Chronicles (This word means "the affairs of the days.")
These two historical books retell the events of Samuel and Kings, from a slightly different perspective. These books emphasize the faithfulness and greatness of God as He uses events of history of work out His purpose. They also emphasize the importance of demonstrating one's identity as a person of God.
Devotions in 1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 4:10 - Call on the Lord
1 Chronicles 10:14 - Cake
1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek the Lord
**1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek God Always!
1 Chronicles 21:24 - Some Gave All
1 Chronicles 22:19a - Seek God
1 Chronicles 28:9b - Your Whole Life Long
Devotions in 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 7:8 - A Very Great Assembly (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
2 Chronicles 7:8 - Dedication (Holy Day Lesson - Feast of Tabernacles)
2 Chronicles 11:14 - Going Through the Motions (Holy Day Lesson - Day of Atonement)
2 Chronicles 11:14 - One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest (Holy Day Lesson - Day of Atonement)
2 Chronicles 15:7 - Obtain a Full Reward
2 Chronicles 16:9 - A Blameless Heart or Foolish Choice
Call Upon the Lord
Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 1 Chronicles 4:10
There was an English playwright, George Bernard Shaw. He wrote “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a play not about being sincere and honest, but about being named Earnest. He also wrote a play, “Pygmalion,” which was later adapted into the popular musical, “My Fair Lady.” The premise of “My Fair Lady” is that, if you treat a person in a certain way, they will come to believe they are that way. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Hebrew people applied this idea in the way they named their children. That is, they gave their children names which meant something. For instance, my oldest son is Jonathan, which means “God’s gift.”
Jabez’s birth was painful, so his mom named him Jabez, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “pain.” But Jabez didn’t want his name to become a self-fulfilling prophecy in his life. So he asked God to step in and change his future. He asked for more possessions, for God’s guidance, and for God’s protection to keep him from that pain prophesied by his name. God heard him and granted his request.
You know, we live in a society that believes Christians are crazy fools and stupid idiots. But the reality is, if you belong to God, you have been adopted into the very family of God. You are royalty. You are a prince or princess of the King of the Universe.
Don’t believe the appellation that society has placed on your shoulders. Develop your relationship with God. Ask Him to change society’s plan for your future. Ask for His guidance and His blessing in your life.
Call upon the Lord.
Cake
He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:14
Let’s suppose, just for a minute, that your mom has made a scrumptious, towering, chocolate layer cake. You know she’s taking it to the neighbors’ house. But it looks so delectable. You want just a little taste. You also know that your mom is in the shower, but you conveniently tuck that fact away in a dark recess of your mind. Then you call, “Hey, Mom, can I have a little taste of this cake?” She doesn’t answer. So you call a little softer. If anyone asks, you can tell them you called a couple of times and there wasn’t any answer and there’s a rule: silence gives consent. So you cheerfully find the big cake knife, a plate, and a fork, and you cut yourself a generous slice. When your mom walks into the kitchen from her shower and sees the cake missing a huge piece or two, your face covered in chocolate, and the implements of your disobedience in your hand, she is not going to be happy. You knew better. You’re in big trouble. I don’t care how you try to reason your way out of it. You’re in big trouble.
Saul, the first king of Israel, also got into big trouble over the things that he knew he should not do. The Chronicler simply states, in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Do you know what a medium is? It’s a person who uses demonic influences or witchcraft to contact spirits for guidance. Do you remember the instance when Saul went to the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28)? He wanted to know if God would be with him and give him the victory over the Philistines who were arrayed against him. So he went to the witch of Endor and told her to consult Samuel, who was dead. Perhaps you’re thinking, why didn’t he just ask God. Saul did (1 Samuel 28:6). But God was silent. Since God didn’t answer Saul, he figured he’d find the answer another way. But, like cutting into the chocolate cake, Saul knew better.
God had given instructions to Israel for the time when they would choose a king to rule over them. He specifically told Israel, “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, . . .” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19) Saul, as Israel’s first king, certainly would have known to write the law and obey it.
One of the things written in God’s law (that God’s people were never to do) was to consult a medium. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. . . .
Saul should never have gone to the witch of Endor to consult Samuel, who was dead!, hoping to hear a word from God. But why didn’t God answer Saul. It goes back much farther than just consulting a medium. Remember in 1 Chronicles 10:13, it says that Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD. This goes all the way back to 1 Samuel 13-15. 1 Samuel 13 records Saul not waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice - as he’d been told. 1 Samuel 14 records Saul’s vow that the person who ate anything would die. He would’ve put his own son Jonathan to death if the people hadn’t ransomed him. Then in 1 Samuel 15 Saul was specifically told to strike Amalek, devoting to destruction all the people and all their possessions. When Samuel arrived after the battle, Saul said, “I’ve done what you told me to do.” Then Samuel says (1 Samuel 15:14), “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul had not obeyed God’s commandment. He was not reigning with a heart that was completely devoted to God. God said (1 Samuel 15:11), “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”
Like the piece of chocolate cake that the kid wanted to eat, Saul repeatedly did what he wanted to do regardless of the instructions from God to do differently. And as for 1 Samuel 28 recording that he’d gone to God for guidance first before inquiring from the medium, it’s like the kid calling for his mom when he knows she’s in the shower. The kid knew the mom was not going to answer. She probably couldn’t even hear him. God heard Saul, but the relationship was so badly damaged by this time, God wasn’t going to answer. So Saul tried to get his answer by doing something he knew was displeasing to God. How do you think that’s going to work out?
What you do matters. The way you live your life in service to God matters. How you observe God’s commandments matters. You can’t serve God and do what you want when it’s contrary to what He wants. In a word, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Seek the Lord!
“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles 16:11
Ron really likes a song! In fact, I rewound the cassette tape so many times to play that one song, it is totally amazing that it hasn’t worn completely through! The song lyrics are:
Oh give thanks to the Lord,
call upon His name.
Seek His face always;
glory to His name.
I like this song too. It’s simple in its message, but so difficult in its application! It’s much easier to complain. When we’re focused on what we want, on ourselves, it is so much easier to find fault with God, everyone, and everything around us. But the song accurately emphasizes what should be our first activity each morning: we need to give thanks to God and to call upon His name. We need to pray to Him. A good case can be made that this is the spiritual application of the Old Testament law of the morning sacrifice. We need to humbly go before our God and show our gratitude. Then the song goes on to underline another important fact: just because we’ve said good morning to God, we are not done for the day. His face, His ways, thoughts about Him, scriptures we’ve read, songs that are stuck in our head - all of it should constantly remind us of God.
I remember a sermon my dad gave many years ago about seeking God’s face. It’s the idea of beating a path to Him. If you walk through the tall grass or the forest once, there’s little evidence of your passing. If you want others to see your trail, you have to walk it over and over again. That’s what seeking God’s face is like - and walking the path once a day is going to look more like the path less taken than a well-worn trail.
Think about it. When we were at Pennyrile State Forest for the Feast of Tabernacles in 2009 and 2010, one of the things we loved was walking through the forest around the lake. There were paths everywhere to explore. But in February of 2009 that horrible ice storm ripped through the part of Kentucky. I do mean “ripped.” Tall trees had been snapped like toothpicks. Branches and deadfalls and widow-makers abounded. So when we chose a path to walk, we looked to see if it looked well-traveled before we embarked. What a bummer to get so far down a path and find it impassable!
A well-worn path means time. It means effort. It means dedication. Whether you are talking about a walking path, the achievement of a specific goal, or the relationship you have with God, it means time, effort, and dedication.
