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Ezra 1:1-4

There’s Only One Great King!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 4, 2023

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.’”

Williams says, “Cyrus himself need not have known that it was God who ‘stirred up’ his spirit and directed his thoughts to the restoration of his people. On the other hand, it might well have been that God used his servant Daniel, who was still in the king’s service, to influence Cyrus and even to inform him of Jeremiah’s prophecy, which he knew about. Either way, it was the sovereign God directing events, which teaches us as Christians to view what is happening on the international scene from the divine perspective. As we watch the news programs on TV, and see the world scene with its rebelliousness and political unrest, and shaky foundations, we might become fearful for the future. But in it all, the judgments and purposes of God are being worked out.”[1]

According to the “Cyrus Cylinder,” we see that he made similar proclamations regarding all the gods of the peoples of the land that had been previously conquered and enslaved by Babylon. His purpose was only political.  He referred to himself as the “great king” to whom God had given “all the kingdoms on earth.” The truth revealed to us in Ezra is that this “Great King” was a pawn in the hands of the only Great King, the Lord God Himself. He used Cyrus as an instrument to accomplish His purposes with His own people, and when God was done with Cyrus, he let him go the way of all nations before him. Remember Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias? The earth’s so-called “Great Kings” are just like him.

I met a traveler from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

God alone is sovereign. He is sovereign over the kings of the earth, and he is sovereign over the lives of men and women as well.

[1] Williams, Peter. 2006. Opening up Ezra. Opening Up Commentary. Leominster: Day One Publications.

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2 Chronicles 1:2-3

Forgotten Sins!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 3, 2023

When David was established as King in Jerusalem, the first thing he did was gather the nation’s leaders to find the Ark of the Covenant. 2 Chronicles 1:2-3 tells us that Solomon’s first deed was also to lead the nation to seek God. “Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there.” Just as David’s first act as King was a public demonstration of worship of the God of Israel, so too was Solomon’s first act.

The story told us by the Chronicler is said to be from the priestly perspective. The book of Kings tells us about Solomon from the kingly perspective. In Kings, we learn about Solomon’s weaknesses. In Kings, we learn about his use of slavery of Israelites to build the Temple and his Palace. We read about his susceptibility to the allurements of women, especially foreign women and how he multiplied wives and horses in contrast to the instructions in the Law. He tolerated and even participated in pagan rituals in cooperation with his wives. In the accounts recorded in the book of the Kings, we see all the weaknesses and sins of David and his son Solomon. We even see how Solomon became David’s son after he murdered Bathsheba’s husband. What’s up with this? McConville explained this well, “The Kings and Chronicles accounts, taken together, become another testimony—alongside the whole biblical picture of David—to the way in which God deigns to use great sinners in the work of his kingdom, so much so that the OT’s latest picture of Solomon does not even remember his sins.”[1]

The priestly approach to the life of Solomon ignores his sin. As the intercessors for the people, priests presented the sacrifices to God which would make atonement for their sins. God would forgive and forget.  Isaiah 43:25 says clearly, “I, yes, I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.” Solomon called the nation to the tent which contained the altar upon which sacrifices were made through which sins were forgiven.  Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Thus, Solomon took the people to the altar of sacrifice. As we read in the book of Hebrews, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Quoting from Isaiah, the writer of Hebrews tells us, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

[1] McConville, J. G. 1984. I & II Chronicles. The Daily Study Bible Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

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1Chronicles 1:5-7

Not a fairy tale

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 2, 2023

The book of 1 Chronicles begins with the genealogy from Adam to Noah and his three sons. It then lists many descendants of Noah’s sons. Noah had three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. There have been a lot of words written about which was the oldest. You’ll find them listed throughout the Bible in various orders. When all the words are read and the biblical evidence considered, I believe the order is Japheth was Noah’s oldest son, born when Noah was 500 years old. Shem was born second when Noah was 503 years old, and Ham was Noah’s youngest son. We might ask why Shem is often listed first. Shem is listed first because he was most important in propagating the Godly line that led from Noah to Abraham, through whose seed (Jesus Christ, the Son of God) all the nations of the earth would be blessed.”[1] We then have to answer the question as to why Shem is listed last in the genealogy, we see here at the beginning of the book of First Chronicles. Most suggest it is because the writer wants to emphasize the importance of Shem’s genealogy which connects Adam with the Messiah. But he begins with Japheth. Verses five through seven say, “The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.”

