John 1:1-18

Dear RTB’ers,

Based on familiarity alone, there are probably few passages in all of Scripture with which I am more familiar. As a child in the Catholic Church, until I was almost twenty years old, these first fourteen verses in John’s Gospel were spoken at mass as the Last Gospel, the final words spoken or sung before our Amen at the end of the service. But familiarity does not imply comprehension or understanding. To get into John’s Gospel, where we are now headed, we truly need the Holy Spirit as our guide, as our interpreter, as our teacher. That will be my prayer for us as we move forward these next few weeks.

I have long found John’s Gospel to be the most difficult for me to understand – especially Jesus’ answers to his listeners’ questions. Today’s prologue has none of that, only John’s narrative. John uses simple sentences to amplify eternal truths – Jesus as God, from the beginning the Creator, Who became our earthly Brother, Who was scorned by those to whom He came, and then became our Savior.

Having read or heard these words so many times, the verse that stood out for me today was verse 11, He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. In another study that I am doing we are at the point where the Scribes and Pharisees are asking Jesus questions. These are the people that I see as His own people [who] did not receive Him. And just yesterday I read one of my posts from 2019, my incredulity that these people could continue to scorn Him, in spite of the miracles, the teachings, and the answers to their questions that overwhelmed them: And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions. (Matthew 22:46) He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. What verse stands out for you? Share your thoughts with the rest of us.

Blessings.

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See also: October 9 (2023) / John 1:1-18; Luke 1; Matthew 1:1-17.

I Kings 22

Dear RTB’ers,

Ahab is dead, but his legacy lives on – sadly. There was one unusual item that caught my eye: Ahaziah … did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. (vv. 51-52) Typically the authors write that a king did “whatever” in the way of his father, but in the case of Ahaziah the mother is also mentioned. Why? His mother was Jezebel!

Jehoshaphat is generally regarded as a good king. (vv. 43a, 44) He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. … Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. I don’t recall that there is further war between Israel and Judah after Jehoshaphat, but I’m not certain of that. His major failure was that … the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. (v. 43b) For that he is not regarded as highly as other kings of Judah.

First we have 400 prophets speaking: And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” (vv. 12) Then we compare their words to those of Micaiah: Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you. (v. 23) And I wonder how often I have gone along with a speaker or an action or a proposal simply because I didn’t want to be verbal in my opposition or, even more challenging, to be alone with a different perspective. It can be a tough question – when is it time to speak out and when is it time to stay silent? My thoughts hearken back to WWJD, “What would Jesus do?”, but in this case, WWJS, “What would Jesus say?” And the rest of you, speaking out or staying silent? Got any stories to tell…??

Blessings.

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See also: May 25 (2023) / I Kings 20-22:50.

I Kings 21

Dear RTB’ers,

Lust. That’s the word that came to me from today’s reading. We typically think of lust in a sexual context, but it’s also a good word for expressing any excess desire. I have occasionally joked about lusting after something that I really like that I haven’t enjoyed for a while, like wings at Madison Garden in Richmond, one of my all-time favorite foods. So, lust is a good word for expressing Ahab’s desire for Naboth’s vineyard. Being turned down left him sullen and vexed (again, as in I Kings 20:43 from yesterday), such that his wife, Jezebel intervened with her murder plan. Her plan for Naboth’s death brings to mind David’s plan for Uriah’s death. There it was David’s lust for Bathsheba that brought about the entire episode.

As for Jezebel… Let’s go back a few chapters: [Ahab] took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. (I Kings 16:31b) Jezebel came from pagan roots, strikingly different from the Covenant Law under which Israel was supposed to act. Ahab’s inability to simply take Naboth’s vineyard was a foreign concept for her; pagan kings could do whatever they wanted, confiscate whatever land they desired. Still (possibly with Ahab’s guidance) she made Naboth’s death look as if it was following Covenant Law. Trickery. Treachery. Evil. We’ll see more of Jezebel’s evil influence as we read on.

