1 Kings 14:1-15:24
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Allright, now we are getting into the story of the Kings! I really like this portion of the Bible. I am fascinated by the back-and-forth stories and timelines of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judah. The one very unfortunate thing you will notice over and over are verses like 1 Kings 14 verse 22: "During Rehoboam's reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors." Or verses like 1 Kings 15 verse 3: "Abijam committed the same sins as his father before him, and his heart was not right with the LORD his God, as the heart of his ancestor David had been." And we will read far too few verses like verse 11 as we read about the Kings of Judah and Israel: "Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done." I think what is interesting to note in all of these verses - and in the verses to come about future Kings we will read about - is that it really didn't much matter what the Kings "did" in their reigns. Their wars or their building of cities or whatever really didn't matter compared to did they sin against God or not? Did they lead Israel or Judah into sin or not? Did they love God or not? And I think this is the same for our lives today. God does not so much care what our careers are or what our social status is or how many friends or how much money we have. God cares whether we love Him with all of heart, mind, soul and strength. God cares whether we are sinning against Him or not. As Jesus tells us: "seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of these things will be yours as well." So, yes, God ultimately does care about our lives and careers and friends and such too - but he first wants us to seek a right relationship with Him - and then everything else will flow from our relationship with God. Someone should have let some of these Kings of Israel and Judah know this!
Okay, a good overview of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah at this point in our readings in First Kings is this image below:
Below is an image for 1 Kings 14 verses 25 & 26 - "In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace and stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made."
Worship Video: Today's readings remind me of the song "Lord, I need you" by Matt Maher, sung here by Lauren Daigle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xambgAwkGg0
Do you need the Lord? Click here for your need to be fulfilled!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
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