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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 194 & 195

Jul14

NOTE: Sunday’s and Monday’s studies are posted together on MONDAY.

Day 194 – Reading – 2 Chronicles 27 and Isaiah 9 – 12

Day 195 – Reading – Micah 1- 7

Read today’s Scriptures.  Do you see connections?

Day 194 – 2 Chronicles 27.

We step back from the prophets for a chapter in history, looking at the southern kingdom of Judah.  Uzziah has died, and his son Jotham, who has been managing things for his father since God gave Uzziah leprosy and they put him in isolation.  Now, Jotham becomes king in his own right. He was 25 and he reigned until he was 41.  He did what was RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, as Uzziah had done in the early part of his reign. 

Jotham did a lot of building and fortifying of cities. He warred and won with the Ammonites and so received a lot of tribute from them for Judah.   Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.  

Jotham was buried in the City of David, and his son Ahaz reigned. Ahaz was a nasty, idol worshiping man, who even sacrificed his son to a pagan god.

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Isaiah 9.

These chapters in Isaiah alternate from predictions of TERROR by invasion, destruction, exile, and death … and the HOPE of the coming Messianic Kingdom.

So much is familiar here about the birth, ministry, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • Verses 9:1-2 are quoted in Matthew 4:12-16, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali is where Jesus’ primary ministry took place.
  • The people who walked in great darkness have seen a great light. John 3:19-21 and 8:12 reveal that Jesus is the light of the world. Follow Him and you’ll not walk in darkness.  However, some will HATE the light, while others love it.
  • Verse 9:6 are very familiar words to us at Christmas time.  “For unto us a child is born.” See Luke 2:11-12.  “…Unto us a Son is given.”  See John 3:16.  And then those beautiful titles for Jesus: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  He was and IS all of these, THANK YOU, Jesus!

Isaiah’s prophecy foretells Jesus’ glorious reign on earth: with no end… on the throne of David… with justice and righteousness, and forevermore. 

No wonder the Jews and the disciples of Jesus’ earthly ministry expected him (If he was really the Messiah) to rise up in rebellion against Rome and rule on a throne.  From OUR view, we know there is a great “time valley” between the two “mountains” of his comings..  And this glorious kingdom is YET TO COME. 

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Isaiah 10.

The LORD continues with Woes to the arrogant and proud people of Israel, naming specific groups or sins, in the last part of chapter 9, 10, and into 11.  His response?  “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.”

Then Isaiah predicts a horrific judgment on the arrogant Assyria (who had repented for a short time under Jonah).  They turned back to even MORE wicked ways only a generation later.  They were known for their barbaric cruelty.

BUT FIRST, God will use this cruel nation to judge Syria, Israel, and then Judah. 

THEN, “When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.”

The Assyrian Empire was massive. No wonder Israel felt so small and HOPELESS.  Here’s a map of the approx. 200 years of their rule.

Then Isaiah turns once again to HOPE. He prophesies of the “Remnant of Israel” and her survivors.  

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Isaiah 11.

Isaiah writes of the Righteous Reign of the BRANCH (or root of David). 

  • And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.   These are the qualifications that will enable Jesus the Messiah to rule justly.  (Also compare Revelations 1:4.)
  • Then Isaiah writes of the Idyllic  Millennium Reign, when: wolf & lamb, leopard & young goat, lion and calf, and cow & bear shall all graze together and lie down together in safety.  AND A LITTLE CHILD WILL LEAD THEM.   In fact, a nursing child will play with a cobra, a weaned child with an adder. (both deadly snakes) and they shall not be hurt.
  • Instead of a scarcity of the Word of God, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the water covers the sea.
  • “In that day the Lord will extend His hand yet a second time to recover the REMNANT that remains of His people, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath and from the Coastlands of the sea.”
  • “And he … will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Oh, my, what a dream the people of God had to hide deep in their hearts, and collectively remember in that Day.

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Isaiah 12

And then the beautiful Psalm-like chapter. Can you hear Isaiah singing…..

"You will say in that day;
I will give thanks to You, O LORD,
for though You were angry with me,
Your anger turned away,
that You might comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water 
from the wells of salvation.
And in that day, you will say;
Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon His name,
make know his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that His Name is exalted.

Sing praises to the LORD, 
for He has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."


###

Day 195 – Micah 

Micah (Who is like God?) was a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, but he prophesied mainly to the southern kingdom of Judah. (The northern kingdom was about to fall to Assyria.)  God used him in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Like Amos, he was a “country” man from a small town near the Philistine border. 

His message was primarily to the princes and people of Jerusalem, condemning the social injustice and religious corruption he saw there. When Israel fell, northern refugees flooded into Judah, bringing their idol worship (Baals) with them. Micah  addresses this briefly, especially since King Ahaz was a part of it.

Like Isaiah, Micah prophesied horrific doom to Judah from the Assyrians and then the Babylonians.  But he alternates his dark messages with passages of HOPE for the coming Messiah-King and a restored Israel in the Millennial Kingdom.

 

 Micah 1 – 3.

Micah calls the world to witness what God is going to do in Israel and Judah.

Samaria (capital of Israel) will be made into “a heap.”  Then he bewails that Israel’s idolatry has come to Judah.  Now, “disaster has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.”

Micah condemns those who devise wickedness “on their beds” and then perform it in the morning … because it’s in their power to do so.  These rich and powerful “covet” fields and “seize” them (a reminder of King Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth?). They covet houses and take away a man’s house and “his inheritance,”  which was forbidden in the Law.

Micah tells them that it will happen TO THEM TOO in the time of disaster, when the LORD will “allot OUR fields to an apostate.”

Micah, in God’s name, rails against the heads and rulers of Jacob, for hating good and loving evil, committing horrendous injustice against the poor, which he pictures as butchering animals!

He also condemns the false prophets for misleading the people and prophesying “Peace.” They are led by greed, saying anything pleasing … for money.  God promises THEY will be struck blind for “blinding” the people with their lies.

  • Rulers detest justice and make crooked that which is straight.
  • Heads of the house of Jacob give judgment for a bribe.
  • Priests teach for a price
  • Prophets practice divination for money.

Therefore, Zion (Jerusalem) will be plowed as a field with nothing left but a heap of stones.

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Micah 4 – 5.

Micah also prophesies HOPE about what will come to pass “in the latter days.”

God will establish the “mountain of the House of the LORD, and people will flow to it and say …

  • “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
  • “They will beat swords into plows… neither shall they learn war anymore.
  • “They will sit every man under his vine and his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid....”

Then the prophecy that is still TWO HUNDRED YEARS OFF —

  • “Writhe and groan, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for NOW you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to BABYLON.  THERE you shall be rescued, THERE the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!”

And then that prophecy we know so well….

  • “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from YOU shall come forth for me One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”    (See Matthew 2:6)
  • “And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God. And He shall be their peace.“

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Micah 6 – 7

Another courtroom scene, with the LORD, the people, and the prophet speaking as the lawyer for God.

The LORD’s appeal.

  • “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!

The LORD reminds them of all the good things He has done for them, from deliverance from Egypt to help in conquering the Land.

MICAH, speaking for the people.

  • With what shall we come before the LORD?  With calves? Rams? Rivers of oil? Our firstborn?

MICAH speaking for God.

  • “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

And because they did NOT do the above, God would send judgment to them as punishment.  All the terrors that fell on their sister nation of Israel would be coming to them as well.  As they walked in the wicked ways of Omri and Ahab, so God will make them a desolation, a hissing, and a scorn.

The MICAH, sounding a bit like Isaiah here, cries, “WOE IS ME!”  for all the evil he sees in Judah.  But he gives his own testimony, “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Then the PEOPLE confess their sin and their faith in the LORD. 

They acknowledge the justice of God’s punishment.

And they look forward to His restoration. 

Then MICAH pleads to God.

  • “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.

Then the repentant PEOPLE praise the LORD’s grace and mercy.

  • “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?
  • “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love (mercy).  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot.
  • “YOU will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea, You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”

.

(**** O LORD, I love this prayer and confession of the people. They know they have sinned, and finally, after Your chastisement, they acknowledge their sin.  They turn to you, confess, and trust in your faithfulness and the promises in Your Word.  LORD, let this be our story too)

 

 

 

 

 







			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 189


					
Jul8
			


	

		
Day 189 – Reading – 2 Kings 15, and 2 Chronicles 26




Read today’s scriptures. Refer to “Kings” chart to keep the names straight!


