Thurs.’s Devo - Hezekiah’s Reform

Read: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 24:1-10 Ahaz had been such a bad king, but his son, Hezekiah learned from his father’s mistakes and feared the Lord. He restored the Temple back to what it was supposed to be. He had the priests and Levites purify themselves and all the things in the Temple. They rid the Temple of all idolatry and offered sacrifices to the Lord. They asked God to forgive them while the musicians played their instruments and praised the Lord. They sang the songs that David wrote while veryone rejoiced because of what the Lord had done for them. *** In Romans, Paul puts grace and love over disagreements about holiness. Everyone has their own convictions about minor things. We should allow everyone the right to live what they think is right. Everyone is God’s servants so as the master, God can tell them what is right; that is not our job or concern. Paul summed it up when he said, “Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat.” We should be sensitive to other’s convictions and encourage them in their walk. Who know if they are right and we are wrong. The bottom line is to live our lives choosing love over judgment. *** Lord, help us to overlook other’s weaknesses and treat them the way you want us to. Let us walk in your love.

Wed.’s Devo - The Wages of Sin

Read: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11 Amaziah was assassinated by his own people and his sixteen year old son, Uzziah was made king. He reigned 52 years and began his rule following the Lord. God gave him great success over his enemies and he became very powerful. Then he became very proud. He entered into the sanctuary to offer incense which was reserved only for the priests to do. They tried to stop him, but he was adamant until he broke out with leprosy. He had to live in isolation till his death. *** His son, Jotham became king. He had a healthy fear of the Lord, probably because her saw what had happened to his father. He was a very good, successful and prosperous king but only lived to be 41. When he died, his son, Ahaz became king. He was not a good king. He worshipped Baal and greatly sinned against God. So, he was defeated in battles and lost much of his treasures and his people as many were taken into exile. Israel also fought against Ahaz and killed many of their warriors. They killed Ahaz’s son, his palace commander and his second-in-command and stole much plunder and people from Judah. As they were bringing it all back to Samaria, the prophet, Obed met them. He told them how wicked it was of them to kill their own brothers and now bring some back as slaves. He encouraged them to not add any more sins to their list and return the people. *** The leaders of Israel agreed, so they dressed their captives wounds, fed and clothed them. They took them to Jericho and released them. *** Judah was being attacked on all sides so they asked the king of Assyria for help. He attacked them instead of helping him. Ahaz tried to pay him off, but it didn’t work. In all his trials, Ahaz refused to ask the Lord for help. *** In Romans, Paul explains the characteristics of authority that is under God. They honor what is right and punish wrong. They are God’s hand of justice. We pay taxes to keep them working for us. America has lived under authority that didn’t look like this for a while. We are slowly getting back to God’s authority. Thank God! *** We owe it to love one another. Love makes us follow God’s laws. “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.” That is a word for us today. *** Lord, may we not be distracted by the wickedness of our day but strive to let love be our goal. Thank you that we have your Spirit and your truth.

Tues.’s Devo - The Consequences of Sin

Read:2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 20:8-10 Joash reigned for forty years and as long as the priest, Jehoiada was alive, he followed the Lord. He repaired and restored the Temple of the Lord and burnt offerings were made continually. *** When Jehoiada died the leaders of Judah persuaded Joash to abandon the Lord and worship Asherah. Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah came and asked him why he chose to disobey the Lord which would keep him from prospering. Because he had done this, God had abandoned him. Joash had Zechariah stoned to death in the courtyard of the Temple. *** That spring the Arameans invaded Judah and killed all their leaders. They sent much plunder back to their king in Damascus. They wounded Joash and his own officials finished him off as he lay in the bed. *** Joash’s son Amaziah became king. Amaziah had his father’s assassins killed. Amaziah assessed the strength of his army to attack the Edomites. He hired 100,000 warriors from Israel to fight for him, paying them a total of 7,500 pounds of silver. A prophet came to him to warn him not to take the Israelites with him to war or God would fight against them. When he asked about the silver he had paid them, God’s response was that he could give them so much more. *** I often think about this when I have made a decision with finances and wonder if it was the right one. I hear him saying, ‘Do the right thing; am I not able to give you so much more.’ *** Amaziah let the Israelite troops go back home. They were not happy and looted and killed people in the towns of Judah. Amaziah took his army and defeated the Edomites but brought their idols back home with them and began to worship them. God sent a prophet to him to ask him why he would choose to worship gods who couldn’t even defend their own people. Amaziah threatened to kill the prophet but he told Amaziah that God had determined to destroy him. *** Amaziah was feeling powerful after defeating the Edomites and he foolishly challenged Israel to a battle. Judah was defeated and Amaziah was captured. They brought him to Jerusalem where they looted the Temple and carried off the Ark of the covenant. They also looted the palace and took hostages to Samaria. *** Amaziah’s own people assassinated him in Lachish and buried him in the City of David. *** In Romans, Paul tells us to give our bodies to God as a sacrifice to the Lord. At the end he tells us how to do that: we conquer evil by doing good. We can do this when we let God transform the way we think. We all have gifts that we do well and we are to share them with others. We do this because of God’s love in us. Love is in us because of Christ, but we have to let it out and act on it. The more we exercise love, the easier it is to overlook wrongs and forgive. Love is like a muscle we exercise. The more we use it, the stronger it becomes. *** Lord, may we exercise our gift of love today and use our gifts to bring honor and glory to your name.

Mon.’s Devo - From the Temple to the Throne

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7 Jehoshaphat made his oldest son, Jehoram king before he died. He was the son he had given Ahab’s daughter in marriage. Her name was Athaliah and she taught Jehoram to worship Baal. As soon as he had the kingdom, he had all his brothers killed. *** The Edomites rebelled against Judah and elected their own king to rule them, so Jehoram led his army against them. Judah lost control over Edom and Libnah because Judah abandoned the Lord. *** Elijah wrote Jehoram a letter rebuking his rebellion, murder, and worshiping false gods. He wrote that Jehoram would die a terrible death with an intestinal disease. *** God stirred up the Phillistines against Judah who came and plundered his palace and killed all his sons but the youngest, Ahaziah. Jehoram was struck with an incurable intestinal disease and died. Shariah was made king and his mother, Athaliah encouraged him to worship false gods and to join Joram, king of Israel in a war against the Arameans. Joram was wounded in the battle so Azariah went to Israel to visit him. Azariah was killed by Jehu who had been commissioned by the Lord to bring judgement against the family of Ahab. *** When Athaliah learned her son was dead, she began to kill all of Judah’s royal line so she would have no competition and could rule Judah. Azariah’s sister hid Azariah’s infant son, Joash. He was raised in the Temple by Jehoiada, the priest. They hid Joash for seven years then staged a coup. No one wanted Athalia to rule them so five army commanders rounded up Levites and clan leaders in all the towns to come to Jerusalem and crown Joash king and kill Athaliah, which they did. *** Jehoiada made a covenant with the Lord to make God their Lord. They tore down the temple of Baal and killed its priest. The Levites and priests took their places in the temple and they began offering sacrifices to the Lord. They escorted Joash from the temple to the throne. All the people in the land rejoiced. *** In Romans, Paul makes it clear that the root of God’s vine is Christ. The Jews who rejected Christ were broken off because they didn’t believe and Gentiles were grafted in. They too can be cut off if they don’t believe. When the full number of Gentiles come in, it will be time to graft the Jews back in to the vine. How glorious it will be when the branches from the root are grafted back in and bear fruit. There are many branches in God’s tree, so there is room for us all. *** Lord, may we trust in your kindness and goodness to us. Thank you that we must first go to the temple to ascend to the throne.

