Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

 

2 Chronicles 18:12-27

 

July 15, 2023

 

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”  But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”  And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.”  But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”  And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”  And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.  And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.  Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’  And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’  Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?”  And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.”  And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’”  And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

Let me be very clear it is a very dangerous thing to take light the counsel of God’s spokesman.   We have this instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, ^“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”   And Romans 16:17,” I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

When your pastor teaches and instructs you from the Scriptures, and rightly handles the word of God, it is a sign of wisdom to do as instructed.  Now Ahab the King of Israel did evil in the eyes of God and was not a person Jehoshaphat should have been in alliance with.  Proverbs 12:26, “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”  Tomorrow, we will discover how Proverbs 13;20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

 

2 Chronicles 18:1-11

 

July 14, 2023

 

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab.  After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.  Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.”  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.”  But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?”  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”  Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.”  Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these, you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’”  And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

 

Have you ever wondered how the agents who look for counterfeit currency can spot it so easily?  They study the real thing, and so should you and I, and the only way to do so is to study to show yourself a workman who need not be ashamed.  I took the following from “Got Question” The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. Any believer who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in (Matthew 3:16-17) will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teachings by what the Scripture says.

 

Jesus told us that in the last days to be on our guard for false teachers; Matthew 7:15-16, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 

 

Jehoshaphat was wise in asking for a prophet of God, and Ahab was a king who wanted to have yes men who told him what he wanted to hear.  Seek truth and in Jesus is Truth.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

2 Chronicles 17:1-19

 

 

2 Chronicles 17:1-19

 

July 13, 2023

 

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel.  He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.  The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.  Therefore, the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.  His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

In the third year of his reign, he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram.  And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.  Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.  And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.  This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor.  Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men armed with bow and shield; and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war.  These were in the service of the king, besides those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

 

Words like make, “America great again”, will not bring about the peace we long for, the senseless killing in our schools and cities, the businesses using fear to sell a product, the lies a hate speech coming from so many sources, and the lack of honesty in all aspect of life; in business, government at all levels, people, and even in many places the world calls the church. 

 

Where the Word of God is not correctly taught, but a spin (the world's word for lies and liars) to make it sound like God approves of evil, is not a Church of the Living God but a den of Satan Worship.

 

I believe the answer to making America Great Again, is found in the model that Jehoshaphat put forth in Chapter 17.

 

The answer for any nation to be Great is found in Proverbs 10:9, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

 

People of the United States of America, open your eyes, the problem did not begin with the Biden presidency, it began with your grandparents, yes, for years we as a people have allowed lies and liars to tell us that we need to remove God from our government, then our schools, and then except the customs of evil that God’s word teaches you and me to not do and to teach our children not to be part of.  Now do not blame Granddad or even his dad, but blame the one who orchestrated it, Satan.

 

Wake up! Return to God He is very near.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Asa's Last Years

 

2 Chronicles 16:1-14

 

July 7, 2023

 

Asa's Last Years

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come into Asa king of Judah.  Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”  And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.  And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease.  Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them, he built Geba and Mizpah.

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.  Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand.  For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”  Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

 

The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.  In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord but sought help from physicians.  And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.  They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.

 

This is an area that all who follow Christ must guard against, it is referred to as getting full of yourself.  It is when you and I forget or do not acknowledge the source of success and blessings.  Asa got his needs met at a great cost, both in wealth and his fellowship with God, and he in some ways broke his trust with his own people.  It did not go well for him in that he began as his great-granddad Solomon and neither finished strong.

