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2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 186

Jul4

    Day 186—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading, continuing with the history of Israel (North and South)

    Day 186 – 2 Kings 12 – 13, 2 Chronicles 24. (confusing kings – Jehoash, Joash, Jehoahaz, Jehoash 2, Joash)

2 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 24.  Jehoash/Joash, at seven years old, begins to reign in the southern kingdom of Judah. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD during the days of his mentor, the priest Jehoiada. 

He instigated repairs to the Temple but had to take matters into his own hands when the Levites were slow to do this. He had an “offering chest” made where the people could directly give toward the repairs. The people responded willingly.

Then Hazael, king of Syria, attacked and took Gath, a city of Philistia, to Judah’s west. He then looked to attack Jerusalem, but Joash took all the sacred gifts and gold from the king’s house and gave them to Hazael. Satisfied, he went away. 

The old priest finally died and was buried among the kings in the City of David because he had done “good” in Israel. After his death, the princes of Judah came in and influenced the king to abandon the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and serve Asherim and idols. God sent prophets with warnings, but none were heeded. 

Then Zechariah, the son of the “good” priest, called out to them, “Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you!”  But shamefully, by Joash’s own command, Zechariah was stoned to death in the temple court. 

The Syrians then sent a small army against Judah (in judgment). They destroyed all the princes, wounded Joash, and took spoils to their king. Then, the king’s servants (who happened to be an Ammonite and a Moabite), who supported the godly priest and his son, killed Joash in his bed. They buried him in the City of David but not among the kings. He had reigned for 40 years.  His son, Amaziah, became king.

 

2 Kings 13.  Back in Israel in the north, Jehoahaz, the son of that bloody Jehu who had annihilated Ahab’s line, began to reign in Israel. Like all the kings in the north, he did evil in the sight of the LORD.  In judgment, the LORD caused Hazael, then Ben-Hadad, the kings of Syria, to attack and harass them continually. 

Jehoahaz temporarily turned to the LORD for help, and God was gracious and gave them “a savior.” This could have been Elisha, who often caused Israel’s success by telling them what the enemy was doing, or it might have been the Assyrian king, whose attack on Syria, caused them to withdraw from Israel. In either case, it was God who arranged it.

Nevertheless, Jehoahaz stuck to his evil ways. He died after a 17-year reign, and his son, Joash (not to be confused with the 7-year-old king in Judah), reigned in his place. This Joash reigned for 16 years and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

Now, Elisha, that mighty prophet in Israel, got sick with the illness he would die from.  King Joash of Israel came to him about the attacks from Syria. Through some “object lessons” involving shooting arrows and striking the ground with arrows, Elisha shows him that Israel will have victory over Syria… but only three times. 

Then Elisha died, and they buried him. But the miracles of the prophet weren’t done yet!  As another man was being buried, a marauding band of Moabites appeared. The grave diggers quickly threw the dead man into Elisha’s grave.  When the body touched Elisha’s bones, he was immediately resurrected!! WHOA!

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 180

Jun28
   Day 180—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue with the history of Israel.

 Day 180 – 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18. (Both of these chapters tell of the end of King Ahab.)

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, the southern kingdom, made a marriage pact with Ahab, king of Israel, the northern kingdom.

(Big mistake! 2 Kings 8:18 says that the son Jehoshaphat married off to Ahab’s daughter, “walked in the ways of Ahab, doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”)

In-laws now, Jehoshaphat visited Ahab and agreed to go to war with Syria with him. But first, the godly Jehoshaphat wanted to inquire of the LORD concerning the battle.  Ahab brought out his 400 prophets.

(These could have been the 400 prophets of Asherah that “ate at Jezebel’s table,” who were on Mt. Carmel when Elijah showed who was the REAL God by fire from heaven, but who escaped being killed when Elijah slaughtered the prophets of Baal. See 1 Kings 18:17-18 and 40.)

These 400 prophets all said Ahab should go to battle because he would be victorious. However, Jehoshaphat was suspicious of all the duplicate messages and asked if there was ANOTHER prophet. Ahab said there was, but he didn’t like Micaiah because that prophet always had terrible news for him. Nevertheless, the prophet of the LORD was brought, and he said that Ahab WOULD DIE in battle.

400 to 1?  Nope. Ahab wouldn’t listen to Micaiah and put him in jail “till I return safely.” Ha!

And off the two kings went to fight the Syrian despot. Just before entering the fray, Ahab told Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but YOU wear your robes.”