Sun.’s Devo - The Battle is the Lord’s

Read: 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Romans 10:14-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6 Jehoshaphat returned home from fighting on behalf of Ahab. Jehoshaphat had watched Ahab listen to the words of false prophets and reject the word of God given by one of God’s prophets. Ahab had put God’s prophet in prison while every word he said came true. To our knowledge, Jehoshaphat didn’t step in and object. *** The prophet, Jehu came to ask Jehoshaphat why he would help the wicked (Ahab) and love those who hate the Lord. God was not pleased with Jehoshaphat for going to war with Israel, but he had seen how he removed the Asherah poles in his land and committed himself to the Lord. *** Jehoshaphat appointed judges to help him judge the people. He instructed them to fear the Lord in their decisions and told them to show no partiality. They would judge all civil cases and the high priest would judge all cases pertaining to God. *** The armies of Ammon, Moab, and Menuites declared war against Judah. Jehoshaphat went immediately to the Lord for help. He declared a fast and reminded God of his promises to them. *** God spoke through a Levite named Jahaziel. He told them to march to the ascent of Ziz which opens up to the wilderness of Jeruel. Ziz means “a blossom” and Jeruel means “fear the Lord”. They would not fight this battle because God would. They were to take their positions and stand. They won the battle the moment they prayed and fasted. When they heard this word, they worshipped the Lord. They shouted to the Lord because the victory had been proclaimed. *** The next day they marched to the battle with the singers leading them. They were singing “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever.” *** The enemies began to turn on each other, then on themselves, so by the time Jehoshaphat arrived with his armies, there was not a living soul on the field. It took them three days to collect the plunder. *** They returned to Jerusalem singing praises to God. The fear of the Lord fell on the other nations. *** Jehoshaphat ruled 35 years and was remembered as a good king, though the people did not fully commit their hearts to the Lord. *** In the end of his years, Jehoshaphat went into the ship building business with Azariah, the evil king of Israel. It was a total flop and the ships never sailed. *** The people in the Old Testament were under an old covenant and didn’t have the gift of the Holy Spirit like we do. Paul calls our new covenant the good news! God had prophesied the salvation of the Gentiles even as far back as Moses. They rejected God and his prophets, so salvation came to the Gentiles that through us the Jews might be jealous for God again. They will one day repent and accept Christ and that will be a glorious day. *** Lord, thank you for the new covenant of salvation to all. May we live out our love for you in a way that it provokes your children to return to you.

Sat.’s Devo - Ahab’s Ending

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34; Romans 9:25-10:13; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3 Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat became king. He honored and worshipped the Lord and rid the land of pagan worship. He fortified Judah against any attacks from Israel. He was very popular with the people so they blessed him with wealth. *** He sent men and priests to teach the people God’s laws. God put fear in the surrounding nations so they wouldn’t attack Judah and his large army. Many of them paid them tribute. *** Jehoshaphat made peace with Ahab of Israel and sealed it with the marriage of his son to Ahab’s daughter. Ahab invited him to a celebration in Israel and when he attended, Ahab talked Jehoshaphat in joining him in fighting to get Ramoth-Gilead back from the Arameans. *** Before they went to battle, Jehoshaphat wanted to find out what God had to say about their venture. All of Ahab’s false prophets said he would have great victory. When Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet of God, Ahab reluctantly had Micaiah brought to them. He complained that Micaiah never told him anything good. *** At first, Micaiah was very sarcastic and dittoed what his prophets said but when Ahab pressed him to tell the truth he told Ahab he had seen a vision of all Israel scattered and their leader killed. He advised him to send his army home in peace and not fight. ***Instead, Ahab had Micaiah arrested and put in prison until he returned. Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to battle, ignoring God’s warning. *** Ahab disguised himself as a regular warrior but was killed when a random arrow hit the crease in his armor. There is nothing random with God. *** In Romans, Paul explained God’s plan for the Gentiles. They were not his chosen people from the start, but He was now choosing them to be his people. This had been prophesied by Hosea and Isaiah. God made salvation possible by faith which is activated by confession from your mouth and evidenced in a changed heart. God accepts all who call upon his name with sincerity and faith. *** Lord, thank you for making salvation open to all who believe. May we cause your first chosen people to want the relationship we have with you. Thank you for saving us.

Fri.’s Devo - Asa’s Reign

Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1 Asa became king of Judah and did a sweeping reform getting rid of all idol worship in Judah. He even disposed his grandmother, Maacah as queen because she had set up an Asherah pole. He tore down all the altars to gods and burned them in the Kidron Valley. *** Ethiopia sent a million-soldier army against them and they cried out to the Lord for help. God not only defeated them but took over cities and took spoil. God fought with them and gave them the victory. *** Many people from Israel moved to Judah to worship God, so King Baasha of Israel fortified Ramah which was where they crossed over from Israel to Judah. They kept people from coming to Judah and began invading Judah. Instead of asking God to help them, Asa took gold from the Temple and hired Aram to end their treaty with Israel and fight for them instead. They agreed an attacked Raamah. Baasha called off his men from Raamah and the battle was over, but God was not happy. He sent the prophet Hanani to tell Asa that if he had asked His help he would have given him victory over Aram, but now he would be in constant war. Asa was so mad at Hanani that he had him put in jail. ***Asa died later of a foot disease. His ‘walk with God’ had become diseased. *** In Romans, Paul tries to help them understand that God doesn’t just automatically choose everyone who is a Jew. Isaac had twins : Jacob and Esau and God chose to love and bless Jacob but chose to reject and love Esau less. God chooses who he wants to for his purposes. We are honored to be chosen for his purpose which is to show his power through to spread his name. *** Paul likened this selection to a potter and his clay. The clay has no say-so in how it is used. It just conforms to the potter’s hands. *** Lord, may we conform to your hands. We are so blessed and humbled to be chosen for your purposes.

Thurs’s. Devo - Rehoboam’s Reign

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:26-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29 Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem to get his army and go stop Jeroboam and get back his kingdom. He was stopped by the prophet, Shemaiah. He told Rehoboam that this was all God’s doing, so Rehoboam went home and fortified the towns he had left. He built up his army and gave the towns ammo and protection. *** Most of the priests and Levites left Israel and came to Judah where they could serve the Lord. Jeroboam served other gods and appointed his own priests. *** Reoboam got settled in his kingdom and became self-sufficient. He began to worship other gods also, leading his nation in sin. God sent Shishak from Egypt to conquer them. Rehoboam repented before the Lord. God said he would not completely destroy them but they would become his subjects and see the difference between serving God and serving an earthly ruler. Egypt took all the things of worth that they wanted. *** It is recorded that Rehoboam was an evil king who did not seek the Lord with his whole heart. He reigned over Judah for 17 years. When he died, his son Abijah ruled. *** Jeroboam and Abijah went to war. Abijah had 400,000 in his army to Jeroboam’s 800,000. They met in the hills of Ephraim. Abijah stood on the hill addressing Israel’s army. He reminded them of the covenant God made with Israel that one of David’s sons would rule on the throne forever. He explained how God was on Judah’s side. The whole time he was talking, half of his army was moving behind Israel’s army to ambush them. The priests blew their trumpets and the battle began. Judah defeated Israel killing 500,000 of their army. From that time on, Israel began to weaken while Judah strengthened. *** In Romans, we are greatly encouraged by how much God loves us and helps us overcome. When the devil brings something against us, God comes to our defense. He does something so good for us that it not only furthers his kingdom but it harms Satan’s kingdom. God is with us in our troubles and he turns them to victories. *** Lord, thank you that we always have reasons to be thankful and feel loved. May we bring you joy today.

