Tag: Jerusalem

2.b. The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him,

2 Chronicles 15:1  The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa listened to the prophet.  He had open ears and mind to hear because he sought God with all his heart.  We can know what to do and how to respond to many things from God’s word.  Asa took courage from God’s word and took action accordingly.  When God’s word is received by a person who is seeking God with all their heart, mind, and soul, they are moved by the leading of the Holy Spirit into action that would not have happened otherwise.  Their inner being is renewed, strengthened and that which was worrying them is now faced with courage.

Note how the people of Israel came to live under the rule of Asa because they saw the Lord God was with him.  Note how they responded with sacrifices unto God and entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and all their souls.  Anyone who would not do so should be put to death.  They rejoiced over the oath that was given with all their heart and how they sought the Lord with their whole desire and He was found by them.  They were given rest from all around because the Lord gave it to them and His hand of protection was over them.

Asa removed his mother from being queen mother because she made a detestable image.  Asa was wholly true all his days.

It is one thing to commit to the Lord Jesus Christ, to come that first time loaded with sin and guilt, to come with a need to be forgiven, to come trusting in and relying on redemption, mercy, and grace through Jesus Christ.  It is another thing to be wholly true all your days.  What does it take to be wholly true?  First is a desire and seeking that comes from deep in your heart, mind, and soul for God.  Second, there is a desire and seeking to hear Him speak into your life.  Third, there is a willingness to follow and obey what He says or has said. Fourth there is a turning away from that which is not pleasing to God.  Following God with our whole heart, mind, and soul is not like making a New Years resolution that slowly drifts away after a time.  No, it is a commitment that is fueled by an absolute need and want to be in His presence and knowing Him and doing that which honors Him.  This commitment is renewed with each breath and brought into focus with each blink of the eye.  This commitment is both the bread of life and living water for the soul.  This commitment gives life to the heart and should and without it, no purpose and satisfaction are found.

2.a. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Chronicles 14:9    Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil. And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:9-10    Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.  Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Deuteronomy 32:39    “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Psalms 60:12   With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

1 Corinthians 15:57     But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Facing more than a million warriors from Ethiopia, Asa went out to do battle.  It appears the first act was to call on the Lord God but in reality, their first act was “in Your name we have come against this multitude” and the second act was trust and reliance and the third act was crying out to God.  But we really can’t put them in an order like this, can we?  Without trust, there is no reliance.  Without trust and reliance and an active seeking and desiring the presence of God and a willingness to act there would be no crying out to God.

Asa led the people in active and intentional worship and God-honoring living.  This active and intentional want to be in the presence of God with all their thoughts toward humbly serving, following, trusting, obeying, and honoring Him.

Big battles are won before they begin when all of our heart, mind, and soul is seeking, desiring, and focused on God.

There is a big problem right now within the church, within our Christian culture, maybe even within us.  We seem to live our daily lives apart from God until there is a battle line in front of us.  Then, we cry out but our cry is not made with trust and reliance but rather with a last-ditch effort.  We cry out because we have no hope in ourselves any and in this very surrender to God you would think we would learn this is the very place every waking moment our heart and soul and mind should anchor its self too.

In our full surrender, we find peace, joy, strength, power, might, and hope.  You would think we would want to stay in this place and bask in the glory and holiness of God.  You would think in this place is where we are satisfied and made whole and no other place would we find this satisfaction and filling of our heart, mind, and soul.  But sadly we come into God’s presence and leave and come and go, come and go, rather than staying in His presence.  We find Him all in all and then we leave.  We find Him all-powerful and then we leave.  We find Him steadfast in His love for us and we leave.  We find Him sending Jesus Christ to redeem us and we come and taste the holiness of salvation and forgiveness but we so easily leave like a leave being carried away by a soft breeze.

Choose this day whom you will serve and be active and intentional about every moment of that day.  Be sure every moment of that day reflects an active and internal choice to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in every word, thought, and action.

1.y. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

2 Chronicles 13:1   In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

“And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods. But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages. Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down, and he died.

Psalms 22:4-5   In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.  To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Daniel 3:28    Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

Nahum 1:7     The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

Psalms 146:5    Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

Ephesians 1:12   so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

To hope in God in a time of trouble is a wise decision/choice.  In life, we more than likely will come up against a trial or some trouble that is very real and much bigger than we can handle either physically or mentally.  We see Abijah faced with almost certain defeat being outnumbered 2 to 1.  To get this in perspective, Abijah had 400,000 valiant men that went to defend against Jeroboam’s 800,000 chosen mighty warriors.  What thoughts would be going through your head if you were faced with this?

