Year 5 Week 22 Day 148-154 May 27 June 2, 2016
Week 22 Day 148 154 May 27 June 2, 2016 I. Invocation and Adoration: O Lord, I have heard a good word inviting me to look away to Thee and be satisfied. My heart longs to respond, but sin has clouded my vision till I see Thee but dimly. Be pleased to cleanse me in Thine own precious blood, and make me inwardly pure, so that I may with unveiled eyes gaze upon Thee all the days of my earthly pilgrimage. Then shall I be prepared to behold Thee in full splendor in the day when Thou shalt appear to be glorified in Thy saints and admired in all them that believer. Amen. (Tozer s The Pursuit of God, 98) Reading of Proverbs 21:1-12 (Optional) We shall continue to use the Book of Proverbs as an optional reading to transition us from worship to confession: Read this passage a few times each day, not for the sake of Bible study, but to grasp a major thought each day and translate that thought into either adoration or confession. II. Confession Pause now and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your sins and ask for forgiveness. III. Thanksgiving List, one by one, things for which you should give thanks.
IV. Scriptural Reflection: This week, we shall continue the study of 2 Chronicles of the Old Testament. Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below each day: Day 148 2 Chronicles 16:1-14 (1) From the account in 2 Chronicles 13:19, it appears that Ramah, which was between Bethel and Jerusalem, was then under the control of Judah: what was Baasha s purpose of invading and fortifying Ramah? (see 1 Kings 12:26-27 also) (2) How did Asa react to this invasion? Why? (3) Contrast 14:11ff with Asa s reaction to Baasha s threat, what does it tell you about Asa s response to this invasion? (4) What might be the reason for such a drastic change of attitude? (5) This political maneuver obviously worked a. Did it necessarily mean that God approved of it? Why or why not? b. Did Asa consult the Lord beforehand? c. Was it necessarily a sign of not trusting in the Lord? Why or why not? (6) What was God s verdict of his action? (vv.9) (7) How did Asa respond to the rebuke of the prophet? (8) What has happened to Asa to cause such a change in his spiritual life? (9) About Asa s attitude toward the disease in his feet: a. It is not right to consult physicians? b. How do you look upon the life of Asa? (10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 149 2 Chronicles 17:1-19 (1) Can you recall the latter years of Asa in the previous chapter? What kind of a king had he become? (2) How old was Jehoshaphat when he ascended to the throne? (20:31) Did the latter years of Asa s reign have any effect on him? (vv. 3-4) (3) What further reform did he perform in addition to what his father had previously done? (v. 6) (4) Instead of simply removing idols from Judah, what did he do in order to change of hearts of the people as well? (vv. 7-9) (5) What example did he set for us?
(6) How did his kingdom fare in terms of: a. Internal stability? (v. 5) b. External strength? (vv. 10-11) (7) The Bible says Jehoshaphat became more and more successful (v.12) a. How was his military strength compared to that of his father Asa? (vv. 14-18 verses 14:8) b. Do you think his success was the result of military strategy including the building of many fortified cities? Why or why not? (vv.3-5) (8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 150 2 Chronicles 18:1-11 (1) What kind of a king was Ahab? (see 1 Kings 16:30-33) (2) Why then would Jehoshaphat marry his son to Ahab s daughter? (2 Kings 8:18) Should he? (3) What caused king Ahab to wage another war against the Arameans? Where did his confidence come from? (see 1 Kings 22:1-3) (4) While Jehoshaphat was receptive to Ahab s invitation to join forces against the Arameans, what did he ask Ahab to do and why? (5) What was the difference between the two kings? (6) Since Jehoshaphat asked, Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire (18:6), what kind of prophets were the 400 men summoned by Ahab? (7) Why was Micaiah not included in the original company of prophets? (8) Why didn t Ahab like to hear the truth from Micaiah? (v.7) (9) What about you? What do you prefer to hear? (10) Why did the Bible seem to emphasize that the two kings were dressed in their royal robes in front of the prophets? Should this be their attitude in seeking the Lord? (11) How did Zedekiah (who appeared to be the leader of the pack) seek to affirm the certainty of his prophecy? (12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 151 2 Chronicles 18:12-34 (1) What kind of pressure did the prophet Micaiah face? (2) What choices did he have? (3) What did he choose and why?
