Month: June 2025

King Jehoshaphat might have taken a wrong turn when he went into battle with King Ahab and saw him mortally wounded. He may have remembered the words of Micaiah that Ahab would die in battle. That image must have crossed his mind many times just as when we disobey God. We will have to live with that the rest of our lives. When someone we know dies, it is heartache, but more so if we have been a part of his demise as Jehoshaphat was. The scriptures are silent on his thoughts but we do read that Jehu came and admonished him and that was a turning point in his life. From then on he served and worshiped Yahweh. Not only that but he took advantage of his position to draw the nation back to Yahweh. 

What has transpired in your life that might have similar consequences but when you turned back to God, His grace was sufficient and He used that to teach us the power of forgiveness and the blessing of His grace. This is a good lesson on the blessings of God and His grace. 

Do you ever wonder as you read the historical accounts of these kings if they were more concerned about their image than being obedient to the Lord? Take Jehoshaphat; you read that he was wealthy and greatly respected but you do not read that he was wise like Solomon or King David.  On the outside, it seems that he cared about following the Lord but instead he chose to go with  Ahab’s evil counselors advice and went into battle. He was persuaded by Ahab to dress as a king but Ahab would disguise himself even after hearing the true and wise Micaiah that he would die in battle. 

Somehow as I read this account I am reminded of Psalm 1: How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. Yet Jehoshaphat ignored all three of these commands. He followed the advice of Ahab, the most wicked king of the east. He stood in his throne room and heard the lies of the wicked counselors and heard the wise counsel of the true priest, yet ignored it. He sat beside Ahab and agreed with his plan. Why Jehoshaphat? 

The question is this: how did that work out for these two kings? Ahab did indeed die, Jehoshaphat was reprimanded upon returning to Jerusalem. 

There is a principle here that comes from that psalm. We have one king and His Name is Jesus who said: Follow Me. End of discussion. 

Although Arab was wicked, as was his wife Jezebel, God saw the humbling spirit  when told of God’s plan for him of imminent death. Because of that of that He postponed his judgment. How merciful is our God! There is a principle here that we must not miss and it is this: God looks at the heart and when he sees us humble ourselves He may (not always but many times) postpone His judgment for our sins, even the sin of murder! 

That is an important principle to share with those who are deep in their sins. God sees the decrepit and sinfulness of ourselves but He patiently waits and even sends warnings to us about His plan to end our lives, but He also sees if we humble ourselves He will relent, perhaps. 

I cling to the truth of this story for that one reason alone. Christ came to pay the debt of our sin. He also sends us many to warn us of what our destiny might be so we can turn to Him and be saved.

Remember this principle: our sins are scarlet but His righteousness is pure. His patience is beyond my understanding. Peter wrote: He is not willing any should perish but all come to repentance. Is there a person in your sphere of influence for whom you are praying and yet not seeing any remorse? Don’t quit praying is what Jesus said but pray for their repentance. 

Elijah has been faithful to honor God and teach His Word. He obeyed God when it was a strange request, but he obeyed. Sometimes God asks us to do what we think is strange but in the end we can see the wisdom of God. 

God said to Elijah: go to the brook and the ravens will feed you? How odd. Ravens are dirty birds! Go to the town in the Gentile territory and there a widow will feed you. What? Elijah is a Jew and she will be a Gentile! Again how odd. Just like the Samaritan woman said to Jesus: Jews did not spend time with Gentiles. But the oddest thing was that both the widow and the palace person, Obadiah, immediately thought of their sin when God asked them to do something that would require them to trust God. What do I think about if God asks me to do something strange? Do I immediately respond with;  what have I done that God is bringing my sin to my remembrance instead of what Isaiah said; here I am, send me. 

What is the lesson here for us? God might ask us to do something odd or strange but remember these words from Isaiah: God’s ways are higher than ours. What He asks and what He plans are to bring glory to Him. That is what happened to the widow and Obadiah. God blessed both and He will bless us when we obey. Satan will try to do just as he did with the widow and Obadiah to distract us from being obedient. Beware of Satan’s work and trust God. 

Good kings & bad kings. The stories remind us of this principle: God raises up and puts down leaders for His purpose. What can be the purpose of these bad kings? They show us the principle of Jeremiah 17:9, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it…but only God. He allows the wicked to reign until men realize their need of God and turn to Him or if they refuse, their time will be cut short and another will come to take their place. The cycle continues. 

We could take that same principle and look at men today. Some are “good” but many are “bad.” Both types of leaders reveal their heart. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and tares. The owner said to let both grow until harvest time and then the tares will be burned but the wheat will survive and be made into bread. 

Today stop and consider and read closely these stories to ask yourself: am I wheat in the field or a tare? 

Do you sometimes find yourself in a situation where you don’t know where to turn? Just as there are two sides of a coin, so there are two sides to a problem you are facing. God has given us these choices to test our hearts. Will we, like King Asa, turn to Him for answers and relief or like King Jeroboam who relied upon his golden calves for answers? 

The Chronicler wrote these chapters to show us this principle: “The real difference between the Southern and Northern Kingdoms was theological. Judah was relying on what God had done, but Israel was trusting in what she could do.” [Dr. Constable] That sums up what is written. Two kings, two solutions and two outcomes. Once again we see the pattern: obey God and be blessed, turn from Him and seek your own solution brings trouble and loss. There is a question that we might bring to mind here if and when we turn to our own solutions: “how’s that working for you?” 

Today seek His face and His way and then you can sing the hymn: Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God has done. 

As Ecclesiastes says life is like a vapor, we are born and then we die. Life is like a revolving door. Centuries have passed since these stories of the two wicked kings but life has a way of teaching us wise principles by their lives. The first is, obey and serve God and He will bless. Turn away from Him and you will suffer both in this lifetime and the afterlife to come. A second principle is this: Parents are told to raise children to honor their parents and God, but pride steps in and their focus is on self, not the next generation.  We forget that this life is but a vapor and soon will be past. 

Rehoboam and Jeroboam were two foolish and wicked kings. They lived with no thought for tomorrow and in the end, both died leaving their nations as they lived: corrupt! It is sad to read these chapters but also stops us to think: how am living now and what do I pass on to my children so they will live and have prosperous lives. 

Take time today to read, study, pray and live a God centered life that you will pass on to your children. 

Today in my reading of Daniel 3 and Proverbs 30 one verse was clearly stamped on my thoughts: “Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.” (Vs 5) 

Three Hebrews challenged Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down to the golden statue, but this verse says exactly what they did. They trusted in God to be a shield about them and He proved Himself faithful. We will always come across the Nebuchadnezzar’s in this world. What will we choose to do? The Proverbs writer reminds us that in challenging times, God alone will be our refuge. Psa 33:20 We wait for the Lord; he is our deliverer and shield. And again Psa 115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their deliverer and protector.

What Nebuchadnezzar is in your path today? Trust God to be your shield and protector. 

God blessed King David with a son who became the wealthiest and most wise king of his time. The stories circulated about him and because of that the Queen of Sheba, who did not believe the tales told her about him, decided to travel to see for herself. As she met with him, she shared: “She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true!  I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story!Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me.” 

The Queen noted that she did not believe until she “saw” with her own eyes. Sometimes that is also true for us except in matters of faith. Faith is seeing with our inward eyes that God provides. 

The Queen noted that it was God who placed Solomon on his throne and it is God who places us where He can use us for His benefit. That is God’s purpose for His chosen ones. Today stop and consider that God has placed you right where He can use you for His work. Thank God that He has blessed you for this. Do others see and believe because they see the hand of God on our lives? What testimony is true for you today? 

Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes writes what is truly a wise saying: “For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.“ 

Protection is something we all crave and yearn for. We use tools to help us achieve protection from the enemies around us, whether it be a criminal seeking our money or scam artists. We yearn for protection from what our bodies face from disease and pain. But, Solomon is telling us that it is wisdom that will preserve our lives. We need it when confronted with the enemies of our souls when sin seeks to corrupt our peace. We need it when we are faced with unsavory people seeking to empty our bank accounts. We need it when we face a life threatening disease. Whatever you are facing, know this truth from this verse: it is wisdom that will preserve you emotionally, spiritually, mentally and yes, even physically. 

But, stop and ponder this, God has given us wisdom to preserve our life spiritually because life is fleeting and we need protection for the afterlife. If truth be known, many are squandering their lives here and not thinking about where they will spend eternity. Pray for wisdom to be prepared for your afterlife. Where will you spend it? In heaven or hell? The rich man in Luke 16 did not consider this question and he lives now eternally in torments. Let that be a lesson! Moses wrote in Deuteronomy to choose life. Will you do that today?