Back to lust… It’s not a good thing – certainly not one to joke about for me from now on! For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (I John 2:16, NASB)

Blessings.

I Kings 20

Dear RTB’ers,

An entire chapter devoted to Israel’s King Ahab and his battles with Aram (Damascus/modern-day Syria), with no mention of Elijah or Elisha or Jezebel from previous chapters. It’s hard to understand Ahab’s persistence in his seeming failure to acknowledge the Lord’s work. First he saw the Lord defeating the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. Then an unnamed prophet comes to him and predicts his victory over Aram’s siege of Samaria with a powerful message: Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the LORD. (v. 13b) The writer offers no response from Ahab as to this battle victory brought about from the Lord. Then months later Aram again tests Israel in battle and a prophet again predicts victory from the Lord: …I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD. (v. 28b) Again, no acknowledgement of the Lord’s deliverance. Finally, without seeking the Lord, Ahab lets his enemy go free and is chastised for it, with his own doom predicted. Today’s final word is fitting: And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria. (v. 43) Vexed and sullen!

What to make of Ahab’s silence with respect to the Lord’s deliverance, especially when these two victories had been foretold? Or perhaps the greater question is why the Lord continued to deliver Ahab and Israel when he/they seem to have abandoned Him and are busy serving the Baal gods? We closed our Avanza video yesterday with the following quote from Paul, …but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) God’s love for Israel, in spite of their rejection of Him…? And us?

Blessings.

I Kings 19

Dear RTB’ers,

Elijah, continued. Fearful of Jezebel’s death threat, Elijah flees Israel and passes through Judah to Beersheba, the southernmost city in the Promised Land, where an angel ministers to him. From there he goes on to “Horeb, the mount of God” (v. 8b), which could be an alternate name for Mt. Sinai, the mountain where God delivered the Ten Commandments. There God, Himself speaks: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 9b) Presumably unsatisfied with Elijah’s response, God then sends a mighty wind, an earthquake, and fire to get Elijah’s attention. However, it’s the sound of a low whisper (v. 12b) that brings Elijah out of his cave wherein God asks him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 13b)

A couple of reflections… First, What are you doing here, Fred?

I’ve never heard God specifically ask me that question, but I’ve often asked it of myself, “What am I doing here?” Even now, as Carol and I have moved to Lexington, what are we doing here? Last fall at this time we were preparing to teach in Slovakia. What were we doing there? Every morning I prepare a post for RTB. What am I doing? What am I doing? And you, readers, what are you doing here?

Second, the sound of a low whisper is a still small voice in the KJV translation, words that are commonly cited worldwide, suggesting how God speaks to us. I guess it’s because we need to listen more carefully to understand a whispered voice. It’s a good reminder that we need to quiet our own lives in order to hear Him. Shhhh…!

Blessings.

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See also: May 24 (2023) / I Kings 16:21-19:21.

I Kings 17-18

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we meet Elijah. We know of him from the Gospels. First, an angel was speaking to Zechariah about the future birth of his son, John: …and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah… (Luke 1:17) Later, when John was in prison he sent his disciples to Jesus with a question which Jesus answered invoking Elijah: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them…if you are willing to accept it, he [John] is Elijah who is to come. (Matthew 11:3-4a, 14) Finally, Elijah appeared along with Moses at Jesus’ Transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36). Did we wonder, who is this Elijah?

Three stories today – fed by ravens, the widow of Zarephath, and the battle of Mt. Carmel. Just a couple of comments on these stories. First, the ravens feeding Elijah and the miraculous provision of food for the widow both stand in contrast to the drought in Ahab’s Israel. The Lord provided where He chose. Second, my Study Bible noted that the raising of the widow’s son is the first account in the Bible of anyone being raised from the dead. I had not thought of that! Finally, Elijah doing battle with the prophets of Baal is a standard Sunday School story – where many of us possibly first met Elijah. I always wondered, where did they get all that water to soak down Elijah’s offering on the altar?

More on Elijah tomorrow and in later chapters…

Blessings.

