Month: June 2024

Pride goes before destruction!

Here we go again—another king who started well but ended badly! King Amaziah of Judah is a classic example of pride destroying a person. As a young king, he respected the Word of the Lord and His prophet. But after a couple of victories, he changed considerably. 

Notice how this change began. First, his heart departs from God to follow the gods of the Edomites after defeating Edom in battle. In other words, the gods that couldn’t save Edom from Judah are the gods Amaziah has turned to worship. How illogical! But that is pride; it is illogical. This made the Lord very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, “Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?” (2 Chronicles 25:15, NLT)

Second, a prideful person will not listen to reason. Notice the king’s response to the prophet’s confrontation. But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I made you the king’s counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!”… (2 Chronicles 25:16, NLT)

Third, a prideful person becomes arrogant and boastful. In his pride, Amaziah challenges the king of Israel to battle. Israel’s king responds, “You are saying, ‘I have defeated Edom,’ and you are very proud of it. But my advice is to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?” But Amaziah refused to listen, … (2 Chronicles 25:19–20, NLT)

What a textbook story of pride. Turn from God. Refuse to listen to reason. In boastful arrogance, go headstrong into destruction. Yes, pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18, NLT) Since no one is immune to pride, may we all seek after humility!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25.

Continue!

Today’s reading starts on a positive note: a young king (Joash, or his variant spelling, Jehoash) comes to the throne in Judah and seeks after the Lord! He instructs the priests to repair the Temple. How shocking that the Temple is in disrepair! In addition, the Temple had been raided, and the valuable items used to worship the Lord were now used to worship Baal.

While Joash started out with good intentions, wickedness was revealed in his heart. Though he was spared death from a wicked queen as a child, hidden in the Temple and raised by priests, he eventually commanded the death of a prophet who prophesied against him for his wickedness. As a result, the people assassinated their king. Joash’s character and faith were so shallow that once any spiritual influence in his life was removed, he departed from seeking after God. But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! (2 Chronicles 24:17–18, NLT)

What a reminder! It is easy to start out well for God and end terribly, to have a fervor for God and lose it, to go along with faith, but it is not really our faith. I am reminded of Philippians 2:12-13, NLT. Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Continuing well takes work—it doesn’t come automatically!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Kings 12-13; 2 Chronicles 24.

Vengence is mine!

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses wrote about an aspect of God that we see in our reading today. Vengeance is mine, and recompense … for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land. (Deuteronomy 32:35, 43, ESV)

Israel has become a wicked and idolatrous place. King Ahab, his wife Jezebel, and his family have done violence to the prophets and servants of the Lord. They have attempted to erase the LORD from Israel’s conscience through wicked idolatry. The time has come for a reckoning. A young prophet has been instructed to anoint a new king and pass on some instructions. You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. (2 Kings 9:7–8, NLT) Ahab’s time of evil is over.

At times, it can seem as though violence, injustice, and the prosperity and power of evil people go unanswered. When we don’t see evil dealt with immediately, we can become discouraged, cynical, bitter, angry, and even convinced that we must repay evil for evil. It is especially hard when human government applauds wickedness or is the source of such wickedness. Does God notice? Will He answer? These are hard moments. 

Psalm 73 helps comfort us in the face of these questions and the seeming prosperity of evildoers in any age. Yes, God takes notice! Yes, God will recommence evil. Yes, we can trust Him with our situations. Let’s draw near to God in these times; God will answer all evil in His way.

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Kings 9-11.

Mercy for the enemy!

Today’s reading is one intriguing story after another! God is busy in men’s affairs. From the healing of a Syrian captain to answering a prayer and floating an ax head in the stream, God is everywhere! 

This morning, a young maid’s testimony stood out to me. Notice her situation. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:2–3, ESV)This young girl has a tough life situation! She has been stolen from her home and country and forced into slavery, serving her master, who is the wife of the captain of Israel’s enemy.

Now, her master’s husband, Naaman, the one ultimately responsible for this young maid’s life situation, has leprosy. Notice what this young maid does. Instead of holding her tongue and hoping the disease takes his life, she suggests he see the prophet for healing! To make a long story short, Naaman heeds the advice, and God heals him! Through this act of mercy, Naaman finds a relationship with the LORD and healing!

This maid was truly honorable despite her situation. Instead of focusing on herself, her plight, and how bad she had it, wondering where God was in her situation, and getting lost in trying to figure out why God allowed this, she saw the needs of others—the needs of those who had enslaved her! What graciousness! What mercy! What an example!

As believers, we, too, will suffer tough life situations. These can be opportunities to see to the needs of others around us that we might not have noticed otherwise. What will we do: focus on self or extend mercy?

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Kings 5-8.

There is a God!

Today’s reading opens with the book of 2 Kings. As I read, I didn’t get far before a phrase in verse three grabbed my attention. In the NLT, the question is asked, “Is there no God in Israel?”

One of the major themes in 2 Kings is idolatry. Only about twenty percent of Israel’s and Judah’s kings follow after the Lord God; the rest consult and worship false gods. Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, is an idolator. The Bible says he was in his palace and took a tumble (2 Kings 1:2), injuring himself. He sends messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask if he would recover.

Who is Baal-zebub? The name means “Lord of the Flies.” Hmm, consult the Lord God, who created all things, is all-powerful and all-knowing, or some deity whose kingdom is confined to the flies? Notice Elijah’s answer to the king from God. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the LORD, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah went. (2 Kings 1:3–4, ESV) Yes, there was still a God in Israel—the Lord God!

While we may not consult some deity of the flies, is it not easy to forget that there is a God? To go about the business of life, looking for directions and answers, forgetting that the Bible says to pray about everything and seek the Lord’s will in all matters. Sometimes, we are overwhelmed and overlook the One we should look to first. Believers, there is a God! Have we consulted Him for our next decision?

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Kings 1-4.