by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
By Suellen Estes
II KIngs 22-23
Each man is accountable for himself. That’s obvious when we see each man who comes into power as king of Judah.
Hezekiah turns the nation back to the Lord, and sees great miracles from his God. However, his son, Manasseh, leads a disgusting regime.
You might say that Manasseh was an earlier version of a universalist. He had every kind of religion and every kind of horrible practice was encouraged. Putting children through the fire, making sacrifices to every outlandish god, astrology, witchcraft, divination, spiritualism…you name it, he had it.
Remember the adage we started with: the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. If we don’t look back at these passages with the eyes of a New Testament believer – in other words, with the eyes of the Holy Spirit, we miss a lot.
There is only one true God. We are either worshipping Him in truth, or we are not. When we look back at these chapters in history, we see that God’s plan of a special people who will bring the Deliverer to the world is being diluted and compromised by the cocky, self-centered ones who come into power. They think that they are too smart for God.
Well, they aren’t as smart as they think, and they are digging a hole for their nation.
Thankfully, Josiah arrives on the scene. At eight years old, he has a desire to return the nation to holiness. He tears down all of the shrines to other gods, and reinstitutes the Passover, which has not been celebrated for many years. (How does he know what to do? He reads the Book of the Covenant. How do we know what to do? We read the Book of the Covenant ).
Unfortunately, the nation has gone too far, and their time of contending with God has come to an end. So the Pharoah of Egypt kills Josiah. And when Josiah’s son becomes king, the Pharoah imprisons him so that he can not rule, and replaces him with another evil man – Jehoiakim.
These are sad days in the life of Judah. Their time is about up. God has sent prophet after prophet to try to keep these people on the right track, but they just will not honor and follow the one true God.
I pray that we will heed the lessons of those days. I pray that our nation – and indeed, our world – will return to the one true God.
John 4:31-54
It seems that everyday Jesus is introducing something new to His disciples.
For several centuries, the Samaritans have been considered second-class citizens. Their ancestors had intermarried with other cultures, so that they were considered unclean people by the Jews.
Jesus is about to draw the big line through the ages – the line which will change the covenant. He will cut a new covenant between God and man – a covenant which will allow the Spirit of God to live on the inside of man – the way it was with Adam. When that happens, God’s covenant of mercy will be to all people everywhere.
After all of those years of being told to stay clear of other cultures, these people can’t understand Jesus. He seems like He is breaking the law. His followers love Him and believe Him, but they are confused by Him many times. There are many things they will not understand until He sends back the Holy Spirit to them.
In the meantime, Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman at the well and she runs into town to tell many others. They beg the Savior to stay with them for a while, so He stays two more days, and many come to believe in Him.
After the resurrection of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost, when He sends His Spirit to His disciples, all of these actions will be understood. They will understand that the covenant is no longer just for the Jews, but for all who believe in Him throughout the world. Right now, there’s confusion.
These disciples could have decided that Jesus was in error – as did many Pharisees of the day. But instead, they put these things on the shelf until they could understand them.
Today, the Holy Spirit is here and available to all who desire to walk with Him. He will come to live on the inside of all believers in Jesus, and He will bring understanding to all confusion. Just ask Him to teach you, and He will.
Lord, today, I pray that the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened so that we will know You better and understand more of Your plan.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II KIngs 19-21
Right in the middle of all of those worthless kings, here comes one who trusts the Lord.
Let’s backtrack just a little to see Hezekiah’s character. He had” removed the high places, broke down the sacred pillars, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made”(18:4. (The bronze serpent, which God had told Moses to make during the wilderness had become an idol. The people would worship the serpent, instead of God).
In fact, Hezekiah trusted in the Lord so that there was none like him of all the kings of Judah.(18:5)
Hezekiah of Judah watches as his brother kingdom, Israel, gets taken off to Assyria. He must have been in shock as he saw what was happening to them. After the Lord’s dealing with them for many years, He finally gives them up to the foreign army. Yet Judah is left.
Now the threat is knocking at the door of Hezekiah’s nation. Rabshakeh and his large army surround Jerusalem and taunt them. The priests ask them to speak in Aramaic, since they will understand and the common people won’t. But the bold Rabshakeh speaks louder in Judean, “Don’t listen to your king. He can’t save you, and his Lord can’t save you.”
