gathered in peace

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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gathered in peace

2 Kings 22:1-20 (JDV).

2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.
2 Kings 22:2 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.
2 Kings 22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to Yahveh’s temple, saying,
2 Kings 22:4 “Go up to the high priest Hilkiah so that he may total up the silver brought into Yahveh’s temple — the silver the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
2 Kings 22:5 It is to be given to those doing the work — those who oversee Yahveh’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in Yahveh’s temple to repair the damage.
2 Kings 22:6 They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.
2 Kings 22:7 But no accounting is to be required from them for the silver given to them since they work with integrity.”
2 Kings 22:8 The high priest Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in Yahveh’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
2 Kings 22:9 Then the court secretary Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your servants have emptied out the silver that was found in the temple and have given it to those doing the work– those who oversee Yahveh’s temple.”
2 Kings 22:10 Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.
2 Kings 22:12 Then he commanded the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah:
2 Kings 22:13 “Go and inquire of Yahveh for me, the people, and all Judah about the words in this book that has been found. For great is Yahveh’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”
2 Kings 22:14 So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her.
2 Kings 22:15 She said to them, “This is what Yahveh God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me,
2 Kings 22:16 ‘This is what Yahveh says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,
2 Kings 22:17 because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods to anger me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.’
2 Kings 22:18 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahveh: ‘This is what Yahveh God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,
2 Kings 22:19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before Yahveh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’ — this is Yahveh’s declaration.
2 Kings 22:20 ‘Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.'” Then they reported to the king.

gathered in peace

Josiah’s deep repentance for what his ancestors had done was not enough to reverse the curse the nation had put upon itself. But it was enough to ensure that he would be gathered to his fathers (buried) in peace. His reforms would be undone by later generations, but his relationship with the LORD remained intact. A person’s fate at death is sealed by his or her actions and attitudes in life. When Christ returns, a resurrection to eternal life awaits those who have a right standing with God. Eternal destruction awaits those who do not.

LORD, above all else, may we keep a right relationship with you.

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normal can be deadly

Posted on October 21, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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normal can be deadly

2 Kings 21:1-26 (JDV).

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2 Kings 21:2 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.
2 Kings 21:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed and reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done; he also bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served them.
2 Kings 21:4 He built altars in Yahveh’s temple, where Yahveh had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put my name.”
2 Kings 21:5 He built altars to all the stars in the sky in both courtyards of Yahveh’s temple.
2 Kings 21:6 He sacrificed his son in the fire, practiced witchcraft and divination and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in Yahveh’s sight, angering him.
2 Kings 21:7 Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that Yahveh had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
2 Kings 21:8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them — the whole law that my servant Moses commanded them.”
2 Kings 21:9 But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations Yahveh had destroyed before the Israelites.
2 Kings 21:10 Yahveh said through his servants the prophets,
2 Kings 21:11 “Since King Manasseh of Judah has committed all these detestable acts — worse evil than the Amorites who preceded him had done — and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,
2 Kings 21:12 this is what Yahveh God of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will shudder.
2 Kings 21:13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl — wiping it and turning it upside down.
2 Kings 21:14 I will abandon the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,
2 Kings 21:15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have angered me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.'”
2 Kings 21:16 Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another. This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit, so that they did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight.
2 Kings 21:17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 21:18 Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.
2 Kings 21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.
2 Kings 21:20 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done.
2 Kings 21:21 He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he bowed in worship to them.
2 Kings 21:22 He abandoned Yahveh God of his ancestors and did not walk in the ways of Yahveh.
2 Kings 21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house.
2 Kings 21:24 The common people killed all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
2 Kings 21:25 The rest of the events of Amon’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 21:26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

normal can be deadly

Two evil kings came after Hezekiah and proceeded to undo all his good work and send Judah closer to judgment. The pressure to conform to the idolatry of the nations around them must have been great. There is no other way to explain how these kings could have ignored the fact that the northern kingdom (Israel) had already been taken into exile by Assyria. Time was running out for the southern kingdom as well. If only these kings would have realized that business as usual was killing them.

LORD, revive us. Keep us from business as usual, because that is keeping us from you.

