2 Chronicles 29:1-31:10

2 CHRONICLES

29:1-36 - God is calling us to be holy - ‘Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the House of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the holy place’ (5). Before there can be true rejoicing in the Lord - ‘they sang praises with gladness’ - , there must be real dedication to the Lord - ‘We have cleansed all the House of the Lord’ (30,18). Before there can be rejoicing, there must be restoration (35-36). We may pray, ‘Restore, O Lord, the honour of Your Name!’. We must also pray, ‘Cleanse me from my sin, Lord’. The prayer for revival begins with the dedication of our own lives to the Lord - ‘O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee; send a revival - start the work in me’ (Mission Praise, 579, 82, 587). Revival can happen ‘suddenly’ (36). It will not happen without a true return to the Lord.

30:1-31:10 - We are called to ‘return to the Lord’. With this call comes God’s promise: ‘the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you, if you return to Him’ (30:9). Where does the desire to return to the Lord come from? - It comes from the Lord Himself: ‘the hand of the Lord was on the people to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the Word of the Lord’ (12). Returning to the Lord, we hear His Word of forgiveness: ‘The good Lord pardon every one who sets his heart to seek God’. We rejoice in the Gospel - ‘The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives’. ‘ The Lord has blessed His people’. We rejoice in Him - ‘Praise the Lord!... Let the people rejoice’ and ‘let the earth hear His voice’ (18-19; 30:10; Mission Praise, 708).

2 Chronicles 26-28

2 CHRONICLES

26:1-28:27 - We must not take God’s blessing for granted. King Uzziah began well - ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord... He set himself to seek God’ (26:4-5). Things went wrong - ‘When he was strong he grew proud’ and ‘he was false to the Lord his God’ (26:16). We must choose to live the Lord’s way - King Jotham ‘did what was right in the eyes of the Lord’. Even when we do this, it does not guarantee that others will follow our example - ‘the people still followed corrupt practices’ (27:2). In times of trouble, we can become bitter people - ‘In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord’ - or better people - ‘the God of all comfort ... comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble...’ (28:22; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Bitter or better - Which will it be?

2 Chronicles 21-25

2 CHRONICLES

21:1-23:21 - We live in difficult times. Many are choosing to do what is ‘evil in the sight of the Lord’ (21:6). We must make another choice, a better choice. We must choose to ‘be the Lord’s people’ (23:16). In this time of great darkness, we have ‘the lamp of the Lord’: ‘Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (21:7; Proverbs 20:27; Psalm 119:105). We must let His lamp shine brightly: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16). The darkness will not overcome the light (John 1:5). Satan will be ‘slain by the sword’. He will be ‘thrown down’. All God’s people, from every land, will rejoice - ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (23:21; Revelation 12:9; 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:57).

24:1-25:28 - ‘He turned away from the Lord’ (25:27). Things have not changed. Many are turning away from the Lord. We must search our hearts. We must pray for God’s help: ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me, and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’ (Psalm 139:24). We read about the kings who ‘turned away from the Lord’. We must learn from their mistakes. These things are ‘recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord’ (Psalm 102:18). If we don’t learn from their mistakes, we will repeat their mistakes. Don’t turn away from the Lord. Turn to Him. May God help us to live as His faithful people - ‘Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong’ (1 Corinthians 16:13).

2 Chronicles 19-20

2 CHRONICLES

19:1-20:37 - ‘I have the desire to do what is good , but I cannot carry it out... When I want to do good, evil is right there with me’ (Romans 7:18,21). In 19:2-3, we see the two sides of Jehoshaphat. In his heart, he wanted to do God’s will, seeking and serving Him. Sadly, however, he did not always follow the promptings of God’s Spirit. He allowed himself to be influenced by ‘those who hate the Lord’. The godly side of Jehoshaphat - ‘O Lord... our eyes are upon You’ - was in conflict with his sinful side - ‘Jehoshaphat... made an alliance with Ahaziah... who was guilty of wickedness’ (20:5-12,35). ‘The desires of the flesh... and the desires of the Spirit... are opposed to each other...’. ‘Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature’ (Galatians 5:16-17). May God help us to live His way.

