Ahaz did evil in the sight of the LORD               verse 1- 4

 

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign

and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem

BUT he did NOT that which was right in the

sight of the LORD like David his father

FOR he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel

and made also molten images of Baalim

Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom

and burnt his children in the fire – after the abomination

of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out

before the children of Israel

He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places

and on the hills – and under every green tree 

Ahaz lost wars to all                                             verse 5- 8 

Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the

hand of the king of Syria

and they smote him

and carried away a great multitude of them captives

and brought them to Damascus

                        and he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel

                                    who smote him with a great slaughter

For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah

an hundred and twenty thousand in one day

which were all valiant men

BECAUSE they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers

and Zichri – a mighty man of Ephraim

slew Maaseiah the king’s son

and Azrikam the governor of the house

and Elkanah that was next to the king

And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren

two hundred thousand – women – sons – daughters

                        and took also away much spoil from them

                                    and brought the spoil to Samaria 

Prophet Oded confronts king of Israel                verse 9- 11 

BUT a prophet of the LORD was there – whose name was Oded

            and he went out before the host that came to Samaria

and said to them

BEHOLD – BECAUSE the LORD God of your fathers was

            wroth with Judah – HE has delivered them into your hand

and you have slain them in a rage that reached

up to heaven

And now you purpose to keep under the children of Judah and

            Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen to you

BUT are there not with you – even with you

            SINS against the LORD your God?

Now hear me therefore – and deliver the captives again

which you have taken captive of your brethren

FOR the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you 

Leaders of Israel confront soldiers                      verse 12- 13 

Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim

            Azariah the son of Johanan – Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth

                        Jehizkiah the son of Shallum – Amasa the son of Hadlai

                                    stood up against them that came from the war

and said to them

                        You shall not bring in the captives hither

                                    FOR whereas we have offended

against the LORD already

                        You intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass

for our trespass is great – and there is fierce

wrath against Israel 

Soldiers release prisoners and spoils                   verse 14- 15 

So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes

and all the congregation

And the men which were expressed by name rose up

and took the captives

and with the spoil clothed all that were

naked among them and arrayed them

and shod them

            and gave them to eat and to drink

and anointed them

            and carried all the feeble of them upon asses

                        and brought them to Jericho the city of palm trees

                                    to their brethren

THEN they returned to Samaria 

Ahaz asks Assyria for help                                   verse 16- 19 

At that time did king Ahaz send to the kings of Assyria

to help him

FOR again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah

and carried away captives

The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country

and of the south of Judah – and had taken Beth-shemesh

Ajalon – Gederoth – Shocho with the villages thereof

                  Timnah with the villages thereof

                              Gimzo also and the villages thereof

                                          and they dwelt there

FOR the LORD brought Judah low BECAUSE of Ahaz king of Judah

FOR HE made Judah naked

and transgressed sore against the LORD 

Assyria attacks Judah                                         verse 20- 21 

And Tilgath-pilneser  – king of Assyria came unto him

and distressed him

                        BUT strengthened him not

FOR Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD

out of the house of the king – and of the princes

and gave it unto the king of Assyria

BUT he helped him NOT

 

Ahaz turns to gods of Damascus                         verse 22- 23 

And in the time of his distress did he trespass YET MORE

against the LORD – this is that king Ahaz

      for he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus

which smote him

and he said

      Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them

                  therefore will I sacrifice to them

                              that they may help me

BUT they were the ruin of him – and of all Israel

 

Ahaz closed the Temple of the LORD                 verse 24- 25 

And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God

and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God

      and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD

                  and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem

And in every several city of Judah he made high places

to burn incense to other gods

and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers

 

Record of Ahaz’s reign in Judah                        verse 26- 27 

Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways – first and last – BEHOLD

they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel

And Ahaz slept with his fathers – and they buried him in the city 

even in Jerusalem – BUT they brought him not into the

sepulchers of the kings of Israel

                  and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead 

COMMENTARY:           

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers 

: 3        Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Himmom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. (8441 “abominations” [tow’ebah] means abhorrence, something that is an abomination which causes horror and disgust in others, detestable, or repulsion)

DEVOTION:  Children are precious in the sight of the LORD. HE gives many instructions to parents on the importance of training children to love HIM. Parents are supposed to be the example that their children can follow. It is a blessing to have children.

Here we have a father who is willing to offer his children to a false god. He would take his children to the altars of this false god and sacrifice them to this false god. He caused the death of his children.

So he was not satisfied to just teach them wrong beliefs but he used them in his false beliefs. He was an evil father. He was a sinful father who didn’t care what his ancestors believed. He didn’t care about the heritage of his nation. He wanted only what he cared about. This caused the LORD to judge the entire nation for following his example.

What is happening today in our nation?  Are fathers sacrificing their children on the altars of false gods? Remember that the false gods of many nations are political correctness rather than Biblical correctness. The Bible as become an outlawed book in many nations that used to worship the LORD. The standards of God are not practiced even by many pastors in our churches. They are giving in to the teachings of society. This causes confusion in the pews and many think that the sins recorded in the Bible are not sins anymore.

Compromise is the name of the game many Christians are playing with the Word of God.

CHALLENGE:  Judgment is coming in the form of our children not knowing what to believe is right and wrong. We will have to answer for this confusion. 

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers 

: 6        For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. (5800 [‘azab] means to leave, to leave behind, let go, give up, abandon, to loosen bands, to desert, or forsake)

DEVOTION:  The Holy Spirit gives the authors of the books of the Bible the reasons for the LORD’S judgment of HIS people. These inspired books help us understand how God worked in the past and how HE will work in the present. HE doesn’t like a nation to more away from HIS standards.

Here we find that God allows foreign nations to come into Judah and kill those who are HIS children because of their disobedience. HE allows this to happen to warn them that HE is a God who chastens the ones HE loves until they return to HIM.

HE gives this warning in the New Testament through the apostle Paul in the book of I Corinthians when the Holy Spirit inspires this book regarding the taking of communion without those involved examining themselves for they don’t confess their sins.

Many are weak and sickly and some even die because they are not willing to confess their sins even today. This warning is not give very often in churches. I once preached in a church were communion was not give more than three times in twenty years.

It seems to be easier not to face the facts that the LORD will judge HIS people for their lack of confession rather than confront them with the need for confession and repentance and a return to faithfully serving the LORD.

We need a revival in our world but even many pastors don’t think this will happen even though some want us to pray for it. Judah needed a revival and one was coming.

Should we pray for revival in our lives? Should we pray for revival in our churches? Or should we just give up and sit in our pews and wait for the LORD to return? HE gave us a command to “Occupy until HE comes.”

CHALLENGE:  Are we obeying HIS command today or are we living as they did in the days of Ahaz?

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: 19      For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel: for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. (6544 “naked” [para’] means to let free, to make someone go out of control, allow to run wild, to cause to show a lack of control in a person’s behavior, or be unrestrained)

DEVOTION:  When the children of Judah who were supposed to be the ones who were closer to the LORD than the children of Israel moved closer to the relationship that Israel had with the LORD HE had to judge them.

Ahaz took advantage of the children of Judah by walking in the ways of Israel. Worshiping false gods. So both nations were moving further away from the LORD. When this happens the LORD has to judge the nation to see if they will return to HIM.

This is true today as well for those nations that used to serve the LORD but now are worshiping false gods or not worshiping at all.

America seems to be turning its back on the LORD. They have continually changed their behavior to please themselves rather than the LORD. It is happening all around us as we see even churches not condemning sin and valuing righteousness.

Many hold worship services that don’t even read the Word of God but are just entertaining those who attend to bring them back each week to singing and messages that don’t challenge a change in behavior.

Some teach there that there are many ways to the LORD and that all religions are OK. This is a lie from the pit of hell but many believe that they can act any way they please and the LORD will accept them.