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caring about the future

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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caring about the future

2 Kings 20:1-21 (JDV).

2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.'”
2 Kings 20:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahveh,
2 Kings 20:3 “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
2 Kings 20:4 Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of Yahveh came to him:
2 Kings 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what Yahveh God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to Yahveh’s temple.
2 Kings 20:6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.'”
2 Kings 20:7 Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So, they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.
2 Kings 20:8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that Yahveh will heal me and that I will go up to Yahveh’s temple on the third day?”
2 Kings 20:9 Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from Yahveh that he will do what he has promised: Should the shadow go ahead ten steps or go back ten steps?”
2 Kings 20:10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. No, let the shadow go back ten steps.”
2 Kings 20:11 So the prophet Isaiah called out to Yahveh, and he brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.
2 Kings 20:12 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick.
2 Kings 20:13 Hezekiah listened to the letters and showed the envoys his whole treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil — and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
2 Kings 20:14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?” Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”
2 Kings 20:15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”
2 Kings 20:16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahveh:
2 Kings 20:17 ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says Yahveh.
2 Kings 20:18 ‘Some of your descendants — who come from you, whom you father — will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'”
2 Kings 20:19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahveh that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?
2 Kings 20:20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool and the tunnel and brought water into the city, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 20:21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

caring about the future

If good king Hezekiah can be faulted with anything, it is this: He did not care about the future enough. He wanted healing, prayed for it, and got it. But when the Babylonian envoys came, he was not careful enough with them. He let them see all his treasuries. Isaiah warned that someday all those treasuries would be confiscated by Babylon. Even some of Hezekiah’s sons would be carried into exile. Hezekiah said that it would be OK as long as there was peace in his lifetime. We need to pray and plan for the future. It needs to belong to God as well as the present.

LORD, give us eyes to see and knees to pray for the future.

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Sennacherib’s fate

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Sennacherib’s fate

2 Kings 19:1-37 (JDV).

2 Kings 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahveh’s temple.
2 Kings 19:2 He sent Eliakim, who oversaw the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
2 Kings 19:3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
2 Kings 19:4 Perhaps Yahveh your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God and will rebuke him for the words that Yahveh your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.'”
2 Kings 19:5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,
2 Kings 19:6 who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘Yahveh says this: Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed me.
2 Kings 19:7 I am about to put a breath in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.'”
2 Kings 19:8 When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish, he left and found him fighting against Libnah.
2 Kings 19:9 The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So, he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
2 Kings 19:10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 19:11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?
2 Kings 19:12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them– nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?
2 Kings 19:13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah? ‘”
2 Kings 19:14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to Yahveh’s temple, and spread it out before Yahveh.
2 Kings 19:15 Then Hezekiah prayed before Yahveh: Yahveh God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God — you alone — of all the kingdoms of the land. You made the heavens and the land.
2 Kings 19:16 Listen closely, Yahveh, and hear; open your eyes, Yahveh, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.
2 Kings 19:17 Yahveh, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.
2 Kings 19:18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands– wood and stone. So, they have destroyed them.
2 Kings 19:19 Now, Yahveh our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the land may know that you, Lord, are God– you alone.
2 Kings 19:20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: ” Yahveh, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’
2 Kings 19:21 This is the word Yahveh has spoken against him: Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and scorns you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head behind your back.
2 Kings 19:22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
2 Kings 19:23 You have mocked Yahveh through your messengers. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its farthest outpost, its densest forest.
2 Kings 19:24 I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.’
2 Kings 19:25 Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble.
2 Kings 19:26 Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are wild plants, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind.
2 Kings 19:27 But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against me.
2 Kings 19:28 Because your raging against me and your arrogance have reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came.
2 Kings 19:29 “This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
2 Kings 19:30 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:31 Because a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahveh of Armies will accomplish this.
2 Kings 19:32 Therefore, this is what Yahveh says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it.
2 Kings 19:33 He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
2 Kings 19:34 I will defend this city and rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
2 Kings 19:35 That night the angel of Yahveh went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!
2 Kings 19:36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.
2 Kings 19:37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.

Sennacherib’s fate

The prophet Isaiah sends word to Hezekiah that his prayers had been answered. Assyriah would not take Jerusalem. The angel of Yahveh struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. and Sennacherib went home. His own sons would put him to death while he was worshipping his god – Nisroch. Destruction is the fate of all who dare come against Yahveh’s anointed.

LORD, teach us to pray, and not to give up.