(4) The vision described by Micaiah was not merely a subjective drapery introduced by the prophet, but a simple communication of the real inward vision by which the fact had been revealed to him (K&D, 196): a. Do you agree? Why? b. Why would God agree to send a deceiving spirit to the prophets? c. Without this deceiving spirit, what would these prophets say (or had already said)? d. So what role did the deceiving spirit play? (5) How did Zedekiah respond to the words of Micaiah? Why? (6) How did King Ahab respond to the words of Micaiah? Why? (7) What should King Jehoshaphat have done under the circumstance? (8) What did he do? (v. 28) Why? (9) What price did he have to pay for his action? (vv. 31-32) (10) What did Ahab do to avoid the fulfillment of God s prophecy? (v.29) (11) In what ways does the Bible show quite sarcastically that his effort to avoid God s prophecy was futile? (v. 33) (12) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 152 2 Chronicles 19:1-11 Reprimand by the Prophet 19:1-3 (1) Can you recall what happened at the battle with the Arameans in the last chapter: a. To Ahab, the king of Israel? b. To Jehoshaphat himself? (2) What lesson should Jehoshaphat have learned? (3) According to the seer, what sin has Jehoshaphat committed? (v. 2) (4) What punishment would he receive from the Lord? (5) Was it too harsh? Why or why not? (6) What lesson can we learn from his mistake? Turning People Back to the Lord 19:4-11 (7) Who were the key people Jehoshaphat appointed in his effort to turn the people to the Lord? (8) Apart from delegating these responsibilities to the judges, the Levites and the priests, why did he go out himself as well? (v.4) (9) To the judges across Judah (vv. 6-7) a. For whom are they serving as judges? (v. 6)
b. What then should their attitude be? (10) To the Levites and priests in Jerusalem (vv. 8-10) a. What responsibilities were they charged with? (v. 8) b. How should they carry out their duties? (vv. 9-10) (11) Clear division of authorities (v. 11) a. Who was the overall-in-charge of spiritual matters? b. Who was the overall-in-charge of administrative matters? (12) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life? Day 153 2 Chronicles 20:1-19 The Battle with the united army of Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites (Part I) (1) What caused Jehoshaphat to be so alarmed? (see Note 1 below) (2) What did he resolve to do? (vv. 3-4) (3) What did fasting represent in this case? (4) Jehoshaphat s prayer 1 st part (vv. 6-9) a. Who God is (v. 6): whom did he say God is and why did he put it as a question? b. What is the next question he asked? (v. 7) What was his point? c. He then quoted from Solomon s prayer (vv. 8-9): certainly this was what Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple (6:34-35); did God actually promise to answer his prayers? (7:1-3) d. What is the basis of his plea above? (5) Jehoshaphat s prayer 2 nd part (vv. 10-12) a. What was so wicked of the Ammonites, Moabites and Meunites? (vv. 10-11; see Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 9, 18-19; and also Note 2 below) b. How many fighting men did Jehoshaphat have? (see 17:14-19) c. Why then did he see themselves as without any power? d. What did he also confess? (v.12) e. How did Jehoshaphat differ from Asa in his attitude toward fighting these formidable enemies? (v. 12 versus 16:1-3) (6) Why does the Chronicler mention that even the wives and children and little ones stood before the Lord? (v. 13) (7) The answer from the Lord (vv. 15-17) a. What reason did the Lord give in telling them not to be afraid? (v.15) b. What strategy did the Lord devise for them? (v.17) c. What in essence did the Lord tell them to do?
