Monday: A New King
A preacher once said, Be careful what you pray for. You just might get it.
Israel had asked for and longed for a king, just like the nations around them. They got what they asked for, and so much of Israelite history after the era of the judges was the story of how these kings corrupted themselves on the throne and, as a result, corrupted the nation as well.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
Nevertheless, there were always exceptions, such as King Josiah, who ascended the throne in 639 b.c. and ruled until 608 b.c.
What was the context in which the new king had come to the throne? (See 2 Chron. 33:25.)
Though democracy is supposed to be rulership by the people, it generally wasn’t conceived of functioning as it did in this case. Nevertheless, the people made their will known, and it was done according to their will. The young king came to the throne at a time of great turmoil, apostasy, and violence, even at the highest levels of government. Seeing what was going on, many faithful in the land had wondered whether God’s promises to ancient Israel could ever be fulfilled. From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment.
-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 384.
The anxiety of the faithful ones was expressed in the words of the prophet Habakkuk. Read Habakkuk 1:2-4. What is the prophet saying?
Unfortunately, the answer to the problems of iniquity, violence, strife, and lawlessness would come, but from the north, from the Babylonians, whom God would use to bring judgment upon His wayward people. As we have seen all along, it didn’t have to be that way; however, because of their refusal to repent, they faced the punishment that their sins brought upon them.
From a human point of view, how often does the divine purpose
seem from a human point of view to be impossible to accomplish? What does this tell us about how we need to reach out in faith beyond what we see or fully understand?
(25)
Praising God instantly takes the focus off ourselves, our limitations, our strengths, and our impossibilities which include following a law of love with a selfish heart.
People pursue goals to achieve success. When we experience success the emotional reward of experiencing success is perceived to be happiness. So we believe by accomplishing some goal we will experience happiness. But happiness like all other goals will not be accomplished by seeking something else, for example you do not look for success in your career by being a better father or better mother to your family. A person experiences success in a career by sacrificing those other things for the career. (I am not saying people who are successful in a career are failures at home, I am saying that we often sacrifice one thing for the other.)
This is the same dilemma that faced the people of Israel when they selected a king. They thought a king would help them win wars and get recognition as a "kingdom." But they already had a King. They wanted some temporal icon to look to, because they thought it would get them "happiness." But all they got was a temporal icon and a broken kingdom. Daily we are faced with the same challenge. Do I seek my idol (icon...wealth, career, boyfriend, spouse, children's sporting events, sports ... you name it) in hopes of experiencing success/happiness, or do I seek God who already is my success/happiness?!
If I seek God as my success what does that look like? 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 demonstrates what this looks like, check it out. Its my new thing, praising God!! Because reaching out in faith is loving with a selfish heart; impossible! When we constantly praise God for what He has done our hearts melt as our minds transform into the image of what we are constantly beholding.
Hey Bro. The concept of a successful career does have many interpretation. However, contrary to your expression of being a good father/mother or rather the best father/mother, does lead to a very successful career. This contributes certain essential values to that journey to a successful career.
From a human point of view, how often does the divine purpose seem from a human point of view to be impossible to accomplish?
1).It most certainly does, however we should not loose hope after all this is the Lords' will and wish that we propose and lead them according to the bible and bible only.
2). We need to see for ourselves God has worked a miracle in our own lives, so we can be assured that our gospel commission cal is not in vain.
3). If Jesus was rejected and did not baptized any while here on earth, but prepared the way for the successful evangelism of the world back then, how more sure should we be with our call to go out despite our seeing it being a failure.
What does this tell us about how we need to reach out in faith beyond what we see or fully understand?
1). The story of Nineveh should drive us forward, and also the story of Samaritan Woman who went and brought the whole village to Jesus. Therefore leave the results to the Lord and we just concentrate on delivering the message in a way acceptable and palatable to our listeners while at the same time not compromising the truth in its totality.
2). We must face reality most people will not accept our message but still we need to warn them, if not than their death will be upon us, what a scary thought as the prophet Ezekiel stated. Just like majority of the Israelite did not accept God's warning so the city was destroyed and so will in these last days so be prepared to face or know that will never read your feed for advice, so be it but yet we commanded to go out and seek the lost.
Just a child and depending on a few righteous counselors at first the new king Josiah would take some time to reverse the damage done by his predecessors. With unwavering commitment (2 Kings 22:2) he eventually tore down all that offended God, including the huge unsightly idols on the Mount of Olives virtually ‘steering down’ or challenging the temple on Mount Moriah across the Kidron Valley (2 Kings 23:4-15).
Strikingly King Solomon had built both. It was his honor to build the temple which would bring great honor to Jehovah. Yet forming unholy alliances to support his ambition to outshine the surrounding nations he built altars of idolatry to please his heathen wives, hoping eventually to convert them (1 Kings 11:1-8). He would discover it is easier to be pulled down than to pull up.
At first Solomon did not see anything wrong with a little careless mingling. The king came to think like the pagans, admire the things they did and practiced their idolatry. The ruins of the shrines on the mount remained until New Testament times testifying to the effects of mingling error with truth. This is their history. It does not have to be ours, unless the counsels are ignored (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
Many err thinking it is resting on them to populate God’s kingdom and so resort to the strategy they think will best accomplish this, overstepping the boundaries as they see fit. The Lord does not require his people to trust themselves for they will likely assess their strength greater than it is. If they must err let it be in trying to follow His command and trusting Him with the outcome (Proverbs 3:5-6).
How important are the counsellors of the young!
"The just shall live by his faith. "-Habakkuk 2:4 and "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1
When trouble are out of control in our lives and the night is in its darkest point is when by faith we should know and trust that he is in control and will guide us to the brightest shiny morning!,
In some way, it could be said that the people of Judah had these wicked kings for more than 50 years because that is what they wanted. God gave them the leaders they wanted and deserved. Until when the people of the kingdom turned towards godliness, God gave them a better king.
(2 Chronicles 33:1.) Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had and served them, for Manasseh did not destroy them but only threw them away when he humbled himself to God. When Amon became King, he went and collected them and served them as his gods. He humbled not himself before the LORD.
He reigned but for only two years and then his servants conspired against him and slew him, v. 24. Perhaps when Amon sinned as his father did in the beginning of his days he promised himself that he should repent as his father did in the latter end of his days. But his case shows what a madness it is to presume upon that. If he hoped to repent when he was old, he was wretchedly disappointed; for he was cut off when he was young. He rebelled against God, and his own servants rebelled against him. Herein God was righteous, but they were wicked, and justly did the people of the land put them to death as traitors. The lives of kings are particularly under the protection of Providence and the laws both of God and man.
Though Amon was a very wretched King we see his only positive contribution that he made to the history of Judah was to produce one of the best kings to reign on the throne of Jerusalem." (Josiah his son)
(Habakkuk 1:2-4)When we turn to Habakkuk, he looked at the violence and injustice around him in the nation of Judah. He wondered where God was, and why God did not set things right. This is an excellent question. Why did God allow Habakkuk to see all these and Why does God allow us to see iniquity and trouble, in our self or in others?
• Why God allows us to see iniquity in our self.
- To keep us humble
- To make us submissive in the hour of trouble
- To make us value salvation all the more
• Why God allows us to see iniquity in others.
- To show us what we might have been ourselves
- To make us see the wickedness of sin, that we might pass by it and hate it, and not indulge in it
ourselves
- To make us admire the grace of God when He saves sinners
Habakkuk deals with the questions that come up when someone really believes God, yet looks around them and the world doesn't seem to match up with how God wants it. Habakkuk sees it -especially remembering the prior times of revival under King Josiah - and asks, "Lord, why are you allowing this?"