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trusting in his deliverance

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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trusting in his deliverance

2 Kings 18:1-37 (JDV).

2 Kings 18:1 In the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.
2 Kings 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi daughter of Zechariah.
2 Kings 18:3 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.
2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.
2 Kings 18:5 Hezekiah relied on Yahveh God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.
2 Kings 18:6 He remained faithful to Yahveh and did not turn from following him but kept the commands Yahveh had commanded Moses.
2 Kings 18:7 Yahveh was with him, and wherever he went he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
2 Kings 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
2 Kings 18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.
2 Kings 18:10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured.
2 Kings 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes,
2 Kings 18:12 because they did not listen to Yahveh their God but violated his covenant– all he had commanded Moses the servant of Yahveh. They did not listen, and they did not obey.
2 Kings 18:13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
2 Kings 18:14 So King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah.
2 Kings 18:15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in Yahveh’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.
2 Kings 18:16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of Yahveh’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:17 Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal, the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.
2 Kings 18:18 They called for the king, but Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who oversaw the palace, Shebnah the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.
2 Kings 18:19 Then the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?
2 Kings 18:20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?
2 Kings 18:21 Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.
2 Kings 18:22 Suppose you say to me, “We rely on Yahveh our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”? ‘
2 Kings 18:23 “So now, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them!
2 Kings 18:24 How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
2 Kings 18:25 Now, have I attacked this place to destroy it without Yahveh’s approval? Yahveh said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.'”
2 Kings 18:26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew within earshot of the people on the wall.”
2 Kings 18:27 But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
2 Kings 18:28 The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; he can’t rescue you from my power.
2 Kings 18:30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on Yahveh by saying, “Certainly Yahveh will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ‘
2 Kings 18:31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each may drink water from his own cistern
2 Kings 18:32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land– a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey– so that you may live and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, ” Yahveh will rescue us.”
2 Kings 18:33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
2 Kings 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my power?
2 Kings 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will Yahveh rescue Jerusalem from my power? ‘”
2 Kings 18:36 But the people kept silent; they did not answer him at all, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.”
2 Kings 18:37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who oversaw the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman.

trusting in his deliverance

Imagine being king Hezekiah. You have done what is right all your life, but now it seems like that is not going to be enough. Israel has fallen to Assyria, and now the Assyrians have come to Judah. There seems to me no way out.

Hezekiah’s words to his people were simply “Yahveh will rescue us.” He called on his people to stay faithful. He knew the story was not over yet.

LORD, when things go from bad to worse, we commit ourselves to being faithful to you, and trusting in your deliverance.

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mad mix

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Alexander Ant on Pexels.com

mad mix

2 Kings 17:24-41 (JDV).

2 Kings 17:24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
2 Kings 17:25 When they first lived there, they did not fear Yahveh. So, Yahveh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
2 Kings 17:26 The settlers said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore, he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the god of the land.”
2 Kings 17:27 Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported. Have him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the god of the land.”
2 Kings 17:28 So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear Yahveh.
2 Kings 17:29 But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.
2 Kings 17:30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
2 Kings 17:31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
2 Kings 17:32 They feared Yahveh, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places.
2 Kings 17:33 They feared Yahveh, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported.
2 Kings 17:34 They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear Yahveh or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law, and commandments that Yahveh had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel.
2 Kings 17:35 Yahveh made a covenant with Jacob’s descendants and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow in worship to them; do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them.
2 Kings 17:36 Instead fear Yahveh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You are to bow down to him, and you are to sacrifice to him.
2 Kings 17:37 You are to be careful always to observe the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments he wrote for you; do not fear other gods.
2 Kings 17:38 Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you. Do not fear other gods,
2 Kings 17:39 but fear Yahveh your God, and he will rescue you from all your enemies.”
2 Kings 17:40 However, these nations would not listen but continued observing their former practices.
2 Kings 17:41 They feared Yahveh but also served their idols. Still today, their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did.

mad mix

The story of how the northern kingdom became the land of Samaria is told here. A syncretistic Israel was taken away and replaced by another syncretistic people. The LORD sent lions because the people did not fear him at all. When they added the LORD to their pantheon, not much else changed. Much like many countries today, it is a mixture of religious allegiances. Many today even applaud that arrangement. Religious plurality to them is the ideal. But some day, Jesus will return. There will only be room for one God and one king.

LORD, restore our loyalty to you – the only God.

