As King Cyrus commented, “…Whosoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him… (2 Chronicles 36:23) God is still with us today if we will follow Him. “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6)
Today’s reading: 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36
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Chapter 53 of Isaiah gives a prophecy of the sufferings of our Savior. The purpose of these sufferings are credited to us. “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isa 53:5) In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter let the Jews know what they had done by fulfilling this prophecy. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Act 2:36-37) If we truly consider the magnitude of the sacrifice and the pain that He went thru for each one of us, we should also be cut to the heart and ask the same question, “what shall we do” to serve Him.
Today’s reading: Isaiah 49-53
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King Hezekiah worked to bring the people of Israel and Judah back to serving the Lord. “Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 30:1) “So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed.” (2 Chronicles 30:5) Hezekiah sent word out thru couriers to encourage the people and remind them of God’s grace if they would serve Him. “For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” (2 Chronicles 30:9) The couriers were not always met with kindness. “So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.” (2 Chronicles 30:10) There were some positive results from their work. “However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 30:11) As Paul said, there is work we can do and then the rest we have to leave in the hands of God. “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Today’s reading: 2 Chronicles 28; 2 Kings 16-17
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