2 Kings 15.


In the middle of Jeroboam II’s reign in Israel (north), Azariah/Uzziah became king in Judah (south).  (We will call him Uzziah, because that how Isaiah refers to him.)


    

  • He was 16 when he began to reign.
    • 

  • He reigned 52 years.
    • 

  • He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (until right at the very end).   (Verse 5 says that the LORD touched him with leprosy at the end of his life.  Don’t worry, we will read the details in 2 Chronicles!)
    • 



At the end of Uzziah’s life and after after he died, his son Jotham reigned in his place. (More in 2 Chronicles.)


.


Meanwhile in Israel (north), Jeroboam II died and his son Zechariah became king … for six months.  Shallum (the son of nobody” according to the Assyrians), killed Zechariah and took his crown. 


And that was THE END OF THE PROMISE THAT GOD GAVE TO JEHU FOR HIS HUMOUNGUS BLOODY WORK OF ANNILIATING THE HOUSE OF AHAB. (Read 2 Kings 10:30 for that promise that 4 of his sons would reign as king).


Shallum (Mr. Nobody) reigned for ONE MONTH.  Menahem, the military commander under Zechariah, came and killed Shallum, and took the crown of Israel. (This guy did some horrible things because some cities did not accept him. Menachem reigned ten years.


During his reign, Pul, the new, evil, and growing in power, king of Assyria (form Nineveh – remember Jonah?) came down on Israel.  Menachem assessed 50 talents of silver from all the rich men and gave it to Pul, and the King of Assyria went home …… for a time. 


After ten years, Menachem’s son, Pekahiah became king. (Uzziah was still king in Judah to the south).


Pekahiah reigned two years.  Pekah (no not his son, but the son of his army captain), along with 50 men conspired against king Pekahiah and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house. 


And so, Pekah became king in Israel in the last year of Judah’s king (Uzziah)’s reign.  Pekah reigned twenty years, and did evil in God’s sight.  During his 20-year reign, another King of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, stronger and crueler than Pul, came and captured a northern chunk of Israel, including all of the territory of Naphtali, Gilead, and Galilee.   He carried all the people there away into captivity … they did not return.  


Then the Assyrian king made this area into three provinces of Assyria.  The Assyrian king was probably involved in the conspiracy of Hoshea that ended in Pekah’s death.


Israel’s LAST KING, Hoshea, killed Pekah and became king in his place. HIS DAYS WERE NUMBERED!  


We will see the sad final end of Hoshea and ISRAEL, in our study NEXT TUESDAY.


Meanwhile, back to the South………


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2 Chronicles 26.


Ah, the beginning of the mostly good King Uzziah, crowed by the people of Judah at age 16, he — 


    

  • “set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah (an unknown prophet) who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.”
    • 

  • God helped him in the war against the Philistines, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites.
    • 

  • His fame spread even to the border of Egypt because he became very strong.
    • 

  • He built and fortified towers in Jerusalem and in the wilderness.
    • 

  • He built cisterns for his many herds.
    • 

  • He had a huge army, fit for war, and made shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and slings for them.
    • 

  • He made “engines” invented by skillful men to be on the towers to shoot arrows and great stones.
    • 

  • He became STRONG.
    • 



BUT … WHEN he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.  (He was unfaithful to the LORD his God  and “entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”)   WHAT!!!


Oh, such a warning to me and to you!


Of course, the priests stopped him before he could do it, but he had the censor IN HIS HAND!  


(Oh, my goodness, remember Aaron’s sons who tried to do that?  A blast of fire from God’s holiness consumed them!!)


The priests – all eighty of them – managed to get King Uzziah OUT of the Temple. But the KING WAS VERY ANGRY and struggled.  And the LORD struck him with LEPROSY.  The priests could see it on his forehead, but it could have been elsewhere too.


And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death. He lived in a separate house and was excluded from the House of the LORD.  (Oh, my! and after all the good he did!)


His son, Jotham took over governing the people.  When Uzziah died he was buried outside the city in the field belonging to the kings.  And Jotham then reigned as king.


.


Isaiah prophesied during the time of Uzziah, Jotham, (and Ahaz and Hezekiah), kings of Judah. Isaiah 1:1


He had an amazing vision, recorded in chapter 6.  Isaiah 6:1 – “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His GLORY filled the temple………..”  WOW! 


We will see what Isaiah’s reaction was to this – so different from Uzziah’s pride.


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 187 & 188


					
Jul7
			


	

		
Day 187 – Reading – 2 Kings 14, and 2 Chronicles 25


Day 188 – Reading Jonah 1 – 4




Read today’s Scriptures.  Do you see connections?


2 Kings 14 & 2 Chronicles 25.


These two chapters essentially tell the same story, but with a few different details.  It’s a bit confusing because BOTH the King of Israel and the King of Judah are named Joash! It would be like the President of the United States and the President of Russia BOTH named Trump.  Can you imagine the confusion in the press!!


Then, the southern kingdom of Judah’s King Joash was assassinated by his own servants, and his son, Amaziah, succeeded him as king.  Amaziah was a semi-good king, at least at first, doing what was “mostly right in the sight of the LORD,” but not quite as well as David.  The first thing Amaziah did was to kill the servants who had killed his father, Joash. (Remember, Joash killed Zechariah, the priest, the son of the priest who’d raised him. Two servants then conspired to kill  him.) Now the new king killed those servants. What a chain of cruelty and death! Will it stop there?


Amaziah mustered an army in Judah (along with 100K paid mercenaries from Israel) to fight against the men of Mt. Seir (Edom).  But God told him NOT to use soldiers from Israel.  God was NOT with them, but God WOULD help Judah alone to defeat Edom.  Amaziah sent the Israeli soldiers home (which made them mad), and went on to defeat Edom.


But, those 100K mercenaries, angry at not being able to go to war (and get loot), attacked and looted cities in Judah and Jerusalem!!


And then, Amaziah came back with – get this – some idols of the Edomites. And he started worshiping THEM!!  Can you believe it??  God sent a prophet to reprimand the king, but Amaziah made him stop.


Feeling emboldened, Amaziah sent to Israel and challenged King Joash of Israel to fight him. WHAT??  King Joash told King Amaziah to “Stay home, you little weed (thistle)!”  But Amaziah would not listen.  Why?  GOD HAD ORDAINED HIS DOWNFALL because of the idols from Edom.


The two kings, with their armies, fought at Beth-Shemesh in Judah’s territory, and Judah was defeated.  The southern army ran away, and King Amaziah was captured. The northern king then went to Jerusalem and seized all the gold, silver, and all the vessels that were in the Temple and the king’s own house, and even broke down part of Jerusalem’s wall!  He took hostages (but left King Amaziah there) and returned to Samaria, with a smug smirk on his lips. Thistle indeed!


Amaziah lived 15 more years, but a conspiracy against him made him flee to Lachish (a fortified city about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem). But the angry people went after him and killed him there.  The people then put his son, the sixteen-year-old Azariah, in his place as king.  (Azariah did right in God’s sight and reigned 52 years!)


Meanwhile, back in Israel, King Joash also died and was buried in Samaria.  His son Jeroboam II succeeded him.  Unsurprisingly, he did what was “EVIL in the sight of the LORD.”


Now, here is an interesting fact.  The LORD used Jeroboam to “restore some of the borders of Israel, east of the Jordan River.  Why?  “The LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, none to help Israel. The LORD had not said that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam.”  WHAT MERCY!


And, according to (2 Kings 14:25), who told Jeroboam to go and do that? 


NONE OTHER THAN THE PROPHET OF GOD — JONAH!!   


But we are much more familiar with the prophet’s other story.


###


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Jonah 1 – 4.


We’ve all heard about “Jonah and the whale” from Sunday School stories and children’s books. Those stories usually tell how Jonah was thrown overboard in a storm and was swallowed by a whale. Then God made the critter spit him out on the shore three days later, after he prayed.


All true.


But much more.


First, his name means “Dove.”  Today, we would think of “peace,” or someone who is anti-war.  Well, Jonah WAS a rebel, for sure, but not anti-war.  Earlier, God had used Jonah to encourage Jeroboam II to push back against the Syrians, which he did, and gained back almost as much land for Israel as in the days of David and Solomon. 