Japheth is closely connected with the renowned father of the Greeks (Iapetos) and with the ancestor of the Aryans in India (Iyapeti). Japheth’s son Gomer is understood by ancient writers to have settled in the present-day area of Crimea just north of the Black Sea. As Gomer’s descendants moved west, they settled in modern-day Germany and Wales. Magog, Japheth’s second son, is associated with the region just southeast of the Black Sea known as Georgia. The Jewish historian Josephus says that Magog was the ancestor of the Scythians. Madai, the third son of Japheth, is the normal Hebrew word for the Medes of Media which is east of Assyria and southwest of the Caspian Sea. Javan, the third son of Japheth, is the original name of Ionia which is Greece. Javan, the fourth son of Japheth, had four sons—all of whom are associated with Greece. The first, Elishah, is identified with Alashiyah on the island of Cyprus. ‘Hellas’ is a form of Elishah from which Hellenist derives. Homer’s Iliad mentions this people in the form of Eilesian. Tubal and Meshech, the fifth and sixth respective sons of Japheth, are always found together in the Bible. Tubal may correspond to Tibarēni—the modern Russian city of Tobolsk—while Meshech is thought to preserve the name Muskovi—the former name of Russia and Moscow. Tiras, the seventh son of Japheth, is identified by Josephus as the Thracians but possibly also to include the Etruscans of Italy. Ashkenaz, Japheth’s first grandson, was known in Jewish circles as one who settled in what would become Germany, and even in the present day, German Jews are called Ashkenazi. His brother, Togarmah, is known to be the ancestor of the ancient Armenians, and this name is etymologically associated with modern-day Turkey.
Tarshish, the second son of Javan, is identified with Tartessos in Spain and with Carthage in North Africa. The third son, Kittim, is preserved in the name of Kition which is located on the island of Cyprus.[2]

Why should we care about these people? First, it shows us that the Bible is not a book of fairy tales and fables. It is an actual historical record of the truth of our past. Modern archeological discoveries verify the existence of these people. There have been no discoveries that have disproved the validity of the genealogy listed in the Bible. Also, God cares for the sons of Japheth. Jesus put it in Paul’s heart to take the Gospel to them. His missionary journeys were all to our ancestors. As non-Jewish descendants, we have been grafted into the family tree of God’s people.

[1] https://www.revealedtruth.com/bible-study/noahs-sons-was-shem-the-oldest/

[2] https://www.harvestbiblechurch.net

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2 Kings 1:2-3, 2 Corinthians 1:3

All The Wrong Places

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 1, 2023

Ahaziah had grown up in the wicked household of Ahab and Jezebel. He had inherited their propensity towards idol worship. His reign was short because he refused to look to God for answers to his problems but looked for help from pagan sources of the people of the land. “Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.’” Dilday has a great comment about this, “One reason so many in contemporary society are miserable is that they have repeated Ahaziah’s worst mistake: seeking help in the wrong place. They are searching for strength, fulfillment, and comfort in the wrong places. Some look for help in chemical reinforcement, mistakenly assuming that a prescription, a pill, a bottle, or an injection can provide life’s missing ingredient.”

“The worldwide epidemic of heroin and cocaine addiction has shocked us. Alcoholism continues to take its toll in traffic deaths and broken homes. These are painful reminders that the remedy for personal emptiness is not a chemical substance.” Just last year a 50-year-old actress, Anne Heche, raced her car down the street in California killing herself under the influence of Cocaine. A popular black preacher in America warns his congregation from time to time: ‘Some of you think you can drown your troubles in drink. But I want to remind you, Troubles can swim!’ Those who seek help in drugs are, like Ahaziah, looking in the wrong place.”

Verse three continues the story of Ahaziah’s injury. “But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’” “Paul pointed to the only source that can fill man’s emptiness. Genuine comfort comes only through faith in God. It cannot be found anywhere else. Ahaziah failed to understand this basic truth.”[1] Elijah wanted Ahaziah to know that he needn’t turn to the resources of the pagans of the land. “Yes,” was the answer his questions demanded. “There is a God in Israel.” There is a God in the US also. There is a God of all the world. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions.”

[1] Dilday, Russell, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1987. 1, 2 Kings. Vol. 9. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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1 Kings 1:2-4

Victory over the Lust of the Flesh

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 31, 2023

David was old and sick and wouldn’t get out of bed. The members of his court were worried about him so when the addition of many blankets could not keep David warm, they enacted a new plan that was in keeping with the character of David’s life. “His servants said to him, ‘Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm.’ So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.”

According to one of my favorite Seminary professors, Tom Constable, there could be a connection between this Shunammite and the Shulammite beauty that Solomon raves about in The intimate Song of Solomon. He argues that Shunammite and Shulammite are alternate spellings of the same word. Even though he mentions it, Constable is not convinced because there doesn’t seem to be any other biblical evidence to link the two.”[1] I’m not sure the alternate spelling of the word, along with the descriptive beauty given to Abishag, isn’t enough to legitimately consider the possibility that they are the same woman. Also, this beautiful young woman attracted the attention of another of David’s sons. Adonijah wanted her as his wife and asked Bathsheba to intercede with her son Solomon to help him acquire her. Solomon reacted by having Adonijah killed. I know that taking a concubine or wife of the king was an act of rebellion and was supposed to be the way of showing you wished to take over that position. But she was not David’s concubine. The text makes it clear that he did not have relations with her. I’m thinking Solomon may very well have had other motives in having Adonijah killed. If Abishag was the woman of the Song of Solomon, she ended up as one of Solomon’s wives or concubines. Even if she is not the subject of Solomon’s affection in the Song, she was legally his concubine since he inherited the wives and concubines of his father.

David is known for not having control of his sexual life. That was seen clearly in the episode with Bathsheba which resulted in David’s murder of Uriah followed by the loss of the baby conceived through adultery. But we also know that David had other wives and kept a stable of concubines for his pleasure also. Whereas he was unable to control these passions in his youth, due to poor health and advanced age, his vigor was gone. It is said that “Sophocles lauded old age as a deliverance from the tyranny of the passions, as an escape from some furious and savage master.”[2] I remember Vance Havner, in his 80s preaching to us students at Dallas Theological Seminary. He had finally gained the victory over sexual temptation. Not that he conquered it altogether but that he outlived it. At 80+ years of age, he had become like David. He encouraged us to win the victory over it rather than outliving it.

[1] Constable, Thomas L. 1985. “1 Kings.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 1:487. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Exell, Joseph S. n.d. The Biblical Illustrator: I Kings. The Biblical Illustrator. New York; Chicago; Toronto; London; Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company.

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2 Samuel 1:2-10a, Deuteronomy 25:17-18

Doing Battle with Amalekites

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 30, 2023

David defeated the Amalekites, and Saul was defeated by the Philistines. David was busy with his battle and had not heard about Saul’s defeat for several days. 2 Samuel 1:2-4 tells us of the news. “And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, ‘Where do you come from?’ And he said to him, ‘I have escaped from the camp of Israel.’ And David said to him, ‘How did it go? Tell me.’ And he answered, ‘The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.’” The messenger from the camp of Israel described Saul’s death. The story continues, “Then David said to the young man who told him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’ And the young man who told him said, ‘By chance, I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, Here I am. And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ So I stood beside him and killed him because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen.’”

Saul lived a tragic life! It had an even more tragic end.  If the story the Amalekite tells David is true, Saul was killed by an enemy he was supposed to have defeated long ago. There is reason to believe that the Amalekite was lying, and if that is the case, then we still can say an Amalekite took credit for Saul’s demise. Regardless of which view you take, the Amalekites were the enemies of God’s people along with the rest of the Canaanites that resisted Israel taking possession of the promised land. The Amalekites were exceptionally odious to Israel because they waited until Israel was weak and occupied with other problems before they attacked. During all periods of Israel’s history, the Amalekites were treacherous in their attacks on Israel. It began with Esau and Jacob. Amalek was the Grandson of Esau. His father was Eliphaz, and his mother was the concubine Timna. Esau and Jacob’s constant struggle began in their mother Rebekah’s womb. The conflict between the descendants of each has never ended. Amalek hated the Jews, and Israel constantly had to defend itself against him. It raised its head when Israel left Egypt. In Deuteronomy 25:17-18, Israel was told to “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary.” This Amalekite killed Saul when he was faint and weary. It seems I come under attack when I’m faint and weary. But Moses promised the Israelites rest. The passage goes on in verse 19 to say, “Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”

The Amalekites have all been absorbed into other ethnic groups. The last one we might know of was Haman from the book of Esther, who hated the Jews and plotted their demise. He built a hangman’s scaffold for the Jew Mordecai but ended up hanging from it himself. But the absence of the ethnic group doesn’t mean there aren’t any Amalekites anymore. Amalek is alive and well today but in a spiritual form. My Amalekites are not “flesh and blood” but are often just as real. The world system around me and the flesh nature within me are both used by the Devil to war against me and keep me out of any experience of the promised land. I’m attacked at my most vulnerable times. When I’m weary and tired. I try, and I fail. I try, and I fail. I try again, and I fail. I soon learn I’m doomed to failure. The task of righteousness is too hard for me. Then Jesus calls us, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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1 Samuel 1:2