This concept of seeking God weaves its way throughout Scripture. I like finding it! For instance, in 1 Chronicles 16:11, it says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Using the analogy of our path, it’s hard to get to God’s strength when you need it if the path is overgrown with weeds and is not easy to see.
Another scripture which illuminates how to seek His presence continually is 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “pray without ceasing.” It’s kind of like a telephone which is never hung up. The conversation is open and can be continued at any time.
The best part of this goal of seeking God’s face is the end result. It’s the last line of the song I quoted to you earlier: glory to His name! Some of my most favorite scriptures are the ones which refer to God’s glory.
Jude 25: to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Revelation 1:5-6: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 4:11: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Revelation 5:12: . . . Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
Jesus Christ willingly gave up the glory that He had with the Father before the world began so that He could become the Savior, that we too might share in His glory as part of the Family of God (John 17:5). But God is jealous for His glory. He says in Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11 that he will give His glory to no other. God’s glory is just that: God’s!
Giving glory to the only One who is worthy is an important part of our existence. If you don’t think so, look upon the number of times in the New Testament you can find the phrase “glory of God.” So many of these instances refer to our walk and relationship with God. In fact, seeking God’s face is one way that we testify to the glory of God. We give praise and glory and honor and thanksgiving to our God as we acknowledge Him not just in our words, but our daily actions.
It’s something to consider as we consider which paths we might want to beat down.
**Seek God Always!
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11
Materials: plastic pen, pepper, salt, wool cloth
Why do tools come with an instruction book? So that you can use the tool most effectively! Why do cooks follow a recipe (most of the time)? So that you can expect the food to end up tasting in a certain way. Why do people follow the instructions when they’re putting together a piece of furniture? So that you end up with a piece of furniture that you can use as expected. So then, why would you want to read the Bible and follow God’s commands? So that life will work. God as Creator gave us an instruction book to help us live life in a way designed to minimize the pain that we have to go through.
But sometimes we go through pain anyway. It’s not necessarily because we’ve done something wrong. Sometimes it’s because we live in a fallen world. And then there are times when we just don’t know, and may never know, why we have to experience pain.
So then, what do we do?
We seek the only One who can save us - our Great God. It’s much like what happens when we electrify a pen and then put it close to pepper and salt. The pepper will be attracted to the pen much more rapidly than the salt.
In a similar way, whenever we don’t know what to do, our first reaction should be to seek God. Like the pepper immediately responses, so should we. We don’t want to be like the salt that is much slower to respond.
When we are happy, we should seek God. When we are sad, we should seek God. When we are upset or hurt, we should seek God.
God is good. God loves us. God has our best interest at heart. God knows what we need here and now to be formed into the image of His Son. So regardless of what your day looks like:
We need to seek the LORD and his strength! We must seek his presence continually!
Some Gave All
But King David said to Ornan, “No, But I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 1 Chronicles 21:24
Why do you think I chose this memory verse? Aren’t sacrifices passe, so . . . Old Testament? They don’t have anything to do with us today, do they?
Actually, they do. We are admonished to bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And Romans 12:1 says we are to be living sacrifices.
What does THAT look like? What is a sacrifice?
If you think of killing animals when you think of the word “sacrifice,” then you are probably pretty confused when you think of being a living sacrifice to God. A living sacrifice to God means that you no longer live for yourself, but you seek God’s will and direction in everything you do. I’m not talking about whether or not to get out of bed each morning. I’m not talking about whether to wear a red sweater or a blue pull-over. I’m talking about daily choices of what we say to others, what attitude we have when interacting with our family members, and what we choose to do with our time.
Sometimes it helps to define a word by looking at the opposite. So what is it that God doesn’t want from us if we are really serious about being a living sacrifice to Him? 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is a great place to start. This list of character traits: ungrateful, disobedient to parents, arrogant, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And it continues.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:10, tells us what he was willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ. He was willing to endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. Take a moment to think of each of these items. This is a person who was willing to submit whatever perceived control he had to the sovereignty of God, trusting God to work things out for Paul’s best according to God’s plan.
While you’re contemplating that list, consider what you are asked to sacrifice. I suspect it pales in comparison to what Paul was willing to sacrifice.
On January 28, 2012, there was a parade to welcome home U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. On Friday evening, beginning at 9:11, the names of the servicemen and women who gave their lives in these wars were read out loud, one at a time. You see, there’s a phrase for our troops: All gave some. Some gave all. Each person signed up to fight in those wars, knowing that it could mean their life. And for some, it did.
You know, you are in the Lord’s army. And someday you’re going to be standing for the Commander of the Lord’s Army. I want to be in the group about whom it is said, “Some gave all.” I want to be a living sacrifice for our God. And I want that for you too.
Seek God
Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19a
What does it mean to seek? It means to look for something with the desire to find it. Having the desire to actually find it is an important part of the definition. I can look for snakes while I’m out in the garden, but I really hope I don’t find one. You can look for your missing math book, but really hope that you can’t find it. You can look for evidence that the dog has eaten your breakfast, but not really want it to be true. So when we’re talking about seeking God, there is an implication that we want to find Him.
There are some wonderful verses about seeking God.
Deuteronomy 4:29: But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1 Chronicles 28:9b: If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
2 Chronicles 15:2: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Psalm 34:10: The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 105:4: Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Psalm 119:2: Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
Proverbs 8:17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Proverbs 28:5: Evil men ido not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
Isaiah 55:6: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
Jeremiah 29:13: You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Amos 5:4: For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;
Zephaniah 2:3: Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.
Matt 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Hebrews 11:6: And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
1 Peter 3:10-11: For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Over and over the Bible, the word of God, exhorts its readers, you and me, to seek God with all of our hearts, to greatly desire to find God. Implicit in that is the idea that once you find God, you never let go. You continue to seek His ways, to live your life worthy of the calling you’ve received by obeying God’s commands. Seeking God will last your whole life, if you really belong to Him. And seeking Him is more than just a worthwhile goal; it’s the only thing that matters - and it has eternal consequences. Too often when mom walks into the room and asks the kids what they’re doing, they say, “Nothing,” or “We’re playing MineCraft.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to walk into a room, ask people what they are doing, and hear, “We’re seeking God with our whole heart.”
I left one of my favorite “seek” verses ‘til last. Hosea 10:12 says, Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
With everything that we are, our hearts and minds, it’s time to seek the LORD.
Your Whole Life Long
If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 1 Chronicles 28:9b
Have you ever heard an adult say to himself, “Now, how do I do this?” You are amused that he has apparently forgotten how to do something he once knew how to do, and you think, “Well, memory is the first thing to go.” But it’s not just aging that has caused the memory loss. It is the continuous doing of a task that keeps the knowledge of how to do it fresh in your memory banks. That’s why your teacher can set a math problem in front of you on the first day of school - after a long summer break - and you ask, “Now, how do I do this again?” You haven’t been doing that task all summer, and you can’t quite remember what it is your teacher wants you to do.
As you get older, you’ll find yourself in this predicament over and over.
*At the beginning of the canning season, you’ll get out the canning book to remind yourself of how many minutes and at how many pounds of pressure you have to can tomatoes.
*You’ll have practiced a hymn on the piano over and over, until everyone in the house is sick of it. Then, after a hiatus of several months, you’ll decide to go play that hymn and it’ll be just on the edge of your consciousness, where you can’t quite remember how to play it.
*You’ll have read a book. Perhaps you like it so well that as soon as you finish it, you start at the beginning and read it all the way through again. But then, months later when you’re talking about it with a friend, you can’t remember the hero’s name.
* You’ll have a favorite song. You sing it every day. Eventually, you find another song that you are singing all the time. The first song comes to mind, but you can’t remember all of the words anymore.
