S3E280 – 2 Chronicles 16-20: How Does God See You?

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is History Tuesday 2 Chronicles 16-20. After the reading I have some comments for you, I have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “How Does God See You?”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash Comments on 2 Chronicles 17-20 King Jehoshaphat really got off on a good foot when he began his reign as king of Judah. Chapter 17:3-6 tells us, “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him.  (Meaning, David his ancestor).  He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.  (Unlike some of the other kings, and unlike the culture of the time.) The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.” (In removing these things, he demonstrated that he truly wanted to do what was right before the Lord. In taking down these places, he would have made many people angry. But he cared more about pleasing God than in pleasing people.)  In addition, Jehoshaphat sent men throughout the kingdom to teach the people the Law of God (2 Chronicles 17:7–9). (The people had to be taught God’s Law. Many had forgotten it, or never been taught. This is one of the reasons that they had Asherah poles and high places. They didn’t know any better.) Jehoshaphat was serious, and he sent a delegation of at least 16 highly qualified men around the county to do the teaching. And commentator Adam Clarke wrote of this, “Thus the nation became thoroughly instructed in their duty to God, to the king, and to each other. They became, therefore, as one man; and against a people thus united, on such principles, no enemy could be successful.” And according to verse 10 of chapter 17, “The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.” They became as one man. They were united. And they were seen as unbeatable. Of course, as we read, Jehoshaphat was not a perfect king. But God is merciful, and in chapter 20 verse 32, we read, “He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” His father Asa was not perfect either, nor was King David. But all three of these men put their faith in God. And despite their failings, God says of them “They did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Beloved if you’re anything like me, when you fail to do that which you know God wants you to do, you have a tendency to beat yourself up. You get down on yourself. You let the enemy tell you that you’re a hypocrite. A lousy Christian. A failure. That God is mad at you. That He can’t use a person like you.  Don’t misunderstand. When we stumble, when we fail, it is good to face up to it. It’s good to have remorse for our sin. That’s the Holy Spirit bringing you to repentance. If we’re not sorry for our sin, how can we be truly repentant? But as true as that is, it is also true that God *wants* to forgive us. He is not stingy with His grace.  In Matthew 18:21-22 we’re told, 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Do you think Jesus would have told Peter to forgive like that if *He* isn’t willing to do even more? All of us sin, beloved. We are still in these bodies of flesh. We are to strive to be perfect, but we are going to fail. When we do, we must confess it, repent, humbly and joyfully accept His forgiveness, and move on. Don’t look back, look up. Even with failures, we can be a person about who it is said, “They did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 16-17 NIRV; Ch. 18-19 NCV; Ch. 20 ERV Support This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB – 0:00He is not stingy with His grace. INTRO S12E286 – 0:10Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible and podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. It’s History Tuesday, so we’ll read 2 Chronicles 16 through 20. After the reading, I’ve got some comments, I’ve got an On This Date in Church History, and we’ll have a time of prayer. I’m calling today’s episode, “How Does God See You?” The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e286. As always, my email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin. 2 CHRONICLES (NIRV) – 0:492 Chronicles, chapter 16. (1) Baasha was king of Israel. He marched out against Judah. It was in the 36th year of Asa’s rule over Judah. Baasha built up the walls of Ramah. He did it to keep people from entering or leaving the territory of Asa, the king of Judah. (2) Asa took the silver and gold from among the treasures of the Lord’s temple and his own palace. He sent it to Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was king of Aram. He was ruling in Damascus. (3) “Let’s make a peace treaty between us,” Asa said. “My father and your father had made a peace treaty between them. Now I’m sending you silver and gold. So break your treaty with Baasha, the king of Israel. Then he’ll go back home.” (4) Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa. He sent his army commanders against the towns of Israel. His army captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the cities in Naphtali where Baasha stored things. (5) Baasha heard about it. So he stopped building up Ramah and left that place. (6) Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah to Ramah. They carried away the stones and wood Baasha had been using. Asa used them to build up Geba and Mizpah. (7) At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa, the king of Judah. He said to him, “You trusted the king of Aram. You didn’t trust in the Lord your God. So the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you. (8) The people of Cush and Libya had a strong army. They had large numbers of chariots and horsemen. But you trusted in the Lord. So he handed them over to you. (9) The Lord looks out over the whole earth. He gives strength to those who commit their lives completely to him. You have done a foolish thing. From now on you will be at war.” (10) Asa was angry with the prophet because of what he had said. In fact, he was so angry he put him in prison. At the same time, Asa treated some of his own people very badly. (11) The events of Asa’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. (12) In the 39th year of Asa’s rule his feet began to hurt. The pain was terrible. But even though he was suffering, he didn’t look to the Lord for help. All he did was go to the doctors. (13) In the 41st year of Asa’s rule he joined the members of his family who had already died. (14) He was buried in a tomb. He had cut it out for himself in the City of David. His body was laid on a wooden frame. It was covered with spices and different mixtures of perfume. A huge fire was made to honor him. 2 CHRONICLES 17 (NIRV) – 3:252 Chronicles, chapter 17. (1) Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. Jehoshaphat became the next king after him. He made his kingdom strong in case Israel would attack him. (2) He placed troops in all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He stationed some soldiers in Judah. He also put some in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured. (3) The Lord was with Jehoshaphat. That’s because he lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t ask for advice from the gods that were named Baal. (4) Instead, Jehoshaphat obeyed the God of his father. He obeyed the Lord’s commands instead of the practices of Israel. (5) The Lord made the kingdom secure under Jehoshaphat’s control. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat. So he had great wealth and honor. (6) His heart was committed to living the way the Lord wanted him to. He removed the high places from Judah. He also removed the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. (7) In the third year of his rule, he sent his officials to teach in the towns of Judah. The officials were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. (8) Some Levites were with them. Their names were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah. Elishama and Jehoram, the priests, were also with them. (9) They taught people all through Judah. They took the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went around to all the towns of Judah. And they taught the people. (10) All the kingdoms of the lands around Judah became afraid of the Lord. So they didn’t go to war against Jehoshaphat. (11) Some Philistines brought to Jehoshaphat the gifts and silver he required of them. The Arabs brought him their flocks. They brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. (12) Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built forts in Judah. He also built cities in Judah where he could store things. (13) He had large supplies in the towns of Judah. In Jerusalem he kept men who knew how to fight well. (14) Here is a list of them, family by family. From Judah there were commanders of groups of 1,000. One of them was Adnah. He commanded 300,000 fighting men.(15) Another was Jehohanan. He commanded 280,000.(16) Another was Amasiah, the son of Zikri....