But the Syrians had grown weak.  Soon, a greater, fiercer, and crueler nation would swallow them up, and then look toward Israel.  Who? The Assyrians. Whereas Syria’s capital was Damascus, the capital of Assyria was Nineveh, WAY to the North-East, over 500 miles away.


“Go to that wicked city, Nineveh, and tell them to repent,” God told Jonah.


“No way!” said the prophet of God, who was all for defeating Israel’s enemies.  Jonah promptly went down to Joppa and bought a ticket on a boat to Tarshish. (Modern Spain, which is WAY to the West.)  


    

  • Verse 3 states twice that Jonah was “fleeing the presence of the LORD.”  Is that possible?  We may think so, but remember God is “omnipresent,” which means everywhere at once. 
    • 

  • Check out Psalm 139:7-10, where David asks the question, “Where shall I flee from Your presence?  Heaven? You are there. The grave? You are there. The uttermost parts of the sea?  Even there, Your hand shall hold me.”  I guess Jonah never read that psalm.
    • 



The boat sailed. Jonah went below deck for a nap. God “HURLED” a great wind on the sea, which whipped up into a horrible tempest!  The ship started to break up!  The sailors were terrified and began to pray to their god (Poseidon?).  They hurled the cargo into the sea (There goes their profit!)  Then, at his request, they hurled the prophet into the sea as well.


(Jonah had told them the true God of Heaven was angry with him. They got REALLY afraid – that’s why they obeyed and tossed him overboard.)


Immediately, no wind and placid seas.


That terrified the sailors even more, and they WORSHIPPED the LORD.  (A foretaste of Nineveh?)


Down, down, down went Jonah. Right into the mouth of a great fish that God had prepared. (Like Moby Dick??)


AND JONAH PRAYED TO THE LORD FROM THE BELLY OF THE FISH!


Not exactly repentance, but an acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty.  The “vow” in verse 9 could have been a vow to carry out God’s call to preach in Nineveh.


And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited (Yuck!) Jonah on dry land.  “Terra firma, Hooray!”  Good to be there.  Then…


Again came God’s message, “Go to Nineveh. Call out against it with the message I will give you.”


“Yeah, yeah. I KNOW, God.”


So, after a “swish-off” in the Mediterranean, Jonah set off, Eastward.


How long it took him, we don’t know.  Did he catch a ride with a caravan, or hot-foot it all the way?  Regardless, Jonah finally arrived at that great city (in modern-day Iraq).  The city was HUGE!  It would take a person THREE DAYS to walk across it. (Like Los Angeles??)


Jonah went halfway in and cried, “IN 40 DAYS, NINEVEH WILL BE OVERTHROWN!” And then he left, went outside the city to a hill, and sat down to watch the “holy fireworks.”


They didn’t come.


Instead, the whole city repented. (FROM ONE 7-WORD SERMON!!)  The people believed God. They put on sackcloth in mourning for their sin, the king too, and all his court.


He proclaimed a fast from all food and water (for the animals as well!) and told the people to “Call out mightily to God. Turn everyone from his evil ways and the violence he’s done. For who knows?  God may turn and relent from His fierce anger, and we may not perish.”


And when God saw their hearts, He relented of the disaster that He said he would do to them.  (At least for a while.)


Not what Jonah imagined, or wanted. He was furious! 


    

  • “SEE!!!  This is what I said would happen when I was back home! 
    • 

  • This is why I fled to Tarshish!  
    • 

  • I KNEW You were a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in mercy, and relenting from disaster!    (He was quoting Psalm 103, now, so I guess he did read God’s word.)
    • 



JONAH SHOULD HAVE BEEN THANKFUL that God was merciful… a God of second chances. Or else, he might have still been in that fish’s belly, rotting away!


    

  • Oh, please just kill me, for that is better than living (and seeing this!)
    • 



It got very hot.  Jonah put up a lean-to to shade himself while he watched. And the good and kind LORD caused a vine to grow up over the lean-to, which added more shade and a sweet fragrance.


Nice. 


Jonah settled back.


Then the good and kind LORD caused a worm to kill the plant.  And the next day, a scorching east wind blew, and the sun beat down. 


Jonah was angry that the plant died.  “It’s better for me to die than to live,” he moaned.


“You are angry and pity a vine that you did not plant or cause to grow, that came into being in a night and  perished in a night?”


“YES!“


And the good and kind LORD said, “And should I not pity Nineveh, a great city, in which there are more than 120K small children?”


No answer.


Silence.


About 40 years later, the NEXT generation of Assyrians reverted to their evil, violent ways. They came down on Israel, destroyed the kings, and carried the people away into captivity, never to return. 


End of the northern kingdom. 


.


(**** Ah, LORD, You are faithful to save, when people turn their hearts from sin and trust in You…. at the preaching of Your Word.  




"For the scripture says, Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. 
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. 
For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on ALL who call on Him. 
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent?"
Romans 10:11-15.











			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 186


					
Jul5
			


	

		
Day 186 – Reading – 2 Kings 12 – 13, and 2 Chronicles 24




Read today’s Scriptures. 


Don’t be confused by all the similar names. Try to be consistent looking for the phrases:


“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD,”


and “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”


Right through here the names of the kings in Israel (north) and Judah (south) get a bit confusing for they are the same, and a few have the same or opposite “nicknames.”  Here’s the chart again. 




NOTE in Judah, after Jehoshaphat, there is Jehoram (Joram), another Ahaziah, Athaliah (the queen), Joash (Jehoash), and Amaziah.


NOTE in Israel, after Ahab, there is Ahaziah, another Joram (Jehoram), Jehu, Jehoahaz, another Jehoash (Joash).


Seriously, as you are reading, if you don’t mind marking your Bible, highlight or underline the northern king’s names in blue, and the southern kings’ names in red. (or other colors).


###


2 Kings 12.


This chapter continues what we learned in 2 Chronicles 23-24.  Even though the new king in Judah is called Jehoash here, we read about him as Joash, saved from his murdering grandmother, hidden away by the priest, Jehoida, until he was seven, and then crowned the king. His wicked “nana” was also killed that day.  We also read of the reforms the boy (under the priest’s tutelage) made, including repairing the Temple.


Now we see him calling again for the three types of offering that support the temple. 


    

  • The 1/2 shekel per man whenever a census was taken,
    • 

  • the payments of vows,
    • 

  • and voluntary offerings.
    • 



King Joash/Jehoash called for these offering.  After some years, when they did NOT come in, he had a special “offering box” made.  It was a reminder for the people to give.  When it was full, the priest would count and bag it and GIVE IT TO WORKMEN (carpenters, builders, masons and stonecutters) who were doing the repair.  (No “hanky-panky” in changing so many hands.


He reigned 40 years. Towards the end, Hazael (whom Elisha had anointed King of Syria) came and took Gath from the Philistines.  Now Gath was a mere 20-25 miles west of Jerusalem. And when Joash saw that the Syrian king meant to attack and take Jerusalem, he took all the sacred gifts, and his own gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the Temple and the king’s house … and sent it to Hazael. 


Pleased, Hazael “went away from Jerusalem.”  (Too bad he did not pray for help from God!!)


************** And then – sheesh – two of Joash’s servants KILLED the king.  He was buried in the city of David, and his son Amaziah reigned.


.


2 Kings 13.


Meanwhile back up in the North, while Joash had been reigning, Jehoahaz (son of Jehu) began to reign. (17 years, evil)


Having left Jerusalem alone, the Syrian king, Hazael, and later his son Ben-Hadad III, continually harassed the northern kingdom, taking small bites of land/cities.  King Jehoahaz’s army was whittled down to 50 horsemen, ten chariots, and 10K foot soldiers.


BUT NOTICE!!!  This wicked king “sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for He saw how oppressed they were.”  (God is so gracious and merciful!  He gave them “a savior” so the people could escape from the hand of the Syrians, and live in their homes.)


NOTE: This “savior” whom God gave to Israel is not named. But there are three choices.


    

  • 1. The Assyrian king, who attacked the Syrians from behind and forced them to turn from Israel.
    • 

  • 2. Elisha, the prophet, who continued his “secret” leadership in revealing where the Syrians would strike next.
    • 

  • or 3. Jeroboam II, the man who would be king after Jehoahaz, who fought the Syrians back. 
    • 



Take your pick.


Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria. 


His son Jehoash/Joash began to reign in ISRAEL. (Joash, king of JUDAH was still on the throne in the south.  Two kings named Joash: north & south!)


This new king “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” 


Elisha, the prophet of God be came deathly ill.  King Jehoash/Joash went to him and wept.  HE KNEW the northern kingdom was lost without this godly prophet.  


He cried out to Elisha, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”  (Remember there were only 10 chariots and 50 horsemen!).  He was asking for military help!!


Elisha had King Jehoash/Joash shoot an arrow out the window, prophesying a victory over Syria.


Elisha then had the King strike the ground with his quiver of arrows. the king struck three times.


“Oh, no!!” said Elisha. “You should have struck 5-6 times then you would have totally defeated them.  Now it’s only three times, and they will come back and get you.


AND ELISHA DIED. They buried him, but it seems they forgot to fill in the grave. A band of Moabites came by, one of them died, and they threw him in the grave. HE BOUNCED BACK OUT ALIVE, AFTER TOUCHING ELISHA’S BONES. Elisha’s double portion of God’s power continued even after his death!


What??? 


The Syrian king, Hazael died and Ben-Hadad III reigned. Israel fought with him and took back the cities that were taken in war. THREE TIMES Israel defeated them. 


Jehoash/Joash reigned 16 years and died, and was buried in Samaria.


..


Jeroboam II became king in the NORTH.


.


2 Chronicles 24.


Okay…. were you curious at how quickly Judah’s king Joash was suddenly killed by two servants, after getting on with repairing the Temple??


I was!


Now, in Chronicles, we see the details.  King Joash had an about face, and TURNED AWAY FROM GOD, after his mentor and surrogate father, Jehoiada, the priest died.  Like Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, Joash then listened to the advice of the young princes of Judah.  He abandoned the Temple AND SERVED IDOLS! What?


Zechariah, the new priest and son of Jehoiada, called Joash out and said God would forsake HIM. Joash didn’t like that and commanded that the priest be STONED!!


The Syrians came again and took all those princes captive, and injured King Joash severely.  IT WAS THEN, THAT THOSE TWO SERVANTS CONSPIRED TO KILL KING JOASH – BECAUSE HE HAD THE PRIEST, ZACHARIAH STONED.


Okay then.  That makes sense.  Good for them!


Amaziah, the king’s son reigned instead in JUDAH.





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 185


					
Jul4
			


	

		
Day 185 – Reading – 2 Kings 9 – 11




Read today’s Scriptures. Whoa! The prophesied Jehu. What do you learn about him?


2 Kings 9.


God had previously told Elijah, way back at Mt Horeb, that Jehu would become king over Israel, and he would kill all those involved in the worship of Baal (1 Kings 19:17).  The time had come for Elisha to see to Jehu’s anointing. He sent one of the young prophets to Ramoth-Gilead (that Eastern border town with Syria) to find Jehu and privately commission him.


Say, “I anoint you king over Israel.” THEN OPEN THE DOOR AND FLEE. DO NOT LINGER!”


The young prophet-student did just that … adding, “AND … you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that God may avenge on Jezebel the blood of His servants the prophets of the LORD.”  “AND, the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel and none shall bury her.”


“Then he opened the door and fled.”


Jehu came out and told his fellow servants, “Well, the LORD says I am anointed king over Israel.” 


And all those men threw down their garments, blew the trumpet, and proclaimed, “JEHU IS KING!”


FIRST THING:  Jehu plotted to kill Israel’s king Joram. He told the servants who’d proclaimed HIM king to keep quiet and tell no one of this.  Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, because Joram (injured in the battle) lay there.  King Ahaziah of JUDAH was also visiting him. 


The king saw him coming and sent messengers (who did not return). But a servant exclaimed, “The driving is like the driving of Jehu, for he drives furiously!”


Both the king of Israel and the king of Judah got into their chariots and went out to meet Jehu. They came together at the property of Naboth. (Remember, he was the righteous vineyard keeper whom Jezebel killed so Ahab could make a veggie garden.)


“Is it peace?” asked the king of Israel.


“What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?”


King Joram saw the situation, turned his chariot around, and fled.  Jehu shot an arrow into his back, clear to his heart, and killed him.  “Throw his body onto Naboth’s land, as the LORD had prophesied.’


Judah’s king Ahaziah also fled, and Jehu shot him too.  Ahaziah’s servants carried him back to Jerusalem for burial.


When Jehu came to Jezreel, where the kings lived, Jezebel heard he was coming. She put on her makeup and fixed her hair.  Then she leaned out her window to watch his approach. “Is it peace, your murderer of your master?”


Jehu looked up and asked, “Who’s on my side?”  Several of her eunuch servants nodded.


“Throw her down!” commanded Jehu.  And they did.


She fell splat, for the window was way up high. Some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses and they trampled on her.


Jehu and his party went inside, ate, and drank.  Finally, Jehu said that they should see about burying that “cursed woman.”  But outside, only her skull, the bottoms of her feet, and the palms of her hands could be found.  The dogs had totally consumed her.


“Ah,” said Jehu. “This fulfills the word of the LORD that Elijah spoke.” (1 Kings 21:23)


.


2 Kings 10.


Jehu continues to fulfill the prophecy and commands of the LORD.  He conspired and succeeded in killing all 70 of Ahab’s sons. He also killed all of Ahab’s great men, close friends, and priests. He left none standing.  He even killed a group of Ahaziah’s (the dead king of Judah) relatives as they came to visit Israel. Jehu struck down all who remained of Ahab in Samaria.


THEN, he tricks the worshippers of Baal into attending a big celebration for Baal.  Not one was to miss this.  And when they all assembled in the house of Baal, and while they were sacrificing, Jehu’s 80 soldiers went in and killed them all.  They brought out the statue of Baal and burned it. Then, they demolished the house of Baal and burned it too …and made it a latrine (toilet) to this day. 


BUT, he did not destroy the golden calves that were in Dan and Bethel.


Nevertheless, because he had obeyed God’s command about the house of Ahab and the worshippers of Baal, He promised King Jehu that his sons would reign on Israel’s throne for four generations.


.


But the Syrians under King Hazael began to “cut off parts of Israel,” starting on the east side of the Jordan River, taking all the land of the three tribes of Israel who lived there (Gad, Reuben, 1/2 tribe of Manasseh).


Jehu reigned 28 years in Samaria. When he died his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.


.


2 Kings 11.


This is a repeat telling of the wicked Queen Athaliah (2 Chronicles 22 – 23) when she saw that her son was dead (killed by the second arrow of Jehu). She killed all his children living in Jerusalem and set herself up as Queen in Judah (no one believed her). But she missed the baby Joash, who was hidden with his wet-nurse by a priest and his wife for seven years. At that time, the priest arranged for him to be anointed, crowned, and hailed as king … and for Athaliah to be killed.


The boy-king reigned and did what was right in God’s eyes.


.


(WHOA. This was a bloody day of reading. Evil is wiped out, and good (mostly) triumphs.  For a while.


Oh, LORD, I know our hearts are desperately wicked.  How can you love us and forgive?  Thank you for Jesus, the pure, sinless Son who sacrificed his life in our wicked place, so we could be forgiven!)





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 182


					
Jul1
			


	

		
A NEW MONTH! We are halfway through the year!


Day 182 – Reading – Obadiah 1 and Psalms 82 & 83




Read today’s Scriptures.  Do you see connections?


Obadiah 1.


Did the appearance here of this minor prophet surprise you? It did me. 


We are still reading about the divided nation = Israel vs Judah, both still living in the land God gave them.  So why the prophet Obadiah??


Obadiah is probably a contemporary of Elijah and Elisha, who prophesied mostly to the northern kingdom of Israel. Obadiah spoke only to the southern kingdom of Judah.


Now remember when Edom (Esau) along with Ammon and Moab came around the southern end of the Dead Sea to attack Judah?  (2 Chronicles 20). The Bible calls them “a great multitude” and “a horde.”  The people (and Jehoshaphat the king) were terrified of them.   Then, remember Jehoshaphat’s wonderful prayer to the LORD, reminding and claiming His promises of help?


