Erasing the sins of your ancestry

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 13, we have the king of Israel, Abijah, grandchild to David, taking over from his sinful father Rehoboam.

In this time, there was a great war between them and Jeroboam.  Jeroboam amassed double the amount of soldiers as Abijah, but Abijah had his trust in the Lord.  He even stood on a mountain and proclaimed that the Lord had made a lasting covenant with the people of Israel, Judah.  Despite the evil deeds of his father, Abijah acknowledged that Jeroboam was no match for the people of God.

Abijah reminded even his own people to turn back to God's ways, worshipping Him day and night.

Jeroboam was sneaky and placed a portion of his army behind the Judah army to ambush them.  When the people of Judah realized this, they cried out to the Lord and with His awesome power helped the army of Abijah to defeat Jeroboam's massive army.

Abijah lived out the rest of his days a powerful and successful king.

Use this as a reminder that no matter what your ancestors may have done, if you turn and accept God with grand humbleness, He will be there for you.  Always.  No amount of evil in one's past can taint you if you worship God.

Rehoboam pleads with the Lord

In the book of 2 Chronicles, starting at chapter 11, the people of Judah rose up to take Israel back from Rehoboam.  But the Lord commanded them not to fight against their own people.

They obeyed.

Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified the cities.  He had many wives and many children.

Starting in chapter 12, Rehoboam had long since abandoned God and His Laws.  He was only in power for five years before Egypt came up and invaded Judah.  Rehoboam then humbled himself and said that the Lord was right in doing what He is doing.  God saw his change of heart and He said He would not completely destroy the Israelites.

So they became slaves and all of Rehoboam's treasures were taken by the Egyptians.

Where do you put your trust?

The overall theme in Psalm 52 is trust.

Trust in the Lord.  All of your trust.  Put it all in God's Hands.

The first four verses are directed at a seemingly great warrior.  This could be anyone who boasts about their evil deeds, their lies, their crimes.  They love evil and sin.

But by verse five, God will easily strike the warrior down.  The righteous will be amazed by His amazing power, by putting down those who sin and do evil deeds.  Those who are boastful, who trust in their earthly wealth than in the Mighty Lord, will fail to grow beyond their earthly bounds and will not have a seat next to the Father in Heaven.

Trust in the Lord.

Trust in His good name.

Tarnishing a legacy

In the book of 2 Chronicles, starting in chapter 10, Rehoboam became the next king of Israel.  His father was Solomon, David his grandfather.  To say he came from an amazing legacy is highly understated.

But almost immediately, he changed.  In the beginning of chapter 10, a man named Jeroboam from Nebat came to Rehoboam, asking to lighten their taxes and their harsh labor.  In return, they would be his most loyal subjects.

The king demanded they return in three days while he contemplated their request.  First, he consulted with the elders, who agreed that he should be good to them.  Rehoboam rejected their advice and asked a group of young men their opinion.  They were not as wise and told him to impose even greater burdens on them.

When the people of Nebat learned of this, they were devastated.  They then revolted against him, killing one of Rehoboam's messengers, and forced him to flee to Jerusalem.

God's Mercy

We were conceived into sin.  None of us mortal humans are without sin--save for the Son, the One and Only Son of God, Christ Jesus.

Psalm 51 lays out God's neverending mercy for our line of neverending sin.  But as long as we acknowledge our sins, haunting our lives day and night, God has mercy on us.  We desire His wisdom, to guide us on the path of righteousness.

Starting in verse 10 are the words, "Create in me a clean heart, O God."  These words, along with the following few verses, are sung every Sunday at our little Lutheran church--as well as many others across the globe.  They are familiar to me.

Now I know where the words originate.

Psalm 51 may be short, with only 19 verses, but like many other psalms they are jam-packed with inspiration.  Take to heart verse 15: "Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you."

Solomon's Reign

Chapters 8 and 9, from the book of 2 Chronicles, told of the forty year reign over Israel, following his father David.

While constructing the Temple, he started out by rebuilding many of the surrounding cities, fortifying them from enemies.  He accumulated many riches and gave as generously, all the while keeping his promises to God.

At the beginning of chapter 9, the queen of Sheba visited and was impressed by his vast wisdom.  She gave many gifts and presented many back to her as they returned back to their own land.

The forthcoming Judgement of God

In Psalm 50, God summoned everyone together.  His Mightiness was glorious and perfect, and his approach was like a raging storm.

He brought the faithful to him first.  He declared that He is God.  Their God.  The One and Only God.  He also had no complaints about the sacrifices, but said they were unnecessary.  All of the animals were His.  Everything He created.  He required our sacrifice to be thankfulness to the Lord, and to call upon Him when we were in trouble.

God also had some choice words for the wicked.  He judged them on their evil ways, their lying and stealing.  But if they repented of their sins, He would forgive them.  If not, God's salvation would pass them by.

The Temple is Built

In the book of 2 Chronicles, starting at chapter 2, king Solomon prepared the Temple of the Lord to be built.

Throughout the next few chapters, materials were gathered, from cedar logs to gold.  These were secured from the various peoples in exchange for a fair price of wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine.

By chapter 5, the Ark of the Covenant was brought to the Temple, and the Lord was pleased by this.

In chapters 6 and 7, Solomon gave a heartfelt praise to God and dedicated the Temple to Him.  He made a promise to God that the Temple will be used as both a place of worship as well as a reminder of God's awesome power.  Solomon also prayed to God that He forgive for any wrongdoing that the Israelites may endure.

God responded that He would indeed test their resolve and faith, and would even reject them if they did not honor Him and His Name.

Seeking the Lord's Wisdom

In the first chapter from the book of 2 Chronicles, we find Solomon (son of king David) as the new king of Israel.

Solomon called all of the leaders together, gathering them in God's Tabernacle.  Then, before doing anything else, Solomon sought out God's Wisdom.  In front of all the leaders, with their own varying levels of experience and wisdom, he sought out the One True Divine Wisdom in the Lord.

God asked Solomon what he wanted to know.  "Ask, and I will give it to you!" He said.

Solomon was completely unselfish and asked for the wisdom and knowledge to lead His people properly, to govern fairly.

The Lord was pleased with this request.  Solomon did not ask for riches, fame, or even for his enemies to meet their deaths.

Gentleness and wisdom

The word gentle is repeated throughout Proverbs 15.

Verse 1 starts with, "A gentle answer deflects anger . . ."

By verse 4 are these words: "Gentle words are a tree of life . . ."

Another word repeated throughout the verses is wise.  Like verse 14: "A wise person is hungry for knowledge."

Each verse in this proverb could have it's separate post.  The wisdom of these simple sentences packs a great punch.  So many life lessons can be learned just by one verse alone.

In the final verse, 33, are the following: "Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor."

David passes the torch

In the 28th and 29th chapters of 1 Chronicles, the two final chapters, David told all of the leaders of Israel God's plan for His Temple.  David had planned the building of the Temple and secured the elements to build it, but the actual construction would be up to his son Solomon.

He then strongly urged everyone to follow the Lord's commands so that Israel could be passed on down to their ancestors forever--a permanent inheritance, he called it.  He also gave these instructions to Solomon personally.

The next day there was a grand feast and sacrifice, honoring the Lord.  Solomon was also crowned as the new king.