Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 8-10.

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When the queen of Sheba spoke to King Solomon she told him something which I believe was prophetic and which God intends for all of us to hear and apply to ourselves.  She told Solomon that God had  set him on the throne of Israel so that he could execute justice and righteousness for them.  God did this because He loved Israel.  In the same way, God has given us gifts so that we can bring blessings to the people around us.  God gave King Solomon wealth and honor so that he might bring blessings to the people of Israel by executing justice over them and showing them righteousness.  Unfortunately, Solomon chose to wealth and honor which God had given him to seek pleasure for himself rather than focusing on bringing them closer to God.  So, let us remember that God has blessed us so that we may bless others, just as He blessed Solomon so that Solomon could bless the people of Israel.

When Solomon died and Rehoboam took the throne, Rehoboam made two mistakes.  His first mistake was that he rejected the advice of the old men who had been his father’s advisers.  He rejected the advice of men who were older and wiser than himself.  His second mistake was to forget that his job as king was to serve God’s people.  He thought that they were there to serve him.  It struck me as I read this that Rehoboam actually made one more mistake.  Instead of taking counsel with his father’s advisers separately from his young friends, Rehoboam should have brought them together to get them to all agree on what course of action he should take.  We often make the same mistake of choosing either the wisdom of the aged or the energy of the young.  In this case, Rehoboam’s advisers would probably have still given him conflicting advice, but perhaps if his older advisers had been present when the young men gave their advice they could have explained why it was bad advice.  Rehoboam followed the advice of the young men because they told him what he wanted to hear.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

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One thing I always love about this passage is what we learn about humankind and about God from Solomon’s prayer dedicating the temple and from God’s answer to his prayer.  In Solomon’s prayer he asked God to listen to prayers made towards Jerusalem and the temple, while God, in His reply to Solomon, made no mention of which direction people prayed.  Solomon wanted to limit God to those who prayed towards the temple he had built, God offered no such limits.  We as humans limit who can approach God, or how they can approach God.  God wants all to come to Him, and will accept them however they approach Him (important note: since Jesus is God, getting to God without going to Jesus is like trying to go to New York City without going to the Big Apple).  God did lay out the conditions we need to follow in order for Him to heal our land from the disaster which has fallen upon it (no matter what the disaster).  God said that His people, who are called by His name, humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, He will heal the land.

I believe that God’s promise applies to us today.  In the context of Ancient Israel, when God called upon His people to humble themselves and pray, it applied to the entire nation of Israel.  Today it is both easier and harder.  It is easier because we don’t need everyone in our nation to humble themselves and pray in order for God to fulfill this promise (although, please imagine the wonders God would perform if they did).  Only those who are called by His name need to humble themselves and pray.  Of course, the harder part is that we who are called by His name need to acknowledge that it was OUR wicked ways which led to God allowing disaster to befall our nation.  Let us examine our hearts and repent of our sins.  Let us seek God with all of our mind, soul, and strength, praying that He will forgive us and show us how to change our ways.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 1-4.

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One of the things which we often overlook is that there were at least two centers for worship of God throughout at least both King Saul’s and King David’s reigns as king of Israel.  We see here in today’s passage that the ark of the covenant was in one location and the tent of meeting was in another and the Israelites gathered to worship God in both locations.  This seems to go back to at least when the Philistines returned the ark after capturing it.  This was despite God commanding through Moses that the people of Israel should only worship God in one location.  So, after Solomon was crowned king in Jerusalem where David his father had moved the ark of the covenant, he went to Gibeon where the tent of meeting and the altar which the Israelites had used in the wilderness was to worship God as well.  This was in part a political move, but it also reflected Solomon’s desire at the start of his reign to put God at the center of his kingship.

As this passage describes it, at the beginning of Solomon’s reign his greatest desire was the wisdom and knowledge necessary to be a good ruler over Israel.  We see from Solomon’s life that wisdom and knowledge are not in themselves enough to keep us close to God.  For all his wisdom and knowledge we see that Solomon later stopped serving God with all of his heart, soul, and mind.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 27-29.

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Today’s passage begins with more names which challenge my reading skills.  I don’t really get much out of this but I did notice two things I found interesting.  In the list of commanders over the divisions of the army which were active each month it lists Asahel, Joab’s brother as the fourth commander, that is the commander responsible for the fourth month.  I find that interesting because Asahel was killed by Abner during the war between David and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.  A few verse later, the passage tells us that Jaasiel the son of Abner was the leader of the tribe of Benjamin under David.  Abner’s son would not have been leading the tribe of Benjamin under David while Asahel was alive.  I am unsure that there is any significance to any of that, but this was the first time I noticed those facts.

Later in the passage I was struck by the wealth which the people gave willingly for building the temple.  Specifically, I was struck by what David said about their giving.  It should be a lesson for us.  David tells us that all that is in heaven and all that is in the earth is God’s.  David goes on to say that all of the abundance which he and the people provided for building the temple came from God in the first place.  It was God’s before He gave it to us, and even after He gave it to us it was still His.  So, we should freely and joyously give of the resources we have to God’s work.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 24-26.

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So, these names were a challenge for me to read.  I will be perfectly honest I got very little out of this.  However, there are a few things worth highlighting.  As part of this process they organized the priests into groups according to the houses of the sons of Aaron’s sons.  These groups served in the temple in turn according to the pattern laid out here.  This same process was the one referred to in Luke when Luke tells us that Zechariah was of the division of Abijah and that Gabriel came to him while he served in the temple.  So, the process laid out for assigning priestly tasks when David was king, continued to be used almost 1000 years later.  The other thing I want to pull out of this is that Asaph, along with his sons, was appointed to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals.  That is they were appointed to prophesy using music.  I wanted to note this reference to Asaph being appointed to prophesy using music because in the Book of Psalms we have multiple psalms which are attributed to him.  This suggests to me that we miss part of the purpose of music in our services today.  Yes, music is a way in which we worship the Lord, but it is also a way in which God communicates with us.  Those who lead our music teams are just as much ministers before God as those who preach the sermons.  We need to ask them to spend time in prayer when they choose their songs and to seek God’s guidance concerning what songs to use during the service.  So, bear in mind that those leading singing on Sunday morning are prophesying*.

*Note that while prophesying may involve predicting the future, predicting the future is not the primary purpose of prophecy.  Prophecy is God talking to us through a human being.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 20-23.

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I want to start by noting two things I noticed which seemed to be discrepancies.  First, this passage says that the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshold of Ornan the Jebusite when David went up to raise an altar to sacrifice to God in order to stop the plague which followed David’s census.  However in 2 Samuel it says that it was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  As I record that, the answer seems obvious: Ornan is just a different rendering of Araunah (similar to the way that the name Peter is rendered as Pietro in Italian), but I had to look that up because I just remembered that Ornan was different from the way it was recorded in 2 Samuel and did not remember how it was different.  I noticed another apparent discrepancy when I read in chapter twenty-three where David counted the Levites for service in the temple.  In verse three it says he counted those “thirty years old and upward”.  Then in verse twenty-four it says the individuals “twenty years old and upward” were listed.  The reason for this change of age was that the permanent structure of the temple changed the work of the Levites so that more men were required on a day by day basis then with the temporary structure of the tabernacle.  The tabernacle only occasionally required the Levites to perform most of their duties for a short period of time, while the temple required them to perform their duties every day all year long.   This change meant that you would need a larger pool of men taking turns fulfilling their duties.

Yesterday, I wrote that the prophecy which Nathan gave to David concerning who would build a house for the Lord did not actually spell out that it would be Solomon who did so, and in fact, Solomon did not truly fulfill the prophecy which Nathan gave to David.  Today’s passage seems to say that I interpreted Nathan’s prophecy incorrectly. However, there are two reasons that what David says here about the prophecy do not necessarily mean that my interpretation from yesterday’s passage was wrong.  First, the writer is quoting David, not a direct prophecy of God.  So, perhaps what David says here about God telling him that Solomon would build the temple may not be what God actually said. So while this is certainly what David understood the prophecy he was given to mean, it may not be what it actually meant.  The more important reason is that David actually seems to be referencing a different prophecy than the one recorded in yesterday’s passage.  The prophecy in yesterday’s passage does not reference David’s wars nor him shedding blood.

I want to touch on one more thing from today’s passage.  In David’s instructions to Solomon he tells him to “Be strong and courageous.”  That closely resembles what God said to Joshua when Joshua took over leadership of Israel from Moses.  In both cases, they are instructed not to fear, nor to be dismayed.  Neither Joshua nor Solomon would have any need to fear if they allowed the discretion and understanding which God gave them keep them from going against God’s commands.  In the same way, we can be strong and courageous, without fear if we obey God.  And God’s commands to us are simple, love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  God makes it even simpler than that by promising to have His Holy Spirit dwell within us, transforming us into His likeness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

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When David thought to build a temple for God in Jerusalem, God sent Nathan to tell him not to do so.  Further God told David that his offspring would build a temple to God.  The traditional interpretation of this is that God was referring to Solomon when He told that to David.  However, God also said that He would establish the throne of the son of David who would build God’s house would be established forever.  God took the northern portion of the kingdom of Israel from Solomon’s son, and eventually all of Israel was taken into exile.  So, this prophecy tells of the coming of God’s Anointed One.  It tells us of the coming of Jesus, who built the Church as a House for God, as a temple to worship Him.  When Solomon later built a temple for God, he was not truly fulfilling this prophecy.  Instead, Solomon was foreshadowing its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

