May 25 / I Kings 20-22:50

I Kings 20-22:50

There is plenty to think about in today’s reading, but three things in particular stick out for me.

First, in Ahab’s victories over Ben-Hadad, it should be abundantly clear that the LORD grants these victories for His own name’s sake. These victories are not a reward for Ahab’s (or Israel’s) good behavior. Far from it! Ahab has done nothing to earn the LORD’s favor, and everything to earn His condemnation. Rather, the LORD declares that He fights for Israel in order that Ahab might “know that I am the LORD.” (I Kings 20:13,28)

Second, in I Kings 21:27-29, when Ahab shows some semblance of repentance, the LORD is quick to show him mercy. That is entirely consistent with His character, as revealed throughout Scripture, but it is in marked contrast to the caricature of the harsh “God of the Old Testament” that we see all over our culture — and even within the church.

Third, Ahab prefers to listen to 400 false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear rather than to Micaiah, the one true prophet who speaks the truth. Why? Simply because, “he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” (I Kings 22:8) Well, maybe there is a reason for that, Ahab!

Sadly, we see Ahab’s preference for hearing “favorable” lies instead of the truth all throughout our society. But now the false “prophets” are on TV reporting the “news” on mainstream media. Or they are on social media platforms where we sit in our echo chambers that reinforce our own opinions. Anyone who dares to speak the truth is likely to be canceled — with devastating personal consequences.

How about you? Do you hear only what you want to hear? Are you willing to face reality? Do you really seek the truth, even when it hurts? Are you willing to speak the truth, like Micaiah, even if it means being rejected?

May 24 / I Kings 16:21-19:21

I Kings 16:21-19:21

Today we meet wicked King Ahab and his adorable wife, Jezebel. Together they strongly institute Baal worship in Israel, furthering Israel’s descent into idolatry.

We also meet Elijah, who appears quite suddenly, with no backstory, no build up to establish who he is or what authority he might have. Elijah just appears on the scene and confronts Ahab saying, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (I Kings 17:1) Like the plagues on Egypt during the Exodus, this drought serves to demonstrate the LORD’s superiority over Baal. Who controls the weather, anyway? Hint: It’s not Baal!

The showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel proves the same point, and the people there get the message, proclaiming, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.” (I Kings 18:39) But Ahab and Jezebel remain unmoved. Jezebel instead issues a death warrant for Elijah, who flees for his life.

Feeling utterly alone and exhausted, Elijah prays to die (I Kings 19:4), but the LORD instead feeds him and leads him on to Mount Horeb (aka Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments). There at Horeb, the LORD asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah complains that he has stood strong for the LORD but that he is alone, and all his efforts have only earned him a death sentence. So the LORD gives Elijah an object lesson, sending a strong wind, a powerful earthquake, and fire. But the LORD is not in any of these awesome displays of power. The LORD is instead in a still, small voice, a whisper of silence.

The LORD again asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah responds with the same words as before, but I think his attitude is now much different. His response is less of a complaint about his own trials, and more just a statement of perceived fact. (At least, that’s how I see it.) The LORD then sends Elijah on his way with a fresh assignment to anoint new leadership. And in the process He corrects Elijah’s perception: Elijah is not, in fact, alone; the LORD still has 7,000 faithful followers in Israel.

So how about us? Are we looking for dramatic victories? Are we frustrated that the world continues in unbelief despite clear demonstrations of truth? Do we feel all alone against the world? Do we feel sorry for ourselves and mope about our trials?

Perhaps we should ask ourselves, What are you doing here?

One more thing…

In I Kings 16:24 we learn that King Omri builds a new city, Samaria. This city becomes the capital of the northern kingdom, Israel. As the capital, Samaria is often used as a synonym for the entire northern kingdom of Israel, just as we today speak of Washington, Beijing, or Moscow in place of the U.S.A., China, or Russia, respectively.

May 23 / II Chronicles 12-16

II Chronicles 12-16

Chronicles gives us some details that we do not get in Kings. We see some positive features of both Rehoboam and Abijah, and shortcomings in Asa. Asa is still clearly the most godly of these first three kings of Judah, as he works to eradicate idolatry. But late in his reign, after years of walking in the ways of the LORD and enjoying His blessings, Asa slips. For whatever reason, he turns from faith in the LORD toward human solutions. And when he is rebuked, he refuses to listen. (II Chronicles 16:7-10) Asa starts so well, but ends poorly. How sad!