Seeking God is like this too. Remember, we talked about seeking God implies an intent to find Him. We also talked about how important it is to continue seeking Him; that it has eternal consequences. Seeking God has to become part of who you are. It has to become something you do every day for your whole life. If you don’t make seeking God part of your daily routine, pretty soon you won’t be seeking Him at all. There are too many other distractions crowding into our lives. Then eventually, you will have forgotten God’s ways. You’ll no longer remember what the Bible says, how to defend what you believe, and even what you used to believe about God.
So, what does seeking God look like? It means, first, obedience to God. The first act of obedience to God is baptism. God has brought you to repentance. Now you need to make a public confession of who you are and your need for the Savior. Then you need to continue reading the Bible, praying to God every day, fellowshipping with believers, and obeying God’s Word. It’s life-changing. You cannot seek God and stay the same. As you seek Him, He will bit by bit change you into the image of Jesus Christ. That’s a very good thing. It’s much better than ending your life trying to remember what God had once shown you and you’ve now forgotten.
So seek God. Seek Him every day. Make Him the priority in your life. Seek God your whole life long.
A Very Great Assembly
At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 7:8
I love maps. I love getting an idea of the area we’re talking about. In this particular case, the entire land of Israel was celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The whole land, about 270 miles from the Brook of Egypt all the way the Lebo-Hamath in the north, celebrated this seven-day festival. Can you imagine everyone, literally everyone, around you celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles?
There have been Feast sites where 12,000 people gathered to worship God. That’s almost more than our minds can comprehend - that many people all singing praises to God and worshipping Him for seven days! On the other hand, now there are little groups all over the United States (and around the world) where people are worshipping God during the Feast of Tabernacles. There might be 100 here, 35 over there, 650 up north, and 300 out west. Some people camp. Some people stay together in a resort setting. Some people book the entire hotel. Other people just find rental vacation homes and meet in a central location every day. But some day, some day, we will get to experience both a huge congregation of people meeting together and holy day services being everywhere - because everyone will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. That will truly be a very great assembly!! I can hardly wait!!
But when will this very great assembly happen? Zechariah 14:16 says, “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, The LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.”
Did you get that? After the return of Jesus Christ, the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated. Only then, it won’t just be God’s people (those who are wholly devoted to Him); it will be the whole earth - because Jesus Christ will reign over the whole earth. When He is King, everyone will be celebrating His Holy Days.
So when will Jesus Christ return? The Bible seems to strongly indicate that it will be on the Feast of Trumpets. Numbers 10 talks about the uses for the silver trumpets. They were sounded to 1) gather the people together, 2) to move out, 3) during war when the people wanted to be remembered by the LORD and wanted to be saved from their enemies, and 4) at the appointed feasts and at the beginning of months.
Leviticus 23:24 says, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.”
I Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
So we celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, looking forward to that day when Jesus Christ will come back with the trumpet call of God. It’s the day when God’s people are clothed in immortality, changed in the twinkling of an eye. It’s the start of the reign of Christ. The trumpet call will gather all people together, ready to march to the orders of the King. It will signal an end to anyone who is rebelling against the return of Christ, for God will win the battle. The Feast of Trumpets will be a time of great rejoicing for the people of God. And finally, it ushers in that time when all people everywhere will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in a very great assembly!
Dedication
At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 7:8
So why were all of Israel assembled to keep the Feast with Solomon that particular year? What made this year different from all other years? It was the dedication of the temple. This was the celebration of the completion of seven years of work to build a house for God (1 Kings 6:38). However, Solomon never intended this to be a house to contain God; rather, Solomon knew that even the highest heavens could not contain God (2 Chronicles 6:18). It was a place for God to meet with His people.
What an incredible thing! To know that God is present - with you! 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 tells what happened once Solomon finished his prayer of dedication of the temple: fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Can you imagine this scene? Fire shooting down from heaven, burnt offerings being instantly incinerated and consumed, and the glory of the LORD being so powerful that the priests could not even enter the temple!! No wonder the people fell on their faces and worshipped the LORD! What an amazing display of both power and acceptance from the Great God of the Universe!!
It’s a nice story. It’s an amazing story. And it really has more to do with you than you might think. We sing a song called “Sanctuary.”
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true;
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.
But is this Biblical? 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit within us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says that we are God’s temple. 2 Corinthians 6:16 says we are the temple of the living God. Ephesians 2:22 says that we all, God’s church, are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 1 Peter 2:5 says that we are like living stones being built up as a spiritual house.
O.K. But if we are the temple of the living God, when will that spiritual house, that sanctuary, that temple be finished? Well, first it has to be prepared and purified. Titus 2:14 says that Jesus Christ gave himself to us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession. Ephesians 5:25-27 says that Jesus Christ cleansed the church that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot of wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
While it is true that we are saved through the blood of the Lamb, we must go onto perfection. James 1:2-4 indicates that it is a process, that we should “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 2 Peter 1:5 says to “make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” There is a process of sanctification, a process of being made holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3). It is the building of the temple of the living God - making a perfect dwelling place, holy and without blemish.
But, again, when will this dwelling place, the temple of the living God, be finished? 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Did you get that? When Jesus Christ comes back, we’ll be like Him. We will be done with carnal nature. We will be done with sinning forever. We will, as 1 Corinthians 15:52 says, be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That’s when the house of God will be ready. It will be time for a dedication for the temple of the living God - much like that dedication of Solomon’s temple which happened so long ago.
I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the dedication of Solomon’s temple happened during the Feast of Tabernacles. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Paul and Peter repeated spoke of God’s people in terms of a living, spiritual temple. I think it was all part of God’s plan - to show us what God has in store for those who serve Him now wholeheartedly. I think that after Jesus Christ returns on the Feast of Trumpets, at some point in the future, there will be a dedication of us - as the temple of God - during that Feast of Tabernacles. We will truly, joyously, wholeheartedly be singing “I am a living sanctuary for You.”
Going Through the Motions
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 11:14
When I think of Jeroboam, I think of the two golden calves he made. I think of him changing the time for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But I don’t usually think of him ousting the Levitical priesthood. And yet, he did! Think about the implications: first, he fashioned idols for Israel to worship - telling the people that these were the gods which brought them up out of Egypt (1 Kings 12). He set them in Bethel and in Dan, telling the people that Jerusalem was too far for them to go worship God. Then he changed the Feast of Tabernacles celebration to the eighth month, instead of the seventh, so that it’d be more convenient for the people and further distance them from the right time to celebrate. Then, to cap it all off, he got rid of the authorized priesthood, those who knew very well what he was doing was wrong, and he replaced them with anyone who wanted to be priest (1 Kings 13:33). It was so incredibly senseless. God had told Jeroboam that if he would serve Him faithfully that God would establish his kingdom (1 Kings 1:38). It seems the Jeroboam didn’t trust God to deliver on that promise! So he went through the motions of serving God, but it was only skin deep.
It reminds me of the passage in 2 Timothy 3:5. At the end of this list of vile conduct characterizing the end times is this phrase: having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. The note in the ESV study Bible says: Godliness (the Greek eusebeia) means genuine piety, including holiness, reverence, faith, and love and devotion to God. Jeroboam’s actions did not show godliness by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t have even one of those characteristics listed!
