, Israel), and only slightly less so for Judah. To keep people from going to Jerusalem in Judah for worship and atonement, Jeroboam built his own idolatrous worship centers, complete with golden calves! Where did he get that idea? Not one of the kings of the North ever sought the Lord with a sincere heart. Judah’s kings were a mixed bag, some bad like Rehoboam and Abijah, some good, like Asa.
But none of the Northern kings was quite as bad as Ahab, who appears first at the end of 1 Kings 16. So bad was he that God had to send one of the greatest prophets to do battle with him.
Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary
Thursday, April 3, 2014
APRIL 3 1 KINGS 9-11
1 Kings 9-11
It was
Solomon’s personal mountaintop, his magnum opus, his greatest achievement: the
first, and perhaps the greatest temple, the house of God. God had honored Solomon’s labor and oversight
by filling the new temple with His glory, God’s khabod, which literally means “weight” or presence.
On top of
this, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, re-establishing the covenant
He had made with David, and calling Solomon to faithful and obedient walk with
Him.
The rest of 1
Kings 9 and 10 extols Solomon’s majesty: his building projects, his forced
laborers, his faithful sacrifices, his famous wisdom, his great wealth and his
impressive military strength. He is the
only monarch of Israel, I think, to have built a navy (1 Kings 9:26-28) and the only Israelite monarch to have received a
commendation from the Queen of Sheba: Blessed
be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of
Israel! (1 Kings 10:9)
But with
great wealth and power come great temptations.
Solomon allowed his heart for the Lord to be compromised. His many foreign wives were the avenue by
which these temptations came. To keep
them happy, he had to build them worship places for their gods. In time,
he found himself drawn to some of the most despicable of these gods: Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh and Molech.
The Lord’s
response to Solomon’s idolatry was sure; God raised a series of adversaries
against Israel, and eventually, one in particular against Solomon from within Israel. Because of Solomon’s compromised heart, God
had determined to end the united kingdom of Israel.
Think for a
moment: where is your life compromised?
Until tomorrow...when
the kingdom comes apart,
Pastor GaryWednesday, April 2, 2014
APRIL 2 1 KINGS 5-8
1 Kings 5-8
Hiram, the King of Tyre, and David, the King of Israel, had an excellent relationship. 1 Kings 5:1 says Hiram always loved David. In the early days of Solomon’s reign, he honored both his father and his father’s friend in their first official communication.
REMEMBER THIS later on, when Solomon dies!
With tact and wisdom, Solomon elicited Hiram’s help in harvesting the lumber he would need for building the Temple. And in the 480th year after the exodus, he began to build. The stones used were cut and prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor chisel would be heard on site. The foundation took four years and the temple itself seven years to build.
Once the temple building was completed, Solomon oversaw the fashioning of the furnishings. Once again, he leaned on Hiram of Tyre for help. When all was ready, it was time to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the temple; and the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:11). Here is Solomon at his best, blessing the Lord and the people, praying a humble, yet magnificent, prayer of dedication, and loudly proclaiming: Not one word has failed of all his good promise!
Solomon also built his own palace, as well as another house for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom he had married (among many others). This is what I call “a red flag,” and it would come back to haunt him.
Until tomorrow...when it does,
Pastor Gary
Hiram, the King of Tyre, and David, the King of Israel, had an excellent relationship. 1 Kings 5:1 says Hiram always loved David. In the early days of Solomon’s reign, he honored both his father and his father’s friend in their first official communication.
REMEMBER THIS later on, when Solomon dies!
With tact and wisdom, Solomon elicited Hiram’s help in harvesting the lumber he would need for building the Temple. And in the 480th year after the exodus, he began to build. The stones used were cut and prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor chisel would be heard on site. The foundation took four years and the temple itself seven years to build.
Once the temple building was completed, Solomon oversaw the fashioning of the furnishings. Once again, he leaned on Hiram of Tyre for help. When all was ready, it was time to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the temple; and the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:11). Here is Solomon at his best, blessing the Lord and the people, praying a humble, yet magnificent, prayer of dedication, and loudly proclaiming: Not one word has failed of all his good promise!
