We need reminders. The high priest finds the Book of the Law and tells the secretary who tells King Josiah (chapter 22), and in today’s reading the king reads it to the people and renews their commitment to it. They rediscover their identity. We in the church today need frequent reminders of whose we are, [...]
Archive for the ‘Second Kings’ Category
Day 119: Second Kings 23-25
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Church, Second Kings, tagged faith, life, spirituality on December 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Day 118: Second Kings 20-22
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Second Kings, Spiritual Disciplines, tagged Hezekiah, humility, life, pride, spirituality on December 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Good people mess up. It’s a fact of human nature. Hezekiah is a righteous king; he does a lot of good. He trusts and obeys God, gets rid of idols, and is highly successful in helping his people. Toward the end of his life, however, he gets a little too arrogant. Some people from Babylon [...]
Day 117: Second Kings 18-19
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Holidays, Second Kings, tagged Christmas, faith, Hezekiah, life, spirituality on December 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Hezekiah is a good king in a time when many monarchs are evil, and his effectiveness arises from his faithfulness. This morning I heard a preacher say that the greatest miracle of Christmas is not the baby in the manger or even the virgin birth but the God who cares. That deserves my faith. It [...]
Day 116: Second Kings 15-17
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Holidays, Second Kings, tagged Assyrian captivity, Christmas on December 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Some prefer Luke 2, but my Christmas reading is Second Kings 15-17. Men kill to become kings and perform notorious evil. Azariah and Jotham aren’t too shabby, but the rest are whacked, and the kingly chaos culminates in calamity. Assyria captures Samaria, Israel’s capital, and deports its residents. Why? Check out verses 7 and 8 [...]
Day 115: Second Kings 12-14
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Second Kings, tagged Jeroboam, Jesus, life, spirituality on December 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Sufferers find salvation in Jesus. Happy Christmas Eve! In today’s reading God has seen great suffering in Israel and responds by rescuing the people through King Jeroboam. But Jeroboam is not a good king; he does evil stuff. Jesus was perfect, and God rescued us through him. Jeroboam was far from perfect, and God relieved [...]
Day 114: Second Kings 9-11
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Holidays, Second Kings, tagged Christmas, Jesus, peace, violence on December 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
These chapters should be rated at least R. When I read the violence, I find no uplifting thought to write, no devotional message to encourage you. I search my feelings and find disgust and embarrassment and am tempted to rethink my allegiance to the Story of scripture. Then I find redemption. In the midst of [...]
Day 113: Second Kings 6-8
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Second Kings, tagged Elisha, life, spirituality on December 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Have you ever felt outnumbered? Overwhelmed? Hopeless? Then this story is for you. A bunch of guys surround the prophet Elisha to capture him. His assistant sees the crowd and cries out to Elisha. The prophet tells his afraid assistant not to fear and assures him, “Those who are with us are more than those [...]
Day 112: Second Kings 4-5
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Second Kings, tagged Christianity, gospel, Jesus, life, resurrection, spirituality on December 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Death ends in life. That’s at the heart of the Christian faith, and today’s reading foreshadows it. A child dies; a mother weeps. She complains to a prophet, and God restores the son’s life. Later: A child dies; a mother weeps. She mourns with friends, and God restores the son’s life. And that resurrection brings [...]
Day 111: Second Kings 1-3
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Second Kings, tagged idolatry, life, religion, science, science and religion, spirituality on December 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When do you turn to God? At a large ministry event a few years ago, an audience member collapsed. Awareness of the tragedy quickly spread through the crowd. The event organizer stepped to the microphone and asked a physician to make his way to the center of commotion. Several minutes later, at a convenient time [...]
