THE LORD SPOKE (June 1)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: II Kings 13-14

The pattern of these chapters looks very similar to the book of Judges. Three kings of Israel and one king of Judah are listed. Each leads his nation into sin and suffers God's judgment for it.  Then God has mercy on the nation and there is some small restoration (in each case it involved land or property) to remind the people of God's mercy and grace.

JEHOAHAZ "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" and "for a long time He kept them under the power" of their enemies (13:3). But, when Jehoahaz "sought the Lord's favor", He "provided a deliverer for Israel and they escaped" (13:5). As a result, the people "lived in their own homes" (13:5b).

JEHOASH "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" and He allowed the Arameans to oppress Israel "throughout [his] reign" (13:22). They saw the death of the great prophet Elisha (13:14,20). But, "the Lord was gracious to them" and remembered His covenant (13:23). As a result, they "recovered the Israelite towns (13:25b).

AMAZIAH, though he started well (14:3), became arrogant and would not listen to wise counsel (14:10,11). Consequently he was routed, saw Jerusalem destroyed, the Temple looted, and Judean hostages taken captive (14:13-14). But, the Lord allowed him another 15 years on a troubled throne in Jerusalem (14:17-20). As a result, they "rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah" (14:22).

JEROBOAM II again "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" and, like those before him, caused Israel to follow his lead (14:24b). But, the Lord saw "how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering" and He delivered them by the very hand of Jeroboam II himself (14:26-27). As a result, they recovered land along their northern border (14:28).

Two biblical truths stand out:

1. "The Lord works out everything for his own ends - even the wicked for a day of disaster." (Prov. 16:4; c.f. Pharaoh in Ex. 9:16)
2. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Prov. 21:1)

Maybe we need to be reminded of that in an election year. For sure, we need to be reminded of that in our daily lives. Have you sold yourself to do only what pleases the Lord? Are you on course with God's direction for your life?


New Testament: II Corinthians 3

Louis Goldberg, in his book Our Jewish Friends, has demonstrated that on a per-capita basis more Jewish people are coming to Christ than Gentiles. Because the numbers are comparatively so much smaller (c. 16 million to 7 billion), it’s not so readily apparent, but true nonetheless.

In his argument, Paul is reaching back to the days of Moses when the children of Israel couldn’t bear to look upon God’s glory as it clung to him, Moses. The veil which he