However, through Isaiah the prophet, God speaks to Hezekiah. In addressing the Assyrians, He says, “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?…the Holy One of Israel.”(19:32)
Assyria had already overcome many nations around, and Judah seemed an easy prey. Yet God showed himself strong on behalf of His nation. In th middle of the night an angel of the Lord went out a struck 185,000 troops. So the king of Assyria departed and returned home…and as he worshipped Nisroch his god, some of his men came in and killed him.
So our Father is still blessing this nation.From all of the twelve tribes only Judah is left, but this remnant is God’s remnant and as long as they trust Him, He will be faithful.
You might look around and think that most people don’t believe or trust God. They see promises in the Bible, but they don’t believe them – why should you?
We serve an amazing God. He will be faithful to fulfill His covenant to those who believe Him. That’s the key, we have to believe Him.
John 4: 1-30
We meet the first woman evangelist.
The religion of the day didn’t allow for Jews to speak to Samaritans, and it didn’t allow for men to speak privately with women. The disciples were shocked when they saw their Savior breaking all the rules. What was going on?
Well, Jesus was showing the world that His love would overpower the sin of the world. This woman had had five husbands and now was just living with a man, but Jesus showed her God’s love and respect, which changed her life.
We get introduced to the “living water” which we will hear a lot about. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit which will come into us when we believe on Him. He is likened to a “spring of living water which bubbles up out of us, giving us wisdom and life.”(V. 14)
He also introduces the concept of worshipping in spirit and truth. Our worship is not formulas and rituals, but a heart which truly follows after Him.
This woman, having received respect and God’s love for the first time, can’t wait to tell her friends. She runs into the city and tells everyone that she has met the Messiah.
An evangelist is born.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Kings 17-18
A turning point for Israel finally comes. The turning point is that they are totally ravaged by Assyria and they are taken into captivity.
The Lord had dealt with this nation for many years. He had sent prophets to them warning them. But they “did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.”(17:14)
If they would just believe Him and trust Him and be faithful to Him, their lives would be blessed. But no. They “followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like.”(17:15)
Now it’s becoming clear why the Lord was so adamant about His people not mingling with the nations around them. It’s just human nature for people to begin to accept whatever they see others doing. When the Jews saw those around them worshipping other gods and partaking of other customs, they too began to participate.
You can see that today. No one ever says to himself, “I think I will be a drug addict or alcoholic.” But people do become that. They begin to hang out with others who are doing such, and the behavior begins to seem normal. So they try it, again and again, and they too are hooked.
The Israelites were no different. They began to hang out with the other cultures and intermarry with them. Eventually they began to follow the customs of the heathens – and it seemed perfectly normal.
This is the reason that the Bible is so important. Just think if we had no Bible, and we had to make our judgments based on what we see and hear. Our beliefs would be totally different. We would be unable to determine the right course on many occasions.
I am so thankful for God’s Word. It explains to us the way to go, and the underlying principles. His Word is indeed a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”(Ps. 119:105)
Back to the Israelis, they wouldn’t turn around and finally they nullified their covenant with God. A just God couldn’t continue to give special protection and consideration to people who wouldn’t be faithful to Him. So the Jews in Israel were taken into Assyria.
In the meantime, Hezekiah, king of Judah, tried to restore some faithfulness there. There’s a lot to say here, so we’ll take up that more tomorrow.
John 3: 19-38
“And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”(V. 19-21).
This passage really explains a lot. Do you wonder why Christians are hated by some people? This is it.
Of course, the people who are hating and mocking don’t realize who is pushing them to do it. Demonic forces behind the scenes who hate Jesus are influencing individuals to have this aversion.
Sometimes there are those who know what they are doing is wrong – and their conscience hurts them. Therefore, they avoid the “light.” They don’t want to be exposed.
The good thing about our Savior, however, is that when people want to turn from the darkness, He is always there – ready and waiting. Jesus is not judging them, but bringing them forgivenenss and empowerment to overcome the darkness which has invaded their lives.
Every individual judges himself by loving the darkness or the light.
I pray that our savior will enlighten our darkness, so that we can repent, receive forgiveness, and walk in the freedom of the light.
I want the brightest light, don’t you?
