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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:05]
B
Hey, this is Shelby and Scott and we're so glad to be back with you for another episode of Year in the Bible. Be sure that you subscribe or follow so that you don't miss an episode with us as we journey through this book. We're in second Chronicles 16 through 18 today, and we've kind of talked about this. We're beginning to speed up, talk about more kings for each day. Where are we kind of at in our journey through the southern kingdom? Kings? Scott?
- [00:32]
A
Yeah, we, we talked about Asa a little bit yesterday and he, you know, his reign carries over in today's reading. So we, we'll talk about him and then another king here in a moment whose name is very fun. But we'll start with, we'll start with Asa. We'll finish up his reign. So on the whole, Asa is a great king over the southern kingdom. Like I said yesterday, that's probably why Chronicles spends more time on him than the Book of Kings does. Still, he's not a perfect king like the study brings out. And you know, Shelby, the way I like to think of it, he's a model king. Sometimes that's just a model of what not to do. You know, in this case, he has this military threat and he, instead of turning to God for help, he turns to another nation. And then he's rebuked by this prophet who reminds him of a lesson Chronicles has been repeating that there is safety in depending on the Lord. The prophets says, when you relied on God in the past, things went well. But you know, in this context, we get another somewhat well known verse when the prophet tells him that the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him since 16:9. And Asa ended up failing in that regard. And if he's a warning to the original audience, he's a reminder that they will prosper only if they are fully devoted to the Lord. And then not really funny, but it's kind of funny. But like the Asa just kind of gets mad at the prophets who's delivering God's message. This is very much a shoot the messenger situation, which is something that actually will happen again in the next king's reign. Jehoshaphat.
- [02:05]
B
Jehoshaphat, yes. You were having a lot of fun talking about this name and pronouncing it. But let's talk about what happens during Jehoshaphat's reign.
- [02:15]
A
Yeah, so his reign occupies the next several chapters. We won't get to the end of his reign till tomorrow. So we'll be with him tomorrow as well. But chapter 17 just paints this great picture, I think, of the southern kingdom during his reign. We read that God established his kingdom. He became more and more powerful. Many other nations brought him tribute. I love, too, this moment where he actually. We read that he sends out the Levites throughout the kingdom to essentially teach the law to God's people. And we read that they went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people. I think that's so cool. So he. He shows this concern for his people to know and obey God, which I think is really incredible. You know, still, he's. He's not a perfect king. He makes mistakes. So the big mistake for him is he marries into the family of Ahab. So that's the northern king. And, you know, a lot of times kings would do that to establish military alliances. So we see him allying himself with ahab in chapter 18. Ahab was a notoriously awful king in the north. Kings spent a lot of time talking about him, you know, to Jehoshaphat's credit, when they're deciding whether to go to battle together, he tells Ahab to seek advice from a prophet. And there's this really funny moment to me where there's, like, one prophet of the Lord left, and Ahab's like. Like, yeah, there's this one guy, but he never says anything good about me. It's just awesome moment to me. But, you know, between these two prophets whose words were. Were not well received, and between Jehoshaphat's initiative to send out people to teach the law throughout the kingdom, I think something that really stands out to me in this chapter is just the importance for us and also the original audience to just pay very, very close attention to the words of the Lord, be attentive to God's words when he speaks. We need to be. Be careful to listen and obey. Not just listen, but obey, like James says. And, you know, I think that just reminds me, like, whenever I sit in front of an open Bible, to feel the weight of what I'm doing. God is speaking. I need to listen, and I need to act on it.
- [04:15]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I think a takeaway for me from this is reading through the kind of the end of Asa's story, which you referred to at the beginning of this episode. And you just see him seeking things other than the Lord. And then he even, like, gets sick. He gets ill, and it's like. But even in his illness, like, he did not seek the Lord. And we've talked about this a lot. Just Scott, as much as I wanna fault him for that, I do the same thing at times. You know, sometimes when things go from bad to worse, that's not a cue in my brain to seek the Lord. I'm trying to like, pull myself out by my own bootstraps even more. And so, gosh, just even that phrase like seeking the Lord in all things has been kind of refrain in my mind after reading these chapters. So I think that's gonna be my take for these chapters. Thanks for walking us through 16 through 18 and two chronicles, Scott. We're going to continue on with more tomorrow.