Abijah called out Jeroboam’s sin and disregard for God, warning him that God was on their side and to fight them was to fight against God. But Jeroboam did not listen and such it is with those who disregard God and serving Him.  Abijah and those 400,000 men called on the Lord and were given success over Jeroboam and the 800,000 warriors.  500,000 men lost their lives that day following after false gods and idols.

Power, financial stability, and worldly wisdom do not give us success. In fact what is more than likely going to happen is a harden heart, deaf ears, stiff neck, and blind eyes to the things of God.  These all come at a cost to your soul if you have not chosen in your heart and mind to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ.  It seems as though we give a nod toward Jesus on Sunday but then lose sight of living for Him soon after.  Neglect of His word and complacency are certain to happen when serving and honoring Jesus is not our intentional heart and mind choice.  We pretend we are ok and we try to perform good things to act as though we honor and serve Him but His word and the want of His word is not first in our heart and mind.  Shallow thoughts will never lead us to honoring Jesus Christ.  Partial obedience will never honor Jesus Christ.  Sporadic time in His word will never grow us into mature Jesus honoring followers.

Humbly honoring, serving, following, glorifying, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ is a heart and mind choice that is so more than a one-time commitment at the time of seeking forgiveness and repenting of your sin to Jesus Christ.  It is so much more than a one-time event.  It is a conversion of the heart and mind and then a daily surrender of self for the single purpose of Humbly honoring, serving, following, glorifying, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.  Why this daily surrender?  If we don’t we certainly will not find the heart, mind, and soul-deep satisfaction that comes through intentionally and purposely surrendering each moment of each day for the purpose of honoring Jesus Christ.  Without this intentional choice, our heart and mind will be led by self and all of its meaningless follies in search of satisfaction.

1.x.

2 Chronicles 12:1  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, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14    And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.  “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,  lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them,  and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied,  then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

Deuteronomy 32:18    You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

1 Kings 9:9     Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Jeremiah 2:31   And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘We are free, we will come no more to you’?

Hosea 13:6-8    but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.  So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.  I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.

After 5 years of prosperity and blessings, Rehoboam abandons God.  Remember for three years the Levites, priests, and others who fled the idol worship brought on by Jeroboam gave security to Rehoboam.  He received and the influx of God-honoring, God following, and God obeying fellow Israelites.  What has happened that drew Rehoboam away from following God and all of the blessings that had come during Solomons time?

We never know how slippery the slope is away from God.  We never know what it is that fills the first void of the heart that no longer seeks and desires God.  What we do know is that we need to be on guard of our heart and mind.  We must take inventory of what is actively trying to pull us away.  It would be nice if this pulling came like a roaring lion and gave plenty of notice of how it will attack our seeking and desiring God.  We would have reason to fear and run to the arms of Jesus Christ.  We would know of our pending destruction and see a reason to stay close to God.

However, it is never like this.  The pull comes like the sweet taste of honey and what can be wrong with a bit of honey?  It slips into our inner being disguised and satisfies some natural desire or lust.  It plants a seek and we don’t even know it and before long the seed has taken root in our heart and mind.  The leaves blind our eyes and plug our ears so that we no longer see things of God or hear His call to us.  We have been over grown by what appeared to be sweet honey because we chose that first step away from God.  Had we stayed close to Him we would have tasted and known the bitterness temping us.  It would have been clear as the sun at noon.

Why do you think these examples were given to us in God’s word?  They were given to us to keep us aware of the temptations of our heart and soul if we do not intentionally choose to give all our heart, soul, and mind to God.  Seek and desire Him above all else and He will give you the desire of your heart.  How many lives come to disaster by the lure of the sweet taste of honey?

1.w. Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

2 Chronicles 11:13  And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made. And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

Joshua 22:19    But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the LORD’s land where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God.

1 Samuel 7:3-4     And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only,

Haggai 1:5    Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

When Rehoboam started off his reign unwisely with unmerciful and prideful words there was a fraction that drove him out of their cities and his brother Jeroboam ruled over part of the land.  Jeroboam and his sons drove out the priests and Levites, the very people God had chosen to minister and sacrifice properly unto the Lord God.  He then created his own idols (gods) and appointed his own priests.  There were people who followed their leader in this false worship and abandonment from God, and they did it willingly, without thought, without worry, and with an intentional choice knowing those who do so deserve the wrath of God.  They turned their back on God.  They yielded their heart, mind, and soul to another.  Yet, I don’t want to speak about those who chose to willingly follow after false gods but rather those Levites, priests, and others who had set their hearts to seek God and they left everything and went to Jerusalem and Judah.  They went there because they saw the error of what was being presented to them in place of God.  They went there because they loved God.  They went there because staying where they were would have been wrong in the sight of God.

