1 & 2 Kings (Program #15) – The Reign of Azariah, Jotham, and Ahuz over Judah

The history of Israel and the various kings over Israel is recorded in the book of Kings and 1 Chronicles and other history books reveals again and again how Israel and its kings failed God and His expressed intention for them as His people.  Yet even when their failure reached extraordinary levels forcing God to temporarily abandon the nation of Israel, there always remain a line of faithful ones.  Ones that would stand with God for His purpose and for His testimony.  The prophets were such ones, prophets like Nathan and Elijah, Elisha and even Isaiah.  The New Testament has a name for such ones; it is overcomers.  In the book of Revelation, this title appears seven times, most of which sounding like this reference in Revelation 2:7, “he who has an ear, let  him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.”

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #21) – The History Concerning David (8)

The first two kings of Israel present us with two distinctly different patterns. Both began their monarchy by being selected and anointed by God, but any similarity ends there. Saul, the first king, was intent on one thing, and that was establishing and building up his own monarchy. What he was building up was absolutely for himself. David who replaced Saul was also intent on one thing. But for David, that one thing had nothing to do with his own kingdom. His focus was God’s kingdom. What he was building up was for God’s kingdom, not for his own.

The result of their two lives tells us a lot about how we should approach and conduct ourselves in the kingdom of God. Saul and his three sons died a humiliating death, and the honor and the glory that surrounded his kingship in the beginning was completely lost. David on the other hand, despite some serious failures, became an important person in God’s plan and even in the accomplishment of His eternal economy.

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Joshua (Program #5) – The Preparation Before the Attack

The children of Israel were preparing to enter into the good land to do battle with the kings that occupied the land that God had given them to occupy and possess. Prior to their engaging these enemies, Jehovah performed a miracle quite similar to one that He had performed for their fathers, a generation before when they escaped Egypt.  He once again held back the waters allowing them to cross. Only this time not the waters of the Red Sea but the waters of the Jordan River. News of this miracle reached the kings within the land and it caused them no small amount of fear for they realized that God was among the children of Israel once more. Yet the preparation of Israel was still not complete. As we consider the preparation of Israel in Joshua chapter 5, an interesting chapter.

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Jeremiah (Program #18) – Jehovah’s Condemnation of and Punishment upon the Kings and Prophets of Judah

In the middle chapters of Jeremiah, the Lord is condemning and chastising the kings and prophets of Israel for how they had so fully turned their backs on Him. Listen to this verse from chapter 22, “I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, I will not listen. This has been your way from your youth, That you have not listened to My voice.” But despite how this must have deeply offended the very God that had brought them through so much and had proven Himself to them again and again, it’s in the midst of His exposing how utterly unrighteous His people had become that He offers the most hopeful and encouraging promise through the prophet Jeremiah. Just a few verses later, we hear “Indeed, days are coming, Declares Jehovah, When I will raise up to David a righteous Shoot; And He will reign as King and act prudently And will execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

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Jeremiah (Program #11) – A Word concerning Israel’s History

On Mount Sinai, Israel was in the dawning of a divine revelation. God had revealed the law to them as a portrait, a picture of Himself. And opened His heart’s desire to them that He would be everything to them, even a Husband that they would be a people to Him and eventually become even His duplication. But the history of Israel reveals how quickly they have departed from this revelation and this sunrise soon became a sunset, leaving Israel in darkness and under the chastising hand of Jehovah. This was the situation when God had to call a young boy to be a prophet for Him. Jeremiah was raised up by the Lord because Jehovah found no one among His kings, princes or even His priests that would be faithful to Him and speak His word to the people. To see Israel in the sunset of the divine revelation becomes a sober warning to us today – never to forsake Him, the fountain of living waters.

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