    

  • “If disaster comes upon us, we will stand before this House and before You, and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.  Execute judgment on them now, for we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.“
    • 



And remember the LORD’s reply.


    

  • “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle.  Stand firm, hold your position, and SEE the SALVATION of the LORD on your behalf. 
    • 



And Jehoshaphat appointed singers to sing to the LORD, and to praise Him as they went. And as they began to sing and praise Him, the LORD set an ambush, so that Ammon, Moab, and MOUNT SEIR were routed, so that none escaped alive.


..


Obadiah is now prophesying against this Edom (Esau, Mt. Seir)  for the ill treatment of God’s beloved Judah.  He says,


    

  • “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?”  Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars …. from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.
    • 

  • Your mighty men shall be dismayed … so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.
    • 



Obadiah prophesies of the time when Judah will be carried off into captivity by Babylon.  At that time Edom helps their captors, by catching runaways, and killing them!  God roughly calls them out.


    

  • “Do not GLOAT over the day of your brother, in the day of his misfortune; do not REJOICE over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not BOAST in the day of distress. 
    • 

  • “Do not ENTER THE GATE of my people in the day of their calamity; do not GLOAT over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not LOOT his wealth in the day of his calamity.
    • 

  • “Do not stand at the crossroads to CUT OFF HIS FUGITIVES; do not HAND OVER his survivors in the day of distress.”
    • 



But in that day, that’s just what Edom did, and God punished them for it.  “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.  There shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,” for the LORD has spoken. 


(Hey, you don’t mess with God’s chosen people! HE may discipline them, but not YOU!)


.


Psalm 82.


This psalm speaks NOT of persecuting the helpless, but RESCUING them. (It’s almost like this is sent ahead to Edom!)


    

  • “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
    • 



.


Psalm 83.


This psalm is also very like Obadiah’s message to Edom (and to all who would persecute His Chosen… even TODAY)


    

  • “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.
    • 



 


    

  • “They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.
    • 



 


    

  • “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
    • 



(Have you heard this mentioned about Israel today in the news???)


 


    

  • “For they conspire with one accord; against You they make a covenant, the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the in habitants of Tyre; Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
    • 



(Yes, Israel is surrounded to day by those who hate them and want to destroy them!)


 


    

  • “O my God, make them like whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may You pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your hurricane!
    • 



 


    

  • “Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that YOU ALONE, whose name is the LORD are the Most High over the  earth.”
    • 



 


Oh, my goodness.


This SO reminds me of recent affairs in the Middle East.


And the hate threats towards Israel.


(Oh, God!)


 


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 180 & 181


					
Jun30
			


	

		


Sundays and Mondays studies are posted together on Mondays


Day 180. Reading 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 18




Day 181.  Reading 2 Chronicles 19 – 23








Read Today’s Scriptures.


What insight or comfort do you receive?


 


Day 180 – 1 Kings 22.


After that ill-advised truce between King Ahab’s Israel (north) and King Ben-Hadad’s Syria (farther north), there were three years without war. Each country was trading in the other’s bazaars.  


But, there was a sore spot between the two kings. It was the town of Ramoth-Gilead.  Officially, it was in Israel’s territory, way east, across the Jordan River and right up next to Syria. (See map on yesterday’s post.) Syria was gradually “taking” the town, and Ahab didn’t like it.


So… when King Jehoshaphat of Judah (south) came to visit Ahab, Ahab asked him if he would go with him and battle for it and try to settle the dispute with Syria.


“Sure,” Jehoshaphat said. “My people are yours and my horses are yours. But … hey, let’s inquire of the the LORD first.”


King Ahab gathered his 400 prophets and inquired if they should go up against Syria at Ramoth-Gilead.


They ALL said, “Go up, for the LORD will give it into your hand.”


This seemed a little fishy to King Jehoshaphat, and he asked if there was ANOTHER prophet of the LORD that they could ask.


King Ahab grumbled, but finally said, yes, there was ONE, but Ahab didn’t like him because he ALWAYS prophesied against him.  Jehoshaphat pressed him, and Micaiah was called.  After a bit of messing around this real prophet of God said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.“


“SEE!!! I told you.  He never says anything nice about me!” bemoaned Ahab.  And Ahab promptly put Micaiah in prison with meager food rations.


But, the Word of the LORD which Micaiah spoke came true.  The two Jewish kings went up to battle with the king of Syria, who had told his men to “fight with neither small or great, but with the King of Israel (Ahab) only.”


King Jehoshaphat (Judah) rode out in his chariot in regal clothing and a crown on his head.  But wily King Ahab disguised himself as a lowly soldier.  The Syrians of course, went after Jehoshaphat, who cried out to the LORD for help.  When the Syrian captains saw that he was not King Ahab they turned away.  


Then ,,, a random soldier drew his bow and randomly shot an arrow into the air.  “Oops!” That deadly missile flew right to the disguised King Ahab and entered his body through the crack separating his breastplate from his chain mail.  A scream.  And, “TURN AROUND AND CARRY ME OUT OF THE BATTLE FOR … I … AM … WOUNDED!  And troops fled every man to his city.


In the evening, King Ahab died.  His blood flowed into the bottom of the chariot. His body was brought to Samaria and buried.  


“And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs liked up his blood.”  Just as Elijah had prophesied.


Ahaziah, his son reigned in his place. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, King Ahab, and in the way of his mother, Queen Jezebel. He served Baal and worshiped the pagan gods. He provoked the LORD, the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father did.


.


Meanwhile, in the south, King Jehoshaphat continued to reign over Judah. (We’ll learn some good things about him tomorrow from 2 Chronicles 19-23.  He continued to clean up the pagan worship that his father King Asa had begun.)


Jehoshaphat eventually died and HIS son, Jehoram reigned in his place. Jehoram was exceedingly wicked, and you will find out why (below) and how (tomorrow’s reading).  


.


2 Chronicles 18.


Here are a few interesting details on the story above about King Ahab in the north, and King Jehoshaphat in the south going to battle together for Ramoth-Gilead.


Jehoshaphat had GREAT RICHES and honor.  He – STUPIDLY!!! – made a marriage alliance with king Ahab.  (Ah ha! … now we see why the southern king was willing to go to war with Ahab against the Syrians.)  Jehoshaphat had arranged for his son, Jehoram, to marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab & Jezebel.


And the fall out of this union nearly wiped out the godly line of David through whom the Messiah Jesus would come!!! We’ll see that tomorrow.


.


###


.


Day 181 – 2 Chronicles 19.


When King Jehoshaphat returned to Judah after that narrow escape with the Syrians and the death of Ahab, he was met by Hanani, a prophet of God, for a thorough scolding. 


“Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?”  (Yes, it did seem strange that he would help the wicked King Ahab fight the Syrians … until we learned that his son had married Ahab’s daughter.  There was a political obligation there.)


Hanani told the king of Judah that he SHOULD be punished … but that, “some” good had been found in him. He’d gotten rid of the pagan Asherah poles, and … MORE IMPORTANTLY, Jehoshaphat had “set his heart to seek the LORD.”  After that …


    

  • He went out to the people in his land and “brought them back to the LORD, the God of their Fathers”.
    • 

  • He appointed judges in all the fortified cities and reminded them that the LORD was watching them. They should make sure there was no injustice or bribery.
    • 

  • He appointed special Levites in Jerusalem to decide disputed cases.
    • 



.


2 Chronicles 20.


And then, a threat of war came to Judah (south). The descendants of Israel’s old relatives: (Moab & Ammon, both from Abraham’s nephew Lot) and Edom (descended from Jacob’s twin, Esau) joined together. They came around the south end of the Dead Sea, with the plan to de-throne Jehoshaphat.


Thankfully, the king did not call on the wicked kings in the north to help him, but “set his face to seek the LORD.” He proclaimed a fast for all his people. And prayed this prayer;


    

  • “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven?  You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You.  Did You not, our God, drive out the in habitants of this land before Your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, Your friend?
    • 

  • “And they have lived in it, and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying, “If disaster comes upon us (the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine), we will stand before this house and before You (for Your Name is in this house) and cry out to you in our affliction, You will hear and save!
    • 

  • “And now behold, the men of AMMON, MOAB, and MOUNT SEIR, whom Your would not let Israel invade when we came up from Egypt – Behold, they “reward us” by coming to drive us out of Your possession.
    • 

  • “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them?  For WE ARE POWERLESS AGAINST THIS GREAT HORDE that is coming against us. “WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!  But our eyes are on You.”
    • 



**** (Oh, my goodness, what a prayer!  What if WE should pray this way, with such dependence on God!  What if modern Israel would pray this way, in total dependance on the LORD, their God! How would YOU respond, O LORD our God?)