What is going on in your world that is pulling, dragging, enticing, and deceiving you away from seeking and following after God?  What have you accepted as perfectly ok to do because it is accepted by the people around you?  If for one second can you imagine God standing at your side?  Can you imagine God knowing what was being thought in your mind?  Can you imagine God hearing what you say or we’re going to say?  The truth is that God does know the thoughts and intents of your heart.  He knows the words you speak before they are on your tongue.

If we truly seek and desire God and practice His presence in our life every moment then we will not be pulled, dragged, enticed, or deceived away.  We will see it for what it is and seek direction, courage, strength, and knowledge on what to do and how to do it.

God may lead us away from it but may also direct you to stand firm and proclaim it is wrong.  Either way, staying close to God and seeking Him will always bear fruit in your heart and soul and mind.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”  Dr. Allen P. Ross, “The issue then is how deceptive evil is. It might promise and deliver happiness, power, and the good life, but it cannot sustain what it gives.” An excerpt from Enduring Word, “This makes plain our need for a revelation from God. We can’t entirely trust our own examination and judgment. To really know we are on the way of life (instead of the way of death), we need to fear the LORD and receive His wisdom, especially as revealed in His word.” A word from theologian Bruce Waltke, “The way of death is rarely clearly marked. “The safety and destiny of a road are not always as they appear. The deceptive road leads as certainly to death as the plainly marked one.” The importance of trusting in God’s Word instead of what seems right to us cannot be overstated. Diligently studying the Scriptures is never an exercise in futility. The only way to find true assurance that we are not on the way to death is by knowing God’s way to life. We must pass the test as laid out in Scripture or we are deceiving ourselves.

1.v. But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him.

Image may contain: outdoor, text that says 'You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequence of your choice.'

2 Chronicles 10:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam had to make a choice on who to listen to for advice.  He did not choose wisely. He chose to listen to those around him who had no apparent walk with God.  He chose to elevate himself to greatness by force and harshness.  He chose to stroke his ego and pride.  The people did not follow after him nor was he blessed by God.

Every day we get to make choices.  We choose to whom we will listen to.  We choose what thoughts we are going to take action on.  We choose if we are going to honor God in our thoughts, words, and actions.  We get to choose to whether or not we seek and desire God’s word.  We get to choose to believe in Jesus Christ.  We get to choose to deny self and live for humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.  We get to choose to listen to the Holy Spirit leading us.  We get to choose to love, forgive, and repent and turn away from sin.  We get to choose to stay in God’s word.

Our choices will paint a picture of what we think about, who we care about, and cannot be hidden.

1.q. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword

2 Chronicles 1:7  In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place. O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” So Solomon came from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

1 Samuel 16:7   But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

1 Kings 8:18     But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

1 Chronicles 28:2    Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.

1 Chronicles 29:17-18   I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.  O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

Hebrews 4:12     For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

What would God see in your heart that no one else can see or know?  What do you think is hidden and only yours to ponder and think about?  What occupies your thoughts that you think no one knows about?  God for certain knows everything in your heart.  He not only knows the thought but the intent behind the thought.  We get tested by God. Deuteronomy 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”  Ecclesiastes 3:18  “I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.”

God alone tests us so that we will see the error in our ways, how we talk, how we think, how we act. It is because of His love for us that He does this.  He wants us to grow, understand, and gain knowledge of Him through the grace and mercy demonstrated in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.  In this gaining knowledge and understanding, we must be shown (tested) what is truly in our heart and mind so that we can freely repent from it and freely choose to turn away from it to honor, serve, follow and obey our Lord and Savior.  If we are not tested I fear our growth will become stagnate and we will become complacent and neglectful.

Oh God, give us ears to see and a mind to understand the greatness and awesomeness of Your grace and mercy.  Speak loud and clear to our heart so that we know Your testing and see clearly that from which we need to confess, repent and turn away from.  Strengthen our understanding of scripture as we intentionally choose to each day to be in Your word for Your honor and glory.

1.p.