What?? Surely Jehoshaphat saw through that ploy!  But no, the southern king rode out in his royal chariot in his royal robes and crown. Then he wondered why all the enemy chariots and arrows were aimed at HIM!  “Help, LORD!” he cried, and God drew them away.

Then, a random soldier shot a random arrow in a random direction… and it struck the disguised King Ahab between his breastplate and his shoulder chainmail and mortally wounded him. As his chariot driver raced him out of the war zone, Ahab’s blood poured out on the chariot floor…until he died.

As Micaiah, the prophet of the LORD, said.

And as had been prophesied by Elijah, when the workers washed Ahab’s blood from the chariot by the pool of Samaria, dogs came and licked it up. (1 Kings 21:19)

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AHAZIAH, son of Ahab, began to reign in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat’s reign.  He reigned for TWO YEARS. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of this father and mother, Jezebel, who walked in the way of Jeroboam. Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal and provoked the LORD to anger in every way.

Jehoshaphat reigned for 25 years, walking in the way of his father, Asa, and doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. He died and was buried in the city of David. JEHORAM, his son (married to a daughter of Ahab), reigned in his place.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 179

Jun27

   Day 179—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue in the History of Israel.

 Day 179 – 1 Kings 20 – 21. (More about King Ahab, Jezebel, and Elijah)

In 1 Kings 20, Ben-Hadad II, king of Syria, Israel’s enemy to the north-east, along with thirty-two of his chieftains, attacked the Northern kingdom’s capital city and demanded surrender.  King Ahab agreed to their taking tribute in general but refused to allow Ben-Hadad to ransack his palace.

There were “fighting words,” and the two nations prepared for war. Then, an unnamed prophet of God came to Ahab and told him Israel would succeed, but he was to attack immediately.  It was lunchtime, and Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk, as were his 32 chieftains. Ahab attacked, and all the Syrians ran away.

The prophet told Ahab they would return in the Spring, so prepare. He did, and although Israel’s army looked like two little flocks of goats, they fought the Syrian army and struck down 100K men! Twenty-seven thousand escaped to the city of Aphek, but a wall fell on them and killed them all.

Ben-Hadad got away, then dressed in sackcloth and begged for mercy from King Ahab.  INSTEAD OF KILLING HIM, as the LORD wanted, Ahab made friends with the defeated king and even sealed some business deals with him between Samaria and Damascus.  The prophet returned to Ahab and condemned his actions, saying that now Ahab and Israel would pay for it with their lives.

“And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen.” 20:43

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1 Kings 21.  Still moping around the house, one day, King Ahab looked out his window at his neighbor’s beautiful vineyard. He coveted it for a veggie garden that would be so near his kitchen.

“Give me your vineyard…. and I will give you a better vineyard, or, if you like, I will give you its value in money.” the king said to neighbor Naboth.

“Nope. It’s my inheritance from my fathers.” (land allotted to tribes and families upon conquering the promised land), said Naboth (entirely in his right).

So Ahab went to bed, turned his face to the wall, and sulked.  He would not even eat!  What a spoiled brat!

Then, along comes the baby-spoiler, the queen herself.  Maybe patting his back, she says, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you don’t eat?”

“Because Naboth won’t give me his vineyard, sniff, sniff.”

“Aren’t you the KING? Get up and eat,” commanded the wicked Jezebel. “I’ll get that vineyard for you,”  

And she does, by falsely accusing Naboth of cursing God and King and condemning him to death by stoning. (She was devious and had a couple worthless men do the accusing.)  Regardless, she got the vineyard for Ahab.  Ahab was gleeful and immediately went outside to look over “his” vineyard.

Meanwhile, God had instructed Elijah to go to Ahab in the vineyard and give him this curse, “Thus says the LORD, ‘In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick YOUR own blood.'”

“You have found me, O my enemy,” said Ahab.

“I have found you because you do what is evil in the sight of the LORD.” He says, “Behold, I will bring disaster on you. I will utterly burn you up and will cut off from you, Ahab, every male in Israel….”   “And about Jezebel, the dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.”

Shock of all shocks!!! Ahab repents. He tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, fasts, and mourns. Wow.

And Israel’s omnipotent, Almighty, and Holy God shows mercy to this wicked king.  “Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days, but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster to his house.’  Double-wow!

James 4:6b.  “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 177

Jun25

   Day 177—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and reading the history of Israel. All the kings in the north were evil in the sight of the LORD, while in the south, a few were pleasing to him, but most also did evil.

