business as usual

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

gold-crown-ring2 Kings 21

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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thinking about the future

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

02 Kings 20

If good king Hezekiah can be faulted with anything, it is this: He did not think 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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death while worshipping

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

3242_1050720749078_1257512658_30122179_3753846_n2 Kings 19

The prophet Isaiah sends word to Hezekiah that his prayers had been answered. Assyriah would not take Jerusalem.  The angel of the LORD 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 the LORD’s anointed.

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

Posted in destruction in hell, Judah, prayer | Tagged | 1 Comment

the LORD will deliver

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

DSCN0192 (2)2 Kings 18

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 “the LORD will deliver 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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religious plurality

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_0009b2 Kings 17:24-41

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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enough

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

SDC139242 Kings 17:1-23

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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renovations

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

 

SDC139382 Kings 16

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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restoration without revival

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

040_402 Kings 14:23-15:38

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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big bite

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

 029_292 Kings 14:1-22

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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not enough victory

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Jefferson Vann

n709649903_1582555_82829572 Kings 13

Israel was to have victory over Syria, but not total victory.  God had provided a savior (probably Assyria) which would distract Syria.  Israel was not loyal enough to the LORD, so that generation would not see peace from its enemies.  Peace with God must come first.  Unless our disappointments turn us toward him, we miss the point.

LORD, help us to see our real problem, and seek you, for you are the real answer.

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