As all Israel, with the little children and women, stood before the LORD, the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahazel, a descendent of Asaph, the Levite. And he said,


    

  • “LISTEN, all Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the LORD. “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S.”
    • 

  • “Tomorrow go down against them.  YOU WILL NOT NEED TO FIGHT IN THIS BATTLE.  Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD, on YOUR behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.
    • 

  • “DO NOT BE AFRAID AND DO NOT BE DISMAYED.  Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you!”
    • 



Jehoshaphat, all Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping Him. They praised the LORD, the God of Israel with a very loud voice.


And they arose early in the morning and went out to meet the horde. Jehoshaphat stood and encouraged them. “Hear me, Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, an you will be established. Believe the prophet and you will succeed.


AND THEN … Jehoshaphat appointed singers to sing and praise the LORD, as the went before the army.


“Give thanks to the LORD, FOR His steadfast love endures forever.”


And when they BEGAN to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, so that they were routed.  They each destroyed one another!!!!!  Dead bodies all around. None escaped.


WOW!


Jehoshaphat and the people came to take the spoil and found GREAT NUMBERS of goods, clothing, precious things – which they took for themselves until they could carry no more.


They returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 


And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.  So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet … for his God gave him rest all around.


.


At the end of his life, King Jehoshaphat joined in a venture to build a shipping fleet to Tarshish – with Israel’s wicked King Ahaziah (north).  But God destroyed all the ships because of this ungodly alignment.


Eventually Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the City of David (the southern part of Jerusalem, below the Temple Mount and palace).


.


2 Chronicles 21.


Jehoshaphat’s first-born son, Jehoram (the one he’d arranged a marriage with wicked Ahab/Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah), ascended the throne.  HE WAS NOTHING LIKE HIS GODLY FATHER!  Immediately, he killed all his brothers, six in all, plus some of the princes of Israel (north), to assure his place in the kingdom.  (These men, were the lineage of “the house of David” through whom God had promised the reigning Messiah. Jehoram killed them all!) 


And yet God did not destroy him, even though he did what was totally evil in His sight, for God was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the Covenant He’d made with David. God had promised “a lamp to him and to his sons forever.”  But what about this totally evil man of darkness???


Do not fear. God is Sovereign over all.


But meanwhile Jehoram grew worse. He made high places for pagan worship. He led Judah into whoredom and made them go astray.


Elijah the prophet sent him a letter from the north. “Because you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel (north) and have enticed Judah into whoredom, and killed your brothers, I, the LORD, will bring a great plague on your people, children, wives, possessions and YOU YOURSELF will have a severe sickness of your bowels, until them come out of your body.”


WHOA! (Leave it to Elijah to terrify!)


God stirred up the Philistines against Jehoram, and the Arabians, and they came and invaded Judah and carried away Jehoram’s possessions, his sons, and his wives. (Only Jehoahaz, his youngest son remained.)


Then God struck him with that dreaded bowel disease, an incurable disease.  In two years’ time all his bowels came out and Jehoram died IN GREAT AGONY. 


No one regretted his departure. He was buried in the city of David, BUT NOT IN THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS.


.


2 Chronicles 22.


So, Ahaziah/Jehoahaz, Jehoram’s youngest son reigned. He walked in the ways of his grandfather, King Ahab (north), for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedness. 


God ordained his downfall through His appointed Jehu, whom God had appointed to destroy the house of Ahab. (Remember, that was one responsibility the old prophet, Elijah had, to anoint Jehu.)  And Jehu did that – he killed Ahaziah/Jehoahaz and all the remaining princes of Ahab.


Now, there was no one able to rule the Kingdom of Judah.  


Why?  Because the wicked mother (daughter of Ahab) destroyed all the royal family of Judah. She proclaimed herself queen – but nobody took her reign seriously.


WAS JUDAH WIPED OUT?


WAS THERE TO BE NO SEED OF DAVID LEFT TO COME AS MESSIAH?


WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PROMISES?


But … there was a woman named Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, and the wife of the priest, Jehoiada.  She went into the “nursery” and carried away the very youngest son of the king, less than 1-year-old Josiah, AND HID HIM FROM HIS WICKED GRANDMOTHER. 


Josiah, the SEED OF DAVID, the “lamp of Israel,” lay hidden in a cradle. He stayed with the godly couple for six years, while Athaliah “reigned” over the land.   


****(Doesn’t this remind you of how God kept the baby Jesus safe from King Herod when he sent Joseph and Mary to Egypt?)


.


2 Chronicles 23.


Finally the time had come.


Josiah was seven years old.


He’d been trained by the priest, who now took courage.


Jehoida gathered the commanders of the army. They went through Judah and gathered the Levites from all their cities, as well as the fathers of the houses of Israel.


Jehoida showed them the boy-king, Josiah and said, “Behold, the king’s son! Let him reign as the LORD spoke concerning the sons of David.”


Then Jehoida revealed his carefully-though-out plan.  All the Levites and priests who had come off duty were divided into thirds and placed around the House of the Lord at the gates. “NO ONE MAY ENTER EXCEPT THE MINISTERING PRIESTS.” 


“Surround the king, each with his weapon in his hand.  Anyone approaching shall be killed.  Be with the king at all times.”


THEN, he brought out Josiah, the king’s son and placed the crown on his head.  “Long live the king!”


.


YIKES!  When Queen Athaliah heard the noise, she went to see what was happening and saw the young king. 


She tore her clothes and cried, “TREASON! TREASON!”


Jehoida commanded the captains to seize her. “Take her out of the court of the House of the Lord, and kill her!”  They led her through the horse gate of the king’s house and… did the deed.  The end of that wicked Ahab/Jezebel line … except for Josiah, whom the LORD had chosen to carry David’s seed.  WHEW!


.


Jehoida made a covenant between himself, the people, and the young king, that they ‘should be the LORD’s people.   He saw to it that the altars and images of Baal were destroyed. He reinstituted the sacrifices and offerings that Moses wrote about in the LAW.


Then he took the young boy king from the house of the LORD to the king’s house.  They set him on the ROYAL THRONE.  All the people rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed.


.


****(WOW. What a long tale of evil and good.  God is ALWAYS in control. HE is sovereign. He will fight for His people.  He will see that not a word of his prophecy EVER fails. His covenants are sure. HE IS GOD, and KING, and the LORD of Hosts forever and ever. Glory be to His name!)


 




 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 179


					
Jun28
			


	

		
Day 179.  Reading 1 Kings 20-21








 


Read today’s Scriptures.




1 Kings 20….


…tells a surprisingly good story about the wicked King Ahab.  Until the last part, that is.


We see King Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, again in this chapter. (Syria is the country just north-east of Israel, with Damascus as the capital.) (This map also shows the two places Elijah stayed during the drought, and Mt. Carmel, where the great “showdown” happened. Samaria is the capital of Israel, where Ahab lives.) 



 


 


Remember, in Chapter 15, King Asa (south) had paid Ben-Hadad a large amount of gold and silver from the temple, to harass King Basha (north) so he’d stop fortifying the border. The Syrian King had agreed. Now, it seems, Ben-Hadad was sure King Ahab could also be easily defeated.


“Hey, King Ahab, give me your silver and gold and the best of your wives and children.” 


“Okay, sure,” said Ahab.


Then Ben-Hadad got greedy. “I will send my servants to you tomorrow, and they will search your house and take whatever pleases them.”


“Um, no! The gold and silver and best wives and kids I will do, but NOT THAT,” sent back King Ahab.


“Okay, then. It’s war!”


“Make my day!” replied Ahab.


Now, here is the strange part.  A prophet of God came to Ahab and told him that he would get the victory, “So you will know that I am the LORD.”  Ahab got some military instructions from the prophet, and at noon they went out to confront King Ben-Hadad’s army.


The Syrian king was drunk, however, and commanded, “If they come in peace, TAKE THEM ALIVE!  But if they come out for war …. TAKE THEM ALIVE!”  (Huh?)


