Enough is Enough
Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 34 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Romans 5 – 8; Psalms 120 – 125; Proverbs 26)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32
Read the “0526 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” – (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)
God, in His mercy, will send us messengers to warn us of the judgment that is coming if we fail to humble ourselves before Him, and submit to His will. Oftentimes the people of God would turn back to him and would escape the judgment, or at least postpone the judgment. But here we see the people of God, not only rejecting the Word of God; but are also mocking and attacking His messengers.
Today in America, the Spirit-filled preacher of the Word of God is also mocked, and sometimes even attacked by the world around them; and even sometimes by the people of God. God will not put up with this too much longer. There will come a time when God will say, “enough is enough”. And when that happens we are finished as a nation.
But let’s think of this a little more personally. Do you as a faithful member of a Bible preaching church consider the preaching and teaching by the pastor as a message from God? Or perhaps, do you just think of it as just good information that may or may not be helpful? Are we not guilty of almost the same thing as these people from Judah, when we don’t heed the warnings and exhortation given to us by God through His word in our churches. When you listen to the preaching this week, look past the preacher and focus on the message that God has supernaturally ordained to be given to you through His messenger. Support your preacher: cheer him on as he labors to deliver the message from God to your family.
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Chronicles by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Plenty More Where That Came From
Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 25 – 28 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Acts 22 – 24; Psalms 111 – 115; Proverbs 23)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11
Read the “0523 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this morning’s passage – “His Heart Was Lifted Up” and “The Key to Prosperity“
“And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.” (2 Chronicles 25:9)
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:8)
“For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” (Psalms 50:10)
In the three chapters today, we have seen pretty much the same pattern that was observed throughout the Chronicles of the kings of Judah. That is, if the king was following the Lord and submitting to His will, His reign was blessed and prosperous. Conversely, if the king chose to forsake God, then God also forsook him. Out the window would go God’s provision and protection. Notice these verses from today’s reading:
“And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.” (2 Chronicles 26:5)
“So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.” (2 Chronicles 27:6)
I was interested in the story in chapter 25 regarding Amaziah, the King of Judah, who hired 100,000 men out of Israel to help him fight against the Edomites. He paid around 7500 pounds of silver (over $2.1 million) to the Israelites in order to hire them. God was not pleased with Judah yoking up with Israel for this battle, and He sent a man of God to Amaziah to tell him to fire the Israelites and send them home. Amaziah was willing to do this, but was upset about the money that he had already spent. God assured him that there was plenty more where that came from.
I got to thinking about how many times God’s people get messed up over money. Sometimes we get into a dispute with our brothers and sisters in Christ over some business deal and we find ourselves fighting over money. Can I give you some advice: give in and don’t fight over money. If someone is insisting that you owe them something, give it to them. You might say: “why would I do that?” Because your relationship with people is more important than any amount of money, and if you do the right thing, God will replace what you lose with interest. We stress far too much about money. We give it to the church but then tie a string from ourselves to the money, and then get upset about it later. Don’t give it if you cannot completely let go of it. It really comes down to a matter of faith. If God asks you to give it, then give it. He has more to give you, and He will bless abundantly the person that trusts Him with their money.
The king of Judah almost continued in a bad plan, simply because he had already laid out the money for it. He almost let money cause the destruction of his nation. Many a Christian I know has allowed the love of money to destroy them. My preacher used to say, “God’s got plenty of money.” And you and I can get all that we need if we will be willing to let go of what He has already given us. It’s all His anyway. I am not talking about being a bad steward here, but I am saying that we need to be able to let go of HIS money, anytime He asks us to.
Another thought from this passage is this: how many times do we continue going down a path that is clearly not the will of God simply because we refuse to admit we made a mistake? I have made many bad decisions in my life, some of them were irreversible, but many were. But, even when I could get turned around, I often didn’t because I didn’t want to admit that I was wrong, so I continued suffering the consequences of my bad decision. How stupid! A truly wise person will be able to quickly recognize a bad move and then make the necessary corrections. I remember one time my wife and I were traveling to Florida to visit her family. This was before the time of GPS, but I had followed the maps perfectly until I got within a few miles of her brother’s house, and that’s when I messed up. I took a wrong turn, and ended up getting lost, but I refused to call her brother for help or stop and ask directions. I continued driving further and further away simply because I was too prideful to admit I made a mistake. This was very frustrating for my wife and family. After 20 plus hours of driving we were so close to our destination, yet we drove in circles for another hour or more when we could have been where we were going in a few minutes. Dumb, dumb, dumb! Don’t be like me. Realize your mistake, take the loss, and change direction.
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Chronicles by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Too Dependent upon the Preacher
Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 21 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Acts 19 – 21; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 22)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 40:31
Read the “0522 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from today’s reading passage – “How Will You Be Remembered?“
“And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” – (2 Chronicles 24:2)
“Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.” – (2 Chronicles 24:22)
The story of King Joash is certainly a fascinating account. After the death of his father, King Ahaziah, he was rescued as a baby from his grandmother, Attaliah, who had all of her grandchildren assasinated so that she could be queen. Joash was hidden in the house of God for six years, and was influenced greatly by Jehoiada the priest. When Joash finally became king, the influence of Jehoiada remained with him, and Joash was a great king, serving the Lord by repairing the temple, and replacing all of the vessels of gold and silver that were used in the service of the temple. Unfortunately, Jehoiada the priest “waxed old and died”, and King Joash went downhill afterward. It seems that without the influence of a man of God in his life, the peer pressure from some of the wi