Solomon also built his own palace, as well as another house for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom he had married (among many others). This is what I call “a red flag,” and it would come back to haunt him.
Until tomorrow...when it does,
Pastor Gary
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
APRIL 1 1 KINGS 1-4
1 Kings 1-4
Happy April Fools’ Day! I hope none among you put salt in the sugar bowl or shaving cream in the sleeping hand this morning, as my wicked cousins used to do. Life pulls enough rugs out from under us without collaboration from April Fools’ aficionados.
Perhaps the most inevitable joke life plays on us is old age. Even the great King David grew old, and when he did, Adonijah, one of his surviving sons, (Remember: Amnon, Absalom, and his infant son with Bathsheba were already dead!) attempted to take the throne for himself, with Joab’s help. The main problem with this was that David, under God’s direction, had already promised the throne to Solomon.
While Adonijah was hosting his victory party, David had Solomon anointed king and heralded as such throughout Jerusalem. Adonijah’s party broke up quickly, and he sought refuge at the altar of God.
With Solomon in place, David has one last tête á tête with his newly crowned son. And it begins well, but concludes a bit vindictively. He instructs Solomon to “take care” of a couple of people: Joab, the out-of-control general, and Shimei, the man who cursed David as he left Jerusalem during Absalom’s uprising. If I to excuse David for this, it would be on the basis of his knowledge of God’s judgment upon these two. By the end of chapter 2, both Joab and Shinei are dead.
Nowhere does Solomon shine brighter than when the Lord appears to him and says, “Ask what I shall give you.” Instead of riches and wealth and power, Solomon asks for wisdom for leadership. The Lord is thrilled, and chooses to Solomon the former, along with the latter!
These opening chapters extol Solomon’s leaders, wealth, wisdom and relationship with God. This is exactly the sort of man God would choose for building His house...as we shall see tomorrow.
Until then,
Pastor Gary
Happy April Fools’ Day! I hope none among you put salt in the sugar bowl or shaving cream in the sleeping hand this morning, as my wicked cousins used to do. Life pulls enough rugs out from under us without collaboration from April Fools’ aficionados.
Perhaps the most inevitable joke life plays on us is old age. Even the great King David grew old, and when he did, Adonijah, one of his surviving sons, (Remember: Amnon, Absalom, and his infant son with Bathsheba were already dead!) attempted to take the throne for himself, with Joab’s help. The main problem with this was that David, under God’s direction, had already promised the throne to Solomon.
While Adonijah was hosting his victory party, David had Solomon anointed king and heralded as such throughout Jerusalem. Adonijah’s party broke up quickly, and he sought refuge at the altar of God.
With Solomon in place, David has one last tête á tête with his newly crowned son. And it begins well, but concludes a bit vindictively. He instructs Solomon to “take care” of a couple of people: Joab, the out-of-control general, and Shimei, the man who cursed David as he left Jerusalem during Absalom’s uprising. If I to excuse David for this, it would be on the basis of his knowledge of God’s judgment upon these two. By the end of chapter 2, both Joab and Shinei are dead.
Nowhere does Solomon shine brighter than when the Lord appears to him and says, “Ask what I shall give you.” Instead of riches and wealth and power, Solomon asks for wisdom for leadership. The Lord is thrilled, and chooses to Solomon the former, along with the latter!
These opening chapters extol Solomon’s leaders, wealth, wisdom and relationship with God. This is exactly the sort of man God would choose for building His house...as we shall see tomorrow.
Until then,
Pastor Gary
Monday, March 31, 2014
MARCH 31 2 SAMUEL 21-24
2 Samuel 21-24
Here on the last day March, we read the last chapters of 2 Samuel, which recount a fair number of
David’s “lasts” as King of Israel:
David’s final, God-directed, retribution on the house of Saul (21:1-14).
David’s final four giants; defeated by him and his mighty men (21:15-22).
David’s final song of deliverance; notice the repeated use of the word “rock” as a picture of God (22)!