So what about us? Do we obey God’s law? (It’s not a matter of salvation; that’s only available to us through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.) Our obedience to God’s law demonstrates our devotion to Him. Are we going to do what He says? Is He our King and Savior or not? There’s not some fine print at the bottom of the covenant with God which gives us an out, saying that we don’t have to obey God if we don’t understand why He’s commanding us to do something. Why am I bringing this up today? One of the hardest things that we intentionally do every year is a complete fast for twenty-four hours on the Day of Atonement. It’s not one of those days that we look forward to. But God commands us to afflict our souls, and there’s enough evidence throughout the Bible to indicate that this means fasting. (Obviously, if there are serious health issues, fasting is not possible, and perhaps that’s why it says to afflict yourself instead of blunting stating that you must fast.)
Fasting is an intentional act, an act of humility, an act of obedience before God.
Fasting is also a very physical object lesson. It is so tangible. We physically experience the reality of subjecting our will in reverence to God’s will. It helps us to understand how very much more difficult it may be to completely bring every thought into submission to Jesus Christ. That’s our goal. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5. That’s the object lesson we learn in Atonement. Because really, Jesus Christ is the only One who can make propitiation for our sins. We cannot repair that relationship with the Father. We have to give up our will and become a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2); that’s our reasonable service to God, the One who redeemed us by His blood!
It did not work out very well for Jeroboam to go through the motions of serving God. And it won’t work out very well for us either.
Matthew West’s song, “The Motions,” expresses this very well:
"The Motions"
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?
No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something (Chorus)
Bridge:
Take me all the way
(Take me all the way)
Take me all the way
(‘Cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way
(Lord, I'm finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way (Chorus twice)
One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 11:14
Let’s consider two pertinent facts that Jeroboam should have considered before casting out the Levites from serving as priests of the LORD:
Jeroboam backed himself into an inescapable corner. He had no way to be reconciled to God. He couldn’t go into the Holy of Holies. He couldn’t be reconciled by one of the people he appointed to be a priest; they were not acceptable before God. This is the quintessential example of Robert Burn’s line, “The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” Jeroboam thought to solidify the northern kingdom of Israel in his hand and in that of his descendants. He should have spent more time thinking of Israel’s history. When Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them (Leviticus 10:1-3). Jeroboam could also have thought about Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:3), when Korah and 250 leaders challenged Moses’ authority, the position that God had put Moses in. Korah and those with him were devoured by an earthquake. The incidents with Nadab, Abihu, and Korah highlight that God has the right to choose who will serve before Him; you cannot choose to serve God that way just because you want to (Hebrews 5:4). God chose Aaron and his descendants; no one else was acceptable.
Why?
The Aaronic line typified Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest (Hebrews 5:5). Jesus Christ is the only one who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus Christ is the only one able, as High Priest, to enter into the Holy of Holies (not the physical tabernacle, but the throne room of God) to make atonement for us, not with the blood of goats, but with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12).
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Romans 3:25). It’s not only paying the price for our sins; it’s also the restoration of the relationship with the Father. God the Father, in His great mercy, gave His own Son to reconcile us to Himself.
John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Acts 4:12 says there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved.
Revelation 5:9 says the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. . .” And thousands and thousands and myriads and myriads of angels respond, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
The institution of the worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel is synonymous with Jeroboam’s rule. And we often think of how he changed the time of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But the ousting of the Levitical priests from serving the LORD under Jeroboam’s reign is likewise profoundly significant. God does not consider it a small thing to break the type. [Just think about Moses striking the rock (Numbers 20:8-13, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Exodus 17:6) and being subsequently prohibited from entering the Promised Land.]
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that we must obey God. If He is truly our God, then we must show that reality by doing what He says - regardless of how difficult it is, even if we don’t understand why - and we must obey with our whole heart. That’s what it means to be in a covenant with God where He affirms that He is our God and we are His people. There is One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest.
Obtain a Full Reward
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” ~2 Chronicles 15:7
Why do we get rewards? We get rewards for working hard in school (report cards and competitions), fruitful gardens, or even employment (jobs give a reward of payment - money). But you know report cards, and jobs, and gardens don’t give you a reward without a lot of effort.
A garden involves lots of work. You plow, you prepare the soil, you plant, you weed, you water, you weed, you cultivate, you weed - and eventually, you get a harvest.
Similarly there is a reward for following God. Really? What are the rewards? Can you think of a few?
Deuteronomy 28 lists the rewards of following God.
Proverbs 11:18 says that the one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. But . . . is that now? Or is that later? Because I know some very good people who don’t look like they’ve gotten a sure reward, at least, not yet.
There’s a whole list of people in Hebrews 11 who haven’t received their full reward yet either. So we know that God has a future reward for those who love Him and show that love through their obedience. In fact, Isaiah 40:10 says that when God comes, he’ll bring His reward or recompense with Him. Matthew 5:12 supports this idea: “Be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” 2 John 8 goes on to say that we need to watch ourselves that we will win a full reward.
Win? That sounds like work. Like gardening. Lots of work. Not only that but that Matthew 5:12 reference, in the Beatitudes section, where it talks about “great is your reward in heaven” - that reward comes because of the reviling and persecuting that God’s people are undergoing! That’s not only work, that’s hard!
Truly being a Christian, truly following God is not easy. Society, Satan, self - all are working against your walk with the Lord, but the rewards are sure. We need that encouragement to continue in a godly way. King Asa needed that encouragement too. That’s where this verse is from - when King Asa was told to be courageous in following God. His reaction? He tore down the pagan idols and rid the land of pagan worship.
So what about you? What is there in your life that is contrary to God’s ways that needs to be eradicated from your life? This verse is also for you. It is the encouragement you need to not let your hands be weak! Don’t be lax in following the Lord! Put Christ first and obtain the full reward He has waiting for you.
A Blameless Heart or Foolish Choice
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
Have you ever typed your address into Google? You can work your way to a satellite image of your home! How many hours of work did that take for all of those images to be archived and available to view? How scary is it to think about someone being able to watch you from space without you even being aware of their scrutiny?
This verse from 2 Chronicles indicates that God’s eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth. This word earth is #776 and means the whole planet, everywhere people live. There is no place where a person could be that God could not see them. And it’s not just their outside appearance like the satellite images. God sees into the heart. That means He knows our motives and our goals. He knows our priorities and our intentions.
So what? Why does God want to see what is in our hearts? This verse says that God will give His strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. Strong support? I think of this phrase like the movie Facing the Giants stated it, “What is impossible when God is on your side?” That’s the kind of strong support we’re talking about.
O.K. But who has a blameless heart? The word “blameless” is #8003 and in this context means “fully committed” to God. It doesn’t mean perfect. It doesn’t mean that you never sin. It means that your will and goal is to do what is pleasing to the Lord.
So, to whom was this verse spoken originally? It was for King Asa, one of the mostly good kings of Judah. Remember in our devotion on 2 Chronicles 15:7, Asa had destroyed a lot of pagan worship from Judah. But Asa made a foolish decision. When the king of Israel attacked Judah, Asa went for help to Syria, instead of relying on God for deliverance. It was a foolish decision, as the prophet told him.
Now Asa had two choices: he could repent or he could get angry at being chastised. What do you think he did? He got angry. He punished the prophet and he was very cruel to his own people.
Unfortunately, we make foolish decisions sometimes too. But what is our reaction when we’re corrected. Do we accept the correction and change our direction, or do we get angry and stubbornly continue on our course? I hope we repent.
But more than that, we hope we learn not to make foolish decisions. How do we do that? We seek God so that we learn His definition of right and wrong. Then when we have to make a choice, we’ll know which is the good road.
So you have a choice: seek God and gain His strong support or go your own way and make foolish decisions. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to make that choice, does it. Now make it so.
These two historical books retell the events of Samuel and Kings, from a slightly different perspective. These books emphasize the faithfulness and greatness of God as He uses events of history of work out His purpose. They also emphasize the importance of demonstrating one's identity as a person of God.