 Day 177 – 1 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 17. (FIVE kings in the northern kingdom; ONE king in the south)

1 Kings 16 describes five kings of Israel in rapid succession, each worse than the former. Baasha became king after killing King Nadab and the entire “house of Jeroboam,” which fulfilled prophecy. Baasha was from the tribe of Issachar and reigned wickedly for 24 years. 

The prophet Jehu came to King Baasha and said that God would wipe him and his entire family off the map because of his sins. Baasha died, and his son Elah reigned for two years. One day, when Elah was drunk, Zimri, the commander of half his army, came in and killed him and became king in his place. As soon as Zimri began to reign, he killed all of Baasha’s family AND all of his friends, fulfilling the word of the LORD via Jehu. 

Zimri must have done a quick job of it because he reigned only seven days. The rest of the troops and all of Israel made Omri king in his place.  When Zimri saw this, he went into the king’s house, set it afire while he was inside, and died.  Suicide. 

King Omri reigned twelve years, fortified a few cities, and made Samaria the capital of Israel. But he did evil in the sight of the LORD even MORE than those before him. When Omri died, his son Ahab became King.  Ahab did more to provoke the LORD than all the kings before him, but his wife, Jezebel, far outdid him in wickedness. 

Side note:  A fulfillment of prophecy is mentioned in 16:34. It says that the city of Jericho was rebuilt during Ahab’s reign but that Hiel, the builder, lost both his oldest and his youngest sons in the construction. This fulfilled the prophecy of Joshua 6:26 to the letter.

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2 Chronicles 17 describes the godly king Jehoshaphat, who reigned 25 years in Judah (the southern kingdom).

After his father Asa (diseased severely in his feet) died and was cremated, Jehoshaphat came to the throne. Verses 3-6 say, “The LORD was with 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, not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore, the LORD established his kingdom in his hand.”  “His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD.”

In King Jehoshaphat’s third year of reign, he sent his officials and the Levites around Judah to teach “the book of the Law of the LORD.” “And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.”

(This reminds me of Proverbs 16:7. “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 170

Jun18

   Day 170—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading.  Today we are reading in ECCLESIASTES.

 Day 170 – Ecclesiastes 1 – 6. (The words of “the Preacher,” the son of David, king in Jerusalem)

This is the third book of Solomon’s “wisdom.”  Whereas the Song of Solomon seems to have been written in his youth, and Proverbs in his middle years, Ecclesiastes seems to have been written after most of his life is past, in the “evil days of old age.” (See 12:1) 

Thirty-eight times, he sighs and proclaims that “all is vanity” (vapor, nothingness).  Ecclesiastes 1:2. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

It seems then that Solomon takes a survey to test himself. He tries “everything under the sun” to see if it lasts and is good. 

First is PLEASURE. He tries everything he can imagine – wine, women, and song. He built houses and vineyards, gardens and parks, fruit orchards, and pools. He possessed slaves, herds, and flocks more than any other person. He gathered silver and gold and the treasure of kings. He gained prestige and honor. WHATEVER his eyes desired, he acquired.  

2:11. “…and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Next, Solomon tries wise living and hard work. He discovers that in the end, both the fool and the wise man die and are forgotten. 2:17-18. “So I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after the wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?”

But we see a glimpse of “sanity” in 2:24-26.  “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. THS ALSO I SAW is from the hand of God, for apart from Him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases Him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy…”

Chapter 3 begins with the well-known comparison of seasons.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

3:20. “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.” 

In Chapter 4, Solomon looks at all the evil under the sun. “I saw all the oppression done under the sun. And behold the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead were more fortunate than the living who are still alive.”

4:13. “Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.”

5:10. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them.” 

5:12. “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”,

5:18, 19b-20.“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.  ...and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 168 & 169

Jun17

    Day 168 & 169—We are in our sixth month of Bible reading. Praise God!

(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)

    Day 168 – Proverbs 25 – 26 (King Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs)

25:6-7. Both Luke 14:8-10 (Jesus) and James 4:7-10 mention this truth. It’s better to take a lower place and be invited to “Come up” than to assume grandeur and be embarrassed when asked to take a lower seat.   Yes, pride does go before a “fall.”

25:13 and 25. Both of these verses compare good news from a faithful messenger to the cold of snow in September’s heat and cold water to a thirsty soul – refreshing and restoring.  How doubly true when a lost soul hears the Good News of God’s salvation.

