Loading summary
A
Hi, there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
B
Each week, we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
A
Thanks for listening. Hi there. I'm Dave Butler.
B
And I'm Grace Freeman Smith Green. I decided to choose my name.
A
Welcome to Don't Miss this while Grace learns her name. Remember, you guys, this comes out in July. We're recording this right after the wedding, so you haven't had much time.
B
I'm not used to it.
A
To adapt to it.
B
I'm not used to it. My poor husband. I just keep saying grace for agreement, disgracing his name.
A
It's fine publicly on the Internet, but you're. You're gonna figure that out. We're all gonna figure this out. Life and. And everything. So happy Midsummer. It's Midsummer right now. How are you doing? Is everyone loving it? I. I do.
B
I like that when you, like, said that. Like, a little bit, though. Yeah. Like, it was like. Okay, I'm already.
A
Yeah, we're recording this right at the beginning of summer, and so it's all fun and games still, but goes downhill fast. All right, you guys, we are. Okay, we have to get a little bit smart before we jump into the chapters today, because starting right here in the Bible, we sort of hit almost. We're not quite to the spot where the timeline gets super confusing. Okay. But we're getting to the end of the timeline of the Bible. So starting in Genesis, and what do you know? We have our timeline behind us. Okay? So if you look, we started in Genesis, the creation of the world, the fall. We had Noah, this. The Tower of Babel. And then we zeroed in on this single person, this couple, Abraham and Sarah and their family. So we had Abraham and then their son Isaac, who married Rebecca and Rachel and. And Jacob, who gets his name changed to Israel. And all of these promises are made to them about their. The land and their posterity and. And the blessings of God. Upon this, then they get taken away. You remember they sold their brother into Egypt. One of Jacob's sons sold his brother into Egypt, Joseph. So he moves to Egypt. Then the whole family ends up moving to Egypt. Remember all those stories? Then they become slaves in Egypt, and then they're in slavery in Egypt for hundreds of years. And then they escape or set free, I should say. We took God out of the story there accidentally. They're set free.
B
They.
A
Through the Red Sea, they go to Mount Sinai, establish this new covenant relationship with God where he's like, I still want you to be who I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I wanted you to be. But they're not quite ready for it. So they wander through the wilderness for 40 years. Finally, they cross over into the promised land through the Jordan River. They establish themselves in the land. We got that land, the. The time of the Judges, where you have, like, Deborah and Gideon and Samson kind of ruling over this. These 12 tribes sort of live separately from each other. And then they unite into this one united kingdom under King Saul. And then there's King David, and then there was King Solomon, who builds the temple. And then after King Solomon, you remember, the kingdom splits into two different kingdoms, the Northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. And now we're about to get to the spot where we're going to lose track of the northern kingdom. And then we're going to only really follow the southern kingdom from here on out. So last time was Elijah and Elisha. Right. And these two prophets are some of the prophets that are teaching and caring for and speaking to and helping along the northern and the southern kingdoms. Okay. Because you remember, they both have their own sets of kings, and they're kind of running parallel to each other, but two totally different nations from each other. So sometimes prophets will visit the northern kingdom, sometimes prophets will visit the southern kingdom. Sometimes they're going to both of the kingdoms. Okay, what's going to happen today, and I already put the pieces up on the timeline, is the Northern kingdom is going to be destroyed. The country of Assyria is going to come in, and they're going to take the 10 tribes that make up the Northern kingdom, and they're going to kill a ton of them, scatter them to the winds, put them as slaves, integrate them into their own lifestyles. And from that point on in history, we've lost those 10 tribes. They are scattered. They are lost. They are called the scattered and lost 10 tribes. Is this making sense?
B
Yes. You're doing great. I was just thinking that we were getting so smart. Yeah.
A
I was like, okay, okay. So that is what's going to actually happen today. Also today, you're going to get to the destruction of the southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, and they're going to be taken away by Babylon. So that is coming today also. So you are going to have today sort of the fall of these two kingdoms, the fall from grace, but also just like a total destruction of these people. One of the tribes, the 10 sort of. They're just gone. And then we'll talk at the end and maybe into Next time, what happens with that, with that Southern kingdom. But that's sort of what is. We're getting to the end of the timeline of what's happening. It's not quite this week or next week. I think it's the week I can't remember. It's coming up. Okay. But we do have this tip in for two kings, chapter 25, that you can put sort of this, a mini timeline into your scriptures that gives a summary of the Old Testament history. Okay. So that kind of gets us up to kind of where we're at in the history. One other thing, today and next week are sort of part one and part two, I guess we could say, because if you didn't know this, the Book of Kings, first and Second Kings were written kind of while the story was happening. And then the books of first and Second Chronicles were written about a hundred years later, reflecting on this time period. So first and Second Kings cover the same time period as first and Second Chronicles. And sometimes they tell details of the story. It's like reading Matthew and Mark right next to each other, where you're like, oh, you're covering the same time period, but you're going to be emphasizing and showing different things in there. So saddle up. Wait, that's not the right buckle up or saddle up. We're Lehigh people.
B
It's a rodeo.
A
It's rodeo. It's rodeo season. Saddle up. And we're going to be jumping back and forth between the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles. So technically, this week's reading schedule is 2 Kings 16:25, which we'll be in, but we'll also be in 2 Chronicles. And next week is 2 Chronicles, and we'll be back in Kings because they just. Right. We're like Matthew and Mark, reading them together. Okay. Was that enough information?
B
Yeah. We just really do get really smart.
A
Okay. Get really smart. We're feeling great about what's happening here. Okay, let's start off at 2 Kings 16. And this is going to be the kind of the fall of the Northern Kingdom is what this area is, what's happening right here. So you have this battle that's going to happen, and there's this guy whose name is Ahaz. And Ahaz, you find out, is in the Southern Kingdom, and he's going to be attacked by the Northern Kingdom and by a country named Syria. And we find out from him that he is not a super good guy. But I want to start in verse seven about this King, Ahaz. Now this is about the Southern kingdom. Okay. Of Judah, Northern kingdoms called Israel, southern kingdom's called Judah. Sometimes they call them by their capital, Jerusalem and Samaria. So it just gets.
B
It's a lot. If you're not great at geography, there's
A
a lot happening, there's a lot been there.
B
Just make it up in your head and hope for the best is okay.
