Maranatha Grace Church
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 1 2 Chronicles 1 & 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”.” (2 Chronicles 1:6-7)
Generosity touches the heart of God. Solomon proved his love for God by his great generosity in worshiping God. At the very beginning of his reign, he offered a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord. It is not a question of how much that one gives for his generosity to be noted by the Lord. One can give out of his supply, another can give out her poverty (Mark 12:42-44). It is not how much, but how much the sacrifice and the disposition of the heart.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 2 2 Chronicles 3 & 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah[a] the Jebusite, the place provided by David. 2 He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. (2 Chronicles 3:1-2)
At the beginning of the year, a lot of Christians make resolutions to change something in their lives. However, the majority of those New Year’s resolutions are tossed out by the second or third week of the year. Was the failure to follow through the result of a lack of determination? Not at all.
I think one of the principal reasons for this high rate of failure is that the spiritual dimension of those resolutions were lacking. Our resolutions, our plans to be successful must be made in the view of the glory of God. We need to build where the Lord directs us to build. Solomon built where the Lord had appeared to his father David.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 3 2 Chronicles 5 & 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13-14)
Psalms 22:3 tells us that the Lord is enthroned on the praises of his people. So our main occupation when we get together is to worship and to praise the Lord. Worshiping is the surest way to experience God’s presence in our churches. When the priests and the musicians started to praise God manifested his presence to the people, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God (v. 14). The glory of the Lord will fill our hearts when we offer true worship to the Lord.
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 4 2 Chronicles 7 & 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
God’s people should never despair when they are going through tough situations. The promises of God are so sure that we can have hope at all times. Recently, a friend of mine told me that he has given up all hope for better days for Haiti. My first thought was 2 Chronicles 7:14. I believe there will come a time, not too far, when our brothers and sisters who are humbling themselves, and praying and seeking the face of the Lord and turning from any wrong doings will reach a critical mass, God then will hear the collective cry of the Haitian people and forgive them and heal their country.
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 6 2 Chronicles 11 & 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”
7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.” (2 Chronicles 12:6-8)
It is a fact of life that people can learn a lot from their mistakes, but it is always better to learn from other peoples’ mistakes. The leaders of Israel and the king learned the hard way that “they’ve got to serve somebody”, and the best choice is to serve the Lord. They put themselves in the situation to serve men instead of God, and it was not pretty. Let’s make up our minds to say like Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 25:15).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 7 2 Chronicles 13 & 14 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” (2 Chronicles 14:11)
Once we learn to give God’s ownership of everything good that seems to be ours, we have no problem letting God take ownership of our problems and difficulties. King Asa basically told the Lord, “You own the problem of the attacking army, do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” The Lord responded to Asa’s prayer by striking down the Cushites before Asa and Judah (11).
Your attacking army may be a stubborn sickness, a dire financial situation, an impossible relationship; whatever it may be, you can call to Lord. Give the Lord ownership of the difficulty and he will provide a satisfactory solution to it.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 8 2 Chronicles 15, 16 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.13 And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. (2 Chronicles 16:11-12)
Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians (v. 12). Is it wrong for a believer to consult physicians when they are sick? The verse did not say that King Asa was wrong in seeking help from physicians. The problem was that the king sought help only from physicians, he did not seek the Lord even when his disease became severe.
Please note that the verse says “seek the Lord.” Seeking the Lord is a deliberate act of diligently going after God. Seeking the Lord is hard work. But a very rewarding work, “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, "Seek Me that you may live” (Amos 5:4).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 9 2 Chronicles 17, 18 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” 7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied. (2 Chronicles 18:6-7)
Ahab, king of Israel preferred to listen to the lies of the false prophets instead of listening to the true voice of Micaiah the prophet of God. The truth could have saved his life, but he preferred falsehood. I always feel a certain uneasiness when someone comments about a sermon being a good sermon. Did the sermon challenge the people to live according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, or did the person just listen to a feel good messages that left him unchanged and unmoved?
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 10 2 Chronicles 19, 20 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22)
The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). John 3:16 shows the depth of God’s love for mankind, “he gave us his one and only Son, Jesus.” Needless to say that our best approach to God needs to be on the basis of his love. Twice in the book of 2 Chronicles we saw tremendous response from the Lord when the people sang of his enduring love.
At the dedication of the temple after the singers sang, “He is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 5:13), God filled the temple with his glory. And again in 2 Chronicles 20:21-21 as the singers out at the head of the army sang, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever,” the Lord set ambushes against the invading army, and they were defeated.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 11 2 Chronicles 21, 22 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 6 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 21:4-6 )
Jehoshaphat, a servant of God, made the bad decision of making alliance with the family of Ahab a Baal worshiper. Jehoshapaht married his son, Jehoram, with a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. The result was catastrophic; not only Jehoram killed all his brothers at the death of his father, later on, his wife Athaliah would proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah, even her own grandchildren. Only one infant from the royal princes was saved miraculously to continue the line of David (2 Chronicles 21:10-12).
The command of Paul to the Corinthians is still valid today, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”(2 Corinthians 6:14).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 12 2 Chronicles 23, 24 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
19 Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen. 20 Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” (2 Chronicles 23:19-20)
The first message of Jesus was a message of repentance and believing the good news. “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15). It is never too late to repent and come back to God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 13 2 Chronicles 25, 26 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LordGod.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy[c] broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. (2 Chronicles 24:16-20)
Why did so many kings of Judah start well and finish badly? Pride and idolatry. Why do so many big Christian leaders start well and finish badly?
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 14 2 Chronicles 27, 28 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
6 Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God. (2 Chronicles 27:6)
The name Jotham is a placeholder for each one of us. We can try to put our names in the place of Jotham. Joseph is growing powerful because he is walking steadfastly before the Lord his God. We can also replace the adjective powerful with other adjectives that testify to the changes that have happened in our lives because of our walk with the Lord. We know for sure that great and magnificent rewards await those who walk steadfastly before the Lord their God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 15 2 Chronicles 29, 30 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (2 Chronicles 30:20)
27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place. (2 Chronicles 30:27)
Both the political leaders and the religious leaders have a role to play in the spiritual and physical well-being of the country. King Hezekiah’s prayer brought healing to the people. The priests and the Levites’ prayers brought great blessings to the people.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 16 2 Chronicles 31, 32 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. (2 Chronicles 32:1)
22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations. (2 Chronicles 32:22-23)
No one wants to have enemies coming against them. But sometimes an enemy is necessary to show the glory of the Lord in the lives of God’s people. The question is how do we respond to an enemy? Do we fight our battles or do we let the Lord fight our battles for us. One thing is certain however, when we let the Lord fights on our behalf our victory is assured. "And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king (v. 21)".
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 17 2 Chronicles 33, 34 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. (2 Chronicles 33:10-13)
The story of Manasseh, his wickedness, his judgment and his repentance, shows that even the most evil person can find God’s forgiveness. All the sinner has to do is to cry out to the Lord with a sincere heart of repentance and faith. And since the prayer of Manasseh was able to move the LORD his God, we can be confident that when we seek out the favor of the Lord in humility we will get it.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge – Day 18 2 Chronicles 35, 36 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
We have reached the end of the Book of 2 Chronicles Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of Genesis Challenge.
20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” (2 Chronicles 35:20-21)
We are astonished that “After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order (v. 20)” Necho king of Egypt was able to defeat the good king Josiah in battle. We were expecting that God would grant a miracle to Josiah similar to what he did for Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32) when Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked him, complete destruction of his army by an angel of the Lord.
But no miracle was done for Josiah. Maybe because he disobeyed unwittingly the word of the Lord, “He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.” Most likely Josiah was not able to believe that God would talk to a heathen king as Necho. We should not presume who God can talk to or not.
May the Lord richly bless you!