Category: Bible Trekking

King Jehoshaphat of Judah

June 28, 2020

Jehoshaphat returns home safe to Judah in 2 Chronicles 19. He is trying to follow Yahweh but makes errors like joining in battle with Ahab. Judges were appointed to make decisions for the people. The chief priest is their boss.

Jehoshaphat has the Ammonites, Moabites, and some of the Meunits come after Judah in 2 Chronicles 20. The King prays that Jehovah will defeat the enemies. He admits his own weakness and the Lord’s power. God will fight for them when they go out to battle.

Singers and priests praise the Lord for the success He will give them. Yahweh follows through with what Jehoshaphat was promised. Does it ever make you wonder why anyone would not follow God? Even the surrounding nations are afraid of Jehovah.

Shortly before the King died, he formed an alliance for marine commerce with the new King of Israel, Ahaziah. Eliezer, the prophet, proclaimed the destruction of these ships. The prophecy was fulfilled.

Jehoram was the firstborn son of Jehoshaphat and became King of Judah in 2 Chronicles chapter 21. Even his six brothers are mentioned. Keep in mind he is ruling in Judah and he follows the Kings of Israel by having his brothers murdered. We could also blame it on his wife.

Under his father, other nations had been subdued. Edom and Libnah revolted and separated themselves from Judah. Elijah wrote a letter that accused the King of not following Jehovah, murdering his brothers, and leading the people to follow idols. He even predicted the fall of his kingdom and his death.

All of this came about, and he was not honored as other Judean Kings had been. He died and was buried in disgrace.

The story of Ahaziah being crowned King of Judah is repeated in 2 Chronicles 22. He was no better than his father. He only lived and ruled for one year or less. He was killed along with his officials and those of Joram, the King of Israel. As we read yesterday, Athaliah, his mother tries to take over the kingdom of Judah, but Joash is saved and becomes the monarch.

Jehoiada the priest begins preparation to crown Joash in 2 Chronicles 23. He proceeds around Judah to recruit the Levites to protect the young King. Athaliah had attempted to annihilate all the Davidic lines. Jehovah did not allow this to happen. She hides in the Temple and they remove her and execute her and all her followers. This priest begins the return of Yahweh worship.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Ahab’s death

June 27, 2020

We have another rerun in 1 Kings 22. Micaiah prophecies against Ahab and he is killed just as in 2 Chronicles 18. Ahaziah succeeds his father as King of Israel. Jehoshaphat dies as well.

Jehoshaphat from Judah and Ahab Israel form an alliance through marriage in 2 Chronicles 18. The prophet Micaiah is called for, even though Ahab said he never said anything good about him. They are planning an attack on Aram. Originally Micaiah told them to go.

His actual prophecy tells Ahab that he is being lied to by the other prophets. As was common, this prophet is imprisoned until they return from battle. Ahab goes into battle in disguise, but he is killed by an accidental shot.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Elijah and Ahab and Jezebel

June 26, 2020

Most of us have heard the story of Elijah at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. Ahab’s palace administrator, Obadiah, had saved a hundred prophets of Jehovah in two caves. Obadiah meets Elijah and tells him he will meet with King Ahab. It has been over three years into the drought. Obadiah hesitates, and the prophet assures him today is the day for the meeting.

The confrontation between Baal and Yahweh is ended the way the child of God would expect it to. God won. Not in a close race, the victory was a blow out. The prophets of the false god were destroyed. God brought the needed rain through Elijah as well. One more confrontation was needed.

One of the scriptures in the Bible that has been most helpful to me is 1 Kings 19. Elijah is informed that the King’s wife has threatened his life. He flees from Jezebel and tells Jehovah he wants to do. He can run and wallow in self-pity. Then he is prepared for his next task.

Elijah watches a series of natural events that end in a still small voice according to the King James Version. Yahweh only occupies that voice. How often do we misjudge the presence of the Lord in our circumstances? We are told something by our parents or friends and believe they are speaking for God. Their advice is based on what they believe. Like the prophets of Israel, they do not speak for anyone else.

The instructions are to anoint two Kings and a prophet. Hazael as King of Aram, Jehu for Israel to replace Ahab and Elisha to replace him. He is also informed that there are seven thousand in Israel that have not worshipped the false gods. 

Ben-Hadad, the King of Aram, prepares to attack Ahab and Samaria in 1 Kings 20. He sends emissaries to Ahab to present an alternative. All he must do is pay everything that is valuable. Gold, silver and the best of his wives and children are the commodity they trade in. After a while, another offer is made to Ahab. All the wealthy men of Samaria must make the sacrifice that the King did previously. They refuse.

As they await the attack, a prophet from Yahweh visits the King of Israel that this vast army will be defeated by his junior officers, if they start the battle. The Arameans are soundly defeated. The following spring, they return, and the prophet returns to announce that another victory will be had. However, a treaty is made between the nations and a prophet returns to Ahab.

He is disguised as a wounded soldier and tells the King a false story which he believes. When he pronounces a death sentence on the soldier, the disguise is removed, and a prophecy is pronounced against both Ahab and Israel because he made a treaty and did not allow Jehovah to once again give them the victory. He wants our obedience, not our own strategy.

A story given in 1 Kings 21 about a vineyard gives, even more, light upon the relationship and character of Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. By the way, notice that she is still in Samaria even though the King’s best wives were given to the Aramean King, Ben-Hadad.

Naboth had a vineyard close to the palace of Ahab which he wanted to use for a vegetable garden. The King made an offer and was turned down. He became sullen and returned home where his wife got the story from him quite easily. After denigrating him she conspired to have Naboth murdered. Another interesting idea is that Naboth is accused of cursing God and the King. Which god? If it is Jehovah, I don’t think the punishment would have been stoning.

Ahab did not hesitate to take possession of the vineyard. Elijah returns to the King and condemns him for the murder of an innocent man. His entire family will be wiped out. Once again Ahab acts like he is repentant, and Jehovah decides to delay the devastation until after the King’s death.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Baasha, Elah, and Asa

June 26, 2020

Baasha, King of Israel begins 1 Kings 16. Jehu, the prophet, brings the condemnation of the Lord on his entire house. This was the same as he had done to Jeroboam’s family. Remember how David refused to harm Saul and his family even after Saul’s death?

Elah takes over for his father. His rule ends in less than two years when Zimri, a chariot commander murders him while he is drunk. He does as Baasha did and murders all the males in his predecessor’s family. How do you suppose that will affect his lineage?

Asa is still King of Judah as Zimri begins his reign. This reign did not even last a year because the Israelite troops chose Omri king and crowned him the day they heard, they attacked the city where Zimri was and he hid and burned himself to death.

Omri has another opponent in Tibni. He was defeated and Omri later moved the Capital from Tirzah to Samaria that he built for that purpose. Remember the Samaritan’s that Jesus dealt with? Omri does not follow Jehovah any better than any other King of Israel.

Ahab, his son succeeds him. He and his Sidonian wife, Jezebel moved even farther away from Yahweh. A side note is the rebuilding of Jericho and the fulfillment of Joshua’s prophecy.

In 2 Chronicles 17 Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son becomes King of Judah. He continues to strengthen Judah. He follows Yahweh as David had. He stops the worship of the Baals and removes the altars and the Asherah poles. Prophets were sent throughout Judah to teach the Law and to demonstrate proper worship.

Do you want proof that Jehoshaphat was truly following Jehovah? The other nations around it, feared Judah enough that Philistine and Arab leaders sent gifts of tribute to the King. He used this wealth to improve the infrastructure.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Baasha succeeds Nadab in Israel

June 26, 2020

Abijah’s story is told slightly different in 1 Kings 15. David’s faithfulness is given as the reason for Jehovah’s deliverance of Judah from Israel. The struggle between the two Kingdoms of Israel continues through the life of Abijah. When he dies, his son Asa takes the reigns.

We begin the cycle that will continue until Judah is taken into captivity in Babylon. Asa is described as doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. His grandmother is even removed as queen mother because of her idolatry. Another Israelite King, Baasha, is his enemy. Asa forms an alliance between Judah and Damascus to be able to stand against the Northern Kingdom.

Baasha became the Israelite King by killing Nadab who reigned only two years. As was prophesied, he executes all of Jeroboams descendants. He follows the other Israeli leaders in worshiping other gods and rebelling against Yahweh.

The stories of Abijah in Judah are given in 2 Chronicles chapter 13. He took over in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam in the north. In their first battle, Judah is outnumbered two to one. Because of the humility of David’s great grandson, they are victorious. The winner was Jehovah. He fought for His people as He had done for David.

Abijah is succeeded by his son Asa in 2 Chronicles fourteen. He follows his father and David as a worshiper of Yahweh. He had peace for ten years and was able to clean up the country. The land of Cush attacks them, but they are delivered by Jehovah. Plunder was theirs from their enemies.

Azariah is introduced in 2 Chronicles fifteen when he meets King Asa in Judah and prophesied that Jehovah would be with them if they followed His laws. This prophecy is the impetuous that causes his process of destroying idols and restricting the worship of other gods. A new covenant is entered by the entire country.

Baasha of Israel and Asa of Judah are again in 2 Chronicles 16. Baasha fortified Israel to prevent communication between the two Kingdoms. Due to this, Asa joined with Ben-Hadad of Aram to attack Israelite communities.

Hanani, the Seer, proclaims a curse on Asa and Judah. Battle will continue due to his disobedience. As many of us do, when his sin was pointed out, he rebelled even more and never returned to Jehovah. After forty-one years he died.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Rehoboam and Jeroboam

June 25, 2020

Rehoboam & Jeroboam are also the focus of 2 Chronicles 10. The story is the same, but we do not get the story of Jeroboam in this chapter. His story will come in chapter thirteen.

Rehoboam returns to Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles 11 to muster his troops to attack the other nine clans of Israel. The prophet Shemaiah tells the Judeans and the Benjamites not to attack the other Israelites and they returned to their cities. Because Yahweh would not allow an offense, Rehoboam fortified Jerusalem as a defensive strategy.

Jeroboam and the Northern tribes rejected Jehovah and the Levitical priests. They all moved from the Israelite cities to communities in Judah and Benjamin.

Rehoboam chose his son Abijah to succeed him because the young man’s mother was his favorite of the eighteen wives and sixty concubines he had.

The siege of Judah by Egypt is told again in 2 Chronicles 12. Rehoboam and his officials are warned by Shemaiah that Yahweh has abandoned them. Their repentance brings forgiveness, but not complete deliverance. As we read in I Kings, the gold is taken from the Temple. We are reminded of the constant struggle between the Southern and Northern Kingdoms of Israel.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Rehoboam and the split of Israel

June 25, 2020

Jeroboam had been a thorn in the side of Solomon and returns in 1 Kings chapter twelve. Rehoboam goes to Shechem to become his father’s successor. Jeroboam returns from Egypt and is asked to join them at Shechem. Israel asks to have the tax and labor burden reduced. Remember the King’s comments in Ecclesiastes about everything he had built and accomplished. The people think they have completed these projects.

After three days, Rehoboam answers Jeroboam and his supporters. The younger advisers disagreed with Solomon’s men. The new King follows the youthful answer. Often older heads are more conservative. In this situation that could have prevented a split between Israel and Judah.

Shechem is the seat of Jeroboam’s new government. To prevent the people from returning to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah, he had two golden calves made and established worship of idols. Nothing he did was to worship the one true Creator God.

1 Kings 13 tells of Jeroboam and a man of God who came from Judah and announced Jehovah’s displeasure with the new altar that has been built to worship the golden calves. When the Israelite King tries to take him, the altar is split in two and the hand of Jeroboam shrivels. The King repents, and his hand is restored.

Yahweh has instructed His man not to accept anything from the Israelites and to return to Judah by a different route. An older prophet intercepts him and lies to him. We all need to listen to God and sometimes ignore others if they try to contradict what God has told us. This man of God’s disobedience is punished by death. The old prophet has no remorse but does bury him.

Jeroboam does not correct his mistake, and this is the reason his line is removed from the rule in Israel. His sin is followed by all the other Kings of the Northern Kingdom. It will ultimately result in the fall of the country.

Has God ever told you something that was going to happen? In 1 Kings 14 Jeroboam sends his wife to the prophet Abijah to ask for his son’s healing. The Prophet knows that she is coming because Jehovah told him. He also has a message for the King of Israel. He is the last of his line. Israel itself will fall because of the idolatry the Kings allow. Jeroboam is the first of many evil rulers. The next monarch is Nadab, the son of Jeroboam.

Rehoboam was not much better in Judah. Shishak, who was the Egyptian Pharaoh attacked them. He took the gold items from the Temple that Solomon had dedicated. Abijah took over for his father when Rehoboam died.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Who is Agur the psalmist?

June 25, 2020

Who is Agur in Proverbs 30? I don’t know. If you do, comment below. Despite being down on himself, as many of us are from time to time, he knows the Lord is in control. He asks for only his daily bread. That is what we should desire as well. He gives us the reasons.

Those who are pure in their own eyes, see no reason to improve. This reminds me of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. We misunderstand the same things he does. Especially a man with a woman. No matter how many years we have been married, we still don’t fully understand them.

