by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 34-36
The end is near.
We see one more honorable king arise, as Josiah attempts to right the wrongs of the years of rebellion. In fact, he tears down the altars, crushes the idols, and repairs the house of God. Then, when they find the Mosaic scrolls of the law buried in the house of God, he tears his clothes and repents before the Lord. They then celebrate the most complete Passover since the days of Samuel.
So God doesn’t allow Josiah to be captured, but the next few years steadily march toward the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself.
The kings who follow Josiah are evil. Babylon besieges enough to set up their own choice for king, so corruption is a definite outcome. Then, when Zedekiah doesn’t honor God or the king of Babylon, the final end comes.
The treasures of the house of God, the king himself, his officers, and all of his treasures are carried away to Babylon. Then the invaders burn the house of God, break down the walls of Jerusalem, and burn all of the buildings with fire. Total destruction of God’s great city.
At the end of chapter 36 there is a quick note that eventually Cyrus, the King of Persia – in order to fulfill the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah – sends some people back to restore Jerusalem.(36:22). However, that is 70 years away.
The next portion of Jewish history is sad, indeed. God’s special people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have rebelled to the point where they have been carried off into captivity. They are in Babylon now, slaves of a worldly king.
Before this happens, many prophets warn the Jewish people to turn back to God, but the people won’t listen. Later we will get to the books of prophecy which explain this aspect of God’s plan.
In the meantime, we have a few more books on the history of the Jews. Bit by bit, we are putting the puzzle pieces into place so that we can see the big picture.
John 19: 1-22
Pilate is nervous! He excitedly goes to the priests again and again saying, “I find no guilt in this man.”(V. 4) But the priests won’t be hindered in their desire to crucify Him.
When they say, “He calls himself the Son of God,” Pilate really gets nervous. He rushes back into Jesus saying, “Where are you from?”(v. 9)
Jesus plainly tells Pilate that Rome has no authority over Him unless it was given from above. Now Pilate is indeed in a frenzy.
Pilate makes efforts to release Jesus, but he gets manipulated once again by the priests, and gives in. But not before washing his hands in protest of the operation.
In the meantime, the Jewish leaders think that their ends are being met, but instead, God’s plan is working perfectly.
His Passover Lamb is about to be slain. God’s people are about to be set free from the penalty of sin for all time.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 32-33
We get the Sennacherib attack from a different perspective.
The Assyrian army has overtaken several nations in the area, and they surround Judah. The first thing Hezekiah does is cut off water to the surrounding troops. He has some natural options in place for the defense of his country. But his primary hope is in God, as he proclaims to the people.
Gathered around the square, the citizens hear the king’s message. “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, not because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him.
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”(32:7-8).
As we saw in II Kings 18, Sennacherib’s men try to turn Hezekiah’s people against him by shouting taunts in Hebrew. But the Jews stand firm, and God sends an angel to wipe out the armies. Then upon his shameful return to his land, Sennacherib is killed by his own children.
So Hezekiah’s reign finishes with great pomp, riches , and success.
Now his son Manasseh is another story. Manasseh starts out rebuilding all of the altars, and worshiping other gods. He “passes his sons through the fire,” engages in witchcraft and sorcery, and generally “does mush evil” in the sight of the Lord. “Thus Manasseh misled the sons of Judah to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.” (33:9) They paid no attention to the Lord.
The king of Assyria threatens again, and Manasseh is carried off to Babylon. But Manasseh prays to the One true God and is delivered back to Judah.
Manasseh has a turnaround. He now believes in God, and starts turning his people back to him. We have seen kings turning away from God in their old age, but this is different. We see someone turning to Him. And we see that God forgives and blesses this king. The nation is saved from destruction because of God’s forgiveness.
This forgiveness is one of the attributes of our Father which has always been there. It was there for Jacob, for David, for Manasseh, and for you. Whatever you have done, whatever you have said, whatever you have been a part of, the Lord is ready to forgive you and set you on a new path.
Your humility is the key. You have to repent and turn around. But if you do that, God is always ready to forgive you and restore you.
John 18:19-40
God’s perfect Lamb is on trial. The Romans can find nothing wrong with Him. (Of course not, since he is a perfect Man).
Because of their ambition, greed, and jealousy, the priests want Him killed, but they have to manipulate to have their job done. They don’t have the authority to put Him to death.
The Romans have a custom of releasing one prisoner from execution in honor of the Jewish Passover. So the priests induce the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be released in the place of Jesus.
