Day 171: Jeremiah 37-40

The story of King Zedekiah and Jeremiah reminds me of Joseph and his relationship with Pharaoh. It's amazing to me how these people who have so much earthly power seem to bow and humble themselves in front of the Lord's appointed people.

Jerusalem falls to Babylon, but King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gives orders to his men to take Jeremiah but not to hurt him. It's interesting that he spares him.

Day 72: 2 Kings 15-20

Just a few notes for today:
*We have another good king in the eyes of the Lord--Hezekiah. I always like reading about good kings who trusted and obeyed God.
*I'm a bit surprised to see that Isaiah appears in 2 Kings. He prophesies to Hezekiah and also heals Hezekiah of a boil from which he was suffering.
*I'm ready for these lists and lists and lists of kings to be over. There's not much narrative going on here, and I like writing about stories that occur. Hopefully we'll get some of these when we begin I Chronicles.

Good night.

Day 71: 2 Kings 9-14

Second Kings lists king after king after king in both Israel and Judah. Some kings were good and most were bad. Most worshiped Baal, fertility gods, and other gods; few worshiped the one true GOD. In spite of Israel's turn away from the Lord, Second Kings 14: 26-27a says, "God was fully aware of the trouble in Israel, its bitterly hard times. No one was exempt, whether slave or citizen, and no hope of help anywhere was in sight. But God wasn't yet ready to blot out the name of Israel from history..."

God isn't willing to give up on Israel yet. They have broken his covenant over and over and over again, but the Lord has not broken the covenant he made with them. It's the same way today. Daily, we break the covenant we have made with the Lord, yet he remains in covenant with us. Although most of First and Second Kings focus on the kings in Israel and Judah, I think these books say more about the nature of God then it does about the nature of humanity.

Thank God for covenant, and thank God that He keeps it when those with whom He established his covenant do not.

Day 66: I Kings 10-13

Solomon accumulated great wealth during his lifetime. No one had more wealth, and no one had more wisdom. However, even with all of Solomon's wisdom, he disobeyed God. He married many foreign women (most likely to gain more wealth) from countries that God specifically forbade the Israelites from marrying (He had over 700 wives and 300 concubines!). Solomon chose to disobey God and turn away from the Lord. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not follow God as his father David had done.

Solomon's choice to turn away from God is puzzling to me. Isn't Solomon the wisest person in the world? Wouldn't a wise person know not to break God's covenant? And at the very least wouldn't a wise person know that he/she should fear God? Maybe there is more than one type of wisdom. Or maybe he was wise as king and not wise when it came to personal matters. I don't know. I can only infer, but it does seem that Solomon has extensive wisdom as a king. He casts fair judgments. He is a knowledgeable and smart businessman. He demonstrates intellectual acumen and intelligence on more than one occasion. BUT he makes very poor personal decisions. He disobeys God and makes treaties (marries) with several different countries. He allows his people to worship many different gods. And he turns away from the Lord. This doesn't seem so wise to me.

So here we have a man to whom God gives wisdom, and Solomon does not use this wisdom when it comes to following God. He uses his wisdom to establish his own reputation, to gain wealth, to gain fame and pride. He doesn't use the wisdom to understand that God is the ultimate king; he doesn't follow God like David does.

What talents and gifts have you been given that you are not using, or that you are using inappropriately? Maybe you are an amazing artist (painter, gardener, cook, musician, writer), and you don't take the time to use these gifts. Or maybe you have the gift of communication. Or personality. Or empathy. Or whatever. Are you using these talents? These gifts? Are you using them to honor God, or are you only using them to bring fame and power to yourself?

God ultimately punishes Solomon's decisions for the sins of their father, and I think that one of these reasons might be because Solomon does not honor God with his gift of wisdom; instead, he becomes selfish and uses this trait to bring glory to himself.

Day 59: II Samuel 1-4

The house of Saul and the house of David are at war after Saul dies. Judah (where David lives) and Israel (where Saul lived) are fighting over who can have control of the nation. Israel is at war with itself. What must God think of this?

Did You Know?
Did you know that there was another king of Israel at the same time as David? His name was Ish-Bosheth, and he was a son of Saul who was made king by Abner, the commander of Saul's army. Ish-Bosheth was only king for four years, though, because he was murdered at the hands of David's men (without David's

David's character has changed. No longer is he willing to kill anyone that gets in his way (although he does steal his former wife Michal back from her husband). But David is growing. He is distraught over the death of Saul and Jonathan, and when his people kill two of his enemies (Abner and Ish-Bosheth), David kills them for thinking they can take vengeance into their own hands by killing innocent people. God is forming David, and the changes in his behavior and actions are evident.

That's how it is when we allow God to work in our lives. We change. We grow. We rely more on the Lord and less on ourselves. We realize who holds the ultimate power in our lives. Through David, I'm learning more about what it means to be in relationship with God. I hope you are, too.

Day 49: Judges 17 to 21

The time of the judges is coming to an end, and the scripture emphasizes several times that at this time there was no king in Israel and people did whatever they saw fit.

We have a king now (Jesus). Are we still doing what we see fit?