365 Reflections

During Asa's reign, the prophet Azariah shows up on the scene with a simple offer from the Lord: 2 Chronicles 15:1–2 (ESV) The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and 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. I think about this simple offer. If you want God, be with God. That's all it takes. Use time in your day to ask Him to accompany you through the day. Do not walk away from Him, walk with Him. What a glorious opportunity. But what was the reason for this word from the prophet for Asa? We have already read of his reforms of the country. We have read of his righteous desire to purge the land of idolatry. Remember from the last chapter: 2 Chronicles 14:5 (ESV) He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. So what was ...

After King Abijah in 2 Chronicles, we read about his son Asa. Asa was a good king in both the 1 Kings account and here. He was a man who stabilized the nation and brought the people peace. How? He obeyed the Lord. 2 Chronicles 14:2 (ESV) And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.  King Asa was a great king. But he points us to the ultimate king. That is, Jesus. And like Asa, Jesus does what is necessary to bring us back to God. He destroys our idols and commands our way to follow the Lord. Read: 2 Chronicles 14:3–4 (ESV)  He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim 4 and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. Moreover, Asa removed the altars in the cities. 2 Chronicles 14:5 (ESV) He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. Think about the influence of a c...

We begin to enter a period of 2 Chronicles where the testimony of Israel's past seems to be whitewashed concerning the kings of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel. Where the books of 1 & 2 Kings reveal spiritually dark times, the Chronicler finds the light still shining. The first example of this is the reign of Abjiah (In 1 Kings he's named Abijam). 2 Chronicles 13:1 (ESV) In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. One of Abijah's first experiences is a war with the North under Jeroboam. And in the midst of dark prospects, Abijah stands up to address the nation.  2 Chronicles 13:4–8 (ESV) Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelle...

The reign of Rehoboam was marked by wisdom and insight in the early years. Because of this, he grew strong and was established as a mighty ruler. But as is the case with much of the human race, success often breeds complacency and spiritual compromise.  2 Chronicles 12:1–3 (ESV) When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. 2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem 3 with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. Notice how quickly the judgment comes. It's only the 5th year of Rehoboam's reign and the Lord allows Shishak of Egypt to come and decimate the people of Israel. In case there was any wonder as to why this was happening, the Lord sends a prophet to confirm it: 2 Chronicles 12:5 (ESV) Then Shemaiah the prophet came to...

Israel ' s divided kingdom is a sad chapter in her history. Jeroboam takes 10 tribes away from Judah and Benjamin and Solomon's son rules in the south. After 50 years of war, the prophet Shemaiah intervenes to bring the conflict to an end. After that, Jeroboam expells the priest and Levites from the north in favor of their own worship system. The groundwork for the Northern kingdom's apostasy is laid and the outcast priest and Levites only have one place to go - Judah. Notice how they are described: 2 Chronicles 11:16–17 (ESV)  And those who had set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon. The influence of these men was immediate at Rehoboam goes about installing the right leaders throughout...

The division of Israel happens soon after Solomon. Evidently, the extraordinary cost of the temple and the excesses of the kingdom cost the people greatly and they came to Solomon's son, Rehoboam with a request... to lighten their load.  2 Chronicles 10:4 (ESV) “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” The first step of Rehoboam's response is a good one. He consults the older men of the kingdom: 2 Chronicles 10:6–7 (ESV) Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” Sadly, he rejects their advice, turns to his young contemporaries and accepts their infamous counsel: 2 Chronicles 10:10–11 (ESV) And the young men who h...

I almost called this post, "The Problem with Success" But the truth is that Americans (and in large part people around the world) consider success to be one thing - having lots of money. In my last post, we explored the wisdom and fame Solomon acquired. He was granted so much wisdom and fame that foreigners came to hear and receive it. The Queen of Sheba rightly attested to God's purpose in the prosperity of Solomon's life - to bless God's people whom He loved.  Solomon is indeed driven by this purpose and the beginning of his zenith is marked with using God's blessing to bless the people. But before long in 2 Chronicles 9 we see his misuse of the blessing.  2 Chronicles 9:13–14 (ESV) Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. Solomon continues to grow and increase. We ar...

The idea that Solomon is exceedingly blessed is obvious in the Bible's narrative. One could argue that no one had more advantages and "privilege" in his life than Solomon. Born to the most successful king at the time, raised in the royal court and set apart by God, and then equipped with God's special wisdom would make anyone blessed beyond imagination.  So the question is... why was he so blessed? The answer comes from an outsider.  Sometimes we need an outsider to give us a point of view as to what we are here for and what the point of our life really is. Solomon gets that in 2 Chronicles 9. The queen of Sheba comes to visit him after hearing of his wisdom and riches. She is overwhelmed by his ability to answer all her questions.  2 Chronicles 9:8 (ESV) Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that yo...