I Kings 16:8-34

Dear RTB’ers,

Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri, Ahab – a succession of kings of Israel, none of whom sought the true God. In fact, they almost seemed to compete with one another to in doing evil: Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him… And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him… Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.. (vv. 25, 30, 33b) Of all the evil that these kings of Israel committed, none seems to offend God more than the worship of other gods: Ahab…went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. (vv. 31b-32) The writer of Kings does not have much good to say about Israel and its kings.

And so we meet Ahab and Jezebel; we’ll be with them for a while.

Blessings.

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See also:

• May 23 (2023) / II Chronicles 12-16 (if only for the comments, which focus on I Kings 16:34)
• May 24 (2023) / I Kings 16:21-19:21 (particularly for the “One more thing…”; we’ll get to the main part of the post in the next couple of days)

I Kings 15:1-16:7

Dear RTB’ers,

It gets confusing, trying to follow the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, both the years in which they reigned and the activities (especially wars, treaties, and building programs) in which they engaged. As I have often said, the “See also” links are quite helpful in adding to our current posts. A few days ago, the “See also” link pointed to May 21 (2023) / I Kings 12-14:20. In that post John clarifies our current readings situation:

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.

With this explanation John brings out one very important point, that the book of II Chronicles tells the story of the kings of Judah in much greater detail than we read in I Kings. For example, in our readings today my Study Bible references us further to specific verses in II Chronicles 13-16, four chapters that cover more fully the reigns of Abijah and Asa. It would be helpful for you to read those chapters (but no expectations that you read further!); it’ll be next year before we read them in Search the Scriptures. By then it’ll be a good reminder! For my part, in covering I and II Kings, I will post as if the Chronicles books do not exist.

Blessings.

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See also: May 22 (2023) / I Kings 14:21-16:20; II Chronicles 10-11.

I Kings 14

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, a couple of short items on Jeroboam and Rehoboam, both fairly straightforward. Jeroboam tries deception – remember how well that worked for Saul and the medium woman? We cannot deceive an all-knowing, all-seeing God! Even before the deception was playing out, God knew Jeroboam’s plans and revealed them to His prophet, Ahijah, along with a message of doom for Jeroboam’s family. With it all I found myself feeling sorry for Jeroboam’s wife: And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. (v. 17b) She did not even get a chance to hold and hug her ill child before he died. Sad.

Now back to Rehoboam… [NOTE: For quite some time we will be going back and forth between accounts of the kings of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.] Another sad tale – that Rehoboam would follow his father, Solomon’s idolatry instead of the faithfulness of his grandfather, David: And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. (v. 22) And Judah paid the price, quickly overthrown by the king of Egypt, with the treasures of the Temple and other buildings plundered. We only recently read of Solomon’s wealth and power, how he built fortifications along his borders and was secure in all his holdings. One generation later and it’s all for naught!

Thankfully, we sit on the other side of the Cross: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25) Thank you, Jesus!

Blessings.

I Kings 12:33-13:34

Dear RTB’ers,

There are times in our readings when the stories or the Psalms or some deep theological truths are more difficult to understand. Today is not one of those. Today’s reading is one long story, about a prophet’s obedience and disobedience and the people with whom he interacts. The fundamental message is straightforward: And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD… (v. 13:2a) Jeroboam needs to back off from all this sacrificing on these altars that he has established! Sign after sign followed the prophet’s message. Sadly, the only message that Jeroboam got was that he wanted his hand restored: “OK, my hand is back to normal; let’s have lunch. I’ll probably rebuild the altar later.” More on Jeroboam tomorrow.

So Prophet #1 does what the Lord has commanded him to do, then he sets off to return to Judah. Unfortunately, Prophet #2 shows up, lies to him, encourages his disobedience, then chastises him for it. What a strange turn of events!!

So I’m wondering what events in my life had caused me to turn off that “narrow path”, encouraging me to veer off what I had believed to be the God’s path for me. I’ll end this while I ponder that. You, too?

Blessings.