A
But this is about the southern kingdom. Both of them are going to. Both of them are going to fall. So it works as a principle for both of them. But if you look in verse seven of chapter 16, I think this is interesting. So it says, King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiger of Assyria with this message, I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel. Then Ahaz took the silver and the gold from the temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent them as payment to the Assyrian king. So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away and its captives, resettling them in incur. Then it says, King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with the king Tiger. While he was there, he took special note of the altar that he had and he sent a model of the altar back to Uriah, his priest, along with its design and full detail. So when he goes and visits this foreign king, he sees the altar they have in their temple. And he comes back and he's like, I actually really like that altar so much, I would like to put one of those in my temple. So he comes and he actually cuts the basin off of the back of the oxen in Solomon's temple, removes it and redesigns and remodels the entire temple. Now this is why I read those verses. And what I think is interesting about them is because as you look at them, you notice a couple of things. One, King Ahaz gives his loyalty to, to Assyria. Two, he gives his money to Assyria. Three, he patterns his life after Assyria. And then in verse 14, which I didn't read, he sacrifices for Assyria. And I think it's interesting though, those four patterns and things that we see in this chapter that lead us to think, to ask ourselves that question. Who has my loyalty or my heart? I would say probably, where does my money go? What am I patterning my life after? And what or who am I sacrificing for? And what we're going to find is that the northern and southern kingdom both choose someone or something else to give their loyalty, their money, their heart, and who they pattern their life after. And that's the reason that the scriptures point out and show that they. That they're going to fall. And I think it's important to. When we say that they fall. And as you read through these scriptures, were you about to say something?
B
No, I wasn't with that.
A
Okay, okay. Because I was gonna take everyone to that verse in Corinthians.
B
Okay. Let me say right now.
A
Okay, yeah, say.
B
Because I am so interested. Even in 2 Kings 16, verse 14. And this is the moment that he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the Lord. And he takes it from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and he puts it on the north side of the alt. And I'm not great at directions. I'm not great at the layout of this situation. Okay. I'm not exactly the smartest. But what I think is so interesting is he took what was most important and he moved it aside. And this week is not actually in July for us. Okay. We're recording it. It's like the end of May right now. And I watched this week the. A commencement speech from Eric Church. Did you watch it? No. You need to watch. You need to need to watch it. I need you. Like, I want to stop the podcast so that you can watch it. I actually. I won't make us do that, but everyone needs to watch it. And he starts out and he starts talking about how he's like, the human ear is trained to know when something's out of tune. We just do it naturally. You don't have to be a musician. A magician either. A musician. If you just strum a guitar, you immediately know if it's in tune or out of tune. And he started talking, and he's like, you like to tune a guitar, you have to tune it one string at a time. And every magician, what you really want
A
a magic show right now.
B
Music feels like magic to me. Okay. So that made a connection. He said, every musician knows how to tune a guitar. And you always start with the same string, and then you go to the next string, and then you go to the next string, and then you go to the next string. And he's like, it only works is if you go in that order. And if you're sure that the first string is in tune.
A
And.
B
And he's like, life is the same way. And he said, I'm gonna tell you about, like, the guitar strings of life. Of all the things that you need in tune to have your life, like, sound good and, like, be a melody. And the first Thing he started out with was faith. And he's like, you need to have a foundation rooted in faith. And he talked about how important it is that everything else in your life will feel out of tune if you don't start there. And it's so interesting because this seems like such a simple place to start that it's like, oh, well, it's so easy to be like, well, he just wanted a new one. He wanted to upgrade the temple and make it look a little better. He wanted to change things up. He wanted a fresh start. And you can say all these reasons why he would have done it, but at the very root of it, he was untuning the spirituality of his life. He was taking what should have been the most important and putting it to the side. And I think that so often happens in our life that maybe we can, like, find reasons of why we do it. I can do that in my life all the time. But I'm like. I, like, make excuses of why I'm spiritually out of tune. And I think it's not that big of a deal. And I just have been thinking so much lately about, like, this is where you have to start, because this first string is going to determine the outcome of how it sounds when you play the guitar. And you're going to see that this first moment is the moment that's going to determine the outcome of what's going to happen in this kingdom. Yeah.
A
And I think that's actually a really cool way to read all of these chapters first. I. I mean, because we can tell. I think we can tell also when we're spiritually out of tune, when our life is like, everything's fine. I mean, there's sometimes where it's not fine, but there's sometimes where it is fine. There's money in the bank. There's no, like, you know, we have groceries, we have. All of those things are going well, but I just feel a little bit out of tune, a little bit, like, off. Like there's something that's. That's wrong. And I think it. These chapters, like, kind of point us to ourselves to say, like, well, is that first string in tune? Is our faith and our relationship with God in tune? And if you want a chapter to study, to kind of get some, I don't know, almost some things to consider, I guess. 17 second kings, chapter 17 sort of, if you studied it, to think, like, what kind of things would I. What kind of things would be in my life if it was out of tune? Does that make sense? Yeah, right. Let me. Let me tell you. For example. For example, 17, verse 7 says, the disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and who had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh. And I wrote down, they forgot the God who rescued them. Like, they just weren't thinking about him. And, and. And that's what I mean. You read that and you're like, is that me? Do I. Am I remembering the rescue that God did for me? Am I remembering those moments of my life?
B
And where's that one about secrecy?
A
Oh, nine.
B
Yeah. I couldn't remember if that was in chapter 17. And you're gonna go to verse nine and it says, and the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God. And I think that's another one of those things that. Yeah, when you look at a guitar, you can't tell that it's out of tune. And I think there's a lot of things in our life that it's like, if you look at it, you're not going to be able to tell if someone is spiritually in tune. Honestly, like, I think that there's a lot of things. Like, if people were to look at my life, you wouldn't be able to tell if I was spiritually in tune or out of tune. But, you know, like, even though, like, you're trying to hide it or it's not necessarily visible from the outside, there's something in you that knows. I think it's so interesting that they say that they were secretly doing the things that were against the Lord their God, because I'm sure they were like, this is like, me, at least in my head, that I'm like, no one's going to be able to notice. No one's going to be able to tell. I can hide this from God, I can hide this from other people. But I think it goes back to that root of, like, you're doing it secretly because you don't want anyone else to know. But also, just because you're doing it in secret doesn't mean that it's not affecting your life. Yeah. And that is, I think, the root of all of that.
