April 28–2 Chronicles 6-8

“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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (7:14).

God created us for friendship with Him. Real relationship. Mutual love. In the words of the Christmas story, “God with us” is the goal. Life lived on the foundation and first principle of His presence.

As the day for the dedication of the temple came near, Solomon was concerned. For all the expense and effort necessary for the construction of this magnificent building, the wise king secretly wondered whether it was enough. Does a holy place make the people holy?

We hear his questions in 6:18. Since God cannot be contained in a building, doesn’t it follow that no building is, or can ever be, the essential fix?

Eventually, Solomon arrived at the conclusion of all godly men. How can God dwell among men? PRAYER is the HOW of His friendship. For all the gold and grandeur, a temple is a sad failure unless true prayer happens there. See the words of our Lord in Matthew 21:12-14.

So Solomon prayed that day about prayer! He asked God to always answer prayer. Prayers spoken in the temple. Prayers spoken toward the temple. (Remember how Daniel prayed toward the temple? See Daniel 6:10.)

In a dream that same night, God promised to do what Solomon asked, but on certain conditions. Some people say God’s love is unconditional. Maybe so, but His friendship isn’t. In order to be His friend we must pray. In order to pray, we must attend to His unbending requirements.

If My people. To know Him in prayer, we must first belong to Him by faith. Prayer is a privileged conversation the Father offers only to His children.

If My people humble themselves. To know His friendship in prayer, we must acknowledge His greatness, our smallness; His holiness, our sinfulness.

If My people seek My face. God insists that we desire an ongoing relationship with Him, not just His help in an emergency. He does not want to be used and then discarded. Who does?

If My people turn from their wicked ways. Sincere repentance and faith is a prerequisite. No one can desire God and still choose sin. It is impossible, false at its very foundation.

In Luke 18, Jesus described two men who went to the temple to pray. Both men spoke to God, but only one of them was heard by God. If we want God to hear us, we must first hear Him and the clear conditions of His friendship.

“Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God” (James 2: 23).

April 27–2 Chronicles 1-5

“Then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God”(5:13-14).

They saw and felt it. In Hebrew, the word glory is kabod. It means “weight”. As a cloud filled the new temple, the priests could feel the heavy weight of God’s presence. On their skin. On their shoulders. In their souls. Pressing down like a warm blanket. Evidence of His presence. Testimony of His eternal significance.

Ironically, it was also an experience of NOT seeing. A cloud. Impenetrable to eyes and logic. Mystery.

It was God’s self-declaration! In the presence of so many distracting sensory experiences (the sight of gold, the sound of praise, the smell of fresh wood walls and sacrificial smoke), the cloud was His reminder. The most important (heavy) things in life are not things. God is what (Who) matters. He is true wealth.

Solomon should have taken note. The rest of his life was a slow decline from this high peak. In the years that followed, wealth and power gradually distracted his heart from God. Wise enough to ask God for wisdom, he was foolish enough to drift from the lesson. Blessed by God with wealth, he was eventually crippled by it.

Friend, where do you find your significance? Your security? Success? The approval of others? Jesus talked about “the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22). On this day of dedication, Solomon would have been wise to fix his heart on the pursuit of holiness. It is not gold on the walls that makes a temple beautiful, it is the presence and approval of a glorious God.

Lord teach me this lesson! Remind me, again and again, that I am the new temple (all believers) intended to be filled with His presence. God with us and us gladly with Him! This is the true value, true significance of my life. May the Lord guard my heart from ever desiring anything but the filling of His Spirit.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe”(Ephesians 1:18-19).

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).

April 26–1 Chronicles 27-29

“The treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple. . .Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord? Then the rulers of the father’s households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the overseers of the king’s work offered willingly for the service of the house of God and they gave 5000 talents. . .of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver. . .and the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly. . . and King David also rejoiced greatly”(29:3, 5-6, 9).

All of his life David led leaders. Inspired them. Challenged them. Brilliantly. Intuitively. Much of what he accomplished came from his God-given ability to build a team of gifted people. In the first part of today’s reading, notice how David charged individuals with specific tasks. Consider how motivated they were. How affirming for them to know that the king trusted them (entrusted them).