God Sends a Son

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 29, 2023

First Samuel introduces us to a man named Elkanah. He had a domestic problem. “He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” Because the text mentions Hannah first, it is assumed that she was Elkanah’s first wife. Since Hannah could not conceive, Elkanah took a second wife. This was acceptable in those days because children were crucial to the family’s livelihood. I would also argue that children were seen as blessings from God. Everything possible to have children was encouraged. There are significant industries in our country devoted to preventing conception. According to the Grandview Research Company, “The U.S. contraceptive market size was valued at around USD 8.0 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.70% in the forecast period.”[1] But what is worse is the abortion statistics. According to another research company, “The last year for which the CDC reported a yearly national total for abortions is 2019. The agency says there were 629,898 abortions nationally that year, slightly up from 619,591 in 2018. Guttmacher’s latest available figures are from 2020, when it says there were 930,160 abortions nationwide, up from 916,460 in 2019.”[2] The most important value in the Bible is life. The most important value in America is personal peace and prosperity.

The book of Deuteronomy records the blessings and cursings pronounced upon the children of Israel as they were about to enter and occupy the promised land. Having children was one of the many blessings that God promised the Israelites. Deuteronomy 7:14 speaks very clearly in this regard. It says, “You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock.” You can understand how a barren woman in the Old Testament economy would feel cursed and plead with God for the blessing of children. But Hannah was not the only woman in the Bible who struggled with barrenness and brought her petition to God for resolution. Sarah was barren. God Blessed her with Isaac. Rebekkah was barren. God blessed her with the twins Esau and Jacob. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was barren, and God blessed her with Joseph, who became the savior of his people. Samson’s mother was barren, but God blessed her with a son who delivered the people of Israel from the yoke of the Philistines. Woodhouse recognizes the common theme with these barren women. He writes, “Each of these women had shared a sadness like Hannah’s, but in each case, a child was subsequently born who was God’s answer to the crisis of the time.”[3]

The situation in Israel at the end of the book of Judges was critical. There was no king, so every man did what was right in his own eyes, and there was nothing but chaos and confusion. Something had to be done! God begins his work. In answer to prayer, he causes an otherwise barren woman to conceive a child! In each of the cases mentioned above, this was God’s way of dealing with the problems of His people. When Jesus insisted that the Old Testament was about Him, I wonder if this idea was not part of that. Although it might be argued that each of the women above conceived without the intervention of God. That could not be argued regarding God sending His one and only Son into the world, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

[1] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-contraceptive-market

[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/24/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-u-s-2/

[3] Woodhouse, John. 2008. 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

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Ruth 1:2

No Afterthought!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 28, 2023

During the days of the Judges, Elimelech and his wife Naomi took their two sons from Bethlehem to Moab to escape a famine. Ruth 1:2 says, “The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.” In Hebrew, the word Bethlehem means house of bread. The place named for an essential staple of food did not have enough of it to sustain this family. So they moved to Moab, of all places. Israel and Moab did not have a happy relationship. Moab, the founder of this city, was the son of Lot’s daughter through her incestuous relationship with her father. When Israel was exiting Egypt, the Moabites would not let them have safe passage through their land. In the book of Numbers (25:1-9), Moabite women seduced the men of Israel into worshipping Baal. Eglon, the king of Moab, was one of the kings that oppressed Israel and God raised Ehud, the left-handed Israelite, to deliver them from his oppression. One more thing, Balak, the king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse the Israelites as they moved toward the promised land.

The name “Elimelech” means “God is my king.” He had a good reputation, and I expect he was an honest man who wanted to provide for his family. His two sons had interesting names. Mahlon means “to be sick.” Kilion means “failing or pining.” It could be that the poor health of his two children moved Elimelech to move to where food was available. It may have been his motivation in moving to save the lives of his two sick sons. He would be terribly disappointed if his motive was their lives.

The family was an Ephrathite family from Bethlehem. This was important to mention because David was also an Ephrathite from Bethlehem. This is an important point because we’ll see that a Moabitess, Ruth, will become Jesse’s grandmother, the father of King David through whom the Messiah will come. This is a remarkable fact. Moab, the son of one of Lot’s daughters through incest, had an ancestor who became an heir to God’s promises.  Lot had another son through his incestuous relationship with his other daughter. Her son was named Amon. Amon had a female descendent named Naamah. She ends up as one of the wives that Solomon took to seal peace treaties with the nations around him. Whereas David tamed the nations around him through conquests, Solomon tamed the nations through treaties sealed by marriages. Solomon and Naamah have a son named Rehoboam. He became the first king of the divided kingdom and reigned in Jerusalem. He also finds his way into the genealogical line leading to the Messiah. There are four women in the genealogy of Jesus. All of them are Gentiles. Saving the world was never an afterthought in God’s mind. It was always part of His glorious plan. You and I are also part of God’s plan. We are not afterthoughts either.

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