25:16  is good advice for a dieter – “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.”  Does this also apply to pesky neighbors? 25:17, “Let you foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of YOU and hate you.”   (Oh, so practical is Solomon!)

25:21-22 is also mentioned in the New Testament by Paul (Romans 12:20), about loving your enemy by feeding him and giving him water… and by heaping burning coals on his head. (???)

25:24. And another unhappy married man and his quarrelsome wife.  (See 19:13 and 21:9)

26: 4&5 is humorous at first reading: “Answer NOT a fool according to his folly…” and “Answer a fool according to his folly…” It shows that there are times to rebuke foolishness and other times to ignore it.

Solomon also pictures the sluggard in verses 13-15 and gossip in verses 20-22. 

26:27 (dig a pit and fall into it, roll a stone, and it will roll over you) reminds me of the fate of Haman in the Book of Esther. The gallows he prepared for Mordecai were used to hang him.  (Esther 5:14 with 7:9-10).

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    Day 169 – Proverbs 27 – 29 (More of Solomon’s proverbs)

James 4:13-16 expands on 27:1. Don’t boast or make bold plans for “tomorrow” because you don’t even know if you HAVE tomorrow. (Instead, say, “If the Lord wills.”  Jesus told the parable about the rich fool who planned to build bigger barns for his abundant crops, but his soul “was required of him that very night.” (Luke 12:13-21)

27:2 – Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.

27:6 – Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

27:21b – …a man is tested by his praise.

The benefits of justice and the law. (28:4-9)

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” 28:13.  This is also seen in 1 John 1:6-9.

28:27. “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who “hides his eyes” will get many a curse.” tells us about helping the poor and not ignoring them.  1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet “closes his heart” against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

Proverbs 29: 15 and 17 talk about the rightness of discipline.  15. “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.  17. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.” 

And so ends Solomon’s proverbs. Chapter 30 is written by Agur, and chapter 31 by King Lemuel.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 167

Jun15

   Day 167—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue with the history of Israel.

 Day 167 – 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8. (The LORD’s second appearance to Solomon and all Solomon’s building projects)

2 Kings 9. “As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD… the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time.”  “I have heard your prayer and your plea…. I have consecrated this house…. putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”

“And as for YOU, if you walk before me…. with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you… then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever.”   

“BUT, IF YOU TURN ASIDE from following me…. go and serve other gods and worship them… THEN I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among the peoples. And this house… will become a heap of ruins.”

Well, Solomon was forewarned by God. 

The rest of 2 Kings 9 and 2 Chronicles 8 describe Solomon’s massive building program that he undertook after the Temple and his Palace were completed (they took 20 years). He and Hiram, the king of Tyre, collaborated to build cities and ships for foreign trade. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee, but after seeing them the king of Tyre didn’t like them. (Did he give them back??)

Again it’s mentioned that Solomon used all the non-Israeli people living in the land as slaves in all his building projects.  He also conscripted Israeli citizens, but they were for soldiers, officials, commanders, captains, chariot commanders, and horsemen. (I assume these were paid wages.)

In addition to the Temple and his own house, Solomon built up “the Millo” and the wall of Jerusalem. (The Millo was a landfill in the depression between the city of David and the Temple complex to the north. The north side of Jerusalem was vulnerable to attack, so this, and the wall were for protection.)

Solomon also fortified the “protection” cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.  He fortified or built other cities for his own uses, such as for “storage” or to house all his chariots, horses, and horsemen.  He built “whatever he desired to build” in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land of his dominion.” 

Then he brought his wife – Pharaoh’s daughter – to the palace he’d built for her because he did not want this pagan wife to live in the House of King David or near the places where the Ark of the LORD had been.

(Smart move, Solomon. Too bad you didn’t keep the holiness of God in your heart throughout your entire reign.)

The end of 2 Chronicles 8 also tells how King Solomon followed the regulations of the LORD, concerning the daily burnt offerings, the Sabbaths, new moons, and the three Festivals Israel was to keep before the LORD.  He also kept the priestly appointment that David had set up for service in the Temple, plus the gatekeepers at each gate.  

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Psalm 84:1-2, 10.“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”  “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

Psalm 100:5. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 166

Jun14

   Day 166—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue with the history of Israel.

 Day 166 – Psalms 134, 146 – 150. (Finishing the wonderful book of Psalms.)