A
And that's what I. And so that would be a perfect one, even easier one to understand, to say that. I would read this chapter and think to myself, okay, are there things that I am doing in secret? Like, I would ask myself that question. Yeah, you know, if I feel a little bit off, if I Feel out of tune and be like, okay, have I forgotten my relationship with God? Am I doing things in secret? And if so, why? And could those be affecting me and why I'm feeling awesome? 17 would be a great chapter to kind of read through and see that. Now that's kind of the bad news of why, you know, the Northern Kingdom ends up falling, and they end up being taken away. And I think. I think it's important to say that they lived in a really dangerous situation. They had these neighbors that were big and powerful and strong, and God was protecting them and he was preserving them until they said, no, thank you. We don't want your protection and we don't want your preservation. And God leaves them to their own. To their own strength is a phrase we see in scripture sometimes. And that's why they're going to be conquered, and that's why they're going to be taken away. And I think it's. It's pretty similar to our lives. Like, there's a lot of things that we're just. Like, we're. That we're dealing with a lot of stuff. And I think we're being preserved, and I think we're being protected. And if we try to face life on our own, I think it's gonna, like, we, like, we kind of get our booties kicked, you know, sometimes. And I think that's what's happening with them is they asked God to step out of their life, and he did. And when he did, they were scattered, they were. They were lost, and they were taken away. So that's what happens. And the same thing with the Southern kingdom eventually, about 100 years later. Now what we want to do is talk about kind of the. The things that the Southern kingdom does. So the southern kingdom lasts 100 years longer. And. And you're kind of like, wait, why. Why does that happen? They kind of came from the same family or the same people. Well, there happens to be a couple of influences in the Southern Kingdom, a couple of kings that kind of retune the guitar, right? And they bring everybody back. And the two kings, they've got several. But two that we're going to focus on today are Hezekiah and Josiah. And we're going to talk about some of the things they did to kind of retune their lives back to the Lord. Interestingly, our word of the week is repent. And now we wish it just said retune, but essentially. Essentially, they're the same thing, right? This idea of, oh, the Southern kingdom was on the same Trajectory as the Northern Kingdom. But they keep turning back. They keep coming back. And that word repent, by the way, in Hebrew is shuv, and it means to turn back. I love this one. To fetch home, to go back again, to recall, to recover, to refresh, to rescue, restore, return, or retune. Why. Why should we just not write that on the poster as just. It's good to just kind of check ourselves and be like, are things off? Okay, what do I. What can I do to kind of retune that faith string? That first faith string. I love that so much. Okay, so let's look. Let's look at some of those things. What we did is we just put together a list, Hezekiah and Josiah, of just different verses that point out different things that they did. You're gonna see some of them seem a little bit, you know, similar to each other, but I feel like that's
B
a testimony that it's working, though, you know?
A
Yeah, right. It was just like, you read it and you're just like, wait, all the bad people did the same bad things
B
and all the good people did the same good things.
A
Yeah. And it's like. It's pretty simple.
B
Yeah. Yeah. And that should be reassuring. Like, it's not. It's not that complicated. No.
A
Yeah.
B
There's.
A
One of the verses is like that I wish I could look at. Look at all these pages. I'm not gonna find it. There's no way I'm gonna find it.
B
But somewhere in there, somewhere we're gonna find it.
A
It just felt like, wait, this, this. It wasn't very hard to turn back.
B
And when you're reading partially within the next few weeks is because you're reading such similar stories and you're reading about all the same people. But I think as you're reading throughout this week and next week, that when you go through and you're like, oh, my gosh, I've just read this about them getting rid of everything around the altar and them adding all these things back, and then, da, da, da, da. And why do they just keep doing the same thing over and over and over again? And what we want to say about that is, well, that is what someone would say about me as well. So you're going to look at a human life and you're going to say, why do you keep doing the same dumb thing over and over and over again? And why do you keep doing the same thing to fix it over and over again? And it's because that's mortality that you're getting a glimpse into the rise and fall of a human life.
A
Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's look at some of those. Let's start with Hezekiah, and then we'll do Josiah a second. Let's go to 2 Kings 18. And you've got Hezekiah who's in the southern kingdom, and he's going to be. After the northern kingdom gets conquered by Assyria, Assyria now turns to the southern kingdom, and they're like, okay, you're next. We just took away your friends, brothers, neighbors, and now we're coming after you. So Hezekiah is here in. In this city and trying to encourage and protect everybody in the city. And the bad guys come in verse 19. His name's Sennacherib. And he starts to threaten Jerusalem in verse 19. And you get from verse 19 to verse 33, this speech that the enemy gives to Hezekiah. And I'm using that word on purpose, calling him the enemy, because then when you hear this speech, you hear the same phrases that the enemy of our soul says to us. And here's some of them. Verse 19, he says, this is what the great king of Assyria says. Why? What are you trusting in that makes you feel so confident? You guys, I'm reading these from my favorite Bible, the nlt, right now, in case you're like, that's not what my Bible says. Because it's so much easier to understand.
B
Listen. And when you're in the depths of the Old Testament.
A
Yeah, like, wait, what's the story I'm missing? What?
B
You're either doing this or you are Googling a summary of second kings 18.
A
That's your only two options.
B
The king James version is not helping you understand.
A
Yeah. So he's just essentially saying, what makes you think you can do this? And let me just summarize a couple of things from this speech from 19 to 33. You're outmatched and you're outnumbered. Look at our army versus you. You are weak. God has abandoned you. That's verse 25, verse 29. You have no reason to hope. Verse 31, don't listen to Hezekiah. He is giving you false hope. Everyone else trusted in their gods and it failed them. And so you've just got this onslaught of, you're weak, you're not good enough. This is not going to work out for you. God doesn't actually care. Just some of the same things the enemy says to us over and over and over again. And I love what King Hezekiah teaches them to do. In verse 36, which is. But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, do not answer him. And I think that there's something to be said about that. When the enemy whispers things into our ear, whether it be discouraging words or temptations, that one of the great things that we can do is stay silent and just not answer. Don't give it any energy, don't give it any life. Don't follow up with the tempting thought or the degrading thought. Just leave it. Let it die in its silence.
