Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Reading for today: 2 Chronicles 10, 11, 12

So did some of today’s reading seem vaguely familiar? Maybe you are wondering why are these stories in the Bible twice?

Well, the answer lies in the underlying messages found in 1Kings and 2 Chronicles and to the original audiences they were written to. 1 Kings speaks to the Israelite nation and highlights the lives and history of the kings of Israel and Judah, and contrasted those who lived for God with those who refused to obey God. 2 Chronicles was written after the exile and focused mostly on trying to unite the exiles by focusing on worshiping the one true God. Chronicles highlights the righteous kings of Judah, along with the times of religious revival,  and then also exposes the sins of the evil kings.

So as that as our background for today reading what struck me today was 2 Chronicles 12:1 “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord.”

When times are good that is when we need to seek the Lord even more, because it becomes so easy for us to abandon Him. We can take care of ourselves, we don’t “need” anything from God. We think that we are self-sufficient.  How very sad, because what we truly “need” from God never changes whether we are in good times are hard times. Don’t let your guard down because life is good, but continually offer God the praise and worship He is due.