The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

O. T. #1008  "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful"
June 21, 2017
Summary of 2 Chronicles
If My people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

LET IT GLOW

People are so different. While a family may have some who are a good influence, some who are a bad influence, there usually are a few who are beautiful. By that I mean those beautiful folks rise up above their rough circumstances and hard times, showing faith in God as they serve Him and others. Those are the Christians that shine through with the ray of hope-God is faithfully with them, in control, and is victorious. Judah seemed to have had some of each kind.

I always like to review what was covered in the book that we finished studying. It seems to put things in perspective, especially since we have covered so much of Judah's history. The Priest Ezra was the author. He lead the second group of Jews out of Babylon and back to Jerusalem to help rebuild their city, its walls, and the Temple. He wrote this book so this new generation would in fact know their history, both good and bad.

King David's son Solomon became king after his father's death. David had prepared the materials and the intricate plans for the Temple. Then Solomon implemented those plans. He built a magnificent Temple for the worship of Israel's God, including the sacrificial system. (Israel had not split then.)
It took him 7 years to build the Temple  and 13 years to build the palace. So Israel was in a 20 year building program.

Solomon wrote 2 Psalms, 72 and 127. In Psalm 27:17, Solomon refers to Jesus: His name shall endure forever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.

Jesus is our Beautiful One. He shines as the Savior who endured so much so we could have the free gift of salvation and grace. He is always with us, always loves us, and is always going to be, as the song goes.

Solomon's dedicatory prayer was sincere and lengthy as we read in chapter 6. After all the splendor of the day, God spoke to Solomon informing him that God had chosen that Temple and Jerusalem for His dwelling place. Then He added some conditions to be met when Israel strayed away, found in our key verse. Solomon had 49 years of peace and prosperity during his reign. His purpose of centralizing and unifying Israel in the worship of God was accomplished. Wealth, fame, and political power were the greatest during this time.
However this did not last, sadly to say.

LET IT GROW

It was happened-the downward spiral. It was  during the reign of David's grandson and Solomon's son Rehoboam that Israel split into two kingdoms-the northern kingdom known as Israel, whose history is recorded in the first part of 2 Kings. They were taken captive by Babylon 135 years before Judah was.

Judah's problem (sin) was their worship of idols instead of worshiping God. Out of the 20 kings they had, there were only about 5 who were considered good kings, the ones who brought back revival into the land. this list included: Asa (chapters 14-16), Jehoshaphat (chapters 17-20), Uzziah (chapter22) , Josiah (chapters 22-24) Hezekiah (chapters 29-33).

On the other hand, Manasseh was the most wicked and longest reigning king over Judah (chapters 33-36). He had been born during the 15 extended year of life of his father Hezekiah.

So we do not end on a sour note, remember the ray of hope Judah had as Cyrus, king of Persia, who had conquered Babylon, released the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem, its wall, and Temple.

You know, as I consider all of this, we are not any different from Judah. We get into the same cycle of worshiping God with complete commitment, then fall into sin and stray away, finally we return back to God, usually after His discipline us. do I hear an amen?

Thank God for His mercy and grace! All we need to do is humble our self, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways, then God promises to hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

I am looking forward to studying the book of Ezra next. Restoration is coming, so don't miss out, dear ones. There was a remnant who stayed faithful to God during those 70 years of captivity and they are rising up. 

LET IT GO

Stay faithful to God.

Love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Bless the name of Jesus.