Devotions in 1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 4:10 - Call on the Lord
1 Chronicles 10:14 - Cake
1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek the Lord
**1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek God Always!
1 Chronicles 21:24 - Some Gave All
1 Chronicles 22:19a - Seek God
1 Chronicles 28:9b - Your Whole Life Long
Devotions in 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 7:8 - A Very Great Assembly (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
2 Chronicles 7:8 - Dedication (Holy Day Lesson - Feast of Tabernacles)
2 Chronicles 11:14 - Going Through the Motions (Holy Day Lesson - Day of Atonement)
2 Chronicles 11:14 - One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest (Holy Day Lesson - Day of Atonement)
2 Chronicles 15:7 - Obtain a Full Reward
2 Chronicles 16:9 - A Blameless Heart or Foolish Choice
Call Upon the Lord
Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 1 Chronicles 4:10
There was an English playwright, George Bernard Shaw. He wrote “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a play not about being sincere and honest, but about being named Earnest. He also wrote a play, “Pygmalion,” which was later adapted into the popular musical, “My Fair Lady.” The premise of “My Fair Lady” is that, if you treat a person in a certain way, they will come to believe they are that way. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Hebrew people applied this idea in the way they named their children. That is, they gave their children names which meant something. For instance, my oldest son is Jonathan, which means “God’s gift.”
Jabez’s birth was painful, so his mom named him Jabez, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “pain.” But Jabez didn’t want his name to become a self-fulfilling prophecy in his life. So he asked God to step in and change his future. He asked for more possessions, for God’s guidance, and for God’s protection to keep him from that pain prophesied by his name. God heard him and granted his request.
You know, we live in a society that believes Christians are crazy fools and stupid idiots. But the reality is, if you belong to God, you have been adopted into the very family of God. You are royalty. You are a prince or princess of the King of the Universe.
Don’t believe the appellation that society has placed on your shoulders. Develop your relationship with God. Ask Him to change society’s plan for your future. Ask for His guidance and His blessing in your life.
Call upon the Lord.
Cake
He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:14
Let’s suppose, just for a minute, that your mom has made a scrumptious, towering, chocolate layer cake. You know she’s taking it to the neighbors’ house. But it looks so delectable. You want just a little taste. You also know that your mom is in the shower, but you conveniently tuck that fact away in a dark recess of your mind. Then you call, “Hey, Mom, can I have a little taste of this cake?” She doesn’t answer. So you call a little softer. If anyone asks, you can tell them you called a couple of times and there wasn’t any answer and there’s a rule: silence gives consent. So you cheerfully find the big cake knife, a plate, and a fork, and you cut yourself a generous slice. When your mom walks into the kitchen from her shower and sees the cake missing a huge piece or two, your face covered in chocolate, and the implements of your disobedience in your hand, she is not going to be happy. You knew better. You’re in big trouble. I don’t care how you try to reason your way out of it. You’re in big trouble.
Saul, the first king of Israel, also got into big trouble over the things that he knew he should not do. The Chronicler simply states, in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Do you know what a medium is? It’s a person who uses demonic influences or witchcraft to contact spirits for guidance. Do you remember the instance when Saul went to the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28)? He wanted to know if God would be with him and give him the victory over the Philistines who were arrayed against him. So he went to the witch of Endor and told her to consult Samuel, who was dead. Perhaps you’re thinking, why didn’t he just ask God. Saul did (1 Samuel 28:6). But God was silent. Since God didn’t answer Saul, he figured he’d find the answer another way. But, like cutting into the chocolate cake, Saul knew better.
God had given instructions to Israel for the time when they would choose a king to rule over them. He specifically told Israel, “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, . . .” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19) Saul, as Israel’s first king, certainly would have known to write the law and obey it.
One of the things written in God’s law (that God’s people were never to do) was to consult a medium. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. . . .
Saul should never have gone to the witch of Endor to consult Samuel, who was dead!, hoping to hear a word from God. But why didn’t God answer Saul. It goes back much farther than just consulting a medium. Remember in 1 Chronicles 10:13, it says that Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD. This goes all the way back to 1 Samuel 13-15. 1 Samuel 13 records Saul not waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice - as he’d been told. 1 Samuel 14 records Saul’s vow that the person who ate anything would die. He would’ve put his own son Jonathan to death if the people hadn’t ransomed him. Then in 1 Samuel 15 Saul was specifically told to strike Amalek, devoting to destruction all the people and all their possessions. When Samuel arrived after the battle, Saul said, “I’ve done what you told me to do.” Then Samuel says (1 Samuel 15:14), “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul had not obeyed God’s commandment. He was not reigning with a heart that was completely devoted to God. God said (1 Samuel 15:11), “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”
Like the piece of chocolate cake that the kid wanted to eat, Saul repeatedly did what he wanted to do regardless of the instructions from God to do differently. And as for 1 Samuel 28 recording that he’d gone to God for guidance first before inquiring from the medium, it’s like the kid calling for his mom when he knows she’s in the shower. The kid knew the mom was not going to answer. She probably couldn’t even hear him. God heard Saul, but the relationship was so badly damaged by this time, God wasn’t going to answer. So Saul tried to get his answer by doing something he knew was displeasing to God. How do you think that’s going to work out?
What you do matters. The way you live your life in service to God matters. How you observe God’s commandments matters. You can’t serve God and do what you want when it’s contrary to what He wants. In a word, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Seek the Lord!
“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles 16:11
Ron really likes a song! In fact, I rewound the cassette tape so many times to play that one song, it is totally amazing that it hasn’t worn completely through! The song lyrics are:
Oh give thanks to the Lord,
call upon His name.
Seek His face always;
glory to His name.
I like this song too. It’s simple in its message, but so difficult in its application! It’s much easier to complain. When we’re focused on what we want, on ourselves, it is so much easier to find fault with God, everyone, and everything around us. But the song accurately emphasizes what should be our first activity each morning: we need to give thanks to God and to call upon His name. We need to pray to Him. A good case can be made that this is the spiritual application of the Old Testament law of the morning sacrifice. We need to humbly go before our God and show our gratitude. Then the song goes on to underline another important fact: just because we’ve said good morning to God, we are not done for the day. His face, His ways, thoughts about Him, scriptures we’ve read, songs that are stuck in our head - all of it should constantly remind us of God.
I remember a sermon my dad gave many years ago about seeking God’s face. It’s the idea of beating a path to Him. If you walk through the tall grass or the forest once, there’s little evidence of your passing. If you want others to see your trail, you have to walk it over and over again. That’s what seeking God’s face is like - and walking the path once a day is going to look more like the path less taken than a well-worn trail.
Think about it. When we were at Pennyrile State Forest for the Feast of Tabernacles in 2009 and 2010, one of the things we loved was walking through the forest around the lake. There were paths everywhere to explore. But in February of 2009 that horrible ice storm ripped through the part of Kentucky. I do mean “ripped.” Tall trees had been snapped like toothpicks. Branches and deadfalls and widow-makers abounded. So when we chose a path to walk, we looked to see if it looked well-traveled before we embarked. What a bummer to get so far down a path and find it impassable!
A well-worn path means time. It means effort. It means dedication. Whether you are talking about a walking path, the achievement of a specific goal, or the relationship you have with God, it means time, effort, and dedication.
This concept of seeking God weaves its way throughout Scripture. I like finding it! For instance, in 1 Chronicles 16:11, it says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Using the analogy of our path, it’s hard to get to God’s strength when you need it if the path is overgrown with weeds and is not easy to see.