In chapter 29, David gathers the leadership team to challenge them with a new task. Solomon is young. Inexperienced. The building of the temple must not fall on him alone. After making his own public commitment, David calls on these leaders to do likewise. He challenges them to give as he had done. He leads by example. David’s last campaign was not military. It was financial.

God loves cheerful givers. He strengthens leaders to inspire others in the realm of stewardship. No compulsion or force was used, but the leaders of Israel gave gladly because they were led well by a wise King.

In 29:10, David prays over his team. Publicly humbles Himself before God. (Given the normal impact of money and power on a person’s ego, this is an extraordinary display.) As he bows in reverence that day, David is, again, leading others.

Friend, are you a leader of leaders? Do you pour yourself into others? Do you influence others in generosity, in bold witness, in prayer? As you obey Christ, will you reckon the multiplied effects that come as we influence and encourage others?

“And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He might send them out to preach”(Mark 3:14).

“The things you have heard from me. . .these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”(2 Timothy 2:2).

April 25–1 Chronicles 23-26

“The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle. . .their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord. . .they are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening”(23:26,28,30).

Did you get ready? This past Sunday, when you went to worship, were you prepared? Mind focused? Will surrendered? Heart hot?

Some believe that worship, in order to be authentic, must be unrehearsed. Spontaneous. “In that day, the Holy Spirit will give you the words,” they say, quoting the words of Christ. The not-so-hidden implication is that pre-thought or advanced preparation for worship (whether in sermon study, or choir practice or written prayers) is unSpiritual.

David disagreed. For all the spontaneous and meaningful moments of worship David experienced with God (see blog for April 23), corporate worship was equally worthy of planning and preparation. He understood the need and the place for both.

Just as he gathered material for the construction of the Temple, David also gathered and organized needed personnel. He gave the Levites a new task. Since they no longer needed to carry the tabernacle from place to place, they would now focus on worship.

Musicians, gatekeepers, treasurers, too, every detail was considered and coordinated in advance. Teams tasked and trained. All part of a great and majestic plan. David had a vast vision for what worship should be. As you read, today, will you allow your mind to imagine tabernacle worship?

Praise is the center of a healthy and strong nation. David knew it. Wise leaders still do. Not flattery toward an insecure God, rather recalibration of life to Spiritual priorities! Praise redirects attention from self to Spirit. It opens the fretful mind to the larger possibilities of God. Productive and profitable, worship is a fountain of life and strength. David never grew weary of calling people to this task. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”

Have we learned his wisdom, dear one? When we gather is God praised? His name announced? His great works declared? Have we learned the value of focusing our minds and affections on God? To this end, a gracious God calls us to prepare praise!

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised”(Psalm 48:1).

“Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips’ ” (Hosea 14:2).

April 24–1 Chronicles 18-22

“David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man”(21:13).

As Ezra, the scholar and scribe, looked back over the history of Israel, he placed great significance on David’s decision to count Israel. He never mentions David’s affair with Bathsheba, nor his murder of Uriah. (Perhaps Ezra believed these had been described/discussed enough in earlier books.) The counting incident, however, is recorded in careful detail. Ezra was convinced it was the very work of the Devil. See 21:1.

It is not clear why counting Israel displeased the Lord. Was it pride? Preparation for a war that God had not sanctioned? We do not know. Moses counted the armies of Israel in the book of Numbers without judgment. Not so, however, when David did it.

Even Joab knew it was wrong. Warned David against it. When David stubbornly refused the advise, God’s wrath came.

Unusual. God offered a choice of disciplines. Three years of famine? Three months of defeat at the hands of his enemies? Three days of pestilence? Wisely, David chose the discipline that depended on God alone. He had NO confidence in people. Trusted God only to balance justice and mercy.

In the same way, when God disciplines me, I must accept the painful consequences He sends. With courage, and without complaint, I am to affirm His authority and holiness. He calls me a disciple. I am to trust when He disciplines me.

Unexpected blessing. Through this painful experience, David discerned God’s plan and place for the location of the new Temple. Moriah. The place that David received mercy became a place where thousands of others would do the same.

Friend, when moments of His discipline come, in humility and trust, will you lean into the Father? Will you trust Him to love you, even when you have been stubborn?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives”(Hebrews 12:5-6).

