FRIDAY January 20, 2017
For King and Country
I have found Davidthe son of Jesse, a man after Myown heart, who will do all My will. - Acts 13:22
God has a plan for Israel and it continues despite man’s failure. Notice throughout all the books of the Bible, when man failed the Lord looked for someone else. He raised a man or woman to accomplish His work. In
1 Samuel, God established the work of His kingship. A reign of kings began with King Saul, it continued with David and his son Solomon.
After Solomon’s reign, the kingdom split. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the Southern Kingdom, were ruled by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The Northern Kingdom of Israel now consisted of ten tribes and was ruled by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12). Throughout Israel’s history, different kings governed these kingdoms. Most kings in the Northern Kingdom were evil in the sight of the Lord. But some good kings in the Southern Kingdom feared the Lord and some kings partially served God.
Under the reign of King Josiah, who was only eight years old at the time (2 Chronicles 34:1), Israel was spiritually reformed. King Hezekiah ruled well but then asked the Lord to extend his life. God granted his request and gave King Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. However, I believe the king should have gone home to be with the Lord. Why? During his extended lifetime, he had a son––Manasseh. He was one of the wicked kings in Israel’s history. He even killed his own sons as he worshiped the pagan gods (2 Kings 20:1-6; 21).
As we continue to survey the Old Testament books of the Bible as a historical background to the book of Nehemiah, it is important to see the grace of God extended to Israel and its kings. Even King David and Manasseh repented and God was merciful to them (2 Chronicles 33:12-13; Psalm 51). If you need grace and mercy from the King of kings you only need to repent and ask.
Grace is omnipotence acting redemptively.
~Geoff Thomas~
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