B
So good. Okay, we have a lot, so I'm just gonna go to the next one. Are we fine with this? Yeah. Okay, this one is going to skip to Second Chronicles. And now the rest of them for a while are gonna be in Second Chronicles. So you can kind of go and camp out there for a sec. And we are going to be in chapter 29, verse 3. This is about Hezekiah, and this is what it says. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, this is the very beginning. This is the first thing he does that's important to know. I would underline that. The very first move he makes is he opens the doors of the house of the Lord and repairs them. And maybe it's just because I've watched this movie 8 million times, but when I just hear that phrase, open the doors of the house of the Lord, you're thinking Frozen. I can't even help it. And no one else can. Okay? Everyone's thinking about Frozen and Arendelle and they're singing that song for the first time in forever. And that is what happening is what is happening in my mind. But the reason I love it so much is because I think about Frozen and what happened when they opened up the doors to the castle. And the reason they did it was to let people in. And I love that the very first thing Hezekiah wants to do is gather people together. He wants to open the doors and say, come back home. Come back where you can worship the Lord. Come back where you can feel his love. Let me re bring you back to his house so you can experience his goodness. Out of everything he could have done, that was his biggest priority. How can I bring people back to his house? How can I get people back into those doors? And I think it's so cute that it says, and he repaired them. And maybe it's because it had been a while. Maybe it's because they were broken. Maybe it's because they were worn down. And I just wanna Think about that message honestly, and that promise of, I'm gonna open the doors to gather as many people as I possibly can. And obviously, verse three is talking about, he repaired the doors, but I would dare say he was repairing the people, too. He opened those doors to people who were desperate for hope, who had broken hearts, who were grieving, who were hurting, who had spent years and years and years filled with anger or hurt or regret. And his only goal, the very first goal he had, was to welcome them back in and to repair them. And I think that if you want to fix a kingdom, if you want to fix God's kingdom, our goal should be welcoming as many people as we possibly can back into his house and then looking at them and saying, what can I do to help repair your heart? What do you need? What healing do you need? What hope do you need? What peace do you need? How can I help build you back up?
A
Yeah, I like that there's so many words like that, repair. Because you think about a relationship, I'm going to repair a relationship. I'm going to. You know, that's really cool. I also do love that fact that it happens. On the first day of the first month of his reign, he takes over. His dad was a bad king. And the day Hezekiah takes over on that first month, first day, he. He just makes the change. He's like, we're not going to do that anymore. And I like that we live in a world where the sun sets and the sun rises, and it gives us a chance to do that every single day. That if whatever my life looked like yesterday, tomorrow morning can be the first day of the first month of my new reign, of my new king. I have a new king tomorrow, or I have a new king today. And I'm just going to start and just do it right now. I'm gonna. I'm going to make that change so good. I thought of Michael Jackson when I just said that, because I knew.
B
I knew that you did, because I could see in your eyes that you were about to start singing. I said, go and. Go ahead and sing a little.
A
All right. The next one is great. Verse 11. He once he opens up that temple again, he brings the priests and he says this, my sons. He could also said, my daughters, do not neglect your duties any longer. The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and lead the people in worship and to present offerings to him. I love that there is a reminder here of who. Of their purpose. And we talked about that maybe last week or the week before. But I think that's part of retuning is a remembering what God has called us to do, what great purpose that's bigger than ourselves that he's asking us to be a part of. And I think that is. That's a really helpful motivation, you know, to change some of the habits in my life. If I know, wait, why? Why do I want to change those? It's. It's a great reason to say, oh, because it'll make God happy. That's fantastic. But. But I think even more motivating is it's because God needs me. Because he needs me right now, and I've got to be ready for what he needs me to do. And I think that's a really cool.
B
It's so good. The rest of the chapter ends, and they make their atonements, and they make their offerings, and it says that they give burnt offerings in abundance. And then the chapter ends, and this is what it reads. And Hezekiah rejoiced and all the people that God had prepared the people for. The thing was done suddenly.
A
Oh, that was the verse. I don't know if that's. Are you gonna do this suddenly? Remember when I said, oh, there's a verse that it doesn't take very long, that it just happens really quick? Is that what you were gonna do?
B
Remember when we talked about it at the beginning? That's why I just looked at you so confused.
A
Oh, yeah, yeah.
B
Remember?
A
No, no, no, no, you can. But I was like, oh, there, you found it.
B
I think that there's something so beautiful about believing in a God who lets you start over suddenly and gives you a second chance suddenly. And I think that sometimes in our human nature, we go into a situation and we think, this is going to be with me for the rest of my life, and this is who I am now, and change is impossible. And I am who I have always. And I love that these people got to rejoice. Because God works suddenly, he can change your story suddenly. It can happen overnight. Who you are today does not need to be who you are tomorrow. God makes sudden changes.
A
That's awesome. And because I feel like one of the reasons why someone might feel, let's say my life's out of tune, and I'm just like. It's just too much. I don't know. It feels like I have to do too many things to change too many. And it's just like, no, just the first string. Just. And do it tomorrow. That's okay.
B
Yeah.
A
If you just know that it can be done. Suddenly that it changed. Then I just feel like. You're like, okay, then I can do it.
B
And such evidence to what Hezekiah did that he's like, well, if I'm gonna be the king now, let me tell you the first thing I'm gonna do.
A
Yeah.
B
I'm gonna repair the doors and I'm gonna open them up and that. And look how fast it only took one chapter for the entire city to rejoice. Yeah. For everyone to rejoice with him.
A
And I think there's something cool, too, that he doesn't. This takes several chapters to describe. It's like 29, 31. Talking about all the reparations. Is that the right word? Repairings, or whatever that King Hezekiah. Whoa, The King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah. Okay. The King Hezekiah does. But I, I. It takes, you know, it starts with just one thing, and then it keeps.
B
I'm trying to do it. Laugh.
A
Why are the names. But I kind of lost my train of thought a little bit, which. No, it's okay.
B
Oh, that.