In Proverbs 31 we have another writer that we know little about. There are no Israelite kings named Lemuel. These are instructions from his mother. She warns him against women, alcohol, and encouraging him to speak up for the poor and needy.

These last twenty-two verses are some of the most often read in Proverbs. They are especially used on Mother’s Day. Women are encouraged to follow this lady. Her husband is confident in her because she is good, wise in business, hard-working, and respected in the community. Even though nothing is said about her looks, she is beautiful on the inside.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

Solomon’s reign ends

June 24, 2020

    

The relationship between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is told in 1 Kings 10. She comes all the way from her country, which is now known as Ethiopia. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large convoy and much to trade. Solomon gave her a personal interview and answered all her questions. She concluded that what she had heard in her own country was only half of what was told about the Israeli King’s true wisdom.

The wealth and magnificence of Jerusalem and Israel during this time was not to be compared with any other nation at that time. This was in response to what Jehovah had promised Solomon when he had requested wisdom instead of wealth or fame.

We also have the story of the Queen and Solomon in 2 Chronicles 9. The stories are mostly the same. The difference from First Kings and Second Chronicles is that Chronicles story ends with the death of Solomon. The books listed that tell of the other exploits of the third King of Israel are probably combined in all or part for the material in First Kings.

Remember when I said we would read about the reason why Solomon did not receive the same promise that his father, David, did? 1 Kings 11 tells us why Israel splits from Judah. We begin with all the women that became wives of the King. Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Imagine having sex with one thousand women.

This alone is a violation of the law of Jehovah. Most Hebrew men of that day would marry as many women as they could afford. The usual excuse is to have children to keep their flocks and maintain their property. Trading daughters to be wives of other rulers is to prevent wars.

The main sin listed here is the accommodation of the religions and gods of all these women. A place to worship Egypt’s deities and all the gods of the nations around them are also created by Israel’s King.

Before the death of Solomon is told, we read about the enemies of Israel including Jeroboam who will lead the ten northern tribes away from Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. This split is the end of the dynasty of King Solomon.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

No one does not sin

June 24, 2020

Wisdom is the focus in Ecclesiastes 7. Many of the verses are repetitions from Proverbs. Not all of them are. “Death is better than your day of birth.” It is better to mourn than to feast. He advocates frustration over laughter.

Jehovah is the main thought after verse thirteen. Good and bad happens to everyone. An error is made by attributing evil to God. He may allow events that we view as less than ideal, however the sin in our world is responsible for the evil actions of others. Satan is also working freely on people.
If you respect Yahweh, you will avoid the extremes. Verse twenty has a New Testament concept. No one on Earth never sins. Solomon’s chauvinism is seen when he says that there is one righteous man among a thousand, but he has not known one good woman. If I had to please a thousand women, I would feel that same way.

Does it surprise you that in Ecclesiastes 8 the King says we should obey the King? One thing he says is that the sentence for a crime should be carried out quickly. He has seen one thing that perplexes him. The righteous being treated like the wicked should be. This makes him not understand what happens.

We must agree. Whose fault is it? Ours. If humans do not obey the Lord and treat others with love, how can we expect things to get better. Isn’t it hypocritical of the King to brag about everything he did? If he had not been so tied up in his own goals, he could have helped others’ lives not be so meaningless.

Everyone has the same future according to Ecclesiastes 9. We will all die and after that there is nothing else. Solomon has forgotten that Jehovah promised His people life with Him forever. He also warns us that we never know when our end will come. Solomon tells us to enjoy life with the wife that we love. With all the wives that he had, I wonder how many he loved.

Have you wondered why politicians are referred to as right and left? Ecclesiastes 10 may have the answer in verse two. Calmness is also praised. Pits, walls, stones, logs, and axes are also discussed. When he says, “fools multiply words” we need to make note and watch our speech.

Prejudice rears its ugly head when Solomon once again criticizes Kings that are not of royal lineage. Has be forgotten his own father had been a Shepard? “Money is the answer for everything” seems also to be an error on the part of the King.

Diversifying investments is encouraged in Ecclesiastes 11. Some of these wise sayings seem to be common sense. One of these is understanding what Jehovah does. Enjoy all your days, but don’t forget the bad ones, also seems to be common sense. God’s judgment will come.

Remembering Yahweh in our early years is a way to prevent a bad attitude in later years is in Ecclesiastes 12. Solomon has apparently reached this point because he declares everything as meaningless. The editor has added praise for the King’s wisdom. He and I have differing opinions.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger