Month: July 2021

249. Return to You

2 Chronicles 30:6, 9 Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you….For if ye turn again unto the Lord, you shall find compassion…for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

God promises to return to you if you return to Him. This sounds like a conditional promise (if…then), but it really is not. The Biblical truth is that God does not actually leave us, and so He doesn’t actually “come back.” He never went away. We left God to go after self and other gods. We may have just ignored God or forgot about Him, and did not actually deliberately reject Him. But it is the same thing. However, it feels to us as though God has left us, while the truth is we left Him. If we don’t pay attention to the Lord, then He says, “OK, you won’t let Me pay attention to you. Have it your way.”

It feels like God returns to us when we return to God. The Prodigal Son “returned” to the Father, and it felt to him like his Father returned to him. But we know that the Father never left. He still hung around at the gate looking for the son’s return. What joy overcomes the Lord when one child, one sheep, one coin returns! There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.

Hezekiah (one of the few good kings) is here calling all the people of Judah and Israel to repent. “Turn again” means “repent.” Leave your sin aside and turn again to the Lord. Pay attention to God. Receive His grace, goodness, forgiveness and love. The kindness of God leads us to repent. He is a gracious and merciful God. Repent and return. Hezekiah sent out letters to the people with these words. God promises you will find compassion in the loving arms of God the Father. “He will return” actually means: The Lord will draw you to Himself with cords of love. The Good News: the people did repent in Hezekiah’s day. What about our day?

248. Become Mighty

2 Chronicles 27:6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

This is an example of the kind of conditional promises common in the Bible. Jotham became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord. If you prepare your ways before God then you will become mighty. The promise is that you will become spiritually strong on the inside, able to overcome your spiritual enemies. Sin, Death, and the Devil must flee as they are weakened in front of the Strong Name of Jesus. The Jesus in us is stronger than the Sin in us. Sin will deceive us into believing that we are too weak to overcome its temptations. And we are. But we have a mighty overcomer, who has already overcome Sin. When we are willing we become mighty in spirit, that is, Jesus in us is strong to win the struggles of life for us.

The condition is: “prepare your ways before the Lord your God.” The word “prepare” can also mean order. Order your ways before the Lord. Keep your eyes and your heart on the Lord. Seek Him alone for help in time of need. To prepare or to order means to “set your mind.” We know how to prepare or to order a meal, how to prepare or order the house, and how to prepare or order many things in life. We can do the same thing with the mind, or the emotions, or even the will.

How do we do that? The same old answer is: repent and believe the gospel. When necessary, mentally go through all the things on your mind, repent if it is sinful, thank God if it is good, trust the Lord if it is a worry. Our minds become fragmented, scattered, busy, hectic, stressed, and disordered. “Prepare your ways” = “set your mind.” Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Things above = heaven (Jesus) in your heart. Things on earth = your fleshly soul (corrupted mind, will, and emotions). With your mind on the right place, or person, you become mighty. Col. 3:3 “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

247. Prosper

2 Chronicles 26:5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

Uzziah, king of Judah, enjoyed a long and good reign in the years before Isaiah was called to be a prophet. As long as the prophet Zechariah was around him he sought the Lord, and the Lord blessed him and his long rule. God made him prosper. This chapter goes on to list all the wealth of the kingdom and all the ways in which Uzziah prospered. The list is extensive; the prosperity is widespread.

Uzziah is an example for us of the benefits of seeking the Lord. The rewards are enormous. There is no direct promise in this verse for us, but it exemplifies the many conditional promises about prosperity given to us in the Scriptures. “Seeking the Lord” is a common admonition in the Bible and it is usually attached with blessing and prosperity. The Lord wants us to know that there is reward in seeking Him with all our hearts. The prosperity comes in varied ways: there is always a sure reward and consequence spiritually; there is not always a prosperous outcome in material wealth and physical blessings. Earthly prosperity does come to those who seek the Lord, but it is not guaranteed. Physical prosperity often comes as a result of spiritual prosperity, but not always in the way we think it should. Either way, if we seek the Lord and His Kingdom first and only in all things, then invisible prosperity does flood our soul and we are spiritually healthy and strong.

“Seeking the Lord” means “believing God.” It means, “fearing, loving and trusting in God alone above all things.” It means obeying the First Commandment: “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.” When we do so, then we are more likely to keep the other Commandments and the blessings come into effect. We sinners fail, of course, but that does not diminish the truth. Jesus forgives our failure and lives His life in us. It is not so easy to just glibly say, “I believe God.” But the Spirit helps us. Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, the Gospel. Therein is the power.

Unfortunately, the rest of Uzziah’s story doesn’t turn out so well. Pride crept in and he was lifted up to his destruction: he burnt incense in the temple, usurping the role of the Priest. God struck him with leprosy, and he died a leper. What happened? He sought himself, not the Lord.