Wed.’s Devo - Sons of God

Read: 2Chronicles 8:11-10:19; Romans 8:9-25; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 19:26 Solomon started out fearing God and worshipping him. He made sure the Temple was run the way it was supposed to run. He wouldn’t even let his wife, the Pharoah’s daughter, live in King David’s palace because the Ark had been there. We read in other places in the Bible where Solomon’s wives eventually led him into idolatry. *** I think it is interesting to note that when the Queen of Sheba visited, Solomon showed her everything about his kingdom and didn’t get reprimanded by the Lord, but years later when Hezekiah (2 Kings 20) showed the ambassadors to Babylon his kingdom, he was scolded by Isaiah and told he would lose it all because of it. This is explained in the proverb, “Don’t throw your pearls before swine.” Apparently, the Queen of Sheba was not swine. She blessed the nation with spices, gold, sandalwood, and jewels. *** Everything Solomon made was a display of God’s blessing, his glory and his opulence. When he died, his son Rehoboam became king. The people came to Shechem to meet with Reoboam and find out what kind of king he would be. When he took the advise of his young advisors to be tougher than his father, all the tribes left him to follow Jeroboam, except Judah and Benjamin. This was the division of the kingdom. Those who followed Rehoboam became the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The rest became the northern nation of Israel. *** Romans tells us that we can be controlled by the Holy Spirit and not our old sinful nature. His Spirit gives life to our natural bodies and following what it says proves we are his children and heirs to his glory. *** All creation is waiting for God to reveal his true children. Then we will be free from death and decay. *** Lord, we patiently wait with great expectation for the day we will be revealed as your children. May we get a revelation of that in our hearts.

Tues.’s Devo - Power Over Sin

Read: 2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10; Romans 7:14-8:8; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 19:24-25 Solomon had had a platform made in front of the altar where he stood and addressed the people. He bowed down and prayed, lifting his hands to heaven. He reminded God of his promise that if he and his descendants were faithful to follow God’s laws and do good then they would always sit on the throne. He acknowledged that God was everywhere and would not be contained to earth or a building. *** Solomon prayed that God would judge from this altar, forgive the repentant, help the sinners find the right path, bring rain, heal the land of famine, and answer the prayers of the humble. He prayed that even foreigners who prayed toward this Temple would be heard and God would answer their prayers. And, even if God’s people were taken captive, they would be able to pray toward this Temple and be heard. *** Then, Solomon invited God into the Temple and fire flashed from heaven and burned up the sacrifices on the altar. God’s glorious presence filled the Temple. The people fell on their face in reverence. The people offered thousands of sacrifices while the priests sang, “His faithful love endures forever.” *** They celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days and the people went home on the eighth day. *** After Solomon finished the building of the Temple and his palace, God appeared to him again and told Solomon that if they found the curses coming on their nation because of sin, the people could repent and turn from their sin and humble themselves and they would be restored. He would bless Solomon’s descendants as long as they obeyed him and worshipped him as their only God. If they didn’t, God would reject them and this Temple. *** It took Solomon 20 years to build the Temple. He only used foreigners for his laborers and to fortify many towns. *** In Romans, Paul describes the battle within a person in his fight against his old sinful nature. The answer is Jesus. On the cross, he satisfied the requirement of the law. We are no longer a slave to follow our sinful nature, but we are now free to follow the Spirit. We can let our Spirit control our minds and have peace and life. *** Lord, thank you for your Spirit. Thank you that you hear our prayers and draw near. Thank you that we can walk in peace and life.

Mon.’s Devo - The Glory of the Lord

Read: 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:12; Romans 7:1-13; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 19:22-23 The bronze altar Solomon had made was four times the size of the bronze altar they had for the tabernacle. The laver in the new Temple was huge and was used for the priests to bathe. Ten smaller basins were used to wash the utensils and set against the north and south walls. Ten gold lamp stands were placed above the lavers to light the room. Ten tables were also placed against the walls. *** The Ark was placed in the Most Holy Place and the priests led the people in worship. They sang, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”Immediately the cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple. Solomon addressed the people glorifying the Lord for all He had done. *** In Romans, Paul explains that if we are dead to ourselves and have come alive in Christ, then the law has no power over us to condemn us. The purpose of the law was to identify what sin is. The law in itself is holy and right. Satan has used the law to condemn us but Jesus came to set us free. *** Lord, may we walk in freedom and the power of the Holy Spirit. May we remember that the temple of God’s Spirit is within us.

Sun.’s Devo - The Splendor of the Temple

Read: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Romans6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:29-21 All the leaders of Israel were called to meet Solomon at the tabernacle in Gibeon. They offered 1,000 offerings to the Lord on the bronze altar. *** That night the Lord appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. Solomon said that he wanted wisdom and discernment to lead the people of Israel. God was pleased with his request and added wealth, long life and fame to it. *** Solomon returned to Jerusalem and built up his army. He also built the Temple, hiring Tyre’s best craftsman to help. He repaid Tyre with grain, wine and olive oil. Solomon used foreigners to do all his labor. *** The Temple was built on top of Mount Moriah on the threshing floor of Araunah. All the decorations inside the Temple was to give the appearance of the garden of Eden with cherubim, trees and flowers. It was overlaid in gold to reflect God’s glory. *** The angels on the mercy seat faced one another in a kneeling position with their wings spread over the mercy seat, but Solomon had two very large cherubim made to stand in the Most Holy Place. They faced the entrance with their wings spread wide touching both walls. These angels were being reserved for the right time. A curtain hung in front of it keeping the people from seeing the glory of God’s presence. That curtain was torn by God when Jesus died on the cross as an invitation for all to come and receive God’s mercy. *** Two pillars were made to stand at the entrance of the temple. The people entered between them. The one on the south was named Jakin which means “he establishes” and the other named Boaz which means “in him is strength.” *** In Romans, Paul erases every excuse we have to sin. We are no longer sin’s slave. We are free to walk in righteousness. We are commanded to give ourselves completely to God and to glorify God with our bodies. We choose what and who we obey. We can choose to obey God and be a slave to righteousness and become holy. *** Lord, thank you for making us holy because of your sacrifice for our sins. What a gift!