d. If you were one of the people, how would you react to the word of the Lord? (8) How did the king react to the word of the Lord? (v.18) (9) What about the people, and especially some of the Levites? (vv. 18-19) (10) Why? (11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Note 1: En Gedi is on the west coast of the Dead Sea, only 15 hours from Jerusalem (K&D, 635). It appears that Jehoshaphat was totally caught by surprise, not being aware of the crossing of this vast army of the sea, and within less than a day s distance from Jerusalem, it was unlikely for him to gather all his fighting men, especially those from Benjamin. Note 2: Mount Seir normally refers to the Edomites, but the Meunites who were likely not of Edom descent were residents of Mount Seir, and thus were included by Jehoshaphat as Edomites whose territory was spared from the invasion by Moses and his people. Day 154 2 Chronicles 20:20-37 The Battle (Part II) 20:20-29 (1) If you were Jehoshaphat, do you think you would be able to have peace during that night? Why or why not? (2) What was the first thing he decided to do early the next morning? (v. 20) (3) Was he speaking to the people or to himself? Why? (4) What was their collective decision as they went into the battle field? (v. 21) (5) What did this decision represent? (6) What was the result of their singing praises? (v. 22) (7) What do we learn about the importance of praising God especially when we face life s challenges? (8) What happened that led to the total destruction of this united army of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir? (v. 23) (9) At the end of the battle, the people praised the Lord (v. 26): how different was this praise from the praise before the battle in v.21? Which do you think was more precious? Why? (10) What was the result of this victory? (vv. 29-30) The End of Jehoshaphat s Reign 20:31-37 (11) While Jehoshaphat had done all he could to return the people to the Lord, what was the Bible s verdict on the spiritual condition of the people? (v. 33) (12) What was the final act recorded about the life of Jehoshaphat? (vv. 35-37)
(13) Why do you think the Chronicler chooses to end the account of Jehoshaphat s life on such a sour note? (14) What is the main lesson you have learned about Jehoshaphat and how may you apply it to your life?
V. Meditative Reflection Day 148 Nobody is Perfect They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes and they made a huge fire in his honor. (2 Chronicles 16:14) For whatever reason, the Books of Chronicles tend to report more about the good deeds of the kings of Judah than their shortcomings, but not in the case of king Asa. While 1 Kings 15 appears to speak of how he turned the tide of the spiritual life of Judah around, pointing to his expulsion of (foreign) male prostitutes, getting rid of idols set up by his fathers and even destroying his grandmother s image of Asherah pole, cumulating to the conclusion that Asa s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life (1 Kings 15:11-14). However, 2 Chronicles are more candid about Asa s shortcomings in that his alliance with Ben-Hadad was wrong because he relied on the king of Aram and not only the Lord, and as he was suffering from feet disease in his older years, he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians (16:7, 12). One wonders how the Book of the Kings could still affirm that Asa s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. I find that this particular issue with Asa clearly shows how we should approach the Scriptures, and that is what John Wesley taught us comparing spiritual things with spiritual, meaning to consider parallel passages of Scripture (Mr. Wesley s Preface to the Sermons, xix, 6), because all 66 books together form the complete revelation of God in His Word. Just like the Four Gospels give us different perspectives concerning the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and there are no contradictions but complements, it is so with the Books of Kings and the Books of Chronicles. While the Books of Chronicles are very candid with the failures of Asa, the Books of the Kings allow us to understand as much as that was the case; God overlooked even these shortcomings and counted him as fully committed to Him, because He knows that nobody is perfect. This, perhaps, was how the people looked at the life of Asa too and gave him a grand burial to honor him (16:14). I believe this is how we should view the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ as well.
Day 149 The Centrality of the Word of God They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. (2 Chronicles 17: 9) As we see the continued decay of the moral fabric in our society, many seek to fight to change the laws of the land, hoping that we could restore a culture that is moral and in tune with the teachings of the Bible. It is a very noble and admirable effort, however, we all know that we cannot legislate morality, because it is a matter of the heart. Even more importantly, our mission is to bring people into the Kingdom of God and not to impose a Christian culture on the society, and the former can only be done through the repentance of individuals to the Lord Jesus Christ, one at a time. Jehoshaphat obviously understood this spiritual truth. As much as he could impose a godly culture on his own nation, by the destruction of all forms of idol worship and practices that were detestable to the Lord which he did in a far more radical manner than his father Asa (16:6), he knew that ultimately spiritual transformation had to begin in the heart of the people. As a result, he mobilized his officials together with Levites and priests to teach the Word of God throughout Judah (v. 9), and it brought about not only an external transformation, but that The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the land surrounding Judah (v. 10). This is great example for us to follow. True transformation, whether in our home or our church, always begins with the teaching and learning of the Word of the Lord, without which there is no true transformation. The teaching of the Word of God has to remain central to the life of every Christian home and every church. These days, I am concerned especially about many church services in that the vibrancy of the worship experience has taken over the centrality of the preaching of the Word. Day 150 Enquiring the Lord the Wrong Way Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of? (2 Chronicles 18:6) If we read the accounts of Ahab in 1 Kings, we will know that God had given Ahab so many chances to repent and humble himself before Him, and yet Ahab still would not truly seek the Lord or devote himself fully to Him. The battle in Mount Carmel should settle once-for-all for him that only the Lord is the One True God he should worship (1 Kings 19).
The dire prophesy by Elijah about the fate of his descendants should also make him turn to the Lord for good (1 Kings 21:24). However, his so-called repentance was short-lived, and it amounted to nothing more than a sense of remorse. While he might stop worshipping Baal, he still lived for himself and for all intents and purposes, did not worship the Lord. This was fully demonstrated in his desire to wage war against the Arameans. For one, he totally forgot that his defeat of the mighty army of Aram with his mere 7,000 soldiers was entirely the work of God (1 Kings 20). How could he think that he himself could repeat such a victory all by himself even with the help of Jehoshaphat whom he tried to manipulate through the marrying of his own daughter to his son ( 2 Kings 8:18)! Then, as Jehoshaphat reminded him that they should inquire first of the Lord, he obviously purposely left out Micaiah from the company of prophets he would inquire, just because, in his own words, he (Micaiah) never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad (2 Chronicles 18:7). It was obvious that he was not in the habit of consulting the Lord, even in very important matters. The Lord was never really a part of his life! The reason, however, was rather obvious. He knew what he did was not pleasing to the Lord, why should he ask then! As bad as he was, I find that he was better than some of us! While he did not wish even to consult of the Lord in what he did, we, sometimes, want to use God to justify our course of action. I remember many years ago when I was a businessman, there was a crisis in my business and I happened to be travelling to San Francisco. In the quietness of the hotel room, I read the Scriptures to seek God s will. As I came across a passage in 2 Kings, it appeared to fit my situation perfectly, and I was so overwhelmed by the promises in the passage that I knelt down before the bed and praised the Lord. After some years, as I looked back at what happened to my business, none of what I perceived as spoken to me by the Lord through the passage came to pass. I have come to understand that as much as I wanted to seek the Lord, my desire to solve my problem was so strong that I caused myself to read too much into the Word of God. Not that God had sent a lying spirit to deceive me (2 Chronicles 18:20), I was deceived by my own desire without knowing it.
Day 151 Against the Tide The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably. (2 Chronicles 18:12) It is never easy to stand for God s truth in this world of sin; it is even harder when you have to stand against the opinion of others who think they are on the side of God. Micaiah found himself in the latter situation which was complicated by the fact that these four hundred prophets really thought they were on God s side and that their prophecy did come from the Lord. While scholars are divided as to whether that deceiving spirit was sent by God among His own angels or that deceiving spirit was an evil spirit, the important point is that even without the help of that spirit, they had already decided to lie to the king saying, Go for God will give it into the king s hand (18:5). The deceiving spirit only served to seal their self-delusion and deception of the king. How then would Micaiah know that his vision was genuine while the prophecy of the other prophets was a deception? The difference of course lies in the fact that Micaiah had resolved to tell only what my God says (18:13). His pure heart gave him the confidence that what he saw was of the Lord. With this confidence he told the two kings the truth and suffered the expected consequence being put into prison. But, he was equally confident of his ultimate vindication (18:27) which appeared to happen within a really short period of time. The lessons we learn from Micaiah include (1) it is often a lonely feeling when we stand up for the truth of God, (2) it is not only unpopular, we may have to face persecution or at least isolation, but (3) we will be vindicated ultimately, although it may take years or decades and sometimes, we may have to wait till we see the Lord for our vindication. Just the same, all God asks of us is that we be faithful! Day 152 Hands-on Leadership Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. (2 Chronicles 19:4)
In spite of the fact that Jehoshaphat erred both in establishing an alliance with the wicked King Ahab through marriage and in joining forces with him to fight the Arameans, I really admire him for setting his heart on seeking God and in his effort to turn the people back to the Lord (19:3, 4). We have already considered how he sent his officials together with the Levites and priests to teach the people the Book of the Law which shows his understanding that spiritual transformation could not be imposed but has to begin with the hearts (17:7-9). However, we have come to understand that he did not stop there. He himself went out among the people from Beersheba (in the south) to the hill country of Ephraim (to the north of his kingdom) to turn the people back to the Lord. While we are not told how he did it, it is not far-fetched to imagine that he would be teaching and exhorting the people with the Word of the Lord himself, and he would check whether his officials and clergies were doing their jobs as delegated. In other words, he was so committed to leading the people to follow the Lord that he led both by examples and by close supervision even over spiritual matters as a king. Therefore, in spite of his weaknesses, he also came close to being like his forefather David as a king after God s own heart. Day 153 Faith Needs to be Tested Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord. (2 Chronicles 20:19) While we do not know the exact year during Jehoshaphat s reign that this battle with the vast army from the east of Jordan was fought, but it is interesting to note that the whole account is prefaced by the words, after this (20:1). That means, this battle arose after Jehoshaphat did all he could to turn the people back to the Lord, including the commissioning of officials, Levites and priests to teach the people the Book of the Law plus his personal visitations to various cities within his kingdom for the same purpose. It is interesting, because since the people had turned back to the Lord to the point that the Bible says, he fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat (17:10). Why then would God allow these armies to sneak up on them so suddenly, and it was when they reached En Gedi, only about 18 hours from Jerusalem, that the king got wind of their attack? (K&D, 635)
It is of course, not a matter of God being unfaithful, but rather the fact that genuine faith has to be put to test, just like precious metal needs to be refined in the furnace. Indeed, not only the king, but all the people, as led by the Levites passed this test of faith with flying colors. While the strategy that God has devised for them was in essence no military strategy at all (20:16-17). God was essentially asking them to expose themselves to the vast army of their enemies, and trust that He would deliver them a much riskier strategy than what He told Joshua and his men to do; at least, Joshua s men were separated from the fighting men of Jericho by thick, thick walls (Joshua 6). And yet, they did respond by prostrating and worshipping the Lord, with some of the Levites breaking out in songs of praise, simply at the promise of the Lord through the mouth of a prophet no special vision, no pillar of cloud or fire, and certainly no audible voice from the Lord. Indeed, they truly feared and trusted the Lord! Day 154 No Truth, No Real Unity Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel whose ways were wicked. (2 Chronicles 20:35) Apart from being a king like his father Asa, walking in the ways of the Lord, Jehoshaphat was able to make peace with his northern neighbors, Israel. That should be something very admirable. Jehoshaphat was born around the 6 th year of Asa s reign and ascended to the throne eventually at age 35. His godly character was obviously influenced by his father. He witnessed the spiritual reformation of his father both as a child and as an adult (14:2-6; 15: 8-18). In fact, he did something that he father failed to do, that was the removing of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes, which was an abomination to the land (1 Kings 22:46). One might be quick to say that he was also able to achieve peace with Israel, which his father was not able to do. On the surface, peace should always be the goal of God s children, especially peace with other children of God. However, Israel under their king Ahab, was God s people in name only. To be associated with Ahab and his people was to be associated with evil. Presumably, Jehoshaphat was able to achieve peace with Ahab by marrying his son to Ahab s daughter, and he further wanted to enter into a marine joint venture with Israel
under Ahaziah. While the latter was condemned by the prophet Eliezer (20:37), the former had led to the sinning of his son (2 Kings 8:18). Indeed, we need to live in peace if it is possible (Romans 12:18), and God is certainly delighted when His children live in unity (Psalm 133). However, we cannot seek unity without truth as Paul reminds us, For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? (2 Corinthians 6:14). It was on this basis that Jehoshaphat was rebuked by the Lord (20:35). As much as some Evangelicals, out of a sincere desire for unity, strive to seek common grounds with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, we should be very careful not to sacrifice the gospel truth for the sake of outward unity.
VI. A Time for Silence You have meditated much with your intellectual faculty today. Now have a moment of silence (the length is up to you, 5 or even 30 minutes), and ask God quietly, Lord, is there any important message from you today that I might -have missed? Show me, your servant is listening? VII. Supplication Use the following chart to cover people and ministries that you want to remember before the Lord, apart from praying for yourself: Sunday Your family Other people Church Ministries Other Ministries City & World Others Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday VII. Benediction May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us yes, establish the work of our hands. Amen. (Psalm 90:17)