246. A Light Forever

2 Chronicles 21:7 Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.

Jehoram was a wicked king of Judah, succeeding his godly father Jehoshaphat. He married the daughter of the evil Ahab and caused Judah to sin against God. He killed six of his brothers after becoming king. Nevertheless, the Lord would not destroy the house of David because He made a covenant of promise. The succeeding generational line of David’s descendants was kept alive until The Son of David, Jesus Christ, was born in Bethlehem. It is in this man that the promise came true and the covenant prophecy was fulfilled. There were no “kings” of David’s line and there was no physical or geographical “kingdom” to rule, but the spiritual and eternal kingdom remains and Jesus will be king forever.

The promise of a king and a kingdom is also for us, and it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is our King in God’s Kingdom. He lives and rules in our hearts and lives as the Light in midst of our dark world. God promised a light; Jesus is the light; He lightens our lives; and He made us to be lights in a world of darkness. We do not see or feel the darkness quite so clearly because we have gotten used to the world’s way of living. But when the light of King Jesus comes and shines into the darkness He pushes back the darkness in our hearts. The darkness of the world keeps creeping back into our hearts and tries to darken the souls of believers. Even one candle pushes back the darkness of sin, but Jesus is like a floodlight lighting up every corner of the soul and bringing us from darkness into His glorious light. Yes, we have the promise of Light, and the promise that we will be the light of the world. By this promise we live in light.

245. Established and Prosper

2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

If you believe you will be established and you will prosper. This sounds like a conditional promise, the condition being faith. But it is not conditional in the sense that faith is not the cause of the effect. Faith is simply the means of receiving for oneself what God has already accomplished. Faith receives the grace. The gospel is fact; the gospel is truth; the gospel is reality; the gospel is done; the gospel is finished. The outcome is already known and assured. Jesus has already died and rose again to earn for you and all people salvation, forgiveness and eternal life. That is past history, present hope, and future certainty. Faith does not make it so. Faith looks at the truth and personally appropriates it.

This is what Jehoshaphat means when he says, “Believe in the Lord and His Word.” It is already done. Now thank Him for it. The army of Judah is going into battle against an overwhelming force. They go singing and praising the Lord, not fighting because the Lord is doing the fighting. They thank God for the victory they do not yet see. The outcome is that they were established and they did prosper. The Bible says the same thing to us in several different ways; “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” “He who believes in me has eternal life.” Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” And so on. Jesus earns and gives life; he who believes it receives the gift. Faith and life go together as one complete thing.

God has established us securely and permanently in the kingdom of God, in eternal life, in the heavenly places. In the midst of uncertainly, unsettledness, fragmentation, disarray, confusion, frustration, and a feeling of unfinished living the Lord establishes us firmly on a solid foundation that cannot be shaken. Even though things do not appear so, all things really are ordered, arranged, straightened out, and established. It is, as Jesus says, all “finished.” In the immediate context it is the kingdom of Judah that is firmly established and secure. For us it means the kingdom of God is firmly established in our hearts, for Christ has done it.

God has promised that we shall prosper when we believe the prophets, that is, when we believe God’s Word spoken by the prophets and recorded forever in the Scriptures. Again, prosperity is a repeated promise for those who read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God. In the immediate context the prosperity comes in the form of a decisive victory over the invading army. In our life context prosperity comes in the form of abundant spiritual and eternal life. We prosper in the riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Physical and material prosperity may come but is not promised; however, spiritual prosperity is guaranteed.

244. See the Salvation of the Lord with you

2 Chronicles 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed, tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

The Lord answered the prayer of Jehoshaphat with these words: 1) You will not need to fight in this battle, for the Lord will fight for you; 2) Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you (using the same words as Moses at the parting of the Red Sea); 3) Do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord will be with you.

God gives three promises: I will fight; see My salvation; I will be with you. The third promise (I will be with you) is repeated dozens of times in the Bible for both individual believers in specific situations and also for all of us believers in Christ. It is of exceeding importance that we take this “with you” promise to heart. The Lord Jesus will always be with us, now and forever, through thick and thin, through good times and bad, for better or for worse. The result will be that we never need to fear, worry, be afraid, be anxious, or even in doubt. 

If the battle is the Lord’s then the result is never in doubt. If salvation is of the Lord then the outcome is never in doubt. If the Lord is truly with us then we have no fear. These three conditions are always true. All our spiritual battles and struggles are the Lord’s; we do not need to fight, and we are too weak anyway. Our salvation is 100% the Lord’s, and we cannot add any little thing to our salvation from sin, death, and the devil. The Lord is with us always, and is with us to help, to bless, to hear our prayers and cries, to protect, to save, and to win. These truths and facts are always true, whether we believe it or not. Our believing does not make it so. Our believing only gladly receives what God has done and what He is still doing today to grant victory and salvation.We are beggars; we are passive recipients; faith receives the promises; we enjoy salvation and victory. We go into battle, like Judah’s army, singing and praising the Lord. We thank God in everything. He is with us.

243. The Battle is God’s

2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you. Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

A great army from Moab and Ammon gathered to fight against Judah. King Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in prayer: he prayed: “We have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are on you.” This is a great example for us of a useful prayer in our time of trouble and distress and anxiety: “our eyes are on you.” The Lord heard his prayer and brought about a mighty, miraculous victory against all odds.

