Josiah | Paula Wiseman

STT: 1 & 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles

1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles detail the history of Israel from the end of David's reign until the Babylonian captivity. If history isn't your thing, these may be difficult books to study. The unfamiliar (but often similar) names and different spellings for those names add an extra challenge. But don't get discouraged. We are used to names changes- When I was a kid the capital of China was Peking. Now it's Beijing. The names in Kings reflect that same cultural shift in spelling between the generations of historians.

These books form the framework for the rest of the Old Testament since the prophetic writings fit in between the narratives in these books. For instance, Lamentations is Jeremiah's poem written after he witnessed the devastation of Jerusalem's fall. Knowing the history gives a better insight into the prophets.

Details aside, there are three great threads that run through these books-

God's promise to David. Notice how God reiterates His covenant and preserves David's line.

God keeps His word - including the promises of judgment. The messages delivered by appointed prophets underscores this.

Obedience matters. Each king's reign includes an assessment of where he stood before God. Notice how the people responded to the king's obedience (or disobedience) and the consequences.

If you want a quick survey hitting some of the highlights and notable people, check out the following chapters in Kings and their Chronicles cross references.

Solomon (1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5 -7)
Elijah (1 Kings 18)
Ahab (1 Kings 22)
Elisha (2 Kings 5
Hezekiah and Isaiah (2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32)
Manasseh (2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33)
Josiah (2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35)
Fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 36)

Do you like reading the history books in the Bible?

Next week's study tip – Romans

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Babylonian captivity, Bible study, Hezekiah, Josiah, Solomon

Prepared to Worship

By Paula

: Image by bemky via Flickr

Today is the absolute last post on 2 Chronicles… at least until I come back around to it again. Chapter 35 describes the Passover that Josiah led the people to observe, and the account says in v. 18 that ‘There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet…’ For 400 years, the worship of God had not been what it was during those days. What made the difference? Thursday, we discussed the importance of having a leader who is following God with his whole heart and soul. I think there is another significant factor. Preparation. Seven times in that chapter, there is mention of preparation for worship.

I admit, I’m rarely ever properly prepared for a worship service. With children at home, I’m thankful just to get to church in one piece. But those times when I do have the opportunity to transition my heart and mind from the mundane things to the wonder and awe of God’s presence, something special happens. My preference would be to have some quiet time alone, then a good long music service before hearing the Word taught.

In some ways, that desire reminds me of Apollo 13. (Not the ‘Houston we have a problem” part- although some days I could make a case for that.) In order to conserve power, they had shut down almost every system in the craft. As the astronauts were getting closer to home, Jim Lovell was instructed to burn off some of the fuel. Without the computers, they risked veering off course from the thrust of the fuel burn. In order to stay on the proper heading, Lovell instructed the other two astronauts to keep the earth in the window. As long as they did that, they would stay on course. In other words, use that frame of reference beyond us, outside our situation. Stay centered on that no matter what happens around you. When my worship falls flat, that focus is what I’ve lost.

Filed Under: Devotional Tagged With: 2 Chronicles, Apollo 13, Jim Lovell, Josiah, Passover, worship

Leading Only As I Follow

By Paula

CB054586 Today I read the stories of Manasseh and Josiah, kings of Judah. Manasseh was the worst king Judah had. 2 Chronicles 33:9 says “So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom God destroyed before the children of Israel.” He eventually humbled himself before God and repented, but not before he had done irreparable damage to the spiritual life of the nation. Then when his grandson Josiah becomes king, things start to change. 2 Chronicles 34:33 sums his reign up as follows, ” Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days, they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.”

Without getting into politics, leaders have a tremendous influence in the spiritual direction and health of a nation. (We don’t call them leaders for nothing.) While I may not be a national political leader, I have my own areas of influence. How am I doing? Is my attitude seducing my Sunday school kids to apathy? Am I luring my family to denigrate the holiness of God? OR Am I leading those around me to follow the Lord with my whole heart and soul? Is the reality of Jesus Christ alive in my life so vibrantly that others are challenged to live in devotion to the one true God?

How I lead says a lot about how I follow. How I follow determines how I lead. Josiah made a covenant in front of his nation to follow God, to obey His commands and to do all that His word instructs. He promised to do that with his whole heart and soul. In a way, I made a similar covenant when I was baptized. Of course, I didn’t articulate it just that way. (I was 7, not much articulating going on then, even for me.) Am I carrying through with that covenant as I lead in my ‘nation’?

Lord, let me lead only as I follow…

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: 2 Chronicles, follow, Josiah, lead, Manasseh