1 Chronicles 22:13
“Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
As the time of David’s departure drew near he took the time to commission his son to follow and serve the Lord. Solomon would be surrounded by things that would make his task easier but it would ultimately be his own responsibility to choose to live according to the precepts laid down in the word of God. Solomon had the gifts he received from God, the pattern and the resources his father had left behind and he was surrounded by the men who had assisted David in his walk with the Lord. Sadly, the one thing that was missing was a personal desire in Solomon to live a life that pleased the Lord. Instead his life was marked by constant and continual compromise.
There are many pitfalls that make it difficult to follow Christ. We are all constantly bombarded with temptations designed to lead us down roads that take us farther and farther from the paths of God. What we often forget is that we have also been given a roadmap in the scriptures that is designed to guide us through these difficult seasons. When we choose to take the counsel laid forth by David and give care to keep the statutes found in the pages of our Bibles we will find great success.
At the end of the day Solomon had no excuse for his constant compromise. For while the temptations may be great the word of God is greater.
Jim
As Joshua stood overlooking Jericho, wondering how to defeat such a mighty foe, I am sure none of his plans included marching his soldiers around the walls while playing music and eventually shouting at the top of their lungs. I imagine he used his extensive battle experience to carefully discern the weaknesses in Jericho’s wall, while studying the lay out of the land to see where the high points were, or how they might build a siege mound against the city. The pragmatic mind of a seasoned soldier would have a lot to say about how to conquer a well-defended city, but in this case, God had an entirely different approach in mind. If victory was to come, Joshua and all Israel, for that matter, had to understand that the ways of God are different than the ways of man.
God established a pretty clear method of directing Israel through the wilderness. They were traveling roads they had never been on, through obstacles they had never faced before, to a destination none of them had ever seen. In order to ensure they arrived safely, God chose to use a cloud to direct their journey. In a sense, they had the first ever GPS system. When it was time to go, the cloud started moving and when it was time to camp, the cloud stopped. I am sure all of us wish we had a cloud that moved when it was time to move so we could always know the way the Lord wants us to walk.
Ezekiel points out that the sins of the parents resulted in the sacrifice of the children. When they stopped following the Lord, their decision impacted the next generation. I think it would do us good to keep in mind that we have a much greater influence on others than we might think. Jesus compared us to a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). Paul explained, the whole world is watching the Christian as though we were on display. When we decide to commit ourselves to the Lord, living to please to Him, that decision will impact others. People will take notice and decide to further their commitment to Christ. On the other hand, if we wander from the Lord, we will have a domino effect upon others who may fall along with us.
The people in Ezekiel’s day were facing the same struggles we face today, they were failing to look into the Word of God. As a result, they were easily swayed into believing they could live however they wanted. This lifestyle soon caught up with them and the nation was beginning to collapse. What had once been a thriving city, and the envy of the nations, was now about to collapse in total ruin. In this condition, God reveals his ultimate desire for the people. He says “I will seize the house of Israel by their hearts.”
Rebellion is an interesting thing. Most people, who are in rebellion, don’t see themselves as rebels, but have justification for their behavior. Children do it with their parents, adults do it with their superiors, and all of us do it with God. I think it might be helpful to note that Ezekiel gives us a Biblical definition of rebellion, so we can recognize whether or not we are currently rebelling against God. He says, a rebel is one who has eyes but does not see and ears but does not hear. In other words, if we know what we are doing is unacceptable to God and we are doing it anyway, then we are in rebellion against God.
Scripture teaches, the most important of all graces is love. Jesus said it was the first of the commandments, the proof of our relationship with Him, and our most effective witnessing tool. Paul defined love in first Corinthians 13, and declared that love will outlast time. In our world, love is a very common subject, admittedly difficult to define. I think it is important we keep in mind, while the chief thing is love, the chief love, is love for God. John helps us to understand what love for God actually looks like.
A few years back I attended a men’s conference where this verse was shared during a worship session. Like most, I was encouraged by the sentiment of it, until I recalled the context. You see, as beautiful as the verse is, it is declared by a group of people who have no real intention of doing what the Lord says. The verse might better read, “we will obey as long as the Lord tells us what we want to hear.”
After conquering Judah and Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah governor over the people. He allowed many of the Jews to remain in the land, and gave them certain freedoms regarding their worship. Soon, those who had fled from Jerusalem, when the Babylonians forces first arrived, began to make their way back to the city. Many of them were faithful to a man named Ishmael, who secretly wanted to overthrow Gedaliah and Babylon. He soon took action by going on a killing spree, putting to death all those he saw as faithful to the governor. His actions not only caused the death of many innocent men, but also turned Babylon against Jerusalem, and finally forced Ishmael to flee from Israel to the Ammonites.
Jim Gallagher 