2 Kings 15-16
2 Kings 15
Vs. 1-7
Azariah is also King Uzziah, well known in Isaiah 6. Notice that he reigned 52
years. You can imagine the sadness of the event when this king died. It's
interesting here that it mentions that God made him a leper, but never says
why. We'll get to that in 2 Chronicles 26, but Uzziah was another godly king
who was great in his youth; however, later in life, when he became (fill in the
blank), he fell.
V. 3
Notice that his devotion to the Lord was measured in comparison to his father,
not in comparison to David. Only three kings were devoted to the Lord at
David's level. Jehoshaphat was one of them and we'll meet the second today.
V. 5 Most
of these kings allowed their sons to reign with them, co-regents, until their
deaths. Azariah (Uzziah) was forced to let Jotham reign with him, since Uzziah
was no longer allowed to live in the palace because of his leprosy.
Vs. 8-12
This fulfills the promise to Jehu. Zechariah was the fourth generation, but
only reigned six months.
Vs. 13-15
Believe it or not, Shallum wasn't the shortest reigning king. Zimri was king
for seven days, in 1 Kings 16.
Vs. 14-22
Menahem murdered the other murderer to become king. In v. 16 Menahem began his
reign by sending a very clear message to all of Israel. Imagine having this guy
as your king for ten years. In addition, Menahem was very much into taxation.
His name should have been "Mayhem."
Vs. 23-26
It's interesting that there was so much killing and so many bloody takeovers in
the northern kingdom. We go from Pekahiah to Pekah.
Vs. 27-28
Notice that we are still rolling though lots of years. God's patience is pretty
amazing.
Vs. 29-31
Pekah lost most of Israel to Assyria, and that was probably the reason Hoshea
wanted to remove him and prove he could do a better job as king. "Here,
let me try!"
Vs. 32-38
We have very little information about Jotham. He was a godly king, measured
against his father. All of 2 Chronicles 27 is devoted to him, but the chapter
is only nine verses long.
The king
of Syria and Israel fought with Jotham to persuade him to fight with them
against Assyria. But God protected Jotham because he ordered his way before the
Lord. He must have been a good guy.
Another
interesting thing in this chapter of musical kings is the name of
Tiglath-pileser (Tiggy) of Assyria. Assyria would be the country that would
take the northern kingdom into exile. They were a brutal, fear-inspiring
people. They often led people into captivity by marching them along with a hook
through the muscle of the captive's chest or some other body part, attached by
rope to a wagon or a horse. You wouldn't want to fall. Assyria was poised to
become the first world empire, but in the middle of their conquests, they lost
185,000 men in a single night. That weakened them enough to eventually tip the
scales to the side of Babylon.
2 Kings 16
The
importance of this story is that it is Ahaz, an evil king of Judah, who gets
the ball rolling against Israel. These were a very destructive 16 years for
both kingdoms. In Jerusalem, Ahaz modified the worship in the temple to be more
reflective of Assyria. Verse 18 gives the idea that the modifications were
actually seen by Tiggy when he visited Jerusalem.
Vs. 1-4 It
is hard to imagine that two good kings could be followed by a king like this.
It is also hard to imagine that God allowed him to reign for sixteen years. He
sacrificed his son, but so did Solomon. Still, Solomon, in some funny way, was
partly devoted to the Lord. Ahaz was not devoted to the Lord. Although he kept
the "culture" of Yahweh worship, he introduced other worship into the
veins of the nation.
Vs. 5-9
While Jotham was protected from Syria and Israel, because he lived his life
before the Lord, Ahaz had a better idea. He courted the Assyrians. This
"courting" will be described later in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. God
didn't approve.
Vs. 10-19
Apparently Ahaz didn't abandon the worship of Yahweh, but he did copy the altar
in Damascus. There was a thought back then that if an army won, their God was
bigger. Ahaz became a puppet of Assyria culling their favor and aping their
worship. He did anything he could to show he belonged to them.
V. 17 I
think this describes how poor he had become by paying off Assyria. The stands
and the oxen were made of bronze and he probably needed it. He replaced the bronze
with stone.
V. 20
Hezekiah would be a welcome change for Judah and, thankfully, nothing like his
father. He was one of the great kings of Judah and compared to David.
As
disciples witnessing all of this lostness, we need to trust the Lord so that regardless
of our situation or circumstances, we honor Him. As The Psalms are saying, God
helps those who cry out to Him and seek His help. There is a lot of help to be
sought and lots of help to be found in our world, but it doesn't always lead us
in the right direction. Paul said in Romans 5:3-5, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and
character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because
God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us. As we've seen with David, he became
overwhelmed with the steadfast love of the Lord by seeking God while enduring
his trials. He was not only helped, but he also fell incurably in love with the
Lord and knew he could trust Him in everything. There is a price to seeking
God's help, but there is also an incredible reward. Who would want it any other
way?
Acts 19:13-41
Vs. 13-20
These two events are a part of the atmosphere of wonder that God had created in
Ephesus to get the church there up and running.
It is
interesting that the demon said he knew Jesus. He'd only heard about Paul, but
he knew Jesus.
Notice
that the people burned their books of their own accord. There were no Baptists
back then. This was done by the newly saved. Verse 19 is sort of tipping us off
to what is about to happen. The word for the money is unknown, so it is hard to
say what the actual value was, but it looks like it topped $50,000.
V. 17 It
is interesting that this story became known to all and led to the next event.
Vs. 21-22
seem to have the first part of 1 Corinthians 16 in view. Paul was ready to
leave Ephesus to go to Corinth and pick up the contribution for the believers
in Jerusalem. Unknown to him, God was ready for him to leave also.
Vs. 23-34
Here we meet Demetrius, a silversmith, who led this riot of other makers of
statues and other craftsmen. Later there will be another of these guys,
Alexander the coppersmith, in 2 Timothy 4, who will be responsible for Paul's final
arrest and imprisonment. Paul tells Timothy to beware of him because of his
violence toward Christianity.
The real
issue here was their idol-making business. There were other cities that
worshipped Artemis, so her worship was safe. The temple of Artemis in Ephesus
was one of the seven wonders of the world. If the city had become believing and
idols were rejected, they would lose a ton of money.
Apparently
this was a loud, hysterical assembly, but no one was hurt. In v. 34 the Jew,
Alexander, tried to calm the crowd, but Jews were also against idols. The
people went nuts.
As
disciples, there is some wisdom in staying out of harm's way. Not because we're
afraid or embarrassed, but because our focus is on the harvest, not the barking
dog. When Jesus says not to throw what is holy to the dogs or throw pearls
before swine, it has nothing to do with fear, but rather not wasting our time
on the hard of heart.
V. 34 Can
you imagine people in a stadium yelling this for two hours? I'll bet the
neighbors were mad. They probably called the cops.
Vs. 35-41
This guy was like the mayor of the city, not just a clerk. Notice that Luke is
showing here that Christianity was being pronounced "not guilty"
again. This would have gone into the official records of Ephesus.
Knowing
that we are put here as disciples to abide in our Lord in the harvest,
following His lead, we need to remember that there are no random events. This
was not a random event. God is working, and our job at times is to be observant
and see what the Lord is doing. Even in a chaotic situation like this, God was
working a purpose for His harvest. Imagine all of the conversations that must
have taken place in Ephesus the next morning.
Psalm 147
If I had
to choose a verse from this psalm that speaks to me, it would be v. 11. Which
verses stand out to you?
Vs. 1-6 In
praising God, the writer is focused on how God cares for the outcasts and
brokenhearted. Verse 4 sounds like Jesus saying, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. I find it encouraging
to remember this.
Notice
too, the emphasis on building up Jerusalem. This would either be David
establishing the city, or it could be written after the exile, after Nehemiah
rebuilt the city. I would vote for David.
Vs. 7-11
Notice the pattern in this section. The first verse says to praise the Lord,
and the rest of the verses tell why He should be praised. Make a list. This is
true of vs. 1-6 also.
With God's
great creative power, our true hope should be in Him. We are saved by Him being
our heart's desire.
Vs. 12-20
God is to be praised because true peace and prosperity come from Him. Not only
does He bring the blessing of children, but He brings the blessing of nature.
All of this, for Israel, was because of God's promise to Abraham, as seen in
making a nation out of Jacob and giving Israel His Word.
Proverbs 18:4-5
Amen.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture
in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other
to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples.
The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and
service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we
are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the
events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no
way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in
His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and
be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their
growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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