2 Chronicles 14-18

 2 CHRONICLES

14:1-16:14 - Keep on going! Don’t give up! Asa began so well - ‘Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God’ (14:2). He led the people to the Lord. Under his leadership, the people ‘entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and all their soul’ (15:12). Everything seemed to be going so well - until Asa let things slide. He acted ‘foolishly’. He ‘relied on the king of Syria’. He ‘did not rely on the Lord his God’ (16:7-9). There were difficult times ahead for Asa. He became seriously ill. Sadly, he did not return to the Lord - ‘even in his disease he did not seek the Lord’ (16:12). ‘No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God’. ‘He who endures to the end will be saved’. ‘Let us go on...’ (Luke 9:62; Mark 13:13; Hebrews 6:1).

17:1-18:34 - In 17:3, we read of backsliding - in David, Asa and Jehoshaphat. ‘Jehoshaphat walked in the first ways of his father David’(Authorized Version). David, Jehoshaphat’s ancestor, started off so well - ‘the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power’. Things fell apart for him when he set his eyes upon Bathsheba (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 11:2-5). ‘Jehoshaphat walked in the earlier ways of his father’(Revised Standard Version). Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father, began well. He did not finish well (14:2; 16:12). ‘In his early years Jehoshaphat walked in the (good) ways that his father David had followed’ (New International Version). Sadly, he lost his way - ‘he made a marriage alliance with Ahab’, ‘a man... who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord’ (18:1; 1 Kings 21:25). It can happen to anyone! We must be careful!

2 Chronicles 10-13

2 CHRONICLES

10:1-11:23 - We read here of division among God’s people: ‘Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day’ (10:19). What does God say about this? - ‘Do not go up to fight against your brothers (11:4). Jesus tells us that ‘a house... divided against itself cannot stand’ (Mark 3:25). Paul speaks to us ‘in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ’. There are to be ‘no divisions’ among us (1 Corinthians 1:10). God’s Word says that we are ‘all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28). Far too often, our lives tell a very different story. Division among God’s people is a big problem. We must learn to pray in the spirit of Jesus’ prayer. He prayed that ‘all of them may be one’: ‘May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me’ (John 17:21,23).

12:1-13:22 - ‘He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord’ (12:14). Read these words, and pray - ‘Lord, may these words never be true of me’. These words are a warning to us. Things will only go from bad to worse if we turn back from following the Lord. ‘As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him’ (13:10). Read these words, and pray - ‘Lord, may these words always be true of me’. This is the better way - God’s way: ‘God is with us; He is our Leader’ (13:12). We read about unbelief and disobedience. We read about faith and obedience. “Do not fight against the Lord... you will not succeed’. ‘Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey’ (13:12; Mission Praise, 760).

2 Chronicles 7-9

2 CHRONICLES

7:1-22 - In verse 14, there is a call to prayer and promise of blessing: ‘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 hand’. Why is there so little blessing? - ‘You do not have, because you do not ask’. God will bless mightily - when His people pray earnestly. Why does the devil have so many victories among us? - ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’. God will lead us in His way of victory - when we stop tolerating the devil, and start resisting him. Why does God seem so far away? - ‘Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you’ (James 4:2,7-8). God will come near to us - if we will let Him. ‘I stand at the door and knock; if any one... opens the door, I will come in...’ (Revelation 3:20).

8:1-9:31 - In Solomon, we see strength and weakness. He was strong - ‘the House of the Lord was completed’ (8:16). He was also weak. He was infatuated with foreign women, who did not belong among the redeemed people of God. He married ‘Pharaoh’s daughter’, a woman who had no love for ‘the holy places’ of worship (8:11). To the queen of Sheba, a woman who had more love for ‘her own land’ than for life among the people of God, ‘Solomon gave all that she desired’ (9:12). Solomon was a complicated man. He had a real love for the Lord, yet the world still had a strong hold on him. “O let me feel Thee near me: the world is ever near; I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear; My foes are ever near me, around me and within; but, Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin’ (Church Hymnary, 434).