David’s final words, in which he names himself, “Israel’s sweet psalmist;” claims for himself the gift of prophecy; and repeats to himself the “everlasting covenant” of God (23:1-7).
David’s final list of “mighty men” (23:8-39).
David’s final sin is a sin of presumption, when he commands an unauthorized census. As a result, God sends the prophet Gad with three options for punishment. David takes the option that places Israel in God’s hands, rather than in the hands of enemies. God sends a plague that kills 70,000, and it seems as though it will destroy Jerusalem (24:1-14).
David’s final prayer of repentance and intercession helped bring the plague to an end. When the plague ceased, the angel of the Lord was seen on the threshing floor of Araunah (24:15-17).
David’s final act (in 2 Samuel) is to build an altar on this threshing floor, which will one day be the site of Solomon’s temple (24:18-25).
There are a few more “lasts” for David in tomorrow’s reading,
Until then,
Pastor Gary
Here on the last day March, we read the last chapters of 2 Samuel, which recount a fair number of
David’s “lasts” as King of Israel:
David’s final, God-directed, retribution on the house of Saul (21:1-14).
David’s final four giants; defeated by him and his mighty men (21:15-22).
David’s final song of deliverance; notice the repeated use of the word “rock” as a picture of God (22)!
David’s final words, in which he names himself, “Israel’s sweet psalmist;” claims for himself the gift of prophecy; and repeats to himself the “everlasting covenant” of God (23:1-7).
David’s final list of “mighty men” (23:8-39).
David’s final sin is a sin of presumption, when he commands an unauthorized census. As a result, God sends the prophet Gad with three options for punishment. David takes the option that places Israel in God’s hands, rather than in the hands of enemies. God sends a plague that kills 70,000, and it seems as though it will destroy Jerusalem (24:1-14).
David’s final prayer of repentance and intercession helped bring the plague to an end. When the plague ceased, the angel of the Lord was seen on the threshing floor of Araunah (24:15-17).
David’s final act (in 2 Samuel) is to build an altar on this threshing floor, which will one day be the site of Solomon’s temple (24:18-25).
There are a few more “lasts” for David in tomorrow’s reading,
Until then,
Pastor Gary
Sunday, March 30, 2014
MARCH 30 2 SAMUEL 19-20
2 Samuel 19-20
As David makes his way back to Jerusalem, two things happen: 1) a series of repentant people meet David along the way to seek his favor and forgiveness, and 2) a hostility grows between the tribe of Judah and the other tribes.
In chapter 20, the sinful intrigue that had engulfed David’s family shifts to his “mighty men” (2 Samuel 20). In the midst of the civil war with Absalom, “David appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab.” (2 Samuel 17:25) When the war was over, Joab takes advantage of another attempted coup (This one led by a “troublemaker named Sheba”). Along the way, Joab brutally murders Amasa, takes control of the army, and pursues Sheba until the townspeople who are harboring him toss his head over wall.
These last ten chapters show that David, though he was great, though he was a man after God’s own heart, was not perfect. His decline makes us yearn for another King, a perfect King, an eternal King, who would someday rule with wisdom and power and glory and honor, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, David’s Son.
Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary
As David makes his way back to Jerusalem, two things happen: 1) a series of repentant people meet David along the way to seek his favor and forgiveness, and 2) a hostility grows between the tribe of Judah and the other tribes.
In chapter 20, the sinful intrigue that had engulfed David’s family shifts to his “mighty men” (2 Samuel 20). In the midst of the civil war with Absalom, “David appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab.” (2 Samuel 17:25) When the war was over, Joab takes advantage of another attempted coup (This one led by a “troublemaker named Sheba”). Along the way, Joab brutally murders Amasa, takes control of the army, and pursues Sheba until the townspeople who are harboring him toss his head over wall.
These last ten chapters show that David, though he was great, though he was a man after God’s own heart, was not perfect. His decline makes us yearn for another King, a perfect King, an eternal King, who would someday rule with wisdom and power and glory and honor, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, David’s Son.
Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary
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