Jahaziel, the prophet, spoke for the Lord, “Fear not, the battle is God’s.” Because of this promise the Lord said that they did not need to be afraid or dismayed because “You are not fighting; God is fighting for you.” Because of this promise we do not need to be afraid or dismayed. God is for us, fighting on our side. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” What have we to fear? We are too weak, but it is not our battle. Jesus is strong, and it’s His battle. He has won the victory in the way (the way of the cross) that we could not have made up. He promises final victory at the End. In between those times, where we live, the battle is still God’s, not ours.

With a promise like this we can face tomorrow, and today, no matter that the Enemy is coming in like a flood. We don’t even have to be afraid of small irritations and minor troubles. It is still God’s fight and God’s salvation. “Be kind, for everyone you know is facing a struggle.” But God’s children are not in this thing alone: “He’s by our side upon the plain, with His good gifts and Spirit.” We have this promise so that we don’t have to face anything alone.

242. The Lord Helps

2 Chronicles 18:31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God moved them to depart from him.

Jehoshaphat and Ahab agreed that Jehoshaphat would wear king’s robes into battle with Syria, while Ahab disguised himself. The enemy saw the king and attempted to kill him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord He helped him. Then inexplicably the enemy army moved away from him. God promises to help us when we cry out to the Lord for help. God may do some mysterious things to move our enemies away from us. This is one of the ways God protects His children, especially those who pray and seek God’s help to defend us from our spiritual enemies.

The Enemy at times seems to surround and overwhelm us, but we have an unseen Helper. We don’t even see the Enemy, much less our Helper. How many times have angels and demons fought each other to attack or defend us? And we didn’t know it. But we do know that the Lord hears our cries for help, and He promises to come to our aid. Sometimes we see the miracles, but more often we don’t even see how we have been protected. So we have this promise so that we may believe God even though we do not see the help that comes. We trust God to move our spiritual enemies out of the way, according to His promise. Who can understand God’s ways? Faith does not explain it; it just trusts.

241. Blessing, Riches, Honor

2 Chronicles 17:3, 4, 5 And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents, and he had riches and honour in abundance.

One would think that it would have been easy to learn the lesson: Love God alone and walk in His ways, and it will be well with you and you will be blessed. This lesson is taught throughout the Scriptures, and many biblical figures show us by example, either negatively or positively. But we are stubborn, prideful sinners who won’t learn the lesson. Out of almost 40 kings of Israel and Judah, only six did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, having a heart for God. Those kings, and their kingdoms, were blessed. Why couldn’t the other 33 learn that? Why can’t we?

Jehoshaphat was one of the few good kings. He walked in the first ways of David. (Note that even David did not walk uprightly in his later years.) He did not worship the Baal demon gods, but he sought the Lord. He obeyed the Law, and did not live like the world lives. The result was a secure kingdom in addition to abundant riches and honor.

We who believe in Jesus Christ do not walk fully in the Commandments of God’s Word, but we do repent and seek the Lord. By faith in Christ we are accounted righteous with a perfect heart. Therefore, we may expect the blessings to follow us all the days of our life and to dwell in God’s house forever. When we fail, we repent quickly; when we are offended or hurt, we forgive instantly; when we fall, we get up again and again. 

Therefore, because of Christ and the Gospel God is with us; He is present to bless, to hear our prayers, and do good things for us; He establishes the kingdom of God in our hearts, granting eternal life daily: and He provides spiritual riches and honor in abundance. We actually have been given so much abundance that we cannot receive or hold it all at one time; we will need eternity to appreciate and keep hold of all the riches of God’s glory in us.

240. God Shows Himself Strong

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

The prophet Hanani had told King Asa that he had relied on the king of Syria instead of relying on the Lord his God. Therefore, the army of Syria escaped. He should have relied on the Lord and he would have been victorious, as previously. In this Asa acted foolishly and so now on he would have wars. Asa ended up being diseased in his feet, and he did not seek the Lord but instead relied on physicians. He died in that state.

The word of the prophet in this case is a conditional promise: if your heart is perfect (or, blameless) toward the Lord, then the Lord will give you strong support. The Lord will show Himself strong toward those whose heart is perfect toward Him. Like David, you should have a heart for God. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength” Then good things happen.

This is an oft-repeated lesson for us, for “these things are written for our learning.” Rely on God 100% for everything, and it will be well with you. God will be strong for you and defeat your spiritual enemies. Of course, we are infested with sin, pride and unbelief, and so we cannot have a pure and blameless heart for the Lord. But Jesus does have a heart for the Father, and He has a heart for us. He replaces our sinful, selfish, deceived heart with His perfect heart, and we meet the condition: our heart is perfect toward God. Because of Christ, Father God will show Himself strong on our behalf. “When we are weak (we rely on Him), then He is strong (for us).”

We obtain a perfect heart by repentance and faith, confessing our sins and receiving the absolution. Our heart is maintained in purity by the Spirit through the Gospel, wherein is the strong power of salvation. Although we are still tempted to trust in “horses and chariots,” there is no power there, but we trust in the Lord our God. He is strong on our behalf.