A
It was 29 through 31. And you could just keep. And he just. Now, tomorrow I'm gonna do this, and then the next day I'll do this one. But just start with something. And in chapter 30, something happens where King Hezekiah reinstitutes the Passover. Heads up. Josiah is gonna do that same thing, too. And you remember, this was an ordinance that was designed by the Lord to remind them of his rescue. That's what it was. And we. I can't help. We can't help when we read about the Passover, to not think about the sacrament, to say, there is an ordinance that was designed by the Lord to remind us of his rescue. And Hezekiah says, we haven't been doing the Passover for hundreds of years, and it's time that we start doing it again. Let's institute that ordinance back into our rhythms again. Let's go sit in that pew and remember the story of rescue. There's something about that that helps our heart come back in tune. So that's kind of what's happening in chapter 30. But I want to take you to 15 because it has to do with that verse at the end of 29 that you were saying, which was on the 14th day of the second month, one month later than usual, the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. And. And I actually really love that line so much that the Lord was pretty particular. Like, we're going to have the Passover on this Month. And it's like, well, it happened a month later than. It. Than it's supposed to happen, but it happened. And I think that's fantastic. Right? Listen, you may not be on the same schedule as all the other people in your class or on your neighbors around you with things that are spiritual, but I love that this seems to give permission to all of us. Hey, even if it's a month later than usual or a year later than usual or 10 years later than usual. Yeah, yeah. You should have fixed things last year or 10 years ago, but you did it today. And it happened. But later than usual. But hey, it. It still happened.
B
And it's so cute where it leads, because in verse 23, it goes through and it says, and the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days, and they kept other seven days with gladness. And you'll see from verse 23 to 27 exactly what that looked like. I love in verse 20. 26. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, and then 27. And the priests of the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. And I loved that they lived this with gladness. This group of people that might have been missing out on it or been out of tune for so long, it started experiencing it. And for as long as it took, they said, we all do this with so much gladness, and we will rejoice and we will sing praises, and we will be a city of great joy. This is who we are now. And I love the fact that when they needed to tune their guitar, they weren't sad about it. And they weren't like, oh, my gosh, why does this keep getting out of tune? And when is this ever just gonna be right? And why is this taking so long? Instead, they just were glad. They just said, you know what? We love doing this, and we're so happy, too. And this is gonna take work, and it is gonna require something of us to. But we love it. We're so glad to be doing it.
A
And you know what? I read that yesterday and kind of thought there's something to just praising. There's something about praise that's really good for the soul, you know, and really good for. Because sometimes we can get caught up in feeling like, oh, my gosh, what I have is a really demanding God, and there's a place for expectation, right? But we can get wrapped up in that. And it's actually really, really good for the soul to step back and say, why don't I just praise how good he is? Turn the music up a little bit louder. Turn on the trumpets back in the day, you know, and there's something good about retuning our hearts that does happen in praise.
B
Well, and I watched a video today and it was like just the caption of the video was like what it looks like to be like a 27 year old who loves their life. And the whole entire thing was like their morning routine and they were just so happy. Like I couldn't see stop watching it. Like they were like scream singing on the way to work. Yes. And they were jumping when they were doing their run and they were yelling with their friend and they were giving them a high five and they were just like so happy. And I watched it and I thought like their life is the exact same as mine. Like they did everything that.
A
They're brushing their teeth, they're driving. Yeah, yeah.
B
They didn't get ready, they had to make breakfast, they had to drive to work, they had to run. They had. Well, I don't ever run, but they did. Okay, and that's fine. And they're just doing all the things that a normal person does. But watching it, I just realized so clearly, like you actually just have the option in life if you are going to praise every day you wake up. Are you going to like just suffer through your life?
A
Yeah.
B
And it just made me realize like they could have been like, oh my gosh, Hezekiah is making us do all these traditions again. And Hezekiah is making us do the Passover. And like, and we have to do this and we have to do this and we have to do this. But instead they just woke up with gladness and they were like, wait, like what? This is what it looks like to be a disciple who loves their life.
A
That's so fun.
B
Live like that.
A
Yeah, yeah. And I actually like genuinely think, like practically speaking that music helps it.
B
Yes.
A
Like, I think it's interesting how often in Hezekiah and Josiah it talks about this. And I know this is an old. We talk about this all the time, how great music is and God speaks us through music. And I don't mean to say that you know, negatively because it's true. And I actually think it genuinely helps. Like, like we have music at like baseball games, walk up songs because it pumps up the batter. They actually do better when there's music and parties are better when there's music. And. And I had this friend I used to work with and she said every Saturday morning I put on abba and it helps me clean faster to listen to abba. And do you know what's actually so funny? This has been 15 years since she said that. And Saturday mornings during chores, I put on an ABBA playlist because I feel like.
B
And that's the gospel truth.
A
Yeah, it might be magical. And I'm like, wait, why would you not do that same trick for your spirituality? If you feel like I'm just off, it's like, actually, you should put on some worship songs because they'll make your Sunday better. They'll make your prayers better. I don't know. I don't know. I just think there's something about how often these chapters mention the musical instruments.
B
And I do need to do a confession that I'm not much of a hymns girl. I just need that to be known. Okay. It's mostly because I do not know what octave they are writing those songs in. But it is not one for me, okay? It's not for your girl. I can't sing it. It's because I can't hit the right note no matter what the song is, ever. Okay. And then what happened is I went to church. Me, and it was when we were still. Still dating. Me and my boyfriend went to church together one Sunday. And something about him is that he's gonna go ahead and sing the hymns and he's not quiet, okay? He does not whisper. He does not know how to, like, have an inside voice. He is a yeller. And he started singing, and I legit was like. Like, it stopped me in my tracks. I was so embarrassed. I. I said, stop. I said, you need to sing quieter. You're embarrassing me. I said, stop. And then he would just get louder and louder and louder. He was loving to egg me on. I, like, what? Wanted to walk away. Like, I needed to get up out of my seat and walk away. And then the next Sunday, Elder Kieran had a devotional. And he just was like, why do you guys sing the songs? Like, you're always sad. Why do you. Why? And I was sitting next to my boyfriend. He wasn't even looking at Elder Karen. He was looking straight at me. He said, why not sing like that? And ever since then, like, this is like a little bit of our bib. Like, it's like anytime we're in church together, like, we look at each other and we're like, we're gonna sing louder than the other person and we're giving it our race. And I am so bad at singing. And we don't even care. We're Having the time of our lives. And I need you to understand that I have fallen in love with the hymns like I have fallen in love with church. The organist could be playing the hymns at 0.5 speed. Okay.
A
Which they usually do.
