1 & 2 Chronicles (Program #4) – Learning from the Examples of the Kings of Judah to Have a God-Man Living in Our Daily Life

Not long after the death of King Solomon, David’s son, the nation of Israel separated and became two kingdoms.  Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king in Jerusalem and ruled on the throne.  But another one Jeroboam departed from Jerusalem and led ten of the twelve tribes away establishing the northern kingdom called Israel with a different center of worship in Dan far in the north.  In the book of Deuteronomy, Jehovah made it clear that He had chosen only one place on this entire earth to be the center for His worship.  To break this God ordained principle is an abomination in the eyes of Jehovah.  Listen to His word in Deuteronomy in 12 “but you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes to establish His name there for His dwelling and there you shall come.  You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.  Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offering in every place you see, but in the place which the Lord chose.”

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #7) – The Divisions of the Kingdom of Israel

The Lord has committed much into the hands of His people.  For example, in the Old Testament, Israel bore the responsibility of maintaining Jehovah’s testimony on the earth.  One of the key factors that the Lord was very eager to maintain among His people was their oneness because their oneness reflects His oneness.  “The Lord is one”, the Old Testament people would declare and it is true.  So following the reign of Solomon, when the nation of Israel was split into two sections; a northern kingdom under the rule of Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant and a southern kingdom, under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.  This was a grave matter to Jehovah.  So it should be also to us today.  As we consider and study the history of God’s move among His people, the testimony of the oneness of God’s people continues to be a vital matter to Him and it’s a matter that is far too often taken for granted by His people.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #29) – The Unique Work of the Processed Triune God

In 2 Samuel, the Lord through the Prophet Nathan prophesied to David the king, “Moreover Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Properly understood, this passage constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Old Testament.

In Matthew in the New Testament, chapter 16, the Lord Jesus makes a similar prophecy to His disciples. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This passage equally constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the New Testament as well. God’s desire to build a dwelling for Himself and for us, from the beginning of the Bible through to the very end.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #28) – The History Concerning David (12)

Of all of the great figures in the Old Testament, none found more favor in the eyes of Jehovah than His beloved King David. David had a heart that matched God’s heart and therefore God was able to reveal the highest things to him. Yet in one critical area, David was weak and this weakness remains even today as a dark blemish on the light of one of God’s great servants.

Even in the divine record, the Holy Word, both in the New and Old Testament, God has reminded us of David’s fall. In 1 Kings 15:5, it says because David did what was upright in the side of Jehovah and did not turn aside from anything that He had commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #27) – God’s Intention to Build Himself in Christ into Us

In 2 Samuel, David, the king, opens his heart to the prophet Nathan. What he expressed was a deep and genuine desire to do something meaningful for God in response to all that God had done for him. The ark of the covenant for many years had been kept temporarily in private homes and families of the Israelites. David’s intention was to build a house for God, a permanent dwelling place for the ark and even for God Himself to dwell-in in Jerusalem.

But the Lord responded to David that it was not God who needed something to be built, rather it was David. Jehovah had already provided a magnificent palace for David to dwell in. But, what David lacked is what we lack. And, that is for the Lord to build His dwelling place within us.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #24) – Our Need for God to Build Christ into Us

Upon a casual reading, 2 Samuel 7 seems simple enough to understand, it begins with King David expressing his heart’s desire to build a dwelling place for Jehovah. The Lord’s response to David seems to be a very good illustration of His love and mercy toward David, telling him that instead of wanting David to build something for Him, the Lord needed to build something first for David. But if we look more carefully and through the lens of God’s economy, we will see that 2 Samuel 7 reveals one of the highest revelations in the entire Bible.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #23) – The History Concerning David (10)

In 2 Samuel, David becomes secure and well established as the one king over all the tribes of Israel. As king, he’s prosperous, respected, loved, and secure from his enemies, even admired by the surrounding nations. In this situation, David’s true heart is clearly manifest. What he desires to do is to do something for God, even to build God a dwelling place in Israel. But having such a one on this earth whose heart was fully one on its own, Jehovah responds to David’s expression of wanting to do something for Him in a most surprising way.

Listen to this passage from 2 Samuel 7:

“Thus says Jehovah, Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house, since the day I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt to this day; but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle. more…

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #22) – The History Concerning David (9)

After years of being persecuted at the hands of the evil king Saul, David has finally become king, fulfilling the promise that Jehovah had given to him as a young boy. Now, the entire nation of Israel was with him. And, even the surrounding nations lent their support to him as king. But most importantly, David had Jehovah’s presence with him as well. With all things fully in order under God’s sovereign arrangement, what would David turn his attention to now?

Many before him had sought greater riches and glory for themselves, but David has a different kind of heart. David had a heart that was fully one with the Lord. So and with his own house in order, David turned his full attention to God’s house. What a marvelous picture and pattern for us as believers today.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #19) – The History Concerning David (6)

The first king in Israel was the tall, handsome, and gifted King Saul. His beginning was quite glorious and he gained the heart of the people by leading Israel to victory over her enemies, including the dreaded Philistines. Not only did the people love him, but it seemed that at least outwardly that Jehovah was with him as well. His ending however, was not so glorious, in fact it marks one of the most tragic and dramatic accounts in the whole Bible. Listen how it is described in first Samuel chapter 31, “Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines chased Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. And the battle bore heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. more…

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #16) – God’s Sovereignty and David’s Taking the Lessons of the Cross

The New Testament is full of divine truth. By reading and studying these truths, we enter into the divine revelation: what God is occupied with, what His purpose is, and what He is desiring to accomplish. But what is lacking in the New Testament are illustrations or pictures. These are provided to us through the great stories of the Old Testament. For example, the New Testament teaches us that God is sovereign, that means He is over all, above all, and in all. Yet, it takes an Old Testament story such as the story of the young boy David, chosen and designated to be king over Israel, yet placed in the most difficult and trying situations for us to see and realize just how sovereign our wonderful God really is. more…

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