I am struggling to find the words to sum up what this tells us about what we should do in response to this.  Jesus came and made us a house for God to live in.  We should respond to this in the same way that David responded to God’s promise to establish his house.  Who are we that God has brought us thus far?  Through Israel, God brought forth Himself in Jesus, and through Jesus God redeemed all of the people of the earth.  All who are willing to be with God have been brought into fellowship with Him.  There is no one and nothing which is like God.  God uses us to make His name great and awesome.  Let us strive to live our lives so that God may use us to make His name known throughout the earth.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 13-16.

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When David first tried to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem things went wrong.  David, and all of Israel, were celebrating, praising, and worshiping God.  Yet, when the oxen pulling the cart they were using to transport the ark stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark and was struck down.  There is an important lesson for us here.  David and all of Israel were joyously praising and worshiping God, but tragedy still struck.  We can be worshiping God and things can go wrong.  David took this as a lesson from God that he should not bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, but that was not the lesson God intended for him.  David learned that day to truly fear God so that when he later finished bringing the ark into Jerusalem he was careful to transport it as God had instructed.   And when he did so, David celebrated with even more wild abandon.   We need to be careful to do the things God calls us to do in the way in which God instructs us to do them.

I love the song of thanks which David appointed to be sung on the day when the ark was finally brought into Jerusalem.  As I read it today it really struck me.  I’m not sure I am going to be able to put what God spoke to me from it into words, but I will try.  David tells us to remember and make known what God has done, the miracles He has performed and the judgements He has passed down to us.  In particular we should make Him known to the peoples of the world.  Let us seek the Lord and rejoice.  We need to both worship the Lord and fear the Lord.  I will praise the Lord and seek to tell everyone of His wonders.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 10-12.

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Today’s passage summarizes what the book of 1 Kings said about the death of King Saul and David’s rise to power.  It does tell us a few new things.  In particular, it gives us the idea that warriors went to support David while Saul was still alive.  It looks like there were four waves of warriors who went to support David (or perhaps five).  In the order they are described here.  There were men who went to join David while he was based at Ziklag under the Philistine ruler of Gath.  Then the writer tells us that some men joined David when he was at the stronghold in the wilderness.  Depending on how you read the passage, there may have been two waves of men who came to follow David while he was at the stronghold, one wave from the tribe of Gad, and another wave of Benjaminite and Judean warriors.  The writer also tells us that some warriors deserted from King Saul and came over to David as he mustered with the Philistines to go to war against King Saul in what became King Saul’s last battle.  The passage does remind us that David and his followers did not join in that battle because the Philistine commanders were convinced that David would switch sides in the middle of the battle.  The writer seems to suggest that the men who joined David at this point may have done so because he was not taking part in the battle.  Finally, there were the warriors who came to David once he was established at Hebron after King Saul’s death.  The way I read this, men trickled in to support David in Hebron, with a few large groups officially representing some of the tribes, until basically all of Israel was supporting David.  The key take away from this passage is that David did not seize the throne, but gradually more and more of the Israelites threw their support behind him until he had the loyalty of the entire nation.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 7-9.

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Another tough read.  I really think there is value in tracking the names in this passage and how they are connected, but just as I start to see a thread I think maybe I should follow I lose it in the “noise” of all of these names.  Perhaps as I keep reading this year after year I will see one of those threads finally come out.  In the meantime, the first thing I did notice is in the genealogy of Ephraim’s descendants.  We know from Genesis that Ephraim was born to Joseph in Egypt and lived his entire life in Egypt.  Yet this passage seems to tell us that two of Ephraim’s sons were killed when they tried to raid livestock from near the city of Gath.  Related to that the passage seems to say that Ephraim’s granddaughter, Sheerah, built three towns in the land of Canaan.  That doesn’t entirely make sense because the people of Israel left Egypt long after the grandchildren of Ephraim would have been dead.  Which suggests to me that the way this passage lists descendants would have been understood differently by the writer than how we understand it.  Related to that, it seems to me that at several points when the writer switches from the genealogy of one tribe to another he also switches the way in which he recounts these genealogies.  Which brings me to the fact that this passage contains a hint about when this book was compiled.  In chapter 9 the writer tells us that he is listing some of those who were among the first to dwell in the land of Israel after the Babylonian Exile.  That tells us that this Book was compiled after the Jews returned to the area of Israel after the Babylonian Exile.  So, I believe the reason we see the changes in the way that some of the genealogies are recorded is because the sources which the writer relied upon varied in the way in which they presented genealogies.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.