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what we are doing

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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what we are doing

2 Kings 17:1-23 (JDV).

2 Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
2 Kings 17:2 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
2 Kings 17:3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
2 Kings 17:4 But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore, the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison.
2 Kings 17:5 The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes.
2 Kings 17:7 This disaster happened because the people of Israel failed Yahveh their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods.
2 Kings 17:8 They lived according to the customs of the nations that Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did.
2 Kings 17:9 The Israelites secretly did things against Yahveh their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.
2 Kings 17:10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
2 Kings 17:11 They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that Yahveh had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering Yahveh.
2 Kings 17:12 They served idols, although Yahveh had told them, “You must not do this.”
2 Kings 17:13 Still, Yahveh warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
2 Kings 17:14 But they would not listen. Instead, they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe Yahveh their God.
2 Kings 17:15 They rejected his statutes and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations Yahveh had commanded them not to imitate.
2 Kings 17:16 They abandoned all the commands of Yahveh their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
2 Kings 17:17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to doing what was evil in Yahveh’s sight and angered him.
2 Kings 17:18 Therefore, Yahveh was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.
2 Kings 17:19 Even Judah did not keep the commands of Yahveh their God but lived according to the customs Israel had practiced.
2 Kings 17:20 So Yahveh rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.
2 Kings 17:21 When Yahveh tore Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following Yahveh and caused them to commit immense sin.
2 Kings 17:22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them.
2 Kings 17:23 Finally, Yahveh removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So, Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.

what we are doing

Finally, the LORD had enough. Israel had plunged so deeply into the idolatry that God had forbidden that there was no rescue. God removed them from his sight. He used Assyria to do so. In so doing, he revealed how he works to bring about judgment during this era. The paganism that the Israelites sought after was their undoing. So, today, multitudes are drinking, doping, smoking, and illicit sexing themselves to death. God need not visit us with a plague. We are killing ourselves. The protective hand of God keeps us alive, until even he says “enough.”

LORD, open our eyes to what we are doing to ourselves before it is too late to repent.

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changing things

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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changing things

2 Kings 16:1-20 (JDV).

2 Kings 16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
2 Kings 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of Yahveh his God like his ancestor David
2 Kings 16:3 but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.
2 Kings 16:4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
2 Kings 16:5 Then Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.
2 Kings 16:6 At that time Aram’s King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.
2 Kings 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the grasp of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.”
2 Kings 16:8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in Yahveh’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.
2 Kings 16:9 So the king of Assyria listened to him and marched up to Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir but put Rezin to death.
2 Kings 16:10 King Ahaz visited Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.
2 Kings 16:11 Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it.
2 Kings 16:12 When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar and ascended it.
2 Kings 16:13 He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
2 Kings 16:14 He took the bronze altar that was before Yahveh in front of the temple between his altar and Yahveh’s temple and put it on the north side of his altar.
2 Kings 16:15 Then King Ahaz commanded the priest, Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”
2 Kings 16:16 The priest Uriah did everything King Ahaz commanded.
2 Kings 16:17 Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the basin from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement.
2 Kings 16:18 To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from Yahveh’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.
2 Kings 16:19 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 16:20 Ahaz lied down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

changing things

Ahaz found a new way to sin against the God of his ancestors. He admired an altar that he had seen in a pagan land, and had one built for the temple in Jerusalem. He made a few more renovations. The reader is not surprised to read this. After all, Ahaz had so succumbed to syncretism that he had sacrificed his own son on the fiery altar of Molech. While Israel is beginning to decline in physical power, Judah is leaping into spiritual sacrilege. Ahaz wanted to change things just because he had the power to – not because it was right. Change is not a good thing when the change leads people away from God, life and truth.

LORD, give us wisdom to keep going in the right direction, not to change just because we can.