May we all take Asa’s story to heart. May we always continue in faith, but if we slip, may we quickly turn back to the Lord, and not refuse His grace and mercy. Let’s not rest on past performance. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus. Let’s finish the race, and finish well. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

May 22 / I Kings 14:21-16:20; II Chronicles 10-11

I Kings 14:21-16:20; II Chronicles 10-11

We now have a divided kingdom. As I mentioned yesterday, Chronicles focuses on the southern kingdom of Judah and mostly ignores the northern kingdom of Israel. But Chronicles cannot ignore Israel entirely because what happens there often affects Judah, too. We see that today in II Chronicles 11:13-17, where we learn that Jeroboam not only allows non-Levites to be (false) priests (I Kings 12:31), but he actively casts out the Levites from being priests. As a result, all the Levites leave their cities scattered across the territory of Israel and move to Judah. Furthermore, those from all the other tribes who desire to remain faithful to the LORD likewise come to Jerusalem to sacrifice. (Whether they permanently relocate or simply visit Jerusalem to sacrifice is unclear to me, but I lean toward permanent relocation.) All those faithful people help Rehoboam go the right direction for a few years. (II Chr. 11:17)

Unfortunately, that is not enough, and Rehoboam falls away from the LORD, as we see in our reading in Kings. Like his father Solomon (and like Jeroboam), Rehoboam turns to idolatry, building high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, practicing cult prostitution, and acting according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. (I Kings 14:23-24) In short order, Rehoboam loses the wealth that Solomon had amassed and is forced to substitute bronze for gold. (I Kings 14:25-27) His son, Abijam (or Abijah), continues in sin, but Abijam’s son, Asa, turns things around. We’ll see more of Asa tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back in Israel, Jeroboam reigns for 22 years and is followed by his son, Nadab, who reigns for only 2 years. Then, Baasha rises up and kills Nadab and the rest of Jeroboam’s descendants in accordance with the LORD’s judgment against Jeroboam. (I Kings 15:27-30) One would hope that Baasha might then point Israel back to the LORD, but he does not; he continues Jeroboam’s idolatry. So the LORD pronounces the same judgment against Baasha that He spoke against Jeroboam. (I Kings 16:1-4) After Baasha reigns 24 years, followed by his son, Elah, for 2 years, Zimri fulfills the LORD’s judgment against Baasha, striking down his entire house. (I Kings 16:8-13) But he reigns for only seven days and is replaced by Omri. Will he do better? Well, let’s just say that we should get used to this pattern.

Are we paying attention? Do we remember that the LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness? (Ex. 34:6) Do we see that the LORD is giving Israel plenty of time and opportunity to repent? Do we see the horrendous natural consequences of turning away from Him? Do we see that bronze might be a bit shiny, but it is no real substitute for gold?

Let’s learn from the history of Judah and Israel. Let’s not follow the world. Let’s humble ourselves, bow down before the LORD, and follow the One True King.

May 21 / I Kings 12-14:20

I Kings 12-14:20

Yesterday we read that the LORD declared that He would tear ten tribes away from Solomon’s son and give them to Jeroboam. Today, we see the fulfillment of that declaration.

Solomon is dead, and his son ascends to the throne, but before Rehoboam can establish himself, Jeroboam (the LORD’s chosen man, whom we met yesterday) leads a labor dispute, demanding better treatment. Rehoboam foolishly ignores the counsel of older men and takes the advice of his arrogant young friends, vowing to make the labor conditions even more harsh. And so, most of the nation follows Jeroboam into rebellion against Rehoboam and the House of David.

We should note that in tearing the kingdom away from Rehoboam, the LORD apparently does not actively do much of anything Himself. He simply leaves Rehoboam to his own devices, his own foolishness, and his own sin. The kingdom thus quite “naturally” falls away from him into Jeroboam’s waiting arms. Yet it is all nevertheless a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD. (I Kings 12:15) Once again we see the sovereignty of God being worked out via human actors who are responsible for their own (often bad) decisions.