Ben-Hadad didn’t have the chance to do either, because King Ahab struck his forces a “very great blow!” The Syrians fled and Ben-hadad escaped on a horse.


The prophet of God told King Ahab to rest up, for in the Spring the king of Syria would be back.  (Now, the Syrians believed that Israel’s God was only a god of the hills. That’s why they were defeated.  Next time they would bring lots of chariots and fight on the plains.  The Jewish God would be defeated there.)


Oh, Syria.  You’ve a lot to learn!!


So, in the spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to fight against Israel … in the plains. The army of Israel that encamped before them was as “two little flocks of goats” compared to the Syrians who filled the country.  (Hahaha. Oh, Ben-Hadad, did you never hear of David and Goliath??)


The prophet of God came to Ahab and said, “BECAUSE the Syrians claim the LORD is only a god of the hills, I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and YOU SHALL KNOW that I am the LORD.”


And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100K foot soldiers in one day.  When the rest fled to a town, the wall fell on them and 27K more were killed.  Ben-Hadad hid deep in the town and sent a message to King Ahab, “Please let me live.“


AND HERE IS WHERE KING AHAB WENT WRONG.  God had “devoted the Syrian king to destruction,” meaning he was to be killed.  But King Ahab thought it would be cool not to kill him.


“He’s alive? He’s “my brother!” he said.


“Yes! Your brother, Ben-Hadad!”


“Go, bring him out.”


When the Syrian king was brought out, King Ahab invited him up into his own chariot. And the two kings made a trade deal between their countries. And …. Ahab let him go.


LATER…


The prophet of God came to King Ahab with a bit of play-acting, but then told him.  “Because you have let go the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore YOUR life shall be for HIS life, and YOUR people for HIS people.”  Dire news indeed.  Instead of the Syrians and their king under this law, now Ahab and Israel would be “devoted to destruction.”


Ahab, went home, vexed and sullen.  


.


1 Kings 21.


King Ahab’s boredom caused him to sin.  He saw a lovely vineyard that he coveted for himself. It belonged to another, but he WANTED it, and the obsession grew. 


 (Oh, my goodness, this reminds me of our favorite King David.  


Idleness is a TERRIBLE sin. 


It leads to much worse sin. 


Desire and lust and a flame in the belly, which James 1:14-15  says leads to death.


Watch out for it!!)


Ahab at first proposed to Naboth, the vineyard’s owner, that he give it to the king, in exchange for a “better vineyard.”  Or… he could sell it to Ahab, who would give him the vineyard’s value in money.” 


Reasonable, right?  NOT!


What Ahab neglected to realize in his coveting, is that the men of Israel had their land as a divine allotment from God.  They were not to sell/give it to someone outside their tribe.  He said “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”


Ahab “lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.”  


Really??  What a spoiled-brat!!


Enter his wicked wife, Jezebel.  “Hey, Hubby.  What’s wrong?”


“Naboth won’t give me his vineyard!”


“ARE YOU NOT THE KING OF ISRAEL!” she said.  “Get up, eat some bread, be happy!  I’ll get the vineyard for you!’


And the wicked Jezebel set into motion her wicked plan.  She defamed Naboth before of the town council, and tricked them into condemning the innocent vineyard owner. They killed him and sent a sweet note to the Queen.


“Naboth has been stoned. He is dead.”


And so, she skipped into King Ahab’s room with the news, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”   And quickly, without any questions, Ahab got dressed and went down and took possession of it.


Sick!  And after all God had done for the king!


And God sent His top man, Elijah, to condemn the king.  “Arise, Elijah, go down and meet Ahab king of Israel in the vineyard of Naboth.


With this gruesome prophecy.


    

  • “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs liked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick up YOUR blood.”
    • 



“Oh, my enemy!  You have found me!” said Ahab to Elijah.


And the LORD’s message continued.


    

  • “I have found you because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD. 
    • 

  • I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab EVERY MALE, bond or free in Israel.   
    • 

  • And….. of Jezebel, the dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel. 
    • 

  • Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”   
    • 



(And oh, wow, you will read about this happening in 2 Kings 9:10, 30-37.)


(“There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.  He acted very abominably in going after idols.”)


And here’s another VERY INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT. Ahab tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. (This was not his usual pouting.)  In the Old Testament, this is a sign of REPENTANCE.  Was it sincere? 


God saw this evil, weak, man’s heart. “Because he has humbled himself before me,” said the LORD. “I will not bring this disaster in his days, but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.”


.


(Wow. There is hope for you and me.  God sees a person’s heart. He knows if repentance is real. He knows if we truly will humble ourselves before Him.  O, my heart, fall on your knees before the all wise, living God. He is merciful to save.)


 


 







			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 178


					
Jun27
			


	

		
Day 178.  Reading 1 Kings 17-19








Read the Scripture chapters.


The mighty prophet, Elijah: How does he illustrate trust in God?


 


1 Kings 17.


Here’s a refresher on this wicked king.


Yesterday, we learned a little about King Ahab (north) and his wife Queen Jezebel.  Ahab did EVIL in the sight of the LORD, MORE THAN ALL WHO WERE BEFORE HIM. He took Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king (and priest of Baal) in Sidon. Ahab served Baal and worshiped him, and erected an altar for him in Samaria. AHAB DID MORE TO PROVOKE THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, TO ANGER THAN ALL THE KINGS OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIM. 


And today…


Enter the prophet Elijah, from Tishbe.  Boldly, he approached the evil king, “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.”


Not good news. 


“Get out of town, now,” is basically what God said to Elijah.  Where? “Depart from here (Samaria) and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.”  (about 25 miles away)  Elijah would have water from the brook (until it dried up), and the Ravens would feed him bread and meat each morning and evening.


(Ever wonder what kind of bread? Or meat? A raven might bring?  I just read a story about a Raven in England that became a pest to tourists, for it would snatch food from their hands, pacifiers from babies’ mouths, or grab toys, iPhones, small cameras, or golf balls and fly off with them.  Imagine now some pita-type bread cooling on a ledge, dried fish in a basket, fried locusts on a plate….  NOTHING non-Kosher, of course.)


Anyway, Elijah hid and ate these gifts as the rest of Israel began to swelter and thirst.  Crops withered, ponds and drinking holes dried up. Cattle & sheep began to die.   AHAB IS GETTING VERY ANGRY!


Meanwhile, the Cherith Brook also dried up, and God sent Elijah north to the Mediterranean coast to the town of Zarephath, right near (get this) Sidon, Jezebel’s own family territory.  God led him to a Gentile widow living there with her son, and possibly some household staff. 


He asked her to bring him some water. (Reminds me of Jesus and the woman at the well.)   She agreed, and as she was going, Elijah called after her, “Oh, and bring me a morsel of bread to eat as well.”


Can you imagine her look as she turned back to him?  “Are you kidding?  I have only a mere handful of flour and a drop of oil in this jug.  I was going to make a tiny morsel for my son and me to eat, and THEN WE ARE GOING TO DIE!”


Elijah: “Don’t be afraid. FIRST, make me a little cake to eat, THEN something for your son and yourself.   (There’s a lesson here. Do you see it? Did she?)  I imagine the woman standing there with her mouth agape.


And Elijah continues, “For thus says the LORD, the God of ISRAEL. “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”   I imagine the woman still standing a minute longer, taking in his words, perhaps glancing at the bag and jar.  Then, turning and doing what Elijah asked.  And she and her household ate for MANY days.  WOW!


Faith and obedience work miracles, even for a Gentile woman living in a pagan land.  And can you imagine her testimony?  AND, the MIRACLE that was soon to happen?  


****(Jesus mentions this woman and her story to the men in the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4:24-26. (Read it!)


Oh, the miracle?  The widow’s son got sick and died.  She brought his body down to Elijah and asked (much like we would), “Is this what I get for believing your words of Israel’s God and taking care of you?  My son has died!”


But Elijah – the prophet of that great God – took the boy, earnestly prayed for him, and life returned to his body!! Joy again was in that household!


James 5:16. “Confess your sins to one another and PRAY for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power and is working.”


And the thrilled, relieved, thankful widow said, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is true.”


.


1 Kings 18.


A new message from God, three years into the drought.  “Elijah, Go, show yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”


Elijah obeyed.