Sat.’s Devo - Preparing For the Future

Read: 1 Chronicles 29:1-29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 19:18-19 David gathered all his officials and explained to them his desire to build God a Temple. He would not be the one to build it because he had shed so much blood, but his son, Solomon would be a man of peace. He would build it. If Solomon continues to obey the Lord, God promised to make his kingdom last forever. *** David admonished Solomon to learn to know God intimately and to worship him with his whole heart and mind. He reminded Solomon that God knows his every thought. If he seeks the Lord, he will find him. David handed Solomon the blueprint and list of supplies he would need to build the Temple. David would be donating all his gold and silver from his treasury and encouraged the men with him to give also. Everyone generously gave and David led them in praise to the Lord. ***The next day they offered great offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon was crowned the king and God blessed him with splendor and honor. *** Many men in the Bible are types of Christ yet they all fall short of God’s righteousness. Only one did not and that was Jesus. David was a type of Jesus as our warrior. Trump has been called “David” and he has been our warrior against the evil we are facing. But they are just men and subject to failures. Solomon was a type of the age of peace and prosperity that we are going to be walking into. Trump is setting everything up for that time. ***Roman’s Five explains this perfectly. Since the beginning, God’s plan has been slowly rolled out. We have the privilege of being able to look back and see it. But, the best is truly yet to come. We are walking into the Golden Age of peace and prosperity. Righteousness will be our laws and our test will be to remain faithful to God when we have all we need. One of the keys to that will be remaining grateful and remembering what God brought us through to get here. We are to be a blessing to the whole earth. *** Lord, may we never forget the battles that brought us to the victory and who empowered us to persevere. All glory and honor goes to you. May we seek intimacy with you.

Fri.’s Devo - Abraham’s Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17 Since they chose the positions by lot, it was not the oldest or most experienced that got the jobs. God chose and he sees the heart of the man. This should encourage us when we find ourselves in a position we feel inadequate to fill. God doesn’t choose like man chooses. It should also help us to remember this when we see someone we think is not qualified, get the job we are more qualified for. God is in control and maybe we could come along side them and humbly offer to help them. *** The number of gatekeepers, guards over the storehouses, generals and captains over the different divisions of the army, and those in charge over the palace and its supplies was many people. The workers in the Temple and the soldiers in the army served a month out of the year for their nation. The priests kept all the records. God had truly made the Israelites as numerous as the stars in the heavens. *** In Romans, Paul explains that God promised to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants which would be fulfilled by his faith in God, not his obedience to the law. *** Abraham believed that God would bring the dead back to life when he was willing to offer Isaac on the altar just as we must believe God brought Jesus back to life. Through his death we receive our inheritance. Abraham never stopped believing even when it looked like he was running out of time. Abraham had been promised to be a father of nations and we have been promised that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Jesus prayed that the kingdom of heaven would come to earth. We have so many wonderful promises yet to be fulfilled. Yet, we believe that every detail of the words of God will come to pass. Lord, like Paul, we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing in your glory. We rejoice in our trials because we know that they help us develop perseverance, strength of character, and hope of salvation. Thank you that you never fail us.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Functions of the Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 4:1-12; Proverbs 13:1-6 Aaron’s descendants were the priests. His first two sons died offering strange fire to the Lord. The other two were Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar had 16 sons to Ithamar’s 8. They needed 24 divisions so Eleazar would pick two lots at a time to Ithamar’s one. They were all chosen by lot to make sure it was fair. *** The eighth lot fell to Abijah. In John 1:5, we read that Zechariah was his descendant, fulfilling his time of service when the angel appeared to him and announced his coming son, John the Baptist. *** The Levites were chosen in the same way. *** The army commanders and David chose the singers and musicians who were not only talented but prophetic. *** The gatekeepers were the guards at the entrances in charge of opening and locking the doors and gates. *** We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and should be equipped with all these ministries and safeguards in us. We can minister to the Lord as a priest and sing to him prophetic songs of praise. We and are also in charge of what doors we open and close in our hearts. *** In Romans, Paul explained that even before Christ, the way to the Lord was by faith. It wasn’t by Abraham’s deeds that he pleased God and was made the father of the whole Jewish nation, but it was by his faith. His righteousness had noting to do with his circumcision, but his circumcision was an act of obedience, much like baptism is for us today. ***Lord, thank you that we are made righteous by the blood of Christ and our faith in you. May we watch over our temple and keep it holy.

Wed.’s Devo - Preparations for the Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalms 12:1-8; Proverbs 19:13-14 David decided that the place where he saw the angel with the sword and stopped the plague would be the place where the altar would stand. David explained to Solomon that he would be the one to build the Temple. David had been a man of war, but Solomon would be a man of peace. David provided everything Solomon would need to build the Temple. *** David prayed that God would give Solomon wisdom and understanding to obey the Lord and rule Israel. David ordered the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. *** Eighty thousand priests and Levites were found to help keep the Temple functioning day and night. *** In Romans, Paul made it clear that we are all sinners from the beginning. He also made it clear that no one could ever be made right by following the law. The law was there to point out man’s sins. But, now we have been given a new covenant through Jesus that makes us right with God if we only believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and by faith we fulfill the law. *** Lord, thank you for giving us faith to believe. May we grow in our faith and be a blessing to you.

Tues.’s Devo. God is faithful to His Word

Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12 Nahash, the Ammonite king died, and since he and David had been friends, David sent condolences to Hanum, his son though ambassadors. The commanders of the Ammonite army saw them as spies and a threat to their safety so they took David’s men and cut off their skirts and shaved their beards. *** David let his men stay in Jericho s until their beards grew back and then prepared for war with Ammom. Hanum hired men from 4 different nations to fight against Israel’s army. They fought them on two fronts and Israel won. *** That spring Joab led Israel in wars against the Ammonite stronghold of Rabbah and won. He also fought the Philistines and defeated many of their giants. *** Satan came to defeat Israel and put it in David’s mind to count the people in a census. Exodus 30:2 says that when you count the people they are to offer a ransom for their soul least a plague come upon them. It was to be a half of a shekel a person. David did not pay this nor did he collect it from the people so their lives were at stake. *** This act ended in a plague that took the lives of 70,000 of his counted people. It was stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah which David bought for 600 pieces of gold. David ended up paying the price to redeem the people. *** In Romans, the Jews were putting so much emphasis on circumcision and the fact that the Gentile believers were not circumcised. He explained that circumcision was suppose to represent a ‘sold out’ heart to the Lord. And these people should only care about pleasing God and not man. *** Paul exposed the religion of the Nicolaitans who thought that it was better to sin because that highlighted God’s righteousness. But, just because were unfaithful, did not change God who is always faithful. Lord, thank you that you paid the price to set us free. You are so faithful to us. May we praise you with our lives.

Mon.’s Devo - David Establishes His Kingdom

Read: 1 Chronicles 16;37-18:17; Romans 2:1-24; Psalm 10:16-18 David assigned 68 Levites to be in charge of guarding the Ark. Obed-edom was one of them because he had done such a good job of housing the Ark. David also assigned priests to guard the tabernacle in Gibeon where the altar was. Heman was over the music. Then, the people returned home with the gifts David had given them of bread, raisins and dates. *** When David got home he looked around at his nice palace and felt convicted that he had this nice house when God’s house was a tent. He told Nathan that he wanted to build a Temple for the Lord. Nathan told him to do it, but then the Lord visited him and told him otherwise. *** The Lord told David that he appointed him to be king and was going to build a house for David. He and his descendants would rule Israel forever and his name would be famous. It would not be David who would build His house, but his son. *** David was not upset with what the Lord said, but humbled and extremely grateful. He submitted to God’s will. *** David subdued all his enemies: the Philistines, the Arameans, and the Edomites. Those he didn’t kill, served him. Other nations gave him gifts and honor. *** The people of Israel loved David because he brought justice and treated them right. He raised his sons to be his assistants. *** In Romans, Paul chastised the church because they were doing the very things they told others not to do. They were not purifying them selves and conforming to the image of Christ. They would be judged for their wickedness. But, for those who did good - they would be rewarded. He explained to them that if they were going to be teachers they needed to be doing what they taught. A good word for us. The way we live our lives may be someone’s only knowledge of God. *** Lord, may our lives glorify you and please you. May our nation be an example to other nations of what the kingdom of God looks like.

