Psalms 89-91

Psalm 89 is fascinating.  The psalmist extols the Lord by rehearsing God's strong faithfulness.  He then tells God, "Hey, have you forgotten those promises?  We're dying here!"  And then he appeals to God to step in and act on His faithfulness.

I don't know if I've ever been that bold in my prayers.  Should I be?  Something to ponder.

Psalm 91 really settles my soul!

Read them here.

Psalms 86-88

For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,
rich in faithful love to all who call on You.
Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my plea for mercy.
I call on You in the day of my distress,
for You will answer me.

And if I ever get this low, may I find myself turning to God as the psalmist does...

You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;
darkness is my only friend.

Read them here.

Psalms 82-85

Need to restore your delight in God?  Psalms 84-85 are your elixer.  But don't skip to them before journeying through the neighborhood.

Hard to get around this when you pick up the Bible. Here it is again...

Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.

Then check out the juxtaposition of these words found in the following psalm as God is called upon to deal with the "power of the wicked"...

Cover their faces with shame
so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.
Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
May they know that You alone—
whose name is Yahweh—

are the Most High over all the earth. 

But the psalmist calls on GOD to take care of them.

Read them here.

Psalms 80-81

But My people did not listen to Me;
Israel did not obey Me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.
If only My people would listen to Me…

Help me, listen, Lord.  And to listen with a view to obey and follow!

Read them here.

Psalms 78-79

My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say.
² I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past—
³ things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us.
⁴ We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the Lord,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed.

Read them here.

Psalms 75-77

Here's one to think about... Even human wrath will praise You (Psalm 76:10).

Ponder the psalms.  Let them lead you to places your heart would not otherwise go in worship.

Read them here.

2 Chronicles 35-36

Wrapping up this book and the story of Judah's King Josiah.  He was the last of the good and godly kings to be chronicled.

After years of trying to disuade His people from their destructive path, Jerusalem is sacked and the people are exiled to Babylon.  But then the glorious promise of restoration and a fresh start...

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 33-34

How could Manasseh turn from God so early?  But the post script of his life speaks of God's mercy and tenacious desire to forgive.  After years of spurning God, "Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God" (33:13).  And it changed everything!

And his grandson was a legacy of faith ... enter KING JOSIAH!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 31-32

He did what was good and upright and true before the Lord his God (31:20).

Please, Lord, let it be said of me.

Not only did Hezekiah lead his people to defend the city, he pointed them to their Ultimate Defense...
"[The enemy] only has human strength, but we have Yahweh our God to help us and fight our battles!"

Yet even good King Hezekiah as a sad post script to his life (32:24-26).  Lord, keep me from sad post scripts.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 29-30

Good King Hezekiah.  You're going to like this story!  Here's the theme of his life… "For Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away form you if you return to Him."

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 26-28

Remember Isaiah talking about "In the year that king Uzziah died?"  These are those days!  Though Uzziah became arrogant and hit the skids spiritually, his son (Jotham) took over and lived for God.  But then his son (Ahaz) took over and took a nosedive.

Wow - the spiritual roller-coaster is dizzying!  But hold on … Ahaz's son is coming!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 24-25

I want to be a Jehoiada.

One man can make a huge difference.  The priest, Jehoiada, had a major impact for God.  And when he died it was like the reigns were dropped and things went south fast.  I want to be a Jehoiada in my world.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 21-23

"He died to no one's regret." 

One generation after a good and godly king, his son takes over and completely turns away from God.  His first act?  He murdered all his brothers!  After a pathetic and wicked life his epitaph is above.

Thankfully there is a hero on the horizon.  But there are some dark days before he comes.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 19-20

"We do not know what to do, but we look to You!" (20:12)

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors (19:4).

This dude just keeps impressing me.  A few verses later, when faced with a powerful enemy attack, it says, "Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord" (20:3).  Is that what you do when you're afraid?  The prayer that follows is amazing.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 17-18

One remarkable description of Jehoshaphat... "His mind rejoiced in the Lord's ways" (17:6).  Then he began a remarkable plan to teach the Bible to everyone in the entire nation.  Incredible!

But...be careful of who you ally yourself with.  They can be your downfall, no matter how strong you are!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 15-16

"Asa was wholehearted his entire life" (15:17).  Would that be an AWESOME epitaph???  Here's the bummer: Right in the final chapter of his life, he reneged.  That epitaph could not be written after all   Yet God still seeks such a man... 

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 13-14

"The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the Lord, the God of their ancestors" (13:18).

And King Asa continued this trend.  Look at his prayer in (14:11)!

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You.”

These are good days!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 11-12

Divided Kingdom.  Judah vs. Israel.  Rehoboam vs. Jeroboam.  Worship of Yahweh vs. worship of goat-demons and golden calves.  How could things deteriorate so fast?

Yet even here the Lord is faithful and eager to forgive.  When Rehoboam humbled himself, God was eager to respond.  God's generous grace seems to have no limits.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 9-10

The Queen of Sheba is a notable historical person.  "Sheba" is likely another term for Ethiopia which would have been a vast empire that stretched from northern Africa eastward through much of the Middle East.  For this queen to be impressed with Solomon speaks of his power, wealth, and especially his wisdom.  "It took her breath away" (9:4).

Yet the king who was the wisest man on earth somehow failed to pass his wisdom on to his son.  How can this be?  And the result is devastating!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 7-8

One refrain continues to come back ...

For He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.

We should repeat this verse over and over again.

All is well between God and His people.  Yet, there is one weakness already exposed.  Solomon loved and honored God, but he took a pagan wife - knowing the inconsistency of it (8:11).  And this one verse portends a coming disaster.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 6

This is a powerful prayer by a man who rightly understood his place before a Sovereign God.

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 3-5

After a LOT of prep work, Solomon is almost ready to open the doors of the Temple.  Can you imagine the sound of 120 trumpets plus all sorts of other instruments and the company of the entre priesthood singing together with one voice, "For He is good; His faithful love endures forever!"

Man, I would have LOVED to have been there!

Read it here.

2 Chronicles 1-2

The start of a new year.  Let's jump back into our OT read-through!

2 Chronicles gives us the history of King Solomon and takes us all the way to the Babylonian conquest of Judah.

Today we read of Solomon's request of God ... for wisdom and knowledge to rule God's people.  God gives Solomon this gift in abundance!  In fact, "wisdom" is the central theme of the book of Proverbs that he pens later in his life.

Read it here.