Saturday, October 17, 2009

Day 126 Saturday - 2 Chronicles 4:11-7:22


God has accepted the Temple that Solomon built. After all the fanfare, God agreed to make this the place of worship and to make sacrifices. This ends the ministry of Moses’ Tabernacle. God’s presence fills the Temple but God tells Solomon a couple of things in response to the change of location. Occasionally God will cause drought, infestation of grasshoppers or plagues. Strange. He also says that if the people reject him again, he will reject this Temple. So the good news is that God was willing to make the switch but Solomon and the people will have to hold up their end of the deal. Think they will?

Friday, October 16, 2009

Day 125 Friday - 1 Chronicles 29:20-30; 2 Chronicles 1:1-4:10


The Ark of the Covenant was the seat of judgment. It was the place where God dwelled for his people. In Moses’ Tabernacle, people would offer sacrifices and consult God there at the place of the Ark. After David took the Ark out of the Tabernacle (no one knows why) he placed it in a temporary tent 10 miles south of Gibeon to Jerusalem. Later, the Ark would be placed in the Temple that Solomon will build. What should Solomon do when he needs to consult God? It’s fascinating that he does not go to the Ark, but to Moses’ Tabernacle to consult God. It is there that the ministry of sacrifice was still taking place. We have no idea what happened to that Tabernacle, but God had not changed his plan even though David moved the Ark. I see a lot of tension in the decision to move the ark and replace Moses’ Tabernacle with the one Solomon will build in Jerusalem. Did the pillar ever move?

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Day 124 (Thursday) - 1 Chronicles 26:20-29:19


I find it interesting that David tells the community that his son, Solomon, is young and inexperienced until you grasp the financial responsibility of building the temple. I’m not sure how to put this in its proper perspective but when you add up the materials it totals over $174 billion! The Sears Tower only cost $174 million which means you could build 1000 sears towers for the cost of the Temple. It’s a lot of money and requires a lot of responsibility.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Day 123 (Wednesday) - 1 Chronicles 23:12-26:19


I realize how tough this reading is. You will complete the lists of names tomorrow. But I want to discuss something of significant value here, if you look at the books of Samuel and Kings with the books of the Chronicles, you will discover significant differences. For example, in 1 Samuel 16, we are told Jesse had eight sons, David being the eighth, but in 1 Chronicles 2:13 we are told he had seven and David was the seventh. There are dozens of differences. Some say it is a copy error, but there are too many discrepancies to draw that conclusion and it is doubtful that the Chronicles would have been added to the canon with all the “errors”. I believe, like many other scholars that the purpose of Chronicles is to correct the historical writings. That is why it reads like a history book and is so interested in the details.

Here is an interesting article if you want to do some more research on this subject.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Day 122 (Tuesday) - 1 Chronicles 19:10-23:11


What punishment would you have selected? The famine, the war or the plague? I might have selected famine in the hopes that I could have lessened the death toll by rationing and getting grain from faraway places that did not have famine (Egypt). What an awesome sight David was allowed to see when the angel of death was standing over Jerusalem with sword in hand ready to strike Jerusalem. I’m not always aware of the supernatural world around me that I can’t see. Just because I can’t see it does not mean it’s not there!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Day 121 (Monday) - 1 Chronicles 16:1-19:9


David starts off so well. When you read the story of David as king you read the story of an underdog that came to great power and prominence and still loved God and did his best to follow him. As we already know, things will change for David and he will not keep to his current convictions. It is a reminder to me that I could take steps backward if I don’t tend to my relationship with God. Just because I’ve grown spiritually does not mean that maturity stays if I quit working on it. My spiritual life will deteriorate just like unused muscles in the body. Let’s keep working out!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Day 120 (Sunday) - 1 Chronicles 11:22-15:29


We have to have a serious discussion here. You have probably noticed that men married many different wives in the Old Testament (polygamy). The proper response to this question is to claim that it was a sin and that God’s desire is for marriage to be one man and one woman (monogamy). God’s example to us in the Garden of Eden was monogamy and I believe it is the best way for men and women to marry and live. But…yes, but…every time men like David marry more than one wife, it does not seem to arouse a response from God. Other sins cause people to die, like Uzzah just touching the Ark to keep it from falling. I don’t exactly understand it but it seems like polygamy has some level of acceptability in those days. What do you see?