In I Kings 12:21, we see that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin stick with Rehoboam: Judah because that is Rehoboam’s own tribe; and Benjamin presumably because Jerusalem, the capital, is in its territory. (We never really get an explicit explanation.) The LORD hands the other ten tribes to Jeroboam. Having received this free gift from the LORD, along with a promise to establish his kingdom, how does Jeroboam respond? He immediately turns from the LORD, trusting his own human political instincts, rather than God:

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.

I Kings 12:26-28

Fool! How quickly Jeroboam squanders the blessing of the LORD!

Recall that the LORD’s promise to establish a dynasty for Jeroboam was conditioned on Jeroboam’s obedience. With Jeroboam in such obvious disobedience, the LORD’s promise is thus null and void, and He instead declares that He will cut off the house of Jeroboam.

Maybe we should pay attention, both as individuals and as a nation.

A few more things…

The nation is now divided into two kingdoms, never to be reunited (at least, not yet). The tribes of Judah and Benjamin form the southern kingdom, henceforth known as Judah, ruled by the House of David. The other ten tribes form the northern kingdom, henceforth generally known as Israel but sometimes called Ephraim, since that is the strongest tribe of the ten.

The books of I & II Kings present the history of both kingdoms, Judah and Israel, bouncing back and forth between the two in an almost leap-frog fashion, pegging the time frames of the reigns of the kings in one kingdom to those of the other kingdom. II Chronicles, on the other hand, focuses only on Judah and generally ignores the northern kingdom of Israel. As a result, we’ll get the history of Israel once in Kings, but we’ll get a double dose of the history of Judah, with II Chronicles often repeating what we read in Kings.

Spoiler alert! All the kings of Israel continue in Jeroboam’s sin of idolatry. Some of the kings of Judah manage to follow in the ways of David; some (like Rehoboam) do not.

Stay tuned…

May 20 / I Kings 11; II Chronicles 9:29-31

I Kings 11; II Chronicles 9:29-31

Fool!

How else should we describe Solomon in the end? Here he is, endowed with more wisdom than anyone else, yet he chooses to ignore its first principle that he himself stated: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr. 9:10) Accommodating his many foreign wives, Solomon turns away from the fear of the LORD and bows himself down before idols. Instead of tearing down centers of idol worship, he builds them.

Is this a man unfamiliar with the ways of the LORD? Not at all! Solomon’s father is King David, the man after God’s own heart, so he is well instructed and has an excellent example to follow. He has at least two visions in which the LORD communicates with him clearly and directly. He enjoys the LORD’s blessings, with national prosperity, peace on every side, enormous personal wealth, success in everything he touches, wisdom beyond everyone else, honor, glory, power — everything he could possibly want. He builds the LORD’s Temple and worships the LORD faithfully for years. He is not ignorant of the LORD. He is not ignorant of Torah. He is not ignorant of the ramifications of idolatry. He is not ignorant of the fact that his kingdom is fully dependent on the LORD. Yet he disregards what he knows to be true and turns aside to false gods.

Fool!

Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

I Kings 11:11-13

We should note here that Solomon’s sin is not a momentary “slip up”, a bad decision made in the heat of the moment. No, it is his practice — something clearly ongoing for a number of years. He has plenty of opportunity to repent and turn back to the LORD, but he does not. So the LORD declares that He will tear the kingdom from him, using language reminiscent of what Samuel told Saul in I Samuel 15:28. The LORD begins the process by raising up neighboring adversaries, breaking the peace that Solomon and the nation have enjoyed. Then the LORD calls Jeroboam, designating him as the new (future) ruler of ten tribes of Israel.

How does Solomon react? Does he fall on his face and repent before the LORD, as David did when confronted with his sin with Bathsheba? No. Instead he follows the example of Saul and seeks to kill Jeroboam as a rival, just as Saul sought to kill David. The wisest of men seems to have forgotten that no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. (Pr. 21:30)

Fool!

Of course it is easy to see Solomon’s folly when it is laid out before us. And it is tempting to shake our heads, point the finger, and laugh at him. But not so fast. What about us? How many of God’s good blessings do we take for granted? How often have we declared that we will follow Jesus to the death, yet denied him before the next dawn? How many idols do we continue to accommodate in our lives?

Fools!

May 19 / Song of Songs

Song of Songs 1-8

If you thought we raced through Ecclesiastes, well, we’re picking up the pace today, running through the entirety of Song of Songs in a single day. We are again pulling from last year, but note that Carol jumped in then to lead the commentary.

See: