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Join us as the Old Testament Recall continues with a look at GOOD Kings & BAD Kings Just a shameless plug in case there are some tickets left for the NIGHT OF WORSHIP on May 4th…make sure and purchase one if you’d like….gonna be a great night of worship and prayer! We continue with highlights of the Bible and special holidays … don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming soon! Now this week will be a little lighter since our event is coming up. But we would be amiss if we didn’t have a moment to mention in general terms the good kings and bad kings in the Old Testament. We won’t go as deep as we normally do, but it can be very helpful to realize the difference between those 2 groups. It’s basic. But so is most of life! Here we go and glad you’re with us today! MONDAY…”The GOOD KING List” Most of us can recall names of sports figures, Bible heroes, national leaders and others who “made the list”. The problem was they could jump from one list to the other very quickly based on one major heroic performance or a catastrophic one. So the question in their legacy is always, “which list did they make”? The phrase, “Say it ain’t so, Joe” was first uttered about “Shoeless” Joe Jackson back in the day of the “Chicago Black Sox” when they were caught cheating with some big bets on the World Series. The movie, “9 Men Out” painfully describes that event when heroes went down. Now in the Bible, the Old Testament kings fell into 3 categories. Obedient, restorative & faithful kings. Those kings who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. And the third group was a mixture of those 2 traits. And we rather “skim” through the Scriptures in our Finishing Well devos, I hope once again we can simply REMIND you of what you probably already knew, you just needed your memory jogged a bit. Just as there were good guys and good spies, like Joshua and Caleb, there were also some good kings. Here’s a few of them now….. 1…DAVID You knew he’d make the good list. A “man after God’s own heart”, was how Paul referred to him in his sermon to the folks at Antioch in Acts 13:22. I’m guessing many of you have been watching “THE HOUSE OF DAVID” series. We binged it not long ago. There’s a whole lot of “additions that might need corrections” in that, but it sure makes for interesting Biblical “possible history”! I realize there is quite a lot of “dramatic liberty” taken. So far, they’ve only gotten Goliath killed and that took 7 or 8 episodes. So there is much left for the series to unpack. But have you noticed the role of the King in King Saul. How tempting it was to listen to the people rather than God? We’ll get to Saul soon enough, but the making of the character of David is amazing so far. “God does LOOK ON THE HEART, not the outer appearance as man does”. And David, all thru Scripture lived and led with a heart that, though not perfect, always came back prayer and seeking the presence of God. 2…SOLOMON Started great and led with powerful wisdom beyond those around him. It was his prayer, after all, for God to grant him the understanding it would take to lead His people. And for the most part until the end, Solomon did a tremendous job. We’ll fill in a few more blanks for him towards the end of the week, though. Regardless, he made the “good list”. 3…ASA I love this guy! He’s tucked away in 2 Chronicles 14-16, but my goodness, what a story! He followed his father, Abijah, who left him a 10 year “head start” of peace in the land. We’ll develop the qualities of the good guys more tomorrow, but notice that he took down some foreign altars, smashed the pillars of idols and commanded the people of Judah to SEEK THE LORD and obey His law. He also took down pagan shrines and incense altars in EVERYTOWN. Now notice if you will in chapter 15 where a guy named Azariah went to meet King Asa as he came back from battle and said, “The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with Him”. His short sermon was only 7 verses to Asa, but powerful. And it motivated Asa to remove all the DETESTABLE IDOLS in the land, as well as REPAIR the altar of the Lord. (Man, this stuff will preach in our culture today!) This guy was so passionate about following the Lord wholeheartedly, he even deposed his grandmother who had some hidden “obscenities” in her house (I know….who would’ve thought), and they went 35 years with no war, which was a huge sign of God’s presence and blessing. He had a little hiccup at the end that chapter 16 points out painfully got a little insecure and trusted kings, not God and got a “verbal spanking” by Hanani, the seer at the time telling him he missed his chance to keep the army or Aram from ever causing problems again. He even gave Asa a great quote that is meaningful for us today, saying “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him”. King Asa didn’t like being corrected publicly and pouted for a while. Ok, for quite a while. But that quote is good for us trying to FINISH WELL in our faith journey with the Lord! Anybody like me and that verse reminds you of a conversation Jesus had with someone in the New Testament? Email me back if you can guess who that talk was with! Really. I’d love to hear from you! 4…JEHOSHAPHAT He was King Asa’s son and did a bang up job of leading God’s people. Now I don’t know where that saying came from….. you know… the one Jed Clampett said a lot on the “Beverly Hillbillies”… “Great Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat”! Maybe he had a great vertical jump that we didn’t know about. Or maybe it just rolled off somebody’s tongue one day long ago when they were frustrated and it stuck! In 2 Chronicles 17:5 there is a great tribute to him, saying that “The Lord was with him because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.” You go, Jeho! He went up against Ahab, who was definitely on the “naughty list”. Ahab was the “worst of the worst” and a big part of his downfall was his wife, but we’ll save that for a little later. 5…HEZEKIAH We’ll look at this king a little closer on Friday because he made a great comeback! But he’s definitely on the good list! In 2 Kings 18-20 it records that he followed in David’s footsteps in being aggressive in destroying the pagan influences around him that had permeated the Jewish culture. 6…JOSIAH Last, but not least and known for getting an early start on the throne, Josiah led the nation since he was 8 years old! I know. Amazing. While other kids are playing Little League and moving from T-Ball to Coach Pitch”, this kid is leading God’s people. Ok, he had a good Mom who saw to it that he “did not turn away from doing what was right”. He helped restore the Word of the Lord to the people and in 2 Kings 23, led them in many “religious reforms”. Now tomorrow, we’ll look at the guys on the wall at the Post Office. The ones who made a lot of trouble for God’s people. But as we wind down our time today, take a moment and thank God for GOOD LEADERS in your life. Might be your parents or grandparents. A coach or a teacher. A boss. A respectful employee you could use as an example to others and build your team or department around. Maybe a spiritual leader who took the time to “see you” and not simply overlook you as a person. And while we might not be anything close to “kingly, queenly, or presidential,” we are “leading” our lives and influencing those around us. And hopefully in a good and godly way! Love you guys. May the Lord’s blessing be upon you throughout the day and night! TUESDAY…”the BAD KING List” Ok, here we go with the ones who did more damage to the nation of Israel and Judah and blew their chance to be recalled in a good light in Scripture. Not to pick on them, but rather to learn from them. Lord knows we all have a few regrets God has covered for us! Here we go….. 1—SAUL While Saul himself wasn’t the people’s choice, it was their choice as to whether to have a king or not. They were heavily influenced by the other nations and the appearance of such royalty. Saul went from reluctance as a leader to a success in battle primarily. His life is covered from 1 Samuel 9-31 with a prelude in chapter 8 with a warning of what to expect if you get a king. Saul’s downfall was simply “not seeking” and “not obeying” the voice of God. The Spirit of the Lord left Saul, & the Bible says an evil spirit came to torment him. He found relief in David’s music, which was before the Goliath experience. At that point, the Spirit of God had already come upon David and his anointing by Samuel. Keith Green, a Christian singer in the late 70’s and early 80’s wrote a song entitle, “To Obey is Better than Sacrifice”, which is a phrase taken from Saul’s story of being confronted by Samuel in his disobedience. I’ll leave a link to that here if you’d like to hear it. TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE Saul floundered the rest of his life as David’s popularity increased while his went into a tailspin. Didn’t help matters that Saul was green with envy and filled with murderous jealousy. He even consulted the Witch at Endor towards the end of his life. It’s never a good sign when the ruler of God’s people talks to the “devil’s advocate” more than he talks to God! Saul falls in battle alongside his son Jonathan, who ironically was David’s best friend. 2—REHOBOAM This was Solomon’s son, but remember, Solomon did not finish well, even though he was smart as a whip and had “enough money to burn a wet mule” (thanking my father-in-law, Larry for that old saying). But the good part of Solomon didn’t seem to get passed down to his son, Rehoboam. One of his first acts as king was harsher than Solomon was ever accused of being. The sad commentary on his life is seen in 1 Kings 14:22-24 which says, “During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than their ancestors. For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.” The nation became divided and it would be a long time before any healing and reconciliation would happen amongst God’s people. What takes reconciliation so long is usually because it takes REPENTANCE so long to surface in the hearts of the people. If we want revival, then we need repentance first. It ALWAYS is the prelude to God moving in the hearts of people! 3—AHAB For those of you Ray Stevens fans, this is not “AHAB THE ARAB, Sheik of the Burning Sand”, and his trusty “camel named, Clyde”. Made you think back to some 60’s music for a moment, though, didn’t I? Ok, King Ahab is the “Mac Daddy” of bad kings. He didn’t marry well. And he certainly didn’t meet his wife at a Billy Graham Crusade! Her name? Think of a name that unfortunately became representative of an ungodly woman. You guessed it. JEZEBEL. But while Ahab’s “first lady”, got a lot of FaceTime in Scripture in a negative way, the King wasn’t just the “RECIPIENT” of a demon-driven wife, he was a willing “PARTICIPANT” himself. Elijah was the prophet at the time who went toe to toe with them both and they nearly wore him out. They actually did, but God refreshed Elijah and reminded him he was not alone! King Ahab is mentioned in 1 Kings 16-22 and it’s worth the read if you want to see the sequel of “Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What You Gonna Do”. 4—MANASSEH Now this guy was the King of Judah and the majority of his tenure was marked by IDOLATRY & OPPRESSION. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 32-33 and briefly in Jeremiah 15:4. He wound up leading God’s people farther and farther away from Him. And he had the audacity to rebuild all the pagan shrines that were previously torn down. He went totally into the occult and was drug off to Babylon with a ring in his nose and in chains. But on a positive note……in 33:12-14, the Bible records that “Manasseh sought the Lord while in deep distress and sincerely humbles himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the Lord listened and was moved by his request.” So God brought him back to Jerusalem and his kingdom and Manasseh REBUILT the wall of Bethlehem and stationed military officers in the fortified cities of Judah. He also REMOVED the idols and tore down their altars and RESTORED God’s altar in Jerusalem. So there’s hope for even some of the worst unspiritual leaders IF THEY REPENT! But it took a very significant HUMBLING event to get his attention! 5—A LIST OF OTHERS… There are plenty more kings who certainly did more evil than good, such as Jeroboam, Ahaziah, Ahaz, Zedekiah and others, but I think we get the point. So as we wind down the list of bad kings today, please remember that there is hope for some of the worst. But not without a repentant heart. And what can harden a person’s heart is having too many of the wrong voices in their ear. Being too proud wanting to do things your way. Being numb to the prompting of God. And certainly when we lose “positive regard” for the Word of the Lord, we are on a downhill slide into circumstances that He never intended us to have to deal with. So may we continue to help one another as our days accumulate. May we allow the Spirit of God to break our heart when we are in deep distress, if we have fallen away from His influence. And may we encourage one another daily as Hebrews 3:13 tells us we should do. Even to the point of “WARNING each other daily while it’s still called today, so that none of us might be deceived by sin and hardened against God”. We live in tough times and in a very ungodly culture that won’t go away this side of heaven. May we be good servants and leaders while we have this blessed opportunity with the life & breath we need to bring glory and honor to the Lord!
WEDNESDAY…”What Seemed to be the DIFFERENCE?” Hopefully today will be a short day. We’ve gone over a lot of names of Kings the past couple of days who either “stepped up or messed up”. There is quite a contrast when you read and see what they did and what they didn’t do. As I write this tonight at our kitchen table on my laptop, I’ve got the NBA Playoff quietly in the background. Here on Friday the Magic upset the Celtics, but not in a typical way that basketball teams win or lose 2 point games. I had a coaching friend tell me years ago, “there are 2 things that don’t last. Dogs who chase cars….and teams that don’t make free throws at tournament time”. That usually is a mark of a team that goes the distance in their season. They hit their free throws! (You’d expect nothing less than a basketball illustration here in the land of Hoosier basketball) “Free Throws” are the simple commands of the Lord, which are to obey, to trust, & to keep His laws. Things like the Sabbath, and of course all the 10 Commandments were huge combined with all the other expanded laws the Jewish leaders emphasized. And in their “keeping those commands”, the other mark seemed to test their willingness to GO AGAINST CULTURE & PUBLIC OPINION in matters of holiness. They constantly had to fight against the people’s tendency to elevate IDOLS. To be honest, these idols were rooted, not in people’s creativity, but demonic activity & there was a terrible propensity the Israelites showed to want to elevate ANYTHING and EVERYTHING at times besides the God of all Creation! If you’re familiar with Romans 1 in the New Testament, you’ll know that teaching becomes very relevant to us today, not just the early church back at that time. Let me lift a few verses from there for us to look at today to understand what not only these Old Testament Kings, but all Christian leaders these days are up against in their shepherding God’s people. Let me highlight a few MEMORABLES & QUOTABLES…… Verse 16….. “I am not ashamed of the gospel”… Paul says attack me however you choose to, but I won’t back down from preaching that the Good News about Jesus which is our ONLY HOPE. If we want to be good leaders in the Kingdom we can’t, hesitate in making the message of Jesus CRYSTAL CLEAR to the world. Any hope a person might have APART from Him is a FALSE HOPE. Verse 20….he continues teaching that “Since everyone in their heart knows the obvious truth about God as the Creator of all things, people are WITHOUT EXCUSE when they stand before Him!” That is a very frightening thought. It’s not threatening to those who believe, but it should cause us great alarm knowing that God no longer “winks” at sin, as Paul preached to the Athens folks in Acts 17. No more turning His head and saying “boys will be boys”. He commands all men everywhere to REPENT. And Verse 23…. “instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” And it gets worse as the chapter goes, referencing people being ABANDONED by God (due to their perpetual rejection of HIM) to do shameful things, degrading things and every kind of wickedness. Some number the list at nearly 30 major-heavy-duty sins. The Verse of UNHOLY EXCHANGE is verse 25, says “they TRADED THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD for a LIE. So they worshiped and served the things God CREATED instead of the CREATOR Himself. I’ve always wondered about the first 2 of the 10 Commandments. I always “coupled” them together thinking they were one in the same, not realizing the difference. But the more I think about #1, which is NO OTHER gods BEFORE ME & #2, NO GRAVEN IMAGES, I’ve come to understand the difference. God is giving us a big NO on #1 to idolizing HIS Creation… and a big NO on #2 to idolizing OUR creation… And it seems that every challenge the Kings of the Old Testament were up against usually stemmed from the people “IDOLIZING” God’s awesome stuff, being the sun, moon, stars, rain, agriculture, family, food or sex (God’s Creation). Or they were up against the people once again, “IDOLIZING” their own creativity like architecture, craftsmanship, wealth, superstitious good luck charms, or man-made things reflecting those things that God had as original ideas. I think we’d all agree that our world still is full of idols. Violations of Commandment #1…God’s awesome stuff. And violations of Commandment #2…Our attempt at making awesome stuff. Now the way the Kings in the Old Testament were to deal with that problem was initially to TEACH the Word of the Lord effectively & then ENFORCE it. They were to call for the people to REFUSE sinful idolatry and not leave them empty, but then ESTABLISH holy practices. Both usually involved sacrifice and altars. Good kings tore down bad things & built up good things. And bad kings were content to tolerate bad things and didn’t take the initiative in restoring the good and holy things of God. The Good Kings hit their free throws. The Bad Kings “bricked ‘em” and missed even the easiest of opportunities to declare and establish the name of God among the people. Like I said, I was hoping for a “shorter” devo for today. Because I really need to keep it simple. But if we’re going to LEAD as “servants and shepherds of the Most High God”, then we need to REMOVE things from our lives (especially at our Finishing Well age, whatever that age is) and RESTORE the blessed and holy things of God. So today as we pray, I bet your prayers are like mine. They have more people with health issues all the time! Because that’s where we are and there is a lot more sickness, it seems in the world today. Sue Linn & I try to keep a current list as best we can, just like you! But maybe on our lists could there be a simple, “Lord, help me cut THAT out? And Lord, could You help me start doing THIS again? May we stop doing some things & start doing the things…. Only you know what’s on both of your lists! Love you guys….. THURSDAY…”Solomon’s INSISTENCE & RESISTANCE” We’ve discussed Solomon’s difficulties at different times in our devotions over this past year. Have we been doing this a year? Yes we have! First devo came out right after Easter in 2024. His story is a common quote for me at times. For one reason I need to be mindful of my need for God’s wisdom as Solomon was. And the other reason is because at my age, your age & everyone’s age regardless, we need to be mindful of being resistant to God and insistent about my desires and how that will keep you (& those around you) from Finishing Well! Now Solomon was a good king with great wisdom, wealth and wives, but his insistence on marrying foreign women was his downfall. The violation was not in them being foreign, but in their bringing their foreign idols with them into the marriage, family and coexisting with the only true God, Yahweh!. God told Solomon NO and Solomon said YES. Here’s the dreaded documentation in 1 Kings 11:8-11 and this is straight from the NLT….. “Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So not the Lord said to him, ‘Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants”. God was even more specific in the verses prior to these about his wives and his doing evil in the Lord’s sight. I think this warning about not serving the Lord wholeheartedly has always been in the back of my mind that pray I don’t duplicate. And I hope to encourage as many as I can to keep following the Lord passionately. Each season of our life will look a bit differently but may the passion for God remain the same and even grow in intensity! Let’s end on a positive note for Solomon. I’ll see him in heaven someday and I don’t want to have to apologize. Besides, I think he’d chuckle at my S.A.T. scores! In Ecclesiastes, Solomon knocked it out of the park! (Baseball language for doing a really good job!). I would mention the excellent Proverbs he wrote, but we’re saving that for a whole other week’s focus later. Here’s my favorite quotes from Ecclesiastes…. Chapter 3….you gotta love it…. Verse 1 says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Take a look at the first 8 verses and tell me that isn’t an awesome description of EVERY extreme thing that will go on in our lifetime! God, in His wisdom caused Solomon to record those verses which give us ETERNAL perspective, and in the 60’s the music group, The BYRDS also recorded a song with those lyrics exactly. God is not a 1 Hit Wonder type of God, though! At a boy, Solomon…way to give us a godly view of the heights & depths of life! Chapter 7…..gotta love this passage as well…. Verse 1-3….”A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.” About 2 years, when I retired from local church work and began this Finishing Well ministry, I began to do more funerals, it seemed. This passage has become more incorporated in my messages, because I believe with all my heart that God speaks to people more than preachers do even while they’re trying to preach. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that prompts our hearts. In this Scripture, God says that “sadness has a refining influence” on primarily our minds and our hearts (our cognitive and emotive). So my suggestion is that at every funeral you attend, God wants to change your heart….about Him, about yourself, about life, about relationships, about sin, about death, about eternity, and about Jesus. Thanks Solomon…..good advice again! And my final, which was his final thought on the matter in chapter 12….verse 1 says “Honor the Lord in your youth before you grow old and say life is not pleasant anymore.” OK, he’s got that right. Learn to honor God earlier rather than later in life. Less regrets. More fulfillment. And when it’s all said and done, verse 13-14….. “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” Oh boy, that’ll make you put your head down and hope the preacher calls on someone ELSE for the closing prayer besides you! We all tense up at the thought of full disclosure. But what a way to end Solomon’s “string of pearls” so to speak! At the end of our lives, all that will matter is how we respected the God of all Creation and how we treated His Son Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Nailed it Solomon. Struggled to finish well and we do too, but how you served God while you were focused on Him was a great blessing! May we be a blessing to others as well! See you tomorrow for some closing thoughts. And hey…May 4th is here this Sunday! Hope to see you that night! Love you guys (on a daily basis), gr FRIDAY…”Hezekiah’s Incredible RECOVERY” Our final day this week will have a few reflections on God granting some OVERTIME for a fellow who was a good king. He got some warning from the Lord on the end of his life, which not many folks do! In 2 Kings 20 (and also in 2 Chronicles 32), the account is given about a good king, named Hezekiah. He had served the Lord well for a number of years, but then became ill and got a visit from the prophet Isaiah telling him in verse 1, to “set his affairs in order for he was going to die and would not recover from this illness.” As I mentioned, at least he got a “heads up”! But take a moment today & read the whole passage of 10 verses. What an incredible account. (I use the term “account” anymore since if I called it a “story” it might be confused with a “parable”, which is fictitious, just an “earthly story with a heavenly meaning”. But this is no parable. This is an ACCOUNT. It really happened! Ok…..I’m back! Now in verse 2….. Hezekiah turns his face to the wall & prays….. And verse 3….. His prayer is for God to REMEMBER his faithfulness & single-mindedness in doing what pleased God….then burst into tears And verse 4….. God responds IMMEDIATELY before Hezekiah can get leave the middle court And verse 5….. God’s ANSWER is so quick! He says, “I’ve HEARD your prayers, SEEN your tears and will HEAL you in 3 days (and when I do, you are to go to the TEMPLE!) And verse 6…. God says, “I’ll give you 15 more years & in that time I will RESCUE this city and DEFEND My honor”! And verse 7….. Isaiah calls for some fig ointment over Hezekiah’s boil and he RECOVERS! And verse 8-11 Hezekiah asks for a SIGN (seemed to happen a lot in the Old Testament). Isaiah says the sundial will go back 10 steps (which was kind of like when the sun stood still for Joshua to finish battle that one time in the Book of Judges). Now there was more judgment to come, but God GRACIOUSLY spared Hezekiah of that during his lifetime. Can you imagine if God told us our “expiration date”? I mean apart from a prediction or expectation the medical community might give us with cancer or another condition, what if we KNEW how much time we had? How would we live? Who would we seek out? Who would we avoid? Would we just PASSIVELY WAIT or would we ACTIVELY ANTICIPATE what was next? What SCRIPTURAL TATTOO would we go out and get? Would it be 1 Corinthians 15:32b “…Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (which was a quote of non-believers who didn’t acknowledge the resurrection) Or perhaps the tattoo would be from Ephesians 5:16 “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” Would we make the most of it. Not just be content and move along, but really make a difference with the time we had left “this side of heaven”? I’ve always wanted to do a sermon series with that title…. “This Side of Heaven”. Maybe a devotional series in the future…. Much wisdom from the ACCOUNT of Hezekiah’s life. The takeaway? 1--God hears our PRAYERS. 2—God sees our TEARS. 3—God responds with GRACE & MERCY according to His Sovereign will. And when He does….we need to go to the TEMPLE and be with the people of God! Praying it’s a great weekend for you. Hope to see you Sunday night, but if not, we hope to at our next event, which will be…… Well, it will be when God allows it to come about! And you’ll be the first to know! Looking forward to SINGING our PRAYERS together Sunday night! Much love & blessing, gr
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