Another scripture which illuminates how to seek His presence continually is 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “pray without ceasing.” It’s kind of like a telephone which is never hung up. The conversation is open and can be continued at any time.
The best part of this goal of seeking God’s face is the end result. It’s the last line of the song I quoted to you earlier: glory to His name! Some of my most favorite scriptures are the ones which refer to God’s glory.
Jude 25: to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Revelation 1:5-6: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 4:11: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Revelation 5:12: . . . Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
Jesus Christ willingly gave up the glory that He had with the Father before the world began so that He could become the Savior, that we too might share in His glory as part of the Family of God (John 17:5). But God is jealous for His glory. He says in Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11 that he will give His glory to no other. God’s glory is just that: God’s!
Giving glory to the only One who is worthy is an important part of our existence. If you don’t think so, look upon the number of times in the New Testament you can find the phrase “glory of God.” So many of these instances refer to our walk and relationship with God. In fact, seeking God’s face is one way that we testify to the glory of God. We give praise and glory and honor and thanksgiving to our God as we acknowledge Him not just in our words, but our daily actions.
It’s something to consider as we consider which paths we might want to beat down.
**Seek God Always!
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11
Materials: plastic pen, pepper, salt, wool cloth
Why do tools come with an instruction book? So that you can use the tool most effectively! Why do cooks follow a recipe (most of the time)? So that you can expect the food to end up tasting in a certain way. Why do people follow the instructions when they’re putting together a piece of furniture? So that you end up with a piece of furniture that you can use as expected. So then, why would you want to read the Bible and follow God’s commands? So that life will work. God as Creator gave us an instruction book to help us live life in a way designed to minimize the pain that we have to go through.
But sometimes we go through pain anyway. It’s not necessarily because we’ve done something wrong. Sometimes it’s because we live in a fallen world. And then there are times when we just don’t know, and may never know, why we have to experience pain.
So then, what do we do?
We seek the only One who can save us - our Great God. It’s much like what happens when we electrify a pen and then put it close to pepper and salt. The pepper will be attracted to the pen much more rapidly than the salt.
In a similar way, whenever we don’t know what to do, our first reaction should be to seek God. Like the pepper immediately responses, so should we. We don’t want to be like the salt that is much slower to respond.
When we are happy, we should seek God. When we are sad, we should seek God. When we are upset or hurt, we should seek God.
God is good. God loves us. God has our best interest at heart. God knows what we need here and now to be formed into the image of His Son. So regardless of what your day looks like:
We need to seek the LORD and his strength! We must seek his presence continually!
Some Gave All
But King David said to Ornan, “No, But I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 1 Chronicles 21:24
Why do you think I chose this memory verse? Aren’t sacrifices passe, so . . . Old Testament? They don’t have anything to do with us today, do they?
Actually, they do. We are admonished to bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And Romans 12:1 says we are to be living sacrifices.
What does THAT look like? What is a sacrifice?
If you think of killing animals when you think of the word “sacrifice,” then you are probably pretty confused when you think of being a living sacrifice to God. A living sacrifice to God means that you no longer live for yourself, but you seek God’s will and direction in everything you do. I’m not talking about whether or not to get out of bed each morning. I’m not talking about whether to wear a red sweater or a blue pull-over. I’m talking about daily choices of what we say to others, what attitude we have when interacting with our family members, and what we choose to do with our time.
Sometimes it helps to define a word by looking at the opposite. So what is it that God doesn’t want from us if we are really serious about being a living sacrifice to Him? 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is a great place to start. This list of character traits: ungrateful, disobedient to parents, arrogant, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And it continues.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:10, tells us what he was willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ. He was willing to endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. Take a moment to think of each of these items. This is a person who was willing to submit whatever perceived control he had to the sovereignty of God, trusting God to work things out for Paul’s best according to God’s plan.
While you’re contemplating that list, consider what you are asked to sacrifice. I suspect it pales in comparison to what Paul was willing to sacrifice.
On January 28, 2012, there was a parade to welcome home U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. On Friday evening, beginning at 9:11, the names of the servicemen and women who gave their lives in these wars were read out loud, one at a time. You see, there’s a phrase for our troops: All gave some. Some gave all. Each person signed up to fight in those wars, knowing that it could mean their life. And for some, it did.
You know, you are in the Lord’s army. And someday you’re going to be standing for the Commander of the Lord’s Army. I want to be in the group about whom it is said, “Some gave all.” I want to be a living sacrifice for our God. And I want that for you too.
Seek God
Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19a
What does it mean to seek? It means to look for something with the desire to find it. Having the desire to actually find it is an important part of the definition. I can look for snakes while I’m out in the garden, but I really hope I don’t find one. You can look for your missing math book, but really hope that you can’t find it. You can look for evidence that the dog has eaten your breakfast, but not really want it to be true. So when we’re talking about seeking God, there is an implication that we want to find Him.
There are some wonderful verses about seeking God.
Deuteronomy 4:29: But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1 Chronicles 28:9b: If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
2 Chronicles 15:2: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Psalm 34:10: The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 105:4: Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Psalm 119:2: Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
Proverbs 8:17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Proverbs 28:5: Evil men ido not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
Isaiah 55:6: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
Jeremiah 29:13: You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Amos 5:4: For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;
Zephaniah 2:3: Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.
Matt 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Hebrews 11:6: And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
1 Peter 3:10-11: For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Over and over the Bible, the word of God, exhorts its readers, you and me, to seek God with all of our hearts, to greatly desire to find God. Implicit in that is the idea that once you find God, you never let go. You continue to seek His ways, to live your life worthy of the calling you’ve received by obeying God’s commands. Seeking God will last your whole life, if you really belong to Him. And seeking Him is more than just a worthwhile goal; it’s the only thing that matters - and it has eternal consequences. Too often when mom walks into the room and asks the kids what they’re doing, they say, “Nothing,” or “We’re playing MineCraft.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to walk into a room, ask people what they are doing, and hear, “We’re seeking God with our whole heart.”
I left one of my favorite “seek” verses ‘til last. Hosea 10:12 says, Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
With everything that we are, our hearts and minds, it’s time to seek the LORD.
Your Whole Life Long
If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 1 Chronicles 28:9b
Have you ever heard an adult say to himself, “Now, how do I do this?” You are amused that he has apparently forgotten how to do something he once knew how to do, and you think, “Well, memory is the first thing to go.” But it’s not just aging that has caused the memory loss. It is the continuous doing of a task that keeps the knowledge of how to do it fresh in your memory banks. That’s why your teacher can set a math problem in front of you on the first day of school - after a long summer break - and you ask, “Now, how do I do this again?” You haven’t been doing that task all summer, and you can’t quite remember what it is your teacher wants you to do.
As you get older, you’ll find yourself in this predicament over and over.
*At the beginning of the canning season, you’ll get out the canning book to remind yourself of how many minutes and at how many pounds of pressure you have to can tomatoes.
*You’ll have practiced a hymn on the piano over and over, until everyone in the house is sick of it. Then, after a hiatus of several months, you’ll decide to go play that hymn and it’ll be just on the edge of your consciousness, where you can’t quite remember how to play it.
*You’ll have read a book. Perhaps you like it so well that as soon as you finish it, you start at the beginning and read it all the way through again. But then, months later when you’re talking about it with a friend, you can’t remember the hero’s name.
* You’ll have a favorite song. You sing it every day. Eventually, you find another song that you are singing all the time. The first song comes to mind, but you can’t remember all of the words anymore.