These Jewish leaders (and Satan who is stirring them up) think that they are winning, but God is the One who wins. He has planned from the beginning to have His Lamb slain by the High Priest at Passover time. Through the centuries, as the priests have slain the Passover lambs, they have been pointing to this day: the day when the final, perfect Lamb would be slain.
Make no mistake about it, when God has a plan, He wins – every time. Now you and I have the right given to us by Him not to be in on the plan, but if we won’t be a part of it, He will find someone who will.
God’s overall plan will be done. It was true on this Passover, and it’s true today.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 30-31
Hezekiah had a proclamation written up (the cell phone of the day), and sent word throughout the land. Judah – and anyone from Israel who wanted to participate – was to gather at Jerusalem in two months to celebrate the Passover.
“O Sons of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. And do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to the Lord God of your fathers, so that He made them a horror, as you see…For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will find compassion before those who led them captive, and will return to the land. For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”(30:6-9)
When Israel and Judah had strayed so far from the Lord, it must have seemed radical to many for Hezekiah to want to put out this proclamation. The people – including the kings and priests – were deriving their vision from those around them. The present culture, and not the true God, had established the patterns of thought.
Doesn’t that seem like today? Many leaders – even ministers – use the surrounding culture to establish how they want to live. Sometimes people begin to believe that they are too smart for our Christian God. (Boy are they wrong)!
Hezekiah turned to the ancient writings to remind himself of the way it was supposed to be. And he followed the course prescribed. This was huge, since this feast had not been celebrated for many years.
The priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, because they had been unfaithful to God’s principles of worship.
When the celebration got underway, there was tremendous rejoicing. The people didn’t know what they were missing until they experienced it.
Then they all went about destroying the idols and altars to the foreign gods.
“So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.” (30:26)
There is great joy when we return to the truths of the Bible. Of course, there are certain things which are cultural. But there are certain truths which are constant whether you are living in New York City in a high-rise overlooking Central Park or a remote village of Africa. Or whether you lived two centuries ago or today. Certain truths prevail.
Oh, Lord, let us find the truth of your Word, and let us live it out the way you want us to!
John 18:1-18
There was certainly power in the words of Jesus! And power in His breath.
When the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He said’ “Whom do you seek?” They answered, “Jesus, the Nazarene.” When Jesus replied “I am He,” the soldiers drew back and fell to the ground. (V. 4-5)
Now think about that for a minute. These Roman soldiers were not wimps. The Roman Empire was known for having a strong, disciplined army. They conquered all of the neighboring territories and brought them under subjection.
Don’t you think that they themselves were surprised when they fell down? Such power came out of the mouth of Jesus that they couldn’t withstand the force.
Now that’s what I call “power in your words!”
No one could take Jesus’ life until He was ready to lay it down. This was His time, so he submitted to the arrest and the coming trial.
“The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”(V. 11)
Thank you, Lord, for doing that for us.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 25-27
The torch is passed to Joash’s son, Amaziah, who starts out by trying to “do right in the sight of God.” He listens when a man of God warns him not to go to battle with the troops of Israel. And he wins the battle as he follows directions.
Yet he brings back the gods of the sons of Seir, sets them up, and begins to worship them. (It’s hard to figure some people out). Not only that, but no longer will he listen to the prophets.
So Amaziah challenges the king of Israel to war, and loses. Then all of the treasures are taken from the temple and carried off to Samaria.
Let’s see if Uzziah can get it right. This son of Amaziah replaces him when he is only 16 years old. Yay, it looks like he’s going to do well.
Uzziah reigns for 52 years. “And he continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.” (26:5).
This king is industrious and innovative, building towers, cisterns, and establishing strong armies. “His fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.” (V.26:15).
Then immediately Uzziah becomes proud in his heart and falls into sin. So the end of his life is tragic: he dies as a leper.
How many times do we have to go through this routine before we get the message? Over and over, the kings start out determined that they are going to follow God. Then by the time they end their reign, they have turned away. Pride has brought them down.
So Jotham reigns for 16 years, and he follows the Lord. However, the roots of rebellion have already been sown, and the people “continue acting corruptly.”(27:2)
We could certainly learn some lessons from these historical accounts. It’s not how we start our walk as much as how we finish it. It’s easy to start out with lots of zeal, but we are in this walk with our God for the long haul.
I want to finish strong!
John 16
Jesus elaborates more on the Holy Spirit, and His mission when Jesus leaves. The words He shares with His disciples couldn’t possibly be understood by them at this moment. They don’t really know what is about to happen.