B
They usually do. That's no worries. We don't care. We're having the time. We're singing the songs with our whole entire heart and soul. There's one song that I'm good at singing. I learned. Okay. There's Sunshine in my soul today. That's the only song I'm good at singing. You know what? I did every single class for seminary. There's sunshine in my Soul. We sing it. Oh. I teach six periods. We're singing There's Sunshine in My Soul every single period, every single morning, I'm singing as loud as I can. I stop the music. People aren't singing. I say sing loud or sing like you mean it. I'm yelling at them to sing their Sunshine in my soul today. And this is what I realized. The hymns aren't the problem. I was. And I just think there is something to be said about, like, are you walking into church and are you living it like you love to be a disciple? Are you just being like, oh, whatever. And what if music really is magical for the soul? And why are we, like. Like, why was I making excuses for why I didn't want to sing? That was a big, long rant, and we didn't really need any of it. But I just want you to know
A
that I did that. These words say the trumpets and the timbrels over and over again. It's emphasizing. I think it's important. And I also want you to feel better about yourself that, like, part of it is the hymns problem. Okay, let's not take. Let's not take the full blame, okay? There's. They're not all created equal. There's some that just.
B
That's why we do Fun in My Soul every day.
A
Yeah, exactly. There's some. They give. You're part of the equation. But, like, that's not. Let's not give you full blame here, okay? Also, just wait till you move to Manhattan and all those Broadway stars who are in your war.
B
And I know that Trenton will be singing as loud as he possibly can in that crowd, and I know I will.
A
They'll drown him out. It'll be fine. You'll sound better. You will sound better.
B
All right.
A
This. This is so great. All these ones. We just pointed out a couple of them that are. That are in there with Hezekiah. But I just think as you go through, that's. That's how I would study this and. And read this is to just look through all of it. Let's end. Let's end his in. Let's do one more about him in chapter 32. Where's the one that says with this whole heart? That's what I'm actually.
B
I think that's Josiah.
A
Well, everyone just does everything with their whole heart. Oh, it's. They both do. They both. Okay, found it.
B
This is all repeats.
A
Yeah. Second Chronicles, chapter 31, verse 21. Exactly what you were just saying, grace and all that. He did Trenton and Hezekiah in the service of the temple of God and in its efforts to follow God's laws and commandments, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. And as a result, he was very successful. That word prospered is so interesting because I think one of the best definitions of prospered is to live with the Holy Spirit. Like, that's a word that actually means money in 2025. But what it means is to live life with the. What year are we in 2026? It's fine. It meant it last year too. Okay. It means to live life with the light of the Spirit and the thrill of the spirit and the joy of the Spirit. That's what prospered means. And it came because he sought his God wholeheartedly. I love that one. Everything he did, it lists all these things that he did. The service of the temple, the efforts, God's laws and commands. But then it tells you why he was doing those things. And it was to seek his God wholeheartedly. And that's where the magic of these habits happen. It's when we talk about repent and turning back. We're not talking about turning back to habits. We're talking about turning back to him. The. The reason that praise is good is because we're praising him. The reason that, like time in the temple is because it's his house, it's his spirit, it's in relate. We're repairing not our habits, but our relationship is what's happening. And I really love that. That verse emphasizes one of the best verses I think about Hezekiah and just the secret to do this. Okay, should we jump to Josiah?
B
Yeah.
A
Okay, let's do Josiah too. Just because. What a guy. You know, he did so much for the kingdom. We need to give him some of our time. That's the truth. So we're going back to two kings.
B
Yes. We're gonna start in 22. We're gonna start. Well, should we just do this one out of order? Cause it matches that one so good. I am going to. You do the first one, I'll do the second one.
A
Okay.
B
I'm gonna do 2 Kings 23. I did a lot. And it is going to be verses two through four, but mostly it's three that is just gonna be your favorite. You just can't even help it.
A
And P.S. let's just say this. Josiah is Hezekiah's great grandson, is who he is. Okay?
B
So family.
A
So Hezekiah has a son. He's Nadi. He has a grandson also. Nadi.
B
Oh, sorry, I thought it was the next one.
A
Then the great grandson is Josiah. And what a good boy. He's good boy.
B
He is so good. And actually, we can't even skip verse two, because this. This is the cutest part. Okay. The king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him.
A
What chapter are you in?
B
This is 23. Second kings. 23. Sorry. 2 Kings 23, verse 2. And the priests and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And what you love the very most about Josiah is that he is going to look and he's gonna say, I actually don't really care who you are. If there is something good, you should be here. So get everyone. There could be a parade through the town. Every single person he passes by, he's gonna invite. And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul. And you wonder if that was an inherited gene, it seems like, from that verse that David read in Second Chronicles. But what I love the very most about that is that he wanted every single person to be there. He wasn't shy about what he believed, but he also wasn't, like, scarce with it. He thought, if I'm gonna live this way, and I know what it's gonna do for my life, why would I not want every single person? And there's gonna be no excuses. I don't care if you're great or if you're small, if you're a king or not, if you're a priest or a prophet. I don't care who you are or what your job is or how old you are or what business you have being here. I am inviting every single person that I see to be there. And I'm going to do this with all of my heart and with all of my soul. And I want you to live the same way. That is when miracles are made is when everyone is bought in like that. I think that's such a powerful verse.
A
And then you said something that. Are you gonna be sad if I do this? Because. No, you just made me remember one of my favorite parts of Hezekiah that we did not do.
B
So we have a little glimpse of Hezekiah.
A
You guys, hold on. We're coming back. You said something about him that I was like, huh? Wait, we didn't even do that verse. And I feel like Hezekiah is a little bit mad at me in heaven, looking down and saying, you forgot about this part. That's so good. And it's. It's so. I'm so sorry, everybody, but we're going back to Second Chronicles for just a second, okay? Second Chronicles, chapter 31, verse 5. Okay? And he has all the people who are now going to bring to help. Help the cause, okay? And he says, when the people of Israel heard these requirements, they responded generously by bringing their first share of their grain, their new wine, their olive oil, their honey, all the produce of their fields. And they brought a large quantity. And the people had moved to Judah from Israel. And the people of Judah themselves brought in the tithes of their cattle and sheep and goats, and a tithe of the things that have been dedicated to the Lord their God. And this is the best part. And they piled them up in great heaps.
B
It's so cute. Yeah.
A
And I want. I. I'm so sorry to, like, jump around like that, everybody, but there is something about generosity that also retunes our heart. And I wanted to make sure that we didn't. And.
B
Yeah, it's so cute. Don't you just want to give heaps of what you have?
A
Yes, yes. And that heaps, by the way they were giving, was to take care of the priests. It was like, hey, we are going to take care of other people. They were giving in heaps to take care of other people. And I could not forget or miss out on. I think. I actually think it's one of the greatest ways to help somebody retune their heart is to help somebody else out in heaps.
B
It's so good.
A
Okay, now back to Josiah. Where were we?
B
I don't even remember.
A
You did such a good one.
B
Oh, I did this one.
A
I did this. And let's keep going in chapter 23 and just. I want you to look at what happens. And this feels like this is something that is pretty obvious, but I think worth pointing out, you did that. 23. It says, okay, because what happens in Josiah, everybody, the story is in chapter 22, he becomes a king. He's like, let's fix up the temple again. As they're fixing up the temple in chapter 22, somebody finds the old book of the covenant is what, is what they. Well, we did that part in 23 that matched Hezekiah. So. And he finds this old book of the covenant and he gathers. That's why he gathers everybody together, the smallest and the greatest or whatever, from the least to the. And he says, everybody, come and gather the temple and we're going to read this book together. And it's just cool. Like, I mean it seems pretty simple. But again, this idea of these books were given to us to help us tune our hearts. You know, you always tune that first guitar string to like a, like a tuning fork or one of those little now apps that we have to like, hey, make sure it hits this something. That's a standard. And these scriptures are that standard. They help us tune our hearts to the words that are in here. And so he brings them all together. And I just think, listen, I read this study semi recently. We talked about this on here about people are measured in. If people get in the scriptures zero times to one time, there's a significant difference in their life per week for them to get into and hear the words of God. Particularly if we like start thinking about the enemy, that's yelling to Hezekiah, right? And if those are the only words that we're ever hearing, what words are, are combating that in our head and in our heart, right? What, what, where, what voices are there that are combating the voice of the enemy? And one of the great sources of that is scripture, right? To let God speak to us and say, no, the devil's not right. That's not, that's not true.
B
Right?
A
Do you remember the, the Garden of Eden story? Of course you do. But, but the snake comes and he tells Adam and Eve, you should hide. You should be ashamed. You should, you should be embarrassed. You should be all these things. And the first question that God asks after, where are you? Is he says, who told you that? And what if God didn't come into the garden? They would have kept believing the snake. And that's the truth of us. If we don't open up the words of scripture, if we don't let God speak to us, then the only voice that we're going to hear is the voice of the enemy or the voice of the snake. And opening up the scriptures is a chance for God to ask us, wait, who told you that that's not true? Let me tell you what's actually true here. So that study says someone who gets in at least once a week has a significant impact on their life. 0 to 1. Now, 1, 2 and 3 times has a little bit of difference. If you're in it one time a week or two times a week, or three times a week, the difference is pretty minimal. But still there, when a person jumps from three to four and they're in the scriptures four times per week, there's a significant difference in so many different categories. And some of the things they measured was like desire to view pornography goes down substantially. The courage to share testimony goes up significantly. Like kindness, generosity, like it's so interesting, that idea. And so Josiah sees that. He sees the power of these words, the power of this voice of God and he gathers all the people together and he says, let's hear that voice. And it's just awesome that we have such great access, you know, to this, to, you know, to be able to hear that word of God so often in our lives.
B
And this is not one that's in order, David. So sorry, I'm just skipping, but I'm going back to 23, verse four this time. And what happens after he makes that covenant and everyone's there and they're all experiencing it. The next thing he does is he brings out the old altar, the one to the other God from the temple and he just. And he burns it and he completely gets rid of it, fully and completely. And it's so interesting to me to be thinking about that. It would have been really easy for him to just move it aside and to just put it in the back corner and be like, well, no one's really gonna see it here, but it costed a lot of money and it looked really pretty, like that's why they wanted it. So let's just like put it in the corner. It's not that big of a deal. We can just leave it right there. And it's interesting hearing you say that about like the words that like the enemy is saying into our lives and like the things that he's going to like relentlessly be putting into our brains. And there are things to combat that. That's what you just taught us about scripture, that when you bring scripture into your life, you are filling your words with new, you are filling your mind with better words, with promises, with who God is, with who you are, what you're capable of. You're filling your brain with the words that will encourage you to conquer an enemy. But I do love the idea that, like. But get the rest of it out. Get the distractions out. Completely remove it. Walk away from it. And I, like, there was like this, like, one of my friends is telling me how, like, if you want to actually be successful at a goal, the first thing you need to do is remove temptations. And, like, you can't. Like, they were like, you can't just say you're gonna be on social media less and then just keep the app on your phone. It just won't. That's not gonna work for you. You have to completely remove it. And I love that he said, if we're gonna be really fully committed with our whole heart and our whole soul, I can't have there be temptations near me. I have to remove them out so that we really can be successful in that.
A
Yeah, yeah. And I think it's worth asking that question, right? We come back to that. We see what he does, but it's like, oh, are there things in my life that are contributing to this other voice? The voice of lust, the voice of greed, the voice of comparison? And if there are, get rid of them.
B
Yeah.
A
And this is actually super cool because he. I was reading that verse four. It says, okay, the king had all these things burned. I think it's all of them outside Jerusalem, on the terraces of the Kidron Valley. And he carried the ashes away to Bethel. So he burned them, and then he took the ashes 12 miles away, just in case they rekindle. And he's like, I'm gonna take.
B
He's like, that can't be my problem.
A
All the way away from here. And I think this is interesting, too, because. Whoa, first this. Siri really wants to share something in this. In this experience. What was I saying? Oh, Bethel takes him all the way to Bethel. And I think it's interesting because this might be a stretch everybody, but I was like, why Bethel? You know? And if you remember, Bethel is the place where Jacob first met the Lord, when he was. When his life was all out of tune. And God met him there. And he said, hey, starting today, you know, is a new life for you. That's the place where he got his new name, where he became Israel. And I think there's something about that place where he's just like, these gods, these other gods, I'm going to burn them and I'm going to take them. And he almost takes Them back to the place where their story began. And their story began with a kid who was walking in the wrong direction and God met him and he turned his life around and they turned everything around right there at that place. And it seems to be kind of the message of this whole section, right? It's like, hey, turn back. But don't just turn back to habits, right? Turn back to a God like that. The God of rescue. The God who, you know, the God of Jacob. Right. So did you have another one?
B
No. Honestly. Well, I was just going to say I actually we should just so that you know it. Verse 15 says that same principle. We are gonna give you that one. And verse 19 is very similar about burning everything.
A
Oh yeah, yeah, I saw that. Oh, and there's so many words there that are cool, like smash them to bits, burn them to dust, you know, in all the areas.
B
If you go to verse 19, it's gonna say take away. And you're gonna find the more you go. Verse 19 is so interesting to me because it says, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger. And Josiah took them away and did according to all the acts came that he had done in Bethel. And I just think it's interesting that that didn't just need to happen once. That that happened in verse number four. That happened in verse number. What did we just say? 15. And that happened again in verse number 19. And that is repentance. That's not going to be a one time thing. It's just simply not that. At least not for me. It's going to be a three or a four or a five time thing to pause and be like, okay, well like what's still in my life? Or what came back in my life that I need to get rid of? What are the things that. This only was just one chapter that was within like 10 verses. It was like, we need to burn these and then there was actually more. So we need to actually get rid of those again and we need to smash them and then we need to burn them and then it's gonna happen again and again and again. And just so you know, that's mortality that if you are willing to live a life with God, that is going to require you to consistently look at your life and say, what are the things that I need to get rid of? What do I need to walk away from? What are the things that I need to smash? What are the things that I need to take away? What are the things that I should let go of to be able to do this right. Yeah.
A
And it's just. And I would come back to the very beginning, like, what's getting my time and what's getting my money and what's getting my sacrifice and are. And is that thing worthy of it? You know?
B
Yeah.
A
Like my money's hard earned and, and my, you know, my, and my heart is. I don't want to give it away to anything and everything. And, and to ask ourselves, what am I giving it to? And is that, is that person or thing worthy of my heart and worthy of my time and worthy of my money? And, and, and I would say no, obviously, but I also would say that God is right. I just love that I take it back to Beth El, because here's this kid who's hit rock bottom in his life because of his own decisions. And God meets him and he says, hey, I'm not giving up on you, kid out there. And I love that he goes back out to that place and remembers, wait, that this other God, it's, it wouldn't have done that for me. But, but this, this God of Bethel would. And so I'm going to turn back to him is what I'm going to. Is what I'm going to do. I'm going to. It makes me think of this girl I taught in seminary who, you may know the story. I had a picture of Jesus on her phone and I said, why, why do you have. Why did you pick that picture? And I met the specific picture and she thought I meant Jesus. And she was like, why? Because I want him to be the center of my life. And I said, why do you want him to be the center of your life? And she said, well, because he made me the center of his. And I think that's what the past, that, that's what the Passover reminded them of. That's what the temple reminded them of. That's what the scriptures reminded them. So bring those, all those things, all those things back. And there's just this one little hint. Story PS here at the end of 2 Kings 25, I don't want you all to miss. Now. Northern kingdom taken away at the beginning. 2 Kings 25, 24 and 25. Southern kingdom taken away, right? They finally, you know, they ask God, no, thank you in their life, and they got taken away. And then it says this at the very end, verse 27, 2nd Kings 25, in the 37th year of the exile of the king Jehoiakin of Judah, evil Merodach, that's his name, ascended to the Babylonian throne. And he was kind to Jehoiakin and released him from prison on April 2nd of that year. What's King James say? This is April 2nd?
B
Yeah.
A
The second day of the fourth month or something like that.
B
Is it? What verse is that? The 20th day of the month.
A
Oh, yeah, yeah.
B
And 20th.
A
Yeah, weird. Okay.
B
12th month. Yeah.
A
And he spoke kindly to Jehoiakin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings of Babylon. And Bible scholars look at this and they're like, oh, 2nd Kings 25, remember, ends the storyline of them. Now they're gone, they're out into exile. But at the very, very end, they take this exiled king who's in prison, and they brought him back to the king's table, and he started to speak kindly. And it's this hint towards a restoration. It's a hint towards, oh, Judas conquered, smashed, delivered. I mean, destitute. And then there's this little hint at the very end that says, but the story's not quite over. And that's true for Israel, that's true for Judah, that's true for each of our individual lives. That's why I'm a restoration person, y'. All. The whole story of the restoration in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is, oh, God, still not done. Right. So there's a hint of it in 2nd Kings 25, God's still not done. And I think that's just a cool reminder that even. Even if you've messed it all up, God's still not done.
B
Okay, so we loved it. Okay.
A
Wow. We jumped around like a jumping thing, but such awesome lessons in there.
B
Okay.
A
Yeah. All right. Can't wait. We'll see you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at. Don't miss this study, at this Week's Grace and at Mr. Dave Butler.
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found at don'tmissthisudy. Com.
A
See you next week.
Don't Miss This Study – "THE FIRST STRING" (July 5, 2026) Hosts: Dave Butler & Grace Freeman
This engaging episode of "Don't Miss This Study" delves into the dramatic final chapters of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the Old Testament. Dave and Grace guide listeners through the history, spiritual lessons, and personal applications found in 2 Kings 16–25 and 2 Chronicles, highlighting the themes of spiritual "tuning," personal repentance, and restoration. The metaphor of “the first string” on a guitar—keeping faith in tune—is woven throughout, drawing on a commencement speech by Eric Church and connecting ancient stories to modern discipleship.
On Spiritual Tuning:
"Life is the same way. You need to have a foundation rooted in faith. Everything else...will feel out of tune if you don't start there." – Paraphrased from Eric Church/Grace [12:27]
On Sudden Change: "God works suddenly, He can change your story suddenly." – Grace [29:32]
On Joyful Worship:
"Are you going to just suffer through your life? ... This is what it looks like to be a disciple who loves their life." – Grace [36:05]
On Wholehearted Devotion:
"Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly...that’s where the magic of these habits happen." – Dave [41:21]
On Repentance:
"The word repent...means to turn back. To fetch home, to recall, to refresh, to rescue, restore, return, or retune." – Dave [19:53]
On Scripture as Counter to Temptation:
"Opening up the scriptures is a chance for God to ask us, ‘Wait, who told you that?’” – Dave [49:43]
On Restoration:
"Even if you’ve messed it all up, God's still not done." – Dave [59:18]
For further resources and weekly content, find the hosts on Instagram or at dontmissthistudy.com.