Sun.’s Devo - Return to God

Read: 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 1;18-32; Psalm 10;1-15; Proverbs 19;6-7 In David’s building projects he included a tent to house the Ark. Once it was built he had the priests and Levites consecrate themselves to bring up the Ark. Only they could participate in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. All Israel was invited to the celebration. There was much singing and music and dancing. David dressed as a priest and led the way in praising the Lord. *** David’s wife, Michal, saw David dancing from her window and despised him for making a fool of himself in front of the people. She was Saul’s daughter. She stood for Saul’s lineage who tried to control the people to worship him instead of leading the people to worship God. Sometimes our greatest critics come from our own household. But, fortunately, we will read later that she was not able to have children because of this, so her control was stopped and not allowed to bear fruit in David’s posterity. *** David had written a song and gave it to the priests to deliver to the people. It praised God and gave him thanks for all he had done for them. In it, he invited all the nations to join them in worshipping the Lord. *** In Romans, Paul explained how people can know God just by observing nature. They can understand the godhead by meditating on what God has made. Since men chose not to worship or thank God for who he was, they made up in their imagination what they thought God was like. They made idols of things God made and worshipped them instead. God turned them over to their perverted minds and let them suffer in their bodies for their perversions. The list of all their offenses is given in verses 28-32. All of this was because they had traded truth for lies. *** Lord, thank you that our nation is turning back to God and that we have a President who honors and fears You. May your kingdom come to earth like it is in heaven.

Sat.’s Devo. - Making David King

Read: 1 Chronicles 12: 19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 9;13-20; Proverbs 19;4-5 Many from Saul’s army defected to fight with David. We are given a list of how many from each tribe. Even 3,000 defected from among Saul’s relatives. It was recorded that this army was like the army of God. *** When Israel learned Saul had died fighting the Philistines, over 350,000 warriors met at Hebron to make David their king. Their wives and relatives brought food to celebrate for three days. David asked them if they wanted to invite all Israel to their celebration and have the priests and Levites bring the Ark of God back to the center of their lives in Jerusalem. They all agreed since it had been neglected during Saul’s reign. With great pomp and circumstance they put the Ark on a new cart and rode it from Kiriath-jearim towards Jerusalem. The oxen stumbled along the way and Huzzah stuck out his hand to steady it. God’s anger struck him down and he died. This put a great halt to the ceremony and the Ark was put in care of Obed-Edom where it stayed for three months. A blessing fell on his house because of the Ark. *** David then concentrated on building his palace with the help of King Hiram from Tyre. He had 13 more sons from different wives. *** David fought the Philistines one more time and God gave him the strategy to defend them. All nations feared David and his fame spread far and wide. *** In the New Testament we begin Paul’s letter to the church in Rome before he lived there. He commended them on their faith that had been talked about all over the world. Paul wanted them to know that he always had them in his prayers. Paul was eager to come bring them encouragement and a gift. It took some time, but Paul did get to Rome eventually. The church at Rome was full of mostly Gentiles so Paul went to great lengths to teach them the fundamental tenets of their faith. *** Lord, thank you for faithful men who wrote down their sermons so we can benefit from their wisdom. May we be living epistles for others to see. may we reflect your glory.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Favor

Read:1 Chronicles 11:1-12-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3 All the people of Israel met at Hebron and declared David their king. David made a covenant before the Lord with the elders. He was anointed king just like Samuel had prophesied. David led his men to take Jebus which became Jerusalem. They captured the fortress of Zion and named it the City of David. ***At Zion, Joab became his army commander because he led the attack. Joab was David’s nephew. *** David extended his territory and became very powerful because God was with him. ***David had three mightiest warriors. Two of them were mentioned by name and their exploits were described. The other one is not named. The leader of his thirty was also a nephew of David’s. Benaiah became captain of his body guard. *** I hope you read each name of the thirty. Uriah the Hittite was one of David’s mighty men who he had killed so he could have his wife. After David repented, God redeemed the situation causing Bathsheba’s next son, Solomon, to sit on David’s throne. God can redeem all of our mistakes no matter how large they are. *** Many of Saul’s relatives defected to David’s army when he was fighting Saul. Also, many of Gad’s famous warriors defected to David’s army. They became officers. *** In Acts, Paul’s ship had broken apart and it was each man for himself in getting to shore. The island they landed on was Malta. The people were friendly and built a fire to welcome them. As Paul and the men were gathering sticks, a snake bit Paul. The islanders saw it and superstitiously thought it meant he was a criminal, but when he shook it off and nothing happened to Paul they thought he was a god. *** The island chief, Pubius, took them into his home where they stayed three days. Pubius’ father was very sick. Paul prayed for him and God healed him. Others who were sick came to have Paul pray for them and they were healed. When they finally left, they left with everything they needed for their trip. What a blessing Paul was to that island and to his own men. *** All the way to Rome, Paul was honored and taken care of. When he reached Rome he was welcomed by all the believers there, too. Paul’s favor continued in Rome. He was given his own private lodging with only one soldier to watch him. He was able to meet with fellow believers safely. He told them his story. They were eager to hear his teachings because they had not heard them. A meeting was set up and many came to hear about the Kingdom of God. He went through the scriptures and the prophecies explaining how Jesus fulfilled them. Some of them could see it and others were spiritually blind. Paul told them that this salvation was being offered to the Gentiles and they would accept it. *** Paul was able to preach unhindered for two years. He was even allowed to support himself with working. *** Lord, thank you for your favor on our lives. Thank you for giving your salvation to all who call on your name. You are our strong tower.

Thurs.’s Devo - God is Faithful

Read: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14; Acts 27:21-44; Psalms 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24 The Chronicles skipped to the return after the exile. The scribes chronicled all the people who first returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple during Cyrus’ reign in Persia. The return was voluntary. The priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites opted to be of the first who returned. They had been gone 70 years and many had been born in captivity. Most were from the tribe of Benjamin and Levi who had been musicians and gatekeepers and priests. *** Chapter 10 skips to the day King Saul was killed in battle and David became king. The writers of the chronicles were the priests so they made it clear that the reason they went into exile was because they rebelled against the Lord. Also, the reason Saul died was because he was unfaithful to the Lord. *** In Acts, Saul’s right standing with God saved him and all the men on his ship. An angel had assured him of this. Right before they reached land, Paul had all the sailors eat a meal together and give thanks to God. *** They finally saw land, but their ship hit sand and was stuck. The waves destroyed the ship but the captain of the ship stopped the soldiers from killing the prisoners and all made it safely to shore. God did exactly what he said he would do. *** Lord you are faithful. You stand by all of your promises and fulfill them. We thank you and love you.