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restored, not revived

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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restored, not revived

2 Kings 14:23-15:38 (JDV).

2 Kings 14:23 In the fifteenth year of Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.
2 Kings 14:24 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 14:25 He restored Israel’s border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word Yahveh, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
2 Kings 14:26 Because Yahveh saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter for both slaves and free people. There was no one to help Israel.
2 Kings 14:27 Yahveh had not said he would blot out the name of Israel under the sky, so he delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
2 Kings 14:28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign — along with all his accomplishments, the power he had to wage war, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah — are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 14:29 Jeroboam lied down with his fathers, the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah.
2 Kings 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 15:3 Azariah did what was right in Yahveh ‘s sight just as his father Amaziah had done.
2 Kings 15:4 Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
2 Kings 15:5 Yahveh afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in quarantine, while Jotham, the king’s son, was over the household governing the people of the land.
2 Kings 15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:7 Azariah lied down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months.
2 Kings 15:9 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He struck him down publicly, killed him, and became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:11 As for the rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:12 The word of Yahveh that he spoke to Jehu was, “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel,” and it was so.
2 Kings 15:13 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Uzziah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king; he reigned in Samaria a full month.
2 Kings 15:14 Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria and struck down Shallum son of Jabesh there. He killed him and became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:15 As for the rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, along with the conspiracy that he formed, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:16 At that time, starting from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were in it, and its territory because they wouldn’t surrender. He ripped open all the pregnant women.
2 Kings 15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria.
2 Kings 15:18 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 15:19 King Pul of Assyria invaded the land, so Menahem gave Pul seventy-five thousand pounds of silver so that Pul would support him to strengthen his grasp on the kingdom.
2 Kings 15:20 Then Menahem exacted twenty ounces of silver from each of the prominent men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So, the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.
2 Kings 15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:22 Menahem lied down with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:23 In the fiftieth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years.
2 Kings 15:24 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 15:25 Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down in Samaria at the citadel of the king’s palace– with Argob and Arieh. There were fifty Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.
2 Kings 15:26 As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:27 In the fifty-second year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years.
2 Kings 15:28 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 15:29 In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee– all the land of Naphtali– and deported the people to Assyria.
2 Kings 15:30 Then Hoshea son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him, and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
2 Kings 15:31 As for the rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:32 In the second year of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.
2 Kings 15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok.
2 Kings 15:34 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done.
2 Kings 15:35 Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. Jotham built the Upper Gate of Yahveh’s temple.
2 Kings 15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Book of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 15:37 In those days Yahveh began sending Aram’s King Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.
2 Kings 15:38 Jotham lied down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.

restored, not revived

What was happening during much of this period is that Israel’s land was being restored, but that did not mean that worship of the LORD was being truly revived. This is a dangerous thing, because it gave the people and leaders a false confidence. Even partial control over Judah was not a sign that God had forgotten what the people were doing in their pagan high places. Judgment was coming.

LORD, help us to see our true shape, not just what we want to see.

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small victory

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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small victory

2 Kings 14:1-22 (JDV).

2 Kings 14:1 In the second year of Israel’s King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah.
2 Kings 14:2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 14:3 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.
2 Kings 14:4 Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
2 Kings 14:5 As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah killed his servants who had killed his father the king.
2 Kings 14:6 However, he did not put the children of the killers to death, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses where Yahveh commanded, “Fathers are not be put to death because of children, and children are not put to death because of fathers; instead, each one will be put to death for his own sin.”
2 Kings 14:7 Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is still its name today.
2 Kings 14:8 Amaziah then sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, and challenged him: “Come, let’s meet face to face.”
2 Kings 14:9 King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon once sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
2 Kings 14:10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and you have become overconfident. Enjoy your glory and stay at home. Why should you stir up such trouble that you fall– you and Judah with you?”
2 Kings 14:11 But Amaziah would not listen, so King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh that belonged to Judah.
2 Kings 14:12 Judah was routed before Israel, and each man fled to his own tent.
2 Kings 14:13 King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down two hundred yards of Jerusalem’s wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.
2 Kings 14:14 He took all the gold and silver, all the articles found in Yahveh ‘s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 14:15 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, along with his accomplishments, his might, and how he waged war against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.
2 Kings 14:16 Jehoash lied down with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became king in his place.
2 Kings 14:17 Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash lived fifteen years after the death of Israel’s King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz.
2 Kings 14:18 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 14:19 A conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there.
2 Kings 14:20 They carried him back on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
2 Kings 14:21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
2 Kings 14:22 After Amaziah the king lied down with his fathers, Azariah rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah.

small victory

Jehoash did not want to do battle with Amaziah, not because he thought he might lose, but because he knew that Judah could not afford the damage he would do. Nevertheless, Amaziah insisted on picking a fight. His defeat was humiliation for Judah, and a setback for hopes of reunification. Sometimes a small victory can embolden us too much.

LORD, give us wisdom not to bite off more than we can chew.

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