11:1-12:21
- Let us ‘make a covenant’ - to ‘be the Lord’s people’, to ‘do what is
right in the eyes of the Lord’ (11:17; 12:2). Part of this ‘covenant’
will involve our use of ‘money’. Real covenanting with the Lord will always mean much more than how much money we give to Him. Real giving is a matter of the heart: ‘the money which a man’s heart
prompts him to bring into the House of the Lord’ (12:4). ‘God loves a
cheerful giver’ (2 Corinthians 9:7). Our giving will only be cheerful
when it comes from the heart. There are three types of giving: ‘Grudge
giving’ - ‘I have to’; ‘Duty giving’ - ‘I ought to’; ‘Thanksgiving’ - ‘I
want to’. What kind of giver are you? This is an important question. Is
it just ‘the Church always looking for money’? No! There is more: God
wants us to give ourselves to Him.
13:1-14:16 - We love making
comparisons. ‘This one’s better’. ‘That one’s better’. Some kings were
better than others. What’s the difference between a bad king and a good
king? It’s really very simple. The good king does what is ‘right in the
eyes of the Lord’ (14:3). The bad king does what is ‘evil in the eyes of
the Lord’ (13:11). This is not a matter of popularity. It is a matter
of obedience. It’s possible to be popular among the people without being
obedient to God. Obedience is more important than popularity. We must
choose obedience - even when popularity doesn’t come into it. There is
one King who stands head and shoulders above all other kings. Jesus
Christ is ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ (Revelation 19:16). How does
your life look ‘in the eyes of the Lord’? Pleasing Him - Nothing
matters more than this.
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