Seeking God is like this too. Remember, we talked about seeking God implies an intent to find Him. We also talked about how important it is to continue seeking Him; that it has eternal consequences. Seeking God has to become part of who you are. It has to become something you do every day for your whole life. If you don’t make seeking God part of your daily routine, pretty soon you won’t be seeking Him at all. There are too many other distractions crowding into our lives. Then eventually, you will have forgotten God’s ways. You’ll no longer remember what the Bible says, how to defend what you believe, and even what you used to believe about God.
So, what does seeking God look like? It means, first, obedience to God. The first act of obedience to God is baptism. God has brought you to repentance. Now you need to make a public confession of who you are and your need for the Savior. Then you need to continue reading the Bible, praying to God every day, fellowshipping with believers, and obeying God’s Word. It’s life-changing. You cannot seek God and stay the same. As you seek Him, He will bit by bit change you into the image of Jesus Christ. That’s a very good thing. It’s much better than ending your life trying to remember what God had once shown you and you’ve now forgotten.
So seek God. Seek Him every day. Make Him the priority in your life. Seek God your whole life long.
A Very Great Assembly
At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 7:8
I love maps. I love getting an idea of the area we’re talking about. In this particular case, the entire land of Israel was celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The whole land, about 270 miles from the Brook of Egypt all the way the Lebo-Hamath in the north, celebrated this seven-day festival. Can you imagine everyone, literally everyone, around you celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles?
There have been Feast sites where 12,000 people gathered to worship God. That’s almost more than our minds can comprehend - that many people all singing praises to God and worshipping Him for seven days! On the other hand, now there are little groups all over the United States (and around the world) where people are worshipping God during the Feast of Tabernacles. There might be 100 here, 35 over there, 650 up north, and 300 out west. Some people camp. Some people stay together in a resort setting. Some people book the entire hotel. Other people just find rental vacation homes and meet in a central location every day. But some day, some day, we will get to experience both a huge congregation of people meeting together and holy day services being everywhere - because everyone will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. That will truly be a very great assembly!! I can hardly wait!!
But when will this very great assembly happen? Zechariah 14:16 says, “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, The LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.”
Did you get that? After the return of Jesus Christ, the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated. Only then, it won’t just be God’s people (those who are wholly devoted to Him); it will be the whole earth - because Jesus Christ will reign over the whole earth. When He is King, everyone will be celebrating His Holy Days.
So when will Jesus Christ return? The Bible seems to strongly indicate that it will be on the Feast of Trumpets. Numbers 10 talks about the uses for the silver trumpets. They were sounded to 1) gather the people together, 2) to move out, 3) during war when the people wanted to be remembered by the LORD and wanted to be saved from their enemies, and 4) at the appointed feasts and at the beginning of months.
Leviticus 23:24 says, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.”
I Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
So we celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, looking forward to that day when Jesus Christ will come back with the trumpet call of God. It’s the day when God’s people are clothed in immortality, changed in the twinkling of an eye. It’s the start of the reign of Christ. The trumpet call will gather all people together, ready to march to the orders of the King. It will signal an end to anyone who is rebelling against the return of Christ, for God will win the battle. The Feast of Trumpets will be a time of great rejoicing for the people of God. And finally, it ushers in that time when all people everywhere will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in a very great assembly!
Dedication
At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 7:8
So why were all of Israel assembled to keep the Feast with Solomon that particular year? What made this year different from all other years? It was the dedication of the temple. This was the celebration of the completion of seven years of work to build a house for God (1 Kings 6:38). However, Solomon never intended this to be a house to contain God; rather, Solomon knew that even the highest heavens could not contain God (2 Chronicles 6:18). It was a place for God to meet with His people.
What an incredible thing! To know that God is present - with you! 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 tells what happened once Solomon finished his prayer of dedication of the temple: fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Can you imagine this scene? Fire shooting down from heaven, burnt offerings being instantly incinerated and consumed, and the glory of the LORD being so powerful that the priests could not even enter the temple!! No wonder the people fell on their faces and worshipped the LORD! What an amazing display of both power and acceptance from the Great God of the Universe!!
It’s a nice story. It’s an amazing story. And it really has more to do with you than you might think. We sing a song called “Sanctuary.”
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true;
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.
But is this Biblical? 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit within us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says that we are God’s temple. 2 Corinthians 6:16 says we are the temple of the living God. Ephesians 2:22 says that we all, God’s church, are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 1 Peter 2:5 says that we are like living stones being built up as a spiritual house.
O.K. But if we are the temple of the living God, when will that spiritual house, that sanctuary, that temple be finished? Well, first it has to be prepared and purified. Titus 2:14 says that Jesus Christ gave himself to us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession. Ephesians 5:25-27 says that Jesus Christ cleansed the church that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot of wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
While it is true that we are saved through the blood of the Lamb, we must go onto perfection. James 1:2-4 indicates that it is a process, that we should “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 2 Peter 1:5 says to “make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” There is a process of sanctification, a process of being made holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3). It is the building of the temple of the living God - making a perfect dwelling place, holy and without blemish.
But, again, when will this dwelling place, the temple of the living God, be finished? 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Did you get that? When Jesus Christ comes back, we’ll be like Him. We will be done with carnal nature. We will be done with sinning forever. We will, as 1 Corinthians 15:52 says, be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That’s when the house of God will be ready. It will be time for a dedication for the temple of the living God - much like that dedication of Solomon’s temple which happened so long ago.
I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the dedication of Solomon’s temple happened during the Feast of Tabernacles. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Paul and Peter repeated spoke of God’s people in terms of a living, spiritual temple. I think it was all part of God’s plan - to show us what God has in store for those who serve Him now wholeheartedly. I think that after Jesus Christ returns on the Feast of Trumpets, at some point in the future, there will be a dedication of us - as the temple of God - during that Feast of Tabernacles. We will truly, joyously, wholeheartedly be singing “I am a living sanctuary for You.”
Going Through the Motions
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 11:14
When I think of Jeroboam, I think of the two golden calves he made. I think of him changing the time for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But I don’t usually think of him ousting the Levitical priesthood. And yet, he did! Think about the implications: first, he fashioned idols for Israel to worship - telling the people that these were the gods which brought them up out of Egypt (1 Kings 12). He set them in Bethel and in Dan, telling the people that Jerusalem was too far for them to go worship God. Then he changed the Feast of Tabernacles celebration to the eighth month, instead of the seventh, so that it’d be more convenient for the people and further distance them from the right time to celebrate. Then, to cap it all off, he got rid of the authorized priesthood, those who knew very well what he was doing was wrong, and he replaced them with anyone who wanted to be priest (1 Kings 13:33). It was so incredibly senseless. God had told Jeroboam that if he would serve Him faithfully that God would establish his kingdom (1 Kings 1:38). It seems the Jeroboam didn’t trust God to deliver on that promise! So he went through the motions of serving God, but it was only skin deep.
It reminds me of the passage in 2 Timothy 3:5. At the end of this list of vile conduct characterizing the end times is this phrase: having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. The note in the ESV study Bible says: Godliness (the Greek eusebeia) means genuine piety, including holiness, reverence, faith, and love and devotion to God. Jeroboam’s actions did not show godliness by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t have even one of those characteristics listed!
So what about us? Do we obey God’s law? (It’s not a matter of salvation; that’s only available to us through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.) Our obedience to God’s law demonstrates our devotion to Him. Are we going to do what He says? Is He our King and Savior or not? There’s not some fine print at the bottom of the covenant with God which gives us an out, saying that we don’t have to obey God if we don’t understand why He’s commanding us to do something. Why am I bringing this up today? One of the hardest things that we intentionally do every year is a complete fast for twenty-four hours on the Day of Atonement. It’s not one of those days that we look forward to. But God commands us to afflict our souls, and there’s enough evidence throughout the Bible to indicate that this means fasting. (Obviously, if there are serious health issues, fasting is not possible, and perhaps that’s why it says to afflict yourself instead of blunting stating that you must fast.)
Fasting is an intentional act, an act of humility, an act of obedience before God.
Fasting is also a very physical object lesson. It is so tangible. We physically experience the reality of subjecting our will in reverence to God’s will. It helps us to understand how very much more difficult it may be to completely bring every thought into submission to Jesus Christ. That’s our goal. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5. That’s the object lesson we learn in Atonement. Because really, Jesus Christ is the only One who can make propitiation for our sins. We cannot repair that relationship with the Father. We have to give up our will and become a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2); that’s our reasonable service to God, the One who redeemed us by His blood!
It did not work out very well for Jeroboam to go through the motions of serving God. And it won’t work out very well for us either.
Matthew West’s song, “The Motions,” expresses this very well:
"The Motions"
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?
No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something (Chorus)
Bridge:
Take me all the way
(Take me all the way)
Take me all the way
(‘Cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way
(Lord, I'm finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way (Chorus twice)
One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 11:14
Let’s consider two pertinent facts that Jeroboam should have considered before casting out the Levites from serving as priests of the LORD:
- The priesthood belonged to Aaron and his descendants forever by a statute of God. (Exodus 29:9; Numbers 18:7) Anyone else who came within the veil was put to death.
- It was only the high priest who could go into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the holy place - and then only once a year. (Leviticus 16:16, 20; Hebrews 9:6-7)
Jeroboam backed himself into an inescapable corner. He had no way to be reconciled to God. He couldn’t go into the Holy of Holies. He couldn’t be reconciled by one of the people he appointed to be a priest; they were not acceptable before God. This is the quintessential example of Robert Burn’s line, “The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” Jeroboam thought to solidify the northern kingdom of Israel in his hand and in that of his descendants. He should have spent more time thinking of Israel’s history. When Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them (Leviticus 10:1-3). Jeroboam could also have thought about Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:3), when Korah and 250 leaders challenged Moses’ authority, the position that God had put Moses in. Korah and those with him were devoured by an earthquake. The incidents with Nadab, Abihu, and Korah highlight that God has the right to choose who will serve before Him; you cannot choose to serve God that way just because you want to (Hebrews 5:4). God chose Aaron and his descendants; no one else was acceptable.
Why?
The Aaronic line typified Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest (Hebrews 5:5). Jesus Christ is the only one who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus Christ is the only one able, as High Priest, to enter into the Holy of Holies (not the physical tabernacle, but the throne room of God) to make atonement for us, not with the blood of goats, but with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12).
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Romans 3:25). It’s not only paying the price for our sins; it’s also the restoration of the relationship with the Father. God the Father, in His great mercy, gave His own Son to reconcile us to Himself.
John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Acts 4:12 says there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved.
Revelation 5:9 says the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. . .” And thousands and thousands and myriads and myriads of angels respond, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
The institution of the worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel is synonymous with Jeroboam’s rule. And we often think of how he changed the time of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But the ousting of the Levitical priests from serving the LORD under Jeroboam’s reign is likewise profoundly significant. God does not consider it a small thing to break the type. [Just think about Moses striking the rock (Numbers 20:8-13, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Exodus 17:6) and being subsequently prohibited from entering the Promised Land.]
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that we must obey God. If He is truly our God, then we must show that reality by doing what He says - regardless of how difficult it is, even if we don’t understand why - and we must obey with our whole heart. That’s what it means to be in a covenant with God where He affirms that He is our God and we are His people. There is One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest.
Obtain a Full Reward
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” ~2 Chronicles 15:7
Why do we get rewards? We get rewards for working hard in school (report cards and competitions), fruitful gardens, or even employment (jobs give a reward of payment - money). But you know report cards, and jobs, and gardens don’t give you a reward without a lot of effort.
A garden involves lots of work. You plow, you prepare the soil, you plant, you weed, you water, you weed, you cultivate, you weed - and eventually, you get a harvest.
Similarly there is a reward for following God. Really? What are the rewards? Can you think of a few?
Deuteronomy 28 lists the rewards of following God.
Proverbs 11:18 says that the one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. But . . . is that now? Or is that later? Because I know some very good people who don’t look like they’ve gotten a sure reward, at least, not yet.
There’s a whole list of people in Hebrews 11 who haven’t received their full reward yet either. So we know that God has a future reward for those who love Him and show that love through their obedience. In fact, Isaiah 40:10 says that when God comes, he’ll bring His reward or recompense with Him. Matthew 5:12 supports this idea: “Be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” 2 John 8 goes on to say that we need to watch ourselves that we will win a full reward.
Win? That sounds like work. Like gardening. Lots of work. Not only that but that Matthew 5:12 reference, in the Beatitudes section, where it talks about “great is your reward in heaven” - that reward comes because of the reviling and persecuting that God’s people are undergoing! That’s not only work, that’s hard!
Truly being a Christian, truly following God is not easy. Society, Satan, self - all are working against your walk with the Lord, but the rewards are sure. We need that encouragement to continue in a godly way. King Asa needed that encouragement too. That’s where this verse is from - when King Asa was told to be courageous in following God. His reaction? He tore down the pagan idols and rid the land of pagan worship.
So what about you? What is there in your life that is contrary to God’s ways that needs to be eradicated from your life? This verse is also for you. It is the encouragement you need to not let your hands be weak! Don’t be lax in following the Lord! Put Christ first and obtain the full reward He has waiting for you.
A Blameless Heart or Foolish Choice
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
Have you ever typed your address into Google? You can work your way to a satellite image of your home! How many hours of work did that take for all of those images to be archived and available to view? How scary is it to think about someone being able to watch you from space without you even being aware of their scrutiny?
This verse from 2 Chronicles indicates that God’s eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth. This word earth is #776 and means the whole planet, everywhere people live. There is no place where a person could be that God could not see them. And it’s not just their outside appearance like the satellite images. God sees into the heart. That means He knows our motives and our goals. He knows our priorities and our intentions.
So what? Why does God want to see what is in our hearts? This verse says that God will give His strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. Strong support? I think of this phrase like the movie Facing the Giants stated it, “What is impossible when God is on your side?” That’s the kind of strong support we’re talking about.
O.K. But who has a blameless heart? The word “blameless” is #8003 and in this context means “fully committed” to God. It doesn’t mean perfect. It doesn’t mean that you never sin. It means that your will and goal is to do what is pleasing to the Lord.
So, to whom was this verse spoken originally? It was for King Asa, one of the mostly good kings of Judah. Remember in our devotion on 2 Chronicles 15:7, Asa had destroyed a lot of pagan worship from Judah. But Asa made a foolish decision. When the king of Israel attacked Judah, Asa went for help to Syria, instead of relying on God for deliverance. It was a foolish decision, as the prophet told him.
Now Asa had two choices: he could repent or he could get angry at being chastised. What do you think he did? He got angry. He punished the prophet and he was very cruel to his own people.
Unfortunately, we make foolish decisions sometimes too. But what is our reaction when we’re corrected. Do we accept the correction and change our direction, or do we get angry and stubbornly continue on our course? I hope we repent.
But more than that, we hope we learn not to make foolish decisions. How do we do that? We seek God so that we learn His definition of right and wrong. Then when we have to make a choice, we’ll know which is the good road.
So you have a choice: seek God and gain His strong support or go your own way and make foolish decisions. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to make that choice, does it. Now make it so.