I imagine these Psalms being sung as part of the celebration & dedication of the new Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.

Psalm 134. “Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!  Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!  May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth!”

Psalm 146:1-2.  “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

Psalm 147:1-2, 7. “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the outcast of Israel.”  “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving, to make melody to our God on the Lyre!”

Psalm 148:1-4.  “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars! Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!” 

Psalm 149:1-4, 6. “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise to the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in His Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their king! Le the praise His name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.”  “Let the high praises of God be in their mouths and two-edged swords in their hands.”

Psalm 150:1-2, 6. “Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise Him in his mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!”   “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. PRAISE THE LORD!”

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 165

Jun13

   Day 165—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue with the history of Israel.

 Day 165 – 2 Chronicles 6 – 7, Psalm 136. (More detail on Solomon’s prayer/dedication of the temple and a song.)

After the Shekinah Glory of the LORD filled the temple, Solomon blessed the people and the LORD. (a little more detail than in yesterday’s reading.)

2 Chronicles 6:2 – “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what He promised with His mouth.”

6:13-14 – “Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like YOU in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.”

Next Solomon lists many instances when Israel would need the judgment and forgiveness of their God.

Verse 21 – “And LISTEN to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. And LISTEN from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, FORGIVE.”

Verse 22 – “If a man sins against his neighbor….. then hear from heaven and act and judge….”

Verse 24 – “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against You, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house…..the hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people…”

Verse 26 – “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you…. if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin… then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants…”

Verse 28 – “If there is famine (pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar, plague, sickness) in the land….. whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow and stretching out his hands toward this house….. then hear from heaven your dwelling place, and forgive….”

Verse 34 – “If your people go out to battle against their enemies… and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for Your name…. then hear from heaven their prayer and plea, and maintain their cause.

Verse 36 – ‘If they sin against you – FOR THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES NOT SIN – and You are angry with them and give them to an enemy so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near….. Yet if they turn their heart, repent, plead with you, and pray toward their land, the city, and this house… then hear from heaven…. maintain their cause and forgive your people. 

2 Chronicles 7:1 – “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices.

“When the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His steadfast love (mercy) endures forever.“

Psalm 136 echoes this refrain 26 times after stating the truth about God and all his wonderful acts toward his people through the generations. 

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2 Chronicles 7:11-22  gives God’s response to Solomon’s prayer, with some if/then statements of His own, including a very familiar one about Israel in verse 14. 

"If my people who are called by my name 
humble themselves, 
and pray and seek my face 
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven 
and will forgive their sin
and heal their land."

Then God reminds Solomon about the opposite. 

Verse 19-20. “But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them…. then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 164

Jun12

   Day 164—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading and continue in the History of Israel.

 Day 164 – 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5. (The Ark brought to the Temple, Solomon’s blessings)

These chapters tell of King Solomon now bringing the holy furnishings to the temple he (and his dad) built. He did it the “correct way” – carried by poles on the shoulders of the Levite priests.  

As they came from the heart of the City of David to the Temple Mount, thousands of sacrifices were made for sin and for thanksgiving. This was around the time of the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. There was great rejoicing and celebration with music and congregational singing as the items were put into the new Temple.

1 Kings 8:9 says that nothing was inside the Ark except the tablets of law that Moses put there.  I wonder what happened to the jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded?

1 Kings 8:4 says that the old Tabernacle (tent) was also brought. I wonder what happened to it. Was it stored in some of those rooms alongside the Temple? A good topic to research, maybe.

When the priests came out of the Holy place, a great cloud of glory – the Shekinah of God – filled the temple, so much that the priests could not go near to minister.  “The glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”  

And Solomon blesses the LORD before the people, telling them that God had fulfilled His promise to them, for a dwelling place among them.  Then Solomon turns and kneels before the great altar, spreads his arms wide, and offers prayer to the LORD God of Israel.  

"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth and with your hand and have fulfilled it this day.

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven, and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!  

"Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open at night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, My name shall be there, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers towards this place,

"And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. 

"And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear......forgive.

Solomon’s prayer then includes all the possibilities of sin and calamity that may (will) befall the people and begs God to HEAR their confession, forgive their sins, and teach them the good way in which they should walk.

Then he turns again to the people and offers a benediction on them, finishing with: “Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandment.”

Then comes the sacrifices and offerings before the LORD almost without number, and a great feast for the entire assembly of Israel for seven days.

After that, the people go home, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David and to Israel His people.