Meanwhile, Ahab was very angry at Elijah. His wife, Jezebel, was killing all the prophets of God in an attempt to get Elijah.  A godly man in their household, one Obadiah, took 100 of the prophets and hid them in caves.  He fed them bread and water (from the king’s house??)


Ahab and Obadiah went out on a search for some springs and grass for the king’s horses and mules, one each way.  As Obadiah went, Elijah met him. 


“Is that YOU, my lord?” Obadiah asked.


“It is I.” said Elijah. “Go tell your lord, ‘Behold Elijah is here.”


“WHAT???  Do you want me dead??  There has been no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you, to no avail.  And NOW, you say, Go tell him that Elijah is here.  As soon as I go, the Spirit of the LORD will whisk you away, and he will kill me!”


“Calm down, brother,” Elijah said. “I will surely show myself to him today.”


Obadiah found and told Ahab.


Ahab met Elijah. “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”


“I HAVE NOT TROUBLED ISRAEL, BUT YOU HAVE…BECAUSE YOU HAVE ABANDONED THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD AND FOLLOWED BAALS” answered Elijah in Godly anger.


“Now, send and gather all of Israel to me at Mount Carmel… AND the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets at Asherah, who sit at Jezebel’s table.”


(And Ahad did.)


Elijah to the people:  HOW long will halt between God and Baal.  Follow God, or follow Baal. 


Silence from the people.


Elijah: “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but you have 450 men of Baal.  Let’s have a contest.  And the God who answers with FIRE, He is God.” 


“Good idea,” said the people. 


And so the contest ensues. You know the details, two bulls were prepared on the altars. The prophets of Baal wailed and wept and called and prayed and cut themselves for hours and hours. (Perhaps he was going to the bathroom and couldn’t hear! haha)


NOTHING.


When it was Elijah’s turn, he drenched the bull and wood with four jars of water, THREE TIMES. (This, in a time of scarcity of water!)   


Then, no shouting or cutting himself, or dancing around. Just a prayer for God’s glory. “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that YOU are God in Israel.”  


THEN THE FIRE OF THE LORD FELL and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water in the trench. 


And the people fell on their faces, “The LORD, he is God!”


Then ….. Elijah had them seize all the prophets of Baal, and he slaughtered them, down by the brook Kishon.   Jezebel had killed the prophets of God (Verse 13), now Elijah killed her prophets.


Then, “Hey, Ahab, you better go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rushing rain.  Get home before it hits full force!”  THEN ELIJAH PRAYED FOR RAIN.


James 5:17-18. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three and a half years it did not rain on the earth.  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”


Ahab drove his chariot furiously to Jezreel. (before the wheels could get mired in mud).


The hand of the LORD was on Elijah and he out ran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.


.


1 Kings 19.


And, oh boy, was Jezebel mad!!  “I will kill Elijah by tomorrow, or may the gods kill me!”


And… our mighty, fearless, Elijah … WAS AFRAID!  What?  He got up and ran for his life, all the way to Beersheba. (about 100 miles!!!!)  And then a day’s journey into the wilderness. 


He prayed that God would kill him. 


He slept, then and angel woke him and fed him some food and water.


Then he fell back to sleep.


Later the angel woke him and fed him more food and water.  (On the strength of THAT food, Elijah went forty days and nights, all the way to Mt. Horeb (Sinai), the Mount of God.)  SERIOUSLY??


And God spoke to him, encouraged him. A fierce wind, a rough earthquake, and a fire came, “but God was not in them.  INSTEAD, God spoked to Elijah with a low whisper.  BUT ELIJAH HEARD IT.


(Another lesson here, if we could find it.)


God encouraged him by saying he wasn’t alone – there 7,000 more in God’s service in Israel.


God encouraged him by giving him more work to do.


    

  • He had to anoint Hazael in Damascus as king over Syria.
    • 

  • He had to anoint Jehu as king over Israel.
    • 

  • He had to take on Elisha as his apprentice to take over when he was gone.
    • 



Encouraged, refreshed, and empowered, Elijah left there and found Elisha.  Elijah threw his cloak on Elisha, and after offering sacrifices, Elisha arose, went with Elijah, and assisted him.


A new life for Elijah.


    

  • At first hidden away, ministering to a single woman
    • 

  • Then a great, grand exhibition of God’s power over evil.
    • 

  • And the execution of hundreds of false prophets
    • 

  • A fast run, a terrified run, and a very long walk to meet God at Sinai
    • 

  • Refreshment, newly commissioned
    • 

  • Ready to serve again.
    • 



.


****(Yes, I wrote this out in story form. It’s longer, but I hope you, like me, got to know Elijah more deeply.  And I pray we have learned the lessons that he, and those around him, did.)


 














			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 177


					
Jun26
			


	

		
Day 177.  Reading 1 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 17.








 


Read the Scriptures.


What are you discovering about the Kings of Israel/Judah?


How can you pray for your own country with these sins?


1 Kings 16.


I skipped a brief reign of Nadab, Jeroboam’s son in 1 Kings 15 yesterday. In the second year of King Asa in Judah (south), Nadab reigned in Israel (north). He did EVIL in the sight of God, just like Jeroboam had.  A man named Basha (house of Issachar), conspired against him and killed him in Philistine territory where they’d been fighting.


Basha then reigned in his place. And, as per prophecy (1 Kings14:9-11), he killed all the house of Jeroboam, leaving “none that breathed.”


King Basha (north) then reigned 24 years, and did EVIL in God’s sight.


Now, to chapter 16.


Because of his evilness, King Basha (north) also had a prophecy of utter destruction against him.  And so, King Basha died, and Elah his son reigned in his place.  In the 26th hear of the southern King Asa’s reign, King Elah (north) began to reign.  He made it two years,  But the Zimri, commander of half of his chariots, conspired against him.  When Elah was at a friend’s house, drunk as a skunk, Zimri came in and killed him.  Zimri then became the new (northern) king.  He also then killed all the remaining relatives of the house of Basha – as prophesied because of Basha’s and Elah’s sin.


King Zimri (north) reigned seven DAYS.  The troops still down in Philistine territory heard this, and made Omri  their “commander-in-chief.  When Zimri heard about it he went into the king’s house, set aflame and died inside.  WHOA!


So, after a power struggle with one Tibni, Omri became the new northern King. (King Asa still was reigning in Judah (south).)  King Omri reigned in the north for twelve years.  Halfway through his reign, he moved the capital to Samaria.  He also “did what was EVIL” in God’s sight.  He died and …. AHAB, his son, reigned in his place in the northern kingdom.


King Ahab reigned 22 years, and did “evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, he took his wife, JEZEBEL, the daughter of the Sidonian king (and priest of Baal) and worshiped him. Ahab erected an altar to Baal in Samaria, and made an Asherah (female version of Baal).  HE DID THOSE THINGS TO PROVOKE THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL TO ANGER, more than all the kings of Israel before him.


And, interestingly, during Ahab’s reign, a man named Hiel REBUILT JERICHO. If you remember in Joshua 6:29, Joshua cursed anyone who rebuilt that city, saying that it would be at the cost of the man’s first born and youngest sons.  That prophecy was fulfilled, but Jericho was rebuilt.


.


2 Chronicles 17.


Meanwhile in the south, remember the long-reigning King Asa of Judah finally died from that stinky feet disease.  His son, Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.  The LORD was with King Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David.  He did not seek Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments.  THEREFORE, God established the kingdom in his hand.


He fortified the cities along the Judah-Israel boarder in Ephraim that his father had captured.


More significantly, in his third year of reign, he sent his officials, and with them the Levites, into the cities of Judah to teach them the Book of the Law of the LORD.  And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the land – that were AROUND Judah – and they made no war against King Jehoshaphat.


Some of the Philistines even came to King Jehoshaphat with gifts of silver, and the Arabians brought rams and goats as tribute. 


(This reminds me of Proverbs 16:7, that says, “If a man’s ways please the LORD, even his enemies are at peace with him.”)


Jehoshaphat built garrisons and store cities. His army was great and full of mighty men of valor.


(Why, oh why, don’t we always seek to please and honor and glorify the LORD.  What benefits!)


.


(Jehoshaphat DOES make a major mistake, however, which we’ll cover on Sunday.)


 


List of north/south kings: