TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19
Romans 8:9-25
Psalm 18:16-36
Proverbs 19:26
2 Chronicles 8:11 — Compromise begins with well intentioned ideas. Eventually, we see massive destruction, but it starts with “good” ideas.
In 168 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes went into the Temple, stole the treasures, set up an altar to Zeus, and sacrificed swine. A horrendous act by a foreign invader.
But 500 years before Antiochus, an Israeli-born King of Judah, the very son of Hezekiah built altars in the Temple to Baal and every other idol (2 Kings 21:3-5). Surprisingly, his father, the good king Hezekiah, took treasurers from the Temple and voluntarily gave them to Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:15-16).
Three hundred years before Mannaseh, King Solomon tried to mitigate his compromise that disobeyed the LORD:
In the Old Testament, God regularly warned His people against intermarriage with foreigners: “For they will turn your sons away from following Me” (Deuteronomy 7:4; see also Exodus 34:12–17). And because the kings of Israel would lead by example, the Lord prohibited them from marrying wives who would turn their hearts away from a relationship with God (Deuteronomy 17:17).
Yes, Solomon kept many of the commandments (2 Chronicles 8:13), but God demands complete obedience.
2 Chronicles 9:27 — God blessed Solomon so that silver was as stones. Yet, the following kings were so afraid of losing their kingdoms that they took the treasures of the Temple to bribe their way to continue in power. The northern kings were promised divine protection if they worshipped in Jerusalem, but they were so fearful that they rejected God’s offer (we read about Jeroboam in 2 Chronicles 6:6 and Jehu in 2 Kings 10:29).
2 Chronicles 10:8 — The son of the wisest man who ever lived rejected the counsel of the wise men of his father. How ironic!
Romans 8:10 — How can we have victory over sin?
- The Spirit of God dwells in us (Romans 8:9)
- The Spirit that resurrected Jesus can surely defeat mere sin (Romans 8:11)
- The Spirit can mortify the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13)
- The Spirit is leading us (Romans 8:14)
- The Spirit is the sign we are the sons of God (Romans 8:14)
Romans 8:15 — What benefits do we have?
- The ability to cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15)
- We are heirs of God (Romans 8:17)
- Future glorification with Christ (Romans 8:17)
- Incomparable glory in the future (Romans 8:18)
- Glorious liberty (Romans 8:21)
- Redemption of our body (Romans 8:23)
Psalm 18:20-21 — Who gives us the strength to obey and keep the ways of the LORD? As Paul showed, God gives us the strength to obey, and if we use the power He has given us, we can have deliverance (Psalm 18:17).
Proverbs 19:26 — Many a child believes his parents are keeping him from his potential, yet he is bound for shame and reproach if he rejects their upbringing.
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