God is going to have to judge this nation if they do not turn to HIM again in repentance as Judah would have to do if they were going to have the blessings of the LORD.

CHALLENGE: If we want blessings we have to confess our sins and turn back to the LORD for a revival. 

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 22      And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. (6887 “distress” [tsarar] means trouble, perplexity, grieved, hard pressed, hampered, oppressed, afflicted, limited, to bind, be narrow, be bound, besiege, be cramped, or be in straits)

DEVOTION:  Ahaz was a bad or evil king. He didn’t do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He worshiped many false gods. He offered his children to false gods. He closed the doors to the Temple of the LORD. He looked for help from foreign kings instead of the LORD. It is stated that he forsook the LORD.

Because Ahaz forsook the LORD, HE forsook him. HE allowed other nations to come and conquer him. When he asked for help from the Assyria’s they came and took more and helped none. Even the children of Israel came into Judah and took people and spoils.

However, the LORD sent a prophet to Israel and confronted them regarding their treatment of Judah and they repented and sent the people and spoils back to Judah. They didn’t want the wrath of the LORD on them.

How many of us have faced consequences for our sins? What was our reaction? Did we get better or bitter? Here is a king who knows what the LORD wants of him but he goes in the opposite direction. When the hard times came – he turns farther from the LORD. He not only went in the opposite direction, but did “more evil” against the LORD. Did he know the right answer? Did he know that the LORD would forgive him if he repented? YES!!!

We are going to have hard times – some because of consequences and some because of testing – but they are coming. How are we going to react? Do we just give up and sin more or do we repent and ask the LORD to forgive us and give us more grace? Remember some of the hard times are not because of sin in our life but the LORD wants us to be more fruitful in our service to HIM. Trust HIM through all the hard times. Prayerfully, that is the way we will turn.

CHALLENGE: Are we presently going through a time of testing? How are we doing? Are we going to move closer to the LORD or further away? If we are really close to HIM now, move closer!!!

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: 25      And in several cities of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. (3707 “provoked to anger” [kaw-as] means grieved, indignation, vex, to irritate, disturb, or insult.)  

DEVOTION:  Choices we make effect not only our lives but the lives of the people around us. It is hard to see someone make wrong choices. It is hard when we make wrong choices in our life. Consequences are real. The LORD hates sin. HE has to deal with it in the lives of not only HIS own people but with other nations that go too far in their treatment of HIS people.

Here we have a king of Judah that seems to go out of his way to avoid the LORD and serve false gods. He looks to other nations for help instead of the LORD. There is no repentance. He just continued to make places of worship false gods instead of listening to the LORD.

He knew the truth of God but still didn’t care to return and help his nation return to the LORD. He even went into the Temple and took the vessels that were make to worship the LORD and turned time into altars to worship false gods.

There are people today who go out of their way to get people to worship the false gods of our world. They make altars or places where people can go that deny the truth of the Word of God. They want no mention of God in any place in society. Their goal is to declare Christianity a mental illness. They want to take the children of Christians and raise them in foster care, so that, they will not be under the influence of the Bible and the God of the Bible.

We would wonder why the LORD allows it to happen in our time period but most of us know that the present form of Christianity is more religious rather than true worship of the LORD. People today think they have fulfilled their responsibility to the LORD by attending church twice a month.

Most churches have given up on training children in the Word of God. There are no Sunday School time periods in many churches because we have given in to the time period allowed them by parents. Our children are ignorant of the Word of God compared to previous generations who grew up in Sunday School.

We need churches that are educating children to defend the beliefs that the Bible teaches. This can be done for a nation to understand the true teachings of the Word of God.

CHALLENGE: Judah followed their king instead of the teaching of the Word of God. Where were the priests)

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

          House of the LORD                                                  verse 21

            House of God                                                          verse 24 

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible) 

David                                                                          verse 1

Books of the kings of Judah and Israel                   verse 26

 

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

 

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)   verse 1, 3, 5, 6, 9- 11,

                                                                                                13, 19, 21, 22,

                                                                                                24, 25

Sight of the LORD                                                    verse 1

God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)                        verse 5, 6, 9, 24, 25

LORD his God                                                          verse 5

LORD God of his fathers                                         verse 6, 25

LORD God of your fathers                                      verse 9

LORD your God                                                       verse 10

Wrath of the LORD                                                  verse 11, 13

House of the LORD                                                  verse 21, 24

House of God                                                             verse 24

Anger of the LORD God of his fathers                   vefse 25

 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)    

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

Heathen                                                                      verse 3

King of Syria                                                             verse 5, 23

Damascus                                                                   verse 5

Pekah – son of Remaliah                                          verse 6

            120,00 killed in Judah in one day

Kings of Assyria                                                        verse 16, 20, 21

            Tilgath-pilneser

Edomites                                                                    verse 17

Philistines                                                                   verse 18

 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Not right in eyes of the LORD                                 verse 1

Walked in the ways of kings of Israel                     verse 2

Worship of molten images of Baal                          verse 2

Burnt incense in valley of Hinnom                          verse 3

Burnt children in fire                                               verse 3

Abomination of the heathen                                    verse 3

Sacrifice to false gods                                               verse 4

Burnt incense in high places                                    verse 4

Forsaken the LORD                                                 verse 6

Angry of Israel at Judah                                          verse 9

Rage                                                                           verse 9

Sins                                                                             verse 10, 13

Offend the LORD                                                     verse 13

Trespass                                                                     verse 13, 22

Transgressed                                                             verse 19

Worshiped gods of Damascus                                  verse 23

Shut doors of Temple                                               verse 24

                        Make altars to false gods with Temple vessels       verse 24

                        Provoked to anger the LORD                                 verse 25

Burnt incense to other gods                                     verse 25 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

Prophet – Oded                                                         verse 9

Confront sin                                                               verse 11 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

Ahaz – king of Judah                                                verse 1-27

            20 years old

            Reigned 16 years

            Did not do right in eyes of the LORD

            Walked in the ways of the kings of Israel

            Made molten images for Baalim

            Burnt incense in the vally of son of Himmom

            Burnt his children in the fire

            Offered sacrifices in high places

            Delivered by God into hands of Syria

            Acts written in the book of the kings

                        of Judah and Israel

David                                                                          verse 1

Children of Israel                                                      verse 3

LORD delivered Ahaz to king of Syria                   verse 5

LORD delivered Ahaz to king of Israel                  verse 5

120,000 killed in one day                                          verse 6

Zichri of Ephraim killed king’s son                        verse 7

            Azrikam slain

            Elkanah slain

Israel carried away 200,000 captured

women, sons and daughters                         verse 8

Spoils taken to Samaria                                            verse 8

Oded – prophet of the LORD                                  verse 9- 11

            Warned Samaria not to make bondmen

                        of Judah

            Warns of wrath of God

Certain of the children of Ephraim stood up         verse 12- 15

            Knew they offended the LORD

            Gave clothes to captive Judah

            Brought them to Jericho

Hezekiah reigns in Judah                                         verse 27

 

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

28:19–27. Tiglath-Pileser proved to be a curse rather than a blessing for despite receiving a generous bribe from Ahaz … from the temple and the palace, the Assyrian king gave no help. The author of Kings wrote that Tiglath-Pileser heeded Ahaz and went on to attack and defeat Damascus, the Aramean capital (2 Kings 16:9). But this does not contradict the chronicler, who was more concerned with spiritual than military repercussions. Ahaz’s entanglements with the Assyrians led eventually to disaster. This may be seen in his adoption of Aramean gods, whom he sought to placate because the Arameans had defeated Judah (2 Chron. 28:5).

This Aramean victory signified to Ahaz that these gods must be superior to Israel’s God (Yahweh). What Ahaz failed to note was that these same Arameans (and their gods) had been vanquished by the Assyrians. Logically, then, should not Ahaz have embraced the Assyrian gods? In any case, Ahaz abandoned the Lord and robbed and barred the temple. In their place he established pagan worship centers throughout Jerusalem and the entire land (cf. vv. 2–4). As a final indictment of this evil king the author remarked that on his death, he was buried in … Jerusalem but … not … in the tombs of the kings (cf. 21:20; 24:25; 26:23). Repeatedly the chronicler noted that Judah’s troubles were God’s judgment (in anger) on Ahaz’s and Judah’s sins (28:9, 19, 25b). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 641). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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28:16–27 Ahaz’s appeal to Assyria. There is hope then for the north. But meanwhile Ahaz’s Judah has yet to sink to its lowest depth. Philistine onslaughts (18) recall the days of Saul, and a situation from which only God’s true king (then David, now Hezekiah) can rescue his people. But people and king together have rebelled (19), and since they refuse to seek help from the only one who can give it, they can hardly be surprised when Assyria gives Ahaz trouble instead of help (16, 20, 21). His final appeal to the foreign gods, even closing down the temple altogether (22–25), brings the southern kingdom where the northern was (13:8–9). One gleam of hope is left, in that when he dies someone at any rate has the discernment to deny him a burying-place among the kings (27). (Wilcock, M. J. (1994). 1 and 2 Chronicles. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 414). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.) 

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Ver. 25. And in every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto the gods, &c.] The gods of Damascus, and other idols; this he did to prevent their coming to Jerusalem to worship. Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 83–84). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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28:24–25 Rejection of the true God leads not to “secular” thinking so much as to pagan thinking. The Chronicler interpreted the plundering of the temple to raise tribute for Assyria (2 Kgs 16:17–18) as religious desecration. His shutting the temple doors, however, may not have meant the cessation of sacrifices at the temple (cf. 2 Kgs 16:14–16) but that the people could no longer bring sacrifices there (contrast Uzziah in 26:21), and the priests ceased their ministry in the holy place (29:3–7, 18–19). Under Ahaz, Judah had sunk to the depths, in much the same way as Israel had under Jeroboam at the time of the division (1 Kgs 12:25–33).  (Thompson, J. A. (1994). 1, 2 Chronicles (Vol. 9, p. 340). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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28:24 The account in 2 Kin. 16:10–18 relates how Ahaz, having seen an altar in Damascus, ordered one like it to be built in Jerusalem. On this altar he offered regular burnt offerings. He used the great bronze altar of Solomon as a means of divination. He dismantled the carts supporting the lavers (4:14) and took the great bronze Sea from its pedestals (4:2, 3). These must have been among the articles that he destroyed. Shut up the doors signifies the absolute repudiation of Yahweh worship and the wholesale adoption of heathen religion.

28:25 If destroying high places is a sign of a godly reign (14:3, 5; 15:16; 16:6), then constructing them is a clear sign of the opposite. The phrase God of his fathers calls attention to God’s covenant relationship with both Israel and Judah.

28:26, 27 The term kings of Israel refers not just to the northern kingdom, but to the entire nation under God.

29:1, 2 Hezekiah was the only king of Judah who was as faithful to the Lord as David had been. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 557). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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(kaʿas). Vexation, provocation, anger, wrath, spite, grief, sorrow (ASV and RSV have “provocation” in place of “wrath”). This noun is not used of God in quite the same way the verb is. Rather it speaks of what man does in relation to God. Man vexes and provokes God to anger. This act of man is referred to a number of times: Jeroboam provoked God by his sinful provocations, i.e. calf worship (I Kgs 15:30) as Israel did later with her idolatries, which are called “pro-vocations” (Ezk 20:28). This emphasizes the fact that man vexes God; man, created and called to please and glorify God, when he falls into sin, gives him a deep agitation of heart. Man also is a source of vexation to his fellow-men. Peninnah provoked Hannah to vexation and caused her much grief (I Sam 1:7, 16). A foolish son produces vexation or grief for his father (Prov 17:25). Adversaries, physical and spiritual, are a source of vexation and tears for the righteous (Ps 6:7 [H 8]). Thus sinful man, by nature, tragically fails to live in peace and happiness with his fellow men as God commands him to do. ((1999). 1016 כָעַס. (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke, Eds.)Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.)

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Esther 1
Because Vashti refuses to dance for King Ahasuerus, she is removed as queen.
INSIGHT

In Ezra and Nehemiah, we learn how God watches over the Jews who return from captivity. Esther tells us how those who remain in exile–scattered through the East–are marvelously preserved. Though the name of God does not appear in the book, His hand is clearly manifest throughout. The significance of the “narrow escapes” cannot be dismissed as coincidental. Ahasuerus demands that his queen appear before the party. She refuses. The stage is now set for God’s miraculous plan of deliverance for His people.

                    (Quiet Walk)

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A FALSE VIEW OF THE KINGDOM

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Luke 18:11
Let me touch on an aspect of a false view of the kingdom of God. I refer to those who confuse Christianity with a kind of morality only. There are so many people who think of Christianity as if it were but a collection of vetoes and prohibitions and restraints. That was the trouble there in Rome. You should not eat this, you should not eat that, and all those other observances. And there they were, experts about these particular things. “No,” says the apostle, “Christ did not come from heaven to earth for that reason; that’s not Christianity!”
And we can interpret that at the present time in this way: It is to think that you make yourself a Christian by the way in which you live; that if you do not do certain things you are a Christian, but that if you do them, then you are not. So you do not do these things, and then, of course, you can criticize others; you can feel that you are better than they are, and so you look down upon them.
That was the trouble with the Pharisee we read about in Luke 18: “I thank God I am not like other men. I fast twice in the week; I give a tenth of my goods to the poor. How good I am! Not like this miserable publican, this sinner fellow!” But that is not the kingdom of God; that is the precise opposite. But how common this idea is! How many people think of Christianity today as something that is purely negative, something that always makes demands of you, that tells you that if you are going to be a Christian you have got to stop this, that, and the other. And it goes no further and never tells you what Christianity gives you. So Christianity is confused with morality.
A Thought to Ponder: Christianity is confused with morality.
            (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 72-73, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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His Doom Is Sure
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
The third verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” focuses on Satan’s end. God has willed triumph through His truth.
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And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear; for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim—We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

When Satan was cast from heaven, fully a third of the angels fell with him (Revelation 12:4), such that a “legion” of them could inhabit one individual (Mark 5:9). But God has other plans for His children. He desires “to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:18). He desires us to “resist the devil” (James 4:7) and not “give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27).
He also has plans for Satan, including “everlasting chains under darkness” (Jude 1:6), and “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Just one word and Satan will be “cast into the lake of fire and…tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). Jesus, anticipating His execution, spoke of it triumphantly. This had been His Father’s will all along. “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:31-32), and now the battle is His. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Longing for God

Even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen. Nehemiah 1:9

When Conner and Sarah Smith moved five miles up the road, their cat S’mores expressed his displeasure by running away. One day Sarah saw a current photo of their old farmhouse on social media. There was S’mores in the picture!

Happily, the Smiths went to retrieve him. S’mores ran away again. Guess where he went? This time, the family that had purchased their house agreed to keep S’mores too. The Smiths couldn’t stop the inevitable; S’mores would always return “home.”

Nehemiah served in a prestigious position in the king’s court in Susa, but his heart was elsewhere. He had just heard news of the sad condition of “the city where my ancestors are buried” (Nehemiah 2:3). And so he prayed, “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, . . . ‘if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name’ ” (1:8–9).

Home is where the heart is, they say. In Nehemiah’s case, longing for home was more than being tied to the land. It was communion with God that he most desired. Jerusalem was “the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”

The dissatisfaction we sense deep down is actually a longing for God. We’re yearning to be home with Him. (By Tim Gustafson, Our Daily Bread)

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