Remember, Jesus said earlier that the Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance the Words which He had spoken. For right now, their heads have to be spinning.
What? Where are you going? Why can’t we go?
Yet He offers comfort to them – and to us. “When He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak ; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”(V.13)
Today, if we are Christians, we have this wonderful Holy Spirit of God living inside of us. He does indeed guide us into the truth. He explains to us the Word, and He shows us what we need to do. “It has been to our advantage for Jesus to have left” (V.7), because now we have the Holy Spirit for ourselves.
Now God loves us, just as He loves Jesus. The new dispensation of grace has been born into the world.
“If we ask the Father for anything, He will give it to us in Jesus’ name.” (V.23). “Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be made full.”(V. 24).
Do you believe those two verses? Do you believe that your prayers will be answered?
I believe that everything Jesus said was absolutely true! I believe that as we are in Jesus – and He in us – that what we ask will be according to His will. We won’t ask for evil; we will only ask for good. And those things will be given to us so that our joy may be made full.
Yes, Lord, I believe.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 21-22
These kings just can’t seem to stay on track. Jehoshaphat has seen some terrific moments with God, yet in his last years, he allies with the king of Israel. The Word says, “He acted wickedly in so doing.”(20:35)
The high places had not been torn down, and when Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son takes the reigns, he reverts back to doing evil in God’s sight. He wants to be like the kings of Israel. (They must seem more sophisticated to him). The greatest abomination is that he marries the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, two of the most evil people in the Bible.
Jehoram slays all of his brothers so that he won’t have any competition. His days are numbered. He dies after eight years as king , departing “with no one’s regret.”(21:20)
Ahaziah, his son, rules in Jehoram’s place, but for only one year. He also walks in the counsel of Ahab and Jezebel, and is killed by Jehu.
So Athaliah, his mother takes over the kingdom. The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, she is an incredibly wicked person. Athaliah kills every member of the royal family (including her own grandchildren).
Only one grandchild, Joash, is hidden from her sight so that he is safe during Athaliah’s reign.
When we look at Ahab and Jezebel we see the epitome of evil, and it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to be like them. Yet the arrogance that goes with such evil, causes some to be swayed in that direction. Especially the young and foolish.
Today there are some incredibly evil people who project such confidence and sophistication, that they tend to lure others into their camp. There are those who want to look good to men, and they can be fooled.
When I look at Ahab and Jezebel, I see some of those influential people.
I pray that you and I won’t be fooled by such behavior. We will be those who are willing not to look so good to men, if that’s what it takes.
When my son was little, he had a Tee shirt that said: Any dead fish can float down stream. Go against the flow. I’ve always liked that concept, because unless we are willing to go against the flow, we will never be who God wants us to be.
It takes courage and determination to be willing to sometimes look foolish to the arrogant. But that’s our call. We are to please God rather than man.
As we are doing this, we are not alone. Of course, we have the Lord always with us. But also, there are many others just like you and me. Those who truly want their lives to be lived for Him.
John 14
There have been seasons in my life when I would read the next four chapters of John everyday. If you want to understand what it means to be a christian, this is a good place to start.
Jesus is preparing His disciples befroe he leaves. The dispensation is about to change, and He is giving them an introduction into the new life they are about to receive. It’s easier to understand when you have the Holy Spirit teaching you. (There must have been a lot of “huh’s?” that day).
There are so many powerful nuggets here.
- I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. (V. 6)
- He who has seen me has seen the Father. (V. 9)
- He who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works shall he do; because I go to the Father. (V. 12)
- If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (V. 14)
- In that day, you will know that I am in you and you in Me, and I in you. (V.20)
- If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him. (V. 23)
- The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.( V. 26)
It’s clear that Jesus is introducing something new to these people. They are about to enter into a new life of relationship with the Father, which mankind has not known up until now.
He will be living in them, teaching them. They will be the representatives of God Himself on the earth. They will pray and have their prayers answered.
These new people will even do the works of Jesus.
Christianity has been so watered down over the years that it’s hard for some to see what this is saying. I pray that you and I see it.
To be a true, believing Christian is the most powerful position on earth. Men may never even see the power or know what you are doing. But you know and God knows.
In your secret place, as you pray and speak the Words God gives you to speak, you are representing Him on the earth. As you speak with boldness, the heavens and the earth will shake. The demonic forces will have to flee, and angels will come upon the scene.
Our prayers and declarations will make things happen in the earth!