Wed.’s Devo - Genealogies

Read: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22 Issachar had four sons which grew into 87,000 who were mighty warriors when the census was taken. *** Benjamin had three sons who grew into 17,200 fighting warriors. Chapter 8 continues to talk about Benjamin’s line and it says he had 5 sons. Benjamin’s first born was Bela in both stories. One of his descendants, Shahariam had two wives that he divorced named Hushim and Baara. Hushim had had two sons by her husband before he divorced her and one of them went onto have at least 5 sons. All of the leaders of Benjamin’s clans lived in Jerusalem. *** King Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin. *** Naphtali was given one sentence. He had four sons. It reminds us that Naphtali was from Jacob’s concubine Bilhah, who was Rachel’s servant. No mighty warriors came from Naphtali, Manasseh, or Ephraim’s line. *** Manasseh had an Aramean concubine who his line came from. It seems they had trouble having sons but had plenty of daughters. *** Ephraim’s line had tragedy when two of Ephraim’s sons were killed. He later had another son. His daughter built three towns. Joshua, who became Israel’s leader after Moses, came from Ephraim’s line. *** Asher had mighty warriors and outstanding leaders from his line. *** In Acts, Paul was on his way to Rome in a ship with Roman officers and several other prisoners. The main Roman officer was Julius and he gave Paul great favor and let him visit with his friends on stops to different ports along their way. *** They lost a lot of time because the wind was against them, so the season for sailing was coming to an end. Paul warned them about continuing on. He saw the future full of shipwreck and danger and warned the officers. The ship crew decided they would try to make it to Phoenix and spend the winter there but they were met with a typhoon. Just as Paul had warned them they had to throw out cargo and the ship was held together by ropes. It looked like they were all going to drown. Stay tuned tomorow for the end of our story. *** If the men had listened to Paul, they would have saved their ship, their cargo and all the hardship they met. It is our job to tell people the truth, but we cannot control them or make them heed our warnings. Sadly, their bad decisions many times affect us also. But, God will always get glory from the end result. *** Lord, may we trust you in the good and the bad. When we are not in control, we know that you are. You cause everything to turn for the good of your purposes. Thank you!

Tues.’s Devo - Paul’s Defense Was the Gospel

Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10: Proverbs 18:20-21 Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh stayed on the east side of the Jordan. They faced the Hagrites, Jeturites, Naphishites and the Nodabites. It was their command from God to drive them out and take the land. They cried out to the Lord for help when they were in the midst of fighting and God gave them victory. They came away with much spoil. *** The tribe of Manasseh grew to be very large and spread out across the land but they and other two tribes soon forgot the Lord and took up the gods of the nations around them. The three tribes on the east were eventually taken captive by King Pul of Assyria. *** Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Moses and Aaron were Levites. From them came the workers in the Tabernacle and the priests. When David came to the throne he assigned the Levites to play the music for worship. Heman from the clan of Kohath was in charge of the music. His two assistants were from Gershon and Merari. The other Levites had jobs in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Temple. Only the sons of Aaron became priests and could offer sacrifices and offerings on the altar. *** The Levites were scattered amongst the tribes and given cities within every tribe to live and influence them with the law. *** In Acts, Paul was in trial before Agrippa. The opposition had been given their chance to give their side and now it was Paul’s turn to defend himself. He began with his pedigree and his impressive background. Then he went into his testimony. He had started out persecuting the Christians but then “saw the light” and became a believer of the very thing he fought so violently against. When Jesus spoke to him he told him to go give the message of salvation to the Gentile so that was what he had been doing from that time till today. *** Felix became quickly uncomfortable and shouted out that Paul was crazy. So Paul appealed to Agrippa and told him surely he had heard about Jesus and salvation by faith. He asked Agrippa if he believed the prophets. Agrippa began to feel uncomfortable also and they all stood and walked out. They discussed Paul’s defense and all concluded that he had done nothing worthy of death or being in prison. They would have set him free if he hadn’t have appealed to Caesar. *** Lord, thank you that you are our judge and defense. You see us through the blood of Jesus and we are innocent of sin. Thank you that you paid the price to set us free.

Mon.’s Devo - The Prayer of Jabez

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27;Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19 We are still reading about the line of Judah. In the midst of all the names and descendants we are given the prayer of Jabez who was of the lineage of Caleb in the tribe of Judah. Jabez was head of his family and lived near Jerusalem. His name means “sorrow” because he was born with much pain and sorrow. It is said that he was more honorable than his brothers. He prayed for a blessing from God that He would expand his territory and keep him from evil. And the good news is that God granted his request. We can pray that same prayer and God will grant it for us too. *** Shelah was Judah’s third son who was not killed by God and was supposed to be given to Tamar to marry but was not. His descendants became the linen workers and pottery makers who worked for the king. *** Simeon was Israel’s second son. He had 16 sons and 6 daughters. His territory was in the midst of Judah’s like an island. They were farmers. *** Israel’s oldest son was Rueben. He lost his position as the first born when he went in with his father’s concubine. His birthright was given to Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim). Rueben is not mentioned in the genealogy as the first born. The Ruebenites had opted not to go over the Jordan and receive their inheritance in the promised land but stayed east of the Jordan. *** Also the tribe of Gad stayed east of the Jordan with Rueben. They stayed in the land they took from Og the king of Bashan. *** In Acts, the new Festus arrived in Jerusalem on his way to Caesarea. He was met by the Jewish leaders who gave him all the reasons they thought Paul was guilty and should be brought back to Jerusalem for trial. They planned to kill him on the way. Festus disagreed and told them they could accompany him to Caesarea and he would listen to them there. *** In the trial in Caesarea, the Jewish leaders gave their false accusations about Paul and he denied them all. Felix asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried and he said, No. He appealed to Caesar instead. This was a relief for Felix because he was in a hard place. He wanted to please the Jews and be on their side, but Paul was a Roman citizen and he had to do what was right there also. Sending him to Rome was a great ‘out’ for him. Now, he had to come up with a reason for sending Paul to Caesar. He asked King Agrippa and his wife Bernice to help him write his letter to Caesar. *** It amazes me how much power the Jews really had. The Roman leaders wanted their favor. I think this is true about Christians. We do not realize how afraid Satan’s kingdom is of us because we do not fully realize the power of God in us. When we do, we will be unstoppable. *** Lord, may we become aware of your greatness and use the power we have been given to combat evil in our society. Help us to get that we are the light of the world. We are to bring God’s kingdom to earth.

Sun.’s Devo - The Tribe of Judah

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Provers 18:16-18 In the chronicles we are still reading about Judah’s line. Judah’s first two sons were killed by God because they were so wicked. He had twins, Perez and Zerah through his daughter-in-law Tamar. It was through the twins that Judah grew so large. And it was through Perez that David and Jesus came. *** David’s descendants came from the town of Hebron which means “communion.” Communion describes David’s relationship with God well. David reigned for seven and a half years in Hebron having six sons there. Then he moved to Jerusalem where he had 13 sons and ruled for another 33 years. *** David’s son, Solomon succeeded him and from him came all the kings of Israel. *** In Acts, Paul was waiting for his accusers to arrive from Jerusalem. Five days later they came: Ananias, the high priest, some of the Jewish elders and Tertullus, their lawyer. *** Tertullus spoke first and praised the governor for his reforms he had made then he gave their accusations about Paul. He called him a troublemaker who was constantly stirring up riots all over the world. He accused him of being the leader of the a Nazarene cult who was trying to desecrate the Temple when they arrested him. The other elders agreed with his testimony. *** Next, it was Paul’s turn to defend himself. He claimed to have arrived in Jerusalem and peacefully gone to the Temple to worship the Lord. He never stirred up a riot or did any of the things he was being accused of. He did admit to follow the Way which worships the God of his ancestors and follows the law given by Moses. He had come to Jerusalem with money to help his fellow believers in Jerusalem and to worship the Lord in the Temple. There was no rioting, the only things he shouted was “I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!” *** Felix was familiar with the Way and adjourned and told them they would wait until Lysias, the commander who arrested Paul arrived. Paul was kept in custody but allowed to have visitors. *** Felix and his wife had many meetings with Paul to discuss his beliefs. Paul stayed in prison for two years and Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus who kept Paul in prison to win the favor of the Jews. In prison, Paul was kept safe and was able to write much of our New Testament. He was fed and allowed to have visitors. There, the Jews couldn’t cause him any problems or harm him. *** Because we are in Christ, we are protected in the same way. We are free to move about this world but are totally protected and safe. We have nothing to fear. Our days are numbered in God’s book. Thank you, Lord.

Sat.’s Devo - The Chronicles

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15 We begin the Chronicles today which were written by the priests and highlight the kings of Judah. The Kings were written by the prophets and highlighted the kings of Israel. *** The scribes kept the records of genealogy, land ownership and all other records in the Temple. So they start their book with the geneologies from Adam on. Notice that they don’t even mention Cain because he was not a descendant of Adam but of Satan. Able is not mentioned either because he had no descendants. Seth which means “appointed” was the one appointed to carry on the human line. *** Noah was the only one left after the flood so his line kept humanity alive. From his sons Japheth, Ham and Shem, we all originated. *** It is interesting to note that the Ashkenazi’s came from Japheth. We have heard a lot about them lately as they are the one’s that have pretty much ruled our world in evil and slavery. They are the ones God is bringing justice. *** In Ham’s line it is interesting to note that from him came all the “ites” who were the enemies of God when Joshua entered the promised land of Israel. *** Abraham’s line came from Shem. God singled them out to put his name and favor on. Most of the Old Testament centers around their lineage. *** The line of Edom (verse 43) came from Esau who was Jacob’s brother who despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of soup. He was also tricked out of his blessing as the first born by Jacob, his twin. *** Next, we have the sons of Jacob or Israel. Even though Judah was the fourth son, the scribes begin with his geneology probably because he was the kingly tribe. From the tribe of Judah we have David and most of the kings of Judah and eventually Jesus came from his tribe. *** In Acts, Paul was in prison which was the safest place for him at the time. The Lord appeared to him and told him to be encouraged because he would be his witness there in Jerusalem and in Rome also. Paul never forgot this commission even when so many tried to pursued him not to go to Rome. *** There was a plot to kill Paul on his way to his trial but Paul’s nephew found out about the plot and warned Paul. Paul sent him to tell the commander the plan of the Jews. The commander snuck Paul out in the cover of darkness with 200 soldiers, 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops to get Paul safely to Governor Felix in Caesarea. He sent him with a letter explaining all he knew about Paul. There he was kept in prison until his accusers could arrive. Then Felix would hear his case. *** Amazing what God will do to protect his own. He gave Paul 470 armed men to get him safely where God wanted him. *** Lord, you are more powerful than any man or power of earth. When you call us to do something you see us through till the end. We put all our trust in you.

Fri.’s Devo - The Fall of Jerusalem

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 After Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz became the king. He only ruled for three months when he was imprisoned in Egypt. Neco installed Eliakim as the king who was another of Josiah’s sons. He required that they pay enormous amounts of gold and silver. He also changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. *** Jehoiakim ruled for 11 years. During his reign Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded Judah and they had to pay him tribute also. They rebelled after three years and refused to pay it so God sent raiders from four nations to raid them. This was all happening because of the sins of Manasseh and all the innocent blood he shed. Jehoiachin was the next king who only reigned three months. He was besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar. He finally surrendered to the king of Babylon and was taken prisoner. The fittest in Judah were taken prisoner to Babylon. Those left were ruled by Zedekiah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. When he rebelled against Babylon, they came and besieged the city of Jerusalem. The famine became so severe that the king and some of his people tried to escape through the cracks in the wall. They were chased down by the Babylonian troops and Zedekiah was captured. He was made to watch his sons all killed, then his eyes were gouged out. He was led in chains to Babylon. Jerusalem was burned and its walls torn down by the Babylonians. Most of the people were taken into exile, but a few were left to tend the vineyards and fields. Everything of value from the Temple was taken. The priests were all taken as well as the officers and put to death in Babylon. *** Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as the governor of those left behind in Judah. All the men left in the army of Judah came to meet with Gedliah at Mizpah. Ishmael was one of them. *** Gedaliah tried to broker peace between them and the Babylonian officers left to take care of them. Later that year Ishmael came to Mizpah and killed Gedaliah and the Babylonians that were there with him. All the people from Judah fled in panic thinking they were going to be in great trouble when Babylon found out. *** Meanwhile, in Babylon, an new king, Evil-merodach was crowned. Jehoiachin found favor in his eyes and was released from prison. He was given great privileges and clothes of honor and allowed to eat at the king’s table as long as he lived. *** In Acts, Paul was still giving his testimony to the Jews when he got to the part where God told him to go to the Gentiles and share with them the Good News of the gospel. The crowd went wild and shouted for his death. The commander had him whipped with lashes to make him confess to his crime. When he had finished whipping him, Paul asked if it was legal to whip a Roman citizen. When Paul explained that he was born a Roman citizen, the guards were afraid. The next day Paul was released to stand trial before the Jewish high council. *** In the trial, Paul noticed that some of the council was Pharisees and some were Sadducees. Knowing their disagreement about resurrection, he used that as his argument. This divided the council and the discussion became so violent they had to rescue Paul and take him back to the fortress. *** Jesus had told them not to worry about what to say when they were brought to trial because the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say. We see that happening for Paul over and over. He will do the same for us. *** Lord, may we trust in you for every answer we give for your name’s sake. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that leads and guides us every day.

Thurs.’s Devo - Josiah

Read: 2 Kings 22:3-23-30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11-12 When Josiah was 26 years old, he commanded the priests to use the money in the Temple treasury to restore the Temple of the Lord. As they were working they came upon a copy of the law. When Josiah read it, he tore his clothes in despair. He must have read the blessings and the curses and they definitely fell into the column of the curses. *** Josiah went about the greatest reform in history. He got rid of every trace of idol worship throughout the land of Judah. The way they desecrated the pagan temples was to scatter them with human bones. When he came to the graves buried around the altar in Bethel, he saw a monument built to a prophet. He asked who it was and found out it was the prophet who named him by name saying he would do this very thing. He had lived 200 years ago. Josiah allowed his grave and Isaiah’s to go untouched. *** Josiah reinstitute the Passover and had a celebration like never before. Even though Josiah led the people to give up their pagan practices, God was still angry over all the years the people of Judah had rejected him. He spoke through Huldah, a prophetess that all the words written in the law against Jerusalem would happen, but they would not happen until Josiah had died. *** God kept his promise. Josiah was killed by King Neco of Egypt. The king of Egypt and the king of Assyria had conspired together against Judah. Josiah was killed at Megiddo. His son, Jehoahaz was anointed to be the next king. *** In Acts, Paul had been arrested because the Jews in the city accused him of bringing a Gentile into the Temple. They were mainly upset that he was teaching the resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah. 
 *** Paul asked to speak to the commander who thought he was a revolutionary from Egypt who was over 400 assassins. Paul explained he was not that man but a Jew from Tarsus. He asked for permission to speak to the people. He let Paul down from their shoulders and he was able to speak to the people from the stairs. He spoke their language of Arabic. *** When they heard their own language, they were silent. He introduced himself and gave his background and his testimony to a rapt crowd. *** I think of the scripture that says, “And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony and that they loved not their lives unto death.” This describes Paul to a tee. We all have a testimony that no-one else has. We are to share our testimony boldly. Lord, may we be faithful to share what you have done for us with those we meet and let our light shine.

Wed.’s Devo - Our Future is in God’s Hands

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 Hezekiah became ill so Isaiah came to see him. He told him to set his affairs in order, because he was going to die. Hezekiah reminded the Lord how he lived his life to please him. Before Isaiah could get out of the palace, the Lord told him to go back and tell Hezekiah that God heard his prayer and would extend his life 15 more years. He showed Isaiah how to heal the boil that was causing his sickness. Hezekiah asked for a sign to prove he would be healed in three days. Hezekiah was given the choice of making the shadow on the sundial go forward ten steps or backward ten steps. He was actually given the ability to go back in time or forward in time. He chose to go back in time since he thought that would be the hardest. *** The king of Babylon was Merodach-baladan which means “rebellion: Baal is lord.” He sent gifts to Hezekiah because he had heard he was sick. Hezekiah received his gifts and showed his ambassadors everything in his kingdom. By doing this, he set his future for the next generation. *** Isaiah told him that since he showed them all he had, then all he had would one day be theirs. Since he said it would not happen in his lifetime, Hezekiah was relieved. *** Hezekiah lived his 15 more years and died. In his last 15 years, he had a son named Manasseh. Hezekiah had the privilege of knowing his expiration date so you would think he would take the time to teach his son how to rule the kingdom like he had. Manasseh was only 13 when he came to rule, but he did the opposite of his father. He welcomed the gods of Babylon and all the other pagan gods. He set up a carved image of Asherah in the Temple of the Lord. He caused the people to do more evil than even the pagan nations did. He murdered many innocent people. *** God said through the prophets that He would do to Jerusalem what he did to Samaria. Manasseh reigned 55 years and when he died his son, Amon became the king. He followed after the sins of his father and was assassinated by his own officials. The people of the land killed his assassins and made his son, Josiah the next king. Josiah was only 8 but he did what was pleasing to the Lord. *** In Acts, Paul went to meet with Luke and all the church at Jerusalem. Paul’s group shared all God had done in their trip and the people rejoiced. Luke shared with Paul that there was a group in the city who heard Paul was teaching the Jews not to circumcise their children and to disobey the laws of Moses. They wanted to know what to do. Paul suggested they sent four of the men who were with Paul to the temple so they could see how they had followed the law of Moses to a tee. They had vowed a vow to the Lord and wanted to do the purification ceremony. Those men who heard the rumors about Paul could observe how they follow the law and that would help squelch the rumor. *** Before they could do the purification ceremony, a mob met Paul in the Temple and accused Paul of preaching against the Jews and the Temple by bringing Gentiles into the Temple. Paul had been seen with a Gentile that day and they assumed he had taken him into the Temple. A riot followed. *** Paul was arrested and bound with chains. When the commander asked the crowd what Paul had done, it was so chaotic he couldn’t get the truth so he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress. The crowd was so violent, the soldiers had to lift Paul up on their shoulders to protect him. *** Jesus had warned them that if they killed the shepherd they would surely kill the sheep. Paul was fellowshipping with the Lord in his sufferings. *** Lord, may we learn to fellowship with You in our sufferings and in our blessings. No matter what we face may it all be to your glory.

Tue.’s Devo - Deliverance

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 Hezekiah had stopped paying his tribute to Assyria so they came to attack Jerusalem. Hezekiah asked what he could pay to make it right with them. They demanded more than 11 tons of silver ad one ton of gold. Hezekiah had to strip the gold from the doors of the Temple and give all the silver they had. Still the army wanted to meet with Hezekiah. *** Hezekiah sent his three top men to meet with the army commander of Assyria. He told then to tell Hezekiah that nothing they could trust in could save then from their army. He wanted them to surrender and let him take them captive like they had done to Israel. *** The army captain made sure he was speaking in Hebrew so all the men in the army could hear his threats. They said nothing because Hezekiah had told them not to talk to the Assyrians. *** When Hezekiah heard his threat, he and his officials tore their clothes and put on burlap. Hezekiah went into the Temple of the Lord. He sent his three officials to go tell Isaiah what was happening. Isaiah sent back word that Hezekiah shouldn’t be upset by his enemy’s words. God was going to move against him and he was going to receive an order to go back home. There, he will be killed by the sword. *** The Assyrians left Jersalem to consult with the king of Assyria. The king received word that the king of Ethiopia was coming to attack him so he had army return home and help them. Before he left, he sent a message to Hezekiah saying that he would return and not to let his God who he trusted deceive him. None of the gods of other nations could save them so why should they be any different. They just didn’t know Judah’s God! *** Hezekiah took this letter to the Temple and spread it out so he could talk to God about it. He explained to the Lord that part of the letter was true, no other god had been able to save their nation from the Assyrians. *** Isaiah sent Hezekiah the answer to his prayer. God says that he despises the king of Assyria and laughs at his threats. All his conquests were not because his might, but God’s plan. God used them to conquer these nations. God has heard all his blasphemy against him and would drag him back with a hook in his nose to his own land. *** To prove what he said is true, Judah would eat what grows by itself for the next two hears, then the third year, they would plant and harvest and eat the fruit from their own gardens. Those who have made it through the siege will put roots down in their own nation and will grow. *** The king of Assyria would not come back to Jerusalem. God would defend and protect Jerusalem. *** That night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. The king took the survivors home to Nineveh. Two of his own sons killed him while he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch. They fled to Ararat while another son, Esarhaddon became the next king. *** In Acts, Paul was making his way back to Jerusalem. All the way they stopped at places they had established groups of believers. Those who could see into the future begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem where they only saw chains and prison for him. Paul was not afraid of any of that. He had experienced that his whole life. He knew this was his destiny. So, with tears, they let Paul go. Some of the believers from Caesarea went with them. When they arrived in Jerusalem the believers welcomed them. *** Paul was ready to lay down his life for the Gospel. Lord, may we have that same mindset. May we lay down our lives daily as we choose to follow you even if it messes up our plans or disrupts our schedules. Thank you that you are delivering our nation just like you did for Judah. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.