1 Chronicles 29:26  Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer, with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

When we read this summary it would appear that David’s life was one of wealth and honor.  We might even think he cheated what happens to us normal humans.  We might even have a jealous thought.  However, David’s life was far from trouble-free.  We see Saul pursued him and wanted to put him to death because Saul was jealous of David.  For seven years David was fearful wand hiding from Saul.  David’s own son’s tried to overtake the throne.  David was tempted and committed adultery.  He ordered the death of the man of the wife he had adultery with. Two of his sons died.

David had trials and troubles at the hands of others choices and also because of choices he made.  He had times of joy and times of sorrow, times of plenty and times of not, times of honor and times of not.  The thing that sets David apart from most is his heart, mind, and soul for God.  He wanted above all else to honor God with his life.  However, we see how a man like David can get sideways and must take note that we must be aware of temptations our sinful nature wants to run after.  If a man like David can be tempted away how much more so can we.

My fear is that we are not tempted away but rather are not close enough to God or committed to living for Him.  We are living in a lukewarm, neutral, complacent, and neglectful lifestyles so that there is nothing to tempt us toward because we are already living there.  How sad is that?  Always be in His word with a true heart deep desire to continuously think, speak, and act to always bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ.  Stay in His word to know and be aware of temptations common to all mankind and the hope we have in the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead, guide, into knowledge and understanding of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ and to light our path each day.

1.i. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

1 Chronicles 21:9  And Jehovah spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt: either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man. So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O Jehovah my God, be against me, and against my father’s house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.

Then the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of Jehovah. And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto Jehovah: for the full price shalt thou give it me, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all. And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost. So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. And Jehovah commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.

At that time, when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. For the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.

Proverbs 1:29-31    Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,  would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,  therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Numbers 20:12     And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

Joshua 24:15   And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

We read of Moses, David, and Aaron who lost sight of following God for a brief moment and were disciplined by God for their unbelief and pride which led them to dishonor God.  It is important for us to understand when God says I want your whole heart, mind, and soul, He wants them all of the time.  He wants our first thought in the morning when we wake and the last thought before we sleep and everything in-between to be God-honoring humble submission, God-seeking, God-glorifying, God praising, God following, God trusting, and God Obeying.  When we lose sight for just a fraction of our day we are swept away with thoughts and actions that do not honor God.  When we do these things of this world will rob us of service to God and our ability to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to a dark and lost world.

God disciplines His children in love and mercy.  We see where He withheld from Aaron and Moses, put to death people under David’s kingdom, and others He let them eat of the fruit of their way and be filled with their own devices.  This I would think would be the worst discipline from God – to be let go and allowed to continue in sinful ways.

Bright sparkling things of this world will distract us if we are not able to recognize they are of this world and not God-honoring.  They will disguise themselves in what seems appropriate and allowable but they are not.  The only way we can know of these worldly illusions and deceptions is to have the word of God in our heart, mind, and soul with an intentional choice to have it there every moment of every day.

1.h. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Chronicles 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them. And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel? Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

Job 1:6-12    Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.  The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Zechariah 3:1   Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Matthew 4:3    And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

John 13:2   During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,

Acts 5:3     But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

James 1:13     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

James 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Satan is very real.  Satan temps us and is able to see weaknesses within us.  Satan is able to temp our lust for sex, want of and reliance in wealth and intelligence, and exploitation of our anger, pride, honor, and need for recognition, and a host of other self-seeking, self-centered fleshly and earthly desires.  Do we think we are immune to these attacks?  Do we even know when we are being attacked?  Is it possible that we give in so easily to our sinful nature that we don’t even need to be tempted?

If God’s word is not in our heart, mind, and soul there will be a good chance that we will yield to our sinful natures’ desires rather than needing to be tempted by Satan.  If God’s word is in our heart, mind, and soul then we need to be mindful of Satan’s temptations.  Satan’s attacks and temptations are to get us to yield to our sinful nature.  The only way we will know these attacks, is by knowing God’s word and testing our thoughts, actions, and words against it.  We need to seek to be filled with the wisdom and understanding of God’s word through time in it and yielding to the indwelling and filling and leading of the Holy Spirit.

God’s word within our heart, mind, and soul will strengthen us to be courageous, empower us to be victorious, and give us hope and faith to rely on, cling too, and trust in Jesus Christ.  Do not yield.  Do not give in.  Stay in His word and learn what is sinful nature and what is tempting to it.  Combat it with the word of God and an intentional choice to live humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.