If you find yourself on that road that leads you to think all your talents and blessings come from your great skill set, it is time to find a godly man you trust, who will be a Hanani the seer in your life. For I have not met a follower of Christ that did not hope to finish well.  But I know it is easy to get full of self and thank the Lord, he put some very special people to bring about reality, and at 81 years on the planet, I’m learning how to walk with my Lord, and put no faith in Bob.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Asa's Religious Reforms

 

2 Chronicles 15:16-19

 

July 6, 2023

 

Asa's Religious Reforms

Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.  But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.  And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.  And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

 

Long before Jesus said; ^“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  (Matthew 10:37-39) King Asa, had been taught another Scripture, Exodus 20:3-5, “You shall have no other gods before me.  “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,”

I can only imagine the difficulty of such a decision, removing Mom from being queen mother.  By doing so Asa said, Mom, I love you but God is first and you have put an image, a stick, over Him and you do not qualify to have the title of Queen Mother.

Now that was all that Bob was thinking and the Scripture does not go into details, they just tell us the action that he took.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

 

A very Special Day

 

A very Special Day

  

January 3, 2011

 

Yesterday was a very special day in my life, it began like all others, it was Sunday, it was Jan’s birthday, and we had plans for after church.  It was a cold day, 30 degrees when we got up and I put on wool brown dress slacks, a beige shirt, and a sport coat that went very nicely with the two.  As I was getting out of the car at church, I checked to see if I had a pen in my coat pocket and to my surprise found a piece of paper with a lady's picture and her name; Anabel Gillham 1928-2010, I must not have worn that sports jacket since attending her memorial service.

 

Why was the day special, Jan and I have witnessed many a birthday, and each one, hers or mine, reminds us of how blessed we are to have shared so many of these.  It was also special because we had lunch at the Vineyard and Jan enjoyed the sea bass special; then we went to the Mall so she could open her birthday present, and that was whatever she wanted at Macy’s.  Our pastor’s message was also very good; it was a reminder that we can live without regrets.  

 

Before our pastor had begun his message, God had used the back of that paper in my coat pocket to speak to my heart, He had also reminded me that Jan and I met Anabel at a dark time in our marriage and that her life had a profound effect on us living without regrets.  Anabel was a beautiful lady; she was also a very wise and transparent lady, who was a wife of noble character to Bill, and a light to all who were blessed to know her.  This is what was on that piece of paper, but I’m going to change the order of how it was placed on that paper, I believe you will understand.

 

Anabel’s amplified paraphrase of Philippians 4:13; “I have discovered – very painfully – that I am not capable within myself to deal with the world and all that is in it.  When that shocking and humiliating discovery was made, I turned to God and said, “I cannot do this.  Please do it for me.”  I now have great confidence in Him – in all things, and His strength working through me.”  At the bottom of this paraphrase was this note: “Oh, I am a very confident woman.  Thanks to You, Lord Jesus.”

 

If I had not changed the order, this would have been first: 

The Basics in the Life of 

The Confident Woman

 

1.   Essential: To know – unequivocally – that Jesus loves you.

 

2.   Essential: To discover who you are now that you are in Christ Jesus.

 

3.   Essential: To tap into the power of the indwelling Christ.

 

4.   Essential: To have practical applications for appropriating these truths.

 

I began this by stating that yesterday was a very special day and I listed many reasons, one was that God spoke to me from a piece of paper found in my sports coat, just words, but these words if taken into your heart can change you and I from a life of regrets to a life lived in fullness; a life of confidence, and like Anabel, each of us can say “Thanks to You, Lord Jesus.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

What the Book has meant to Me

 

 

In 2009 my friend Rod Cadenhead challenged me to write a blog, and I told him I did not know what a blog was, so he set one up for me.  I write as I talk and that is not good, in that I’m not very well educated, and could not believe God would want me to do so.  But I did begin with a deep desire to let my two grandsons know what I believe about the Book of Beginnings.   Rod, you may recall I had been sending a few people like you that I had had the blessing of knowing a few papers on the Scriptures.  And now after writing since 2007, your challenge has kept me in the Scriptures writing on most of the Bible.  Not as an authority on the Scriptures but on what the Holy Spirit has shown me praise God, I'm learning each time more about Jesus and His desire for my walk in this world of darkness.

 

What the Book has meant to Me

This paper was written in 2009 

 

When I was just a child, Mother and Dad gave it to me, they said son, in this book, is a lot of history. It also will guide your path and bring you victory, but you must not be foolish, read it daily.  And often at my father’s knee, he read the book to me, and when we went to Church they opened it up you see.  The book was read and taught; its many stories astonished me. That book has a special place in my childhood memories.

 

But as a teenager that book was put on the shelf and out of my mind, only to be carried to church and back home.  I still remember its message, how Christ had died for me, but it was not in keeping with what the world had to offer me.

 

For many years the book only served one thing you see, it took space on our table so others, like Mom and Dad, could see.  But then something happened, it changed my life you see, a group of men took an interest in me.  The one who began to cut my hair at the age of thirteen asked me to come to study the book that can set a man free.

 

I had no clue that I was not free and resented it you see, that someone like my barber could say such a thing to me.  He told me that Christ, who I claimed to know, had told the same thing to some other people just like me. That if I knew the truth, the truth would set me free.  I went with my barber to the book study, on setting men free, and those five men were used by God, to help one like me.

 

It took many months before it came to me that life was in Jesus and that was the beginning of my victory.  I found He was life and that He would come and live in me; now that book is so precious, it brings such joy to me, it helps me walk and talk about the life of liberty, and yet, I understand you may not agree with me.

 

So I prayed this prayer; Dear Jesus will you open our eyes to see, the wonder of being in a relationship with You?  The freedom from wants, and the joy of giving to those who are in need, like widows and orphans and others you send to me, and the freedom to let you have your way with me.

 

Now this book is often called the “Word of God” and many call it the “Bible” but in it is all “Truth” and its authors are many, but it is coming from just one source.  Timothy states it best; All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

 

Bob Rice

http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

Asa's Religious Reforms

 

2 Chronicles 15:1-15

 

July 5, 2023

 

Asa's Religious Reforms

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.  For a long time, Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law, but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.  In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.  They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress.  But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.  And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.  They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.  They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep.  And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.  They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns.  And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

I sure hope there is room for more of us to dream as Martin Luther King Jr. did.  But my dream is not to see past skin color, but to see myself and others who go by the name Christian, become followers of Christ.  A good place to begin is where Azariah the son of Oded, who was full of God's Spirit said to Asa, Judah, and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.  

In my dream, I see the Church, all who have by faith put their trust in Christ for now and eternity.  To listen to the words of Azariah, as did Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin.  Our problem is we forgot what I learned in Vacation Bible School as a child.  We often sang this song; it was titled One Door and Only One.

 

One door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, On which side are you?  One Door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, I'm on the inside, On which side are you?  One Lord, and only one And yet the ways are two, Right way and wrong way On which way are you?  One Lord, and only one, And yet its ways are two I'm on the right way, On which way are you?  One Book, and only one Which tells of places two Good place or bad place On which place choose you?  One Book and only one Which tells the place is true I choose the good place, And which place choose you?  I choose the good place, And which place choose you?  I choose the good place, And which place choose you?

 

I sang that song from about four years of age to the age of ten, and yet it was the age of 27 before I came to the reality of my deepest need, I needed to enter by that one door, I needed Jesus, for He only offers Truth, and Love and Peace for my soul in an upside-down world, and I read in Romans 10:9, that all I had to do was confess my belief that He was Lord, and that He had conquered death and sin.  Romans 10:9, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  And I believed I entered into Christ, and He entered into me.

 

Back to my dream, I’m praying that like the people of Judah under Asa, we the Church would be such a light that our upside-down world would be like Israel and seek after God.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

 

Zerah the Ethiopian

 

 

2 Chronicles 14:9-15

 

July 3, 2023

 

Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots and came as far as Mareshah.  And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.  And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”   So, the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.  Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil.  And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.  And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem

 

The second Zerah in the Bible appears in a single verse in 2 Chronicles 14:9: “Zerah the Cushite marched out against [King Asa and the army of Judah] with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.” Historians speculate that this Zerah the Cushite (also called an Ethiopian in some versions) may be Usarken II, the third king of Egypt after Shishak. He may have been born in Ethiopia and married into the royal family of Egypt, thereby inheriting the throne; or he may have invaded Judah after passing through Egypt with the pharaoh’s blessing. Another possibility is that this Ethiopian Zerah was a nomadic leader of Arabians, associated with the Midianites (see Habak).  Taken from (Got Question)

 

Asa may have learned from his great-granddad David that the Lord would fight the battles if one would humble themselves and look to him.  Many people who say they are followers of Jesus, often attack their adversary with the tools this world uses and go down in defeat.  The first question a follower should ask is, is this a battle You want me in, and if so will you fight for me?  

 

The Scripture is clear that in weakness we find our strength; 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 ESV, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Church of the United States of America will say praise the Lord to the words of Paul, but most have not suffered insults, hardships, or persecutions, will that be your tone when they come, I believe they are coming.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Asa Reigns in Judah

 

 

2 Chronicles 14:1-8

 July 2, 2023

 

 Asa Reigns in Judah

Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rested for ten years.  And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.  He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment.  He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.  He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace.  And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So, they built and prospered.  And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows.  All these were mighty men of valor.

 

Dad’s King David was a man of God, O’ yes, he dropped the ball as a dad, but his son Solomon when he was young, was blessed with wisdom and wealth, but the Scripture tells us that he did not honor God’s command to not marry outside his people and his foreign wives turned his heart away from the commandments of God.   He modeled his dad in the time and instruction he gave his sons, and we have this account of Solomon's son in 2 Chronicles 12:1, “When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.”  

 

Dad what kind of man is a dad like Rehoboam going to produce; 1 Kings15:3, gives this insight about his son Abijah, ^“He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.”

 

How did Judah get a king like Asa from such a dad like Abijah?  We find part of the answer in Chapter 15:1,2, “The Spirit of God came^[a] upon Azariah the son of Oded,  and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

 

Dad’s the message Azariah has given to King Asa is the message God is giving to you, and your sons and daughters.  I will speak from experience it’s not easy, it will make you take a stand against the culture we live in, but you have the indwelling of God's Spirit living in you, and if you seek Him, he will be found. 

 

Note: I am assuming that you have given Jesus Christ the authority over your life.  

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Abijah Reigns in Judah

                                                                 2 Chronicles 13:1-12

 

June 28, 2023

 

Abijah Reigns in Judah

In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.  He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.  Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors.  Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel!  Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?  Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

 “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.  Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods.  But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service.  They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him.  Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

How often do you read and have no understanding of who the person is, or what their name stands for?  I’ve learned the need to look up words I have no understanding of what was the meaning of the Hebrew word Abijah; “Abijah, also spelled Abia, Hebrew Abiyyah, or Abiyyahu, (“Yahweh Is My Father”).”

 

Abijah's army was out number two to one, but did you read what he said to Jeroboam and the 800,000 men of war he had with him?  He reminded them and the 400,000 men of war with him that Jeroboam had brought his little gods of images of golden calves back from pagan Egypt for you to worship.  (Note: in many places where Yahweh or God is to be worshiped a lot of Egypt has crept in).  So Abijah reminded them and his 

men, who Israel would be fighting against the God of their fathers.

 

Church and I am not addressing a building or denotation but those who are the Church, the one God calls saints.  Not from the act of your righteousness but because of what Christ did on your behalf.  God the Father of our Lord, see you and me as saints, who are forgiven, we have great value, and yes, we are needed.  In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks this question of his disciplines “But who do you say that I am?”  In verses 16-17, we have Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”  And my dear brother and sister in Christ that holds true today.  In the 18th verse, we get this promise from Jesus; And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  The rock was Peter's confession,

 

We like the outnumbered army of Judah, have God fighting for us, when Jesus said it is finished, death and sin had been defeated, and you and I are the Lord’s, the trophy of grace, yes we are more than Conquerors in Christ, so let your light shine today.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice