These are notes collected from studying with Matt Lantz, Matt Roefer, Chris Maybury, and Brad Holda. Anything good comes from the Lord. Everything else is from us!
2 Chron. 5 – God Changes Everything
I’ve been thinking about 2 Chron 5:13-14…
All of their ministry stopped when God showed up. Then they were only falling on their face in God’s presence. I think of it like hoisting a sailboat. You may do a lot of work to get the sailboat in a position to catch the wind, but when the wind comes you are holding on for the ride (never sailed before, so maybe there’s more to it than that LOL). But I think how futile our ministry is without God. And then when God shows up, even then He is looking for us to worship Him fully (more than do all these things for Him).
2 Chron. 11 – God Divides
I’ve really been struck by 2 Chron 11 – how God says that the division within Israel is from Him, and not to fight it. Wow – this seems eerily similar to what I fear may be going on around us in the church these days. That is, a God-sent division.
Something along the lines of 1 Cor. 11:19 – “there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” A sobering and humbling thought…if it is indeed so, I pray so earnestly that we would choose the Lord’s side in the midst of it all, and by His complete grace
2 Chron. 11 (with 7:14) – Rehoboam
I was really moved by this account of King Rehoboam and thinks it speaks to a message that has been woven throughout Israel’s history and is true today. When we humble ourselves before God and confess our sin he turns from His wrath and welcomes us in (every time)! When we are stubborn, set up idols, and turn from Him, He will also turn His face. We no longer have His peace or protection or provision. However, he keeps welcoming us back if we will just humble ourselves and fall on our faces and let Him be first in our lives.
Israel’s story is very much our story… so much to be learned.
When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD
Same message here! This is powerful! If my people pray…
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chron. 7:14
2 Chron. 14-16 – Keep Trusting God: A Sober Warning
I really think we need to take this to heart. Asa began trusting the Lord alone for victory (even over a large army), and gained victory.
But then…later in his life…he began to do this thing where he trusted in others (the Syrians…then later the physicians). Maybe he even trusted God PLUS others. But he didn’t trust God alone for victory. So he died in this faith-less state, while beginning in a faith-full place. I keep thinking about how we can’t bank on how we trusted God YESTERDAY to see great victories. We may have decades of trusting God under our belt, but now what are we going to do today? Do we still believe this is the best strategy for life and ministry? Or have we “matured” from such simple faith. God forgive us and God help us…may TODAY be a faith-filled day, by the mercies of Christ the Lord!
He must have all of us fully surrendered and as we know He sees the heart.
2 Chron. 20 – Faith and Fast, Not Fear
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2 Chron. 20:3
I love this response to fear—what a good challenge!
2 Chron. 20 – Pulling Together the Old Testament
I think it’s cool how the editors had all these documents of recordings to help them flesh out the timeline. Like the chronicles of Jehu helped fill out the book of the kings of Israel. It gives me a better picture of how the OT came together. I bet there were a bunch of documents that people pulled from for both the old and new to come up with what we have today. Just imagine the authors of Kings saying, hey can you grab that parchment of Jehu etc…I wonder how much of Jehu’s chronicles made it into the book of the kings and how much the original book of the kings is in our first and second kings etc….
2 Chron. 21 – Jehoshaphat’s Decisions
See 2 Chron. 21:3-4.
Why the heck didn’t Jehoshaphat vet his kids before just casually handing the throne to the first born? I know it’s custom to give it to the first born but David didn’t do that. Surely he had to have known his first born would at best be a bad pick, let alone a threat to his brothers. Human intelligence (or lack thereof) is not missed by the Bible.
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