“He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

April 23–1 Chronicles 15-17

“It happened when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and celebrating; and she despised him in her heart”(15:29).

Flesh reacts to Spirit. You can count on it. In an encounter with Spiritual people, natural men will sometimes be attracted (fascinated or intrigued), more often threatened( critical and angry). As Simeon prophesied to Mary, “This child (Jesus) is appointed for the fall and rise of many. . .that thoughts (and emotions) of many hearts may be revealed”(Luke 2:34-35). In the presence of genuine praise to God, a strange anger rises in the heart of the unsaved.

When Michal saw David worship that day, she despised him. She didn’t disagree with him, nothing as measured as that. She rejected him! Hated his uninhibited display of joy. In our day, we see similar reactions. Wholehearted worship exposes the conscience of the un-surrendered soul. Negative push-back predictably follows.

The true believer must not be intimidated or inhibited by this threat. As Ezra retells Israel’s history, he gives particular emphasis to the importance of worship. “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,” he says in 16:25. Carefully and respectfully, he records David’s instruction that praise to God be continually, and in large measure, lifted from earth to heaven. We should sing. We should clap our hands. We should dance!

Why does God want praise? Is He so vain and petty that He needs our attention? Narcissistic? No! God desires the praise of angels and humans and creation because it secures the universe in a place of moral wisdom. When we praise God, we fix our minds on the first principle of truth. All good things flow from this first love.

Believers, therefore, must never be concerned with the world’s approval or disapproval. We do not market the gospel to unbelievers. With intelligence and conviction, without apology or inhibition, WE PRAISE HIM. Even if people despise us for it.

“If you hold back on the emotions–if you don’t allow yourself to go all the way through them, you will never be free because you’re too busy being afraid. You’re afraid of the pain. You’re afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails”(Mitch Albom).

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”(Deuteronomy 6:5).

“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation. . .was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”(Revelation 1:9-10, italics mine).

April 22–1 Chronicles 11-14

” ‘God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.’ Therefore they named the place Baal-perazim (the master of breakthrough)”(14:11).

Similar to icebreaker. Not a party game, rather a ship providing safe passage by forcing its way through ice-locked waterways. Like a dam breaker! A force that crashes through the wall, allowing water to rush forward from its former prison. Icebreaker. Dam breaker. God is.

After David was anointed king, the Philistines came threatening. So long as Israel and Judah remained divided, the Philistines were satisfied. When the kingdom united under a new young leader, they were alarmed and sent an army into the Rephaim valley. Southwest of Jerusalem. Near Bethlehem.

The precise timing and significance of this battle is uncertain. Of more importance is the orientation of David’s life to prayer. He inquired of God. Asked. Waited. Obeyed. Even when successive battles were similar, he faithfully repeated the pattern of submitting all things to the greater wisdom of God. In the second battle, he was instructed to wait for the, “sound of God’s army entering the battle.” Invisible things are real. Not metaphors. The armies of heaven go before us. God is our fierce and successful champion.

What if we learned this lesson? What if every battle was submitted to God in prayer? What if we were willing to wait, convinced that the spiritual realm is superior to the material? What if every church learned to seek and obey the wisdom of God?

Doing so, we would discover David’s confidence. God has power to break through the opposition we face. Things that trouble us do not confound the Great One! He is the master of breakthroughs.

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against it (my church)”(Jesus, Matthew 16:19).

“When I am weak (aware of my need for God’s wisdom and help) then I am strong”(Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:10).

April 21–1 Chronicles 8-10

“Judah was carried away for their unfaithfulness (ma’al)”(1 Chronicles 9:1).

“It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand”(Mark Twain).

It is a hard word. Harsh. No nuance. Ma’al meant a deliberate act of treachery or treason. An intentional, conscious disobedience. As Ezra reviewed the history of Israel, he “cut them no slack”. Judah was judged for rebellious actions and decisions. They committed ma’al.

Ezra used the word again to tell the story of Saul. “So Saul died for his trespass (ma’al) which he committed (ma’al) against the Lord”(10:13). The idea is repeated twice in one sentence for emphasis. Saul was no victim. He was a rebel. He committed ma’al.

When Holly and I were raising sons (and now again as we watch them raising our grandchildren) we marked the difference between childish mistakes and willful acts of disobedience. Apples and oranges, these. Very different acts. Different responses required from us as parents.

Just so with God and us. While we are accountable for mistakes, God’s largest issue with us (and the cause for His anger) is when we know what He wants, and stubbornly disobey; when we know what He forbids, and do it, anyway.

Humans are sinful. Our flesh, our pysche is rebellious. Proud and stubborn and excuse-making, we do not obey God naturally. “The mind set on the flesh. . .does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Romans 8:7). Scripture declares our great illness and needed cure. Christ came to “save His people from their sins”.

Friend, have you come to an agreement with God on this point of truth? Do you realize that a traitor lives in your own heart? Do you see the justice in God’s wrath against such unrighteousness? Humanism claims that humans are basically good. Scripture claims that we all have committed ma ‘al.

“(We) are not only wounded but guilty. Man is not merely a sufferer, he is a runaway, a criminal, a rebel, a conspirator” (H. C. G. Moule).

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin”(James 4:17).

“Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you” (Romans 6:12-14).

April 20–1 Chronicles 5-7

“Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to his birthright”(5:1).

Can you imagine Ezra doing this work? Carefully recording Israel’s history. Remembering. Reflecting. Putting it down in the book we now call 1 Chronicles?

“Who are we, as a nation and people?” “How did we get here? He must have muttered these question to himself a thousand times.

He was careful with his research. Ezra knew that in order to rebuild the nation the people needed a true narrative of their history. Even the painful moments.

Some moderns reject the value of history. They view ancient people as inferior, less scientific. With nothing to learn from the past, they dedicate no time for looking back. Serious mistake. Without moral reflection on the past, we are always unprepared for the present. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme,” said Mark Twain. If God is eternal, then we should expect the essential parts of the story, the patterns of His relationships with men, to be constant, unchanging.

It is the wisdom of Jesus. In the wilderness, our Lord began His public ministry after reflecting on the history of Israel. See the temptations stories in the gospels. Tempted by Satan, He quoted Deuteronomy. It suggests the focus of His mind in those days. As He reflected, the Father gave Jesus insight into the mistakes of Israel and how they could be corrected.

Each of us is part of long story of God with men! Sometimes tragic, always true, holy history gives courage and wisdom to those who are willing to reflect on its lessons. Will you try it, dear one? Take five minutes, or fifty. Look back over your life, your family, your nation, the Scripture. What do you see? As you view the past, does the Spirit give you wisdom and courage for the present?

“If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree”(Michael Crichton).

April 19–1 Chronicles 1-4

Readers Notes: 1 and 2 Chronicles were written by Ezra in a time of Spiritual renewal and hope. After returning home from exile in Babylon, the people of Israel needed to understand their own history. Mistakes made. Lessons to be learned. To this end, Ezra wrote a book that in some ways repeats the story of 1 and 2 Kings, but with particular emphasis on the rebuilding of the temple of God and the central role that worship plays in a strong nation. “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it,” said Winston Churchill. Ezra would have agreed.

“Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamach, Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth”(1:1).

It is a good reminder. Humbling. Inspiring. Each of us is a part of the grand narrative of salvation history. In a very real sense, God does not see only ME. He sees US. “God places the lonely in families,” says Psalm 68. All of us a part of a much larger story.

In 1976, Alex Haley published Roots; The Saga of an American Family. It told the history of an 18th century African slave. The best-selling book followed his life (and the lives of his descendants) down to Haley, himself. By understanding his heritage, Haley found strength and courage for the present day.

1 Chronicles is similar. While most of us are unfamiliar with the people named in this genealogy, even to read the names is to realize that these ancient people lived and breathed, made choices and mistakes. They are our foundation and family. They are part of who we are. We are the continuation of what they started.

1 Chronicles invites us to reflect on holy history. To see ourselves and our nation and family and church through the lens of God’s involvement in the world through His people. Why did God choose to reveal Himself through a fallible family? I don’t know the answer, but I know that He has.

As you consider your roots, will you hear again the word of God? “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His glorious light” (1 Peter 2:9).

“Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come”(1 Corinthians 10:11).

“O may all who come behind us find us faithful, may the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe, and the lives we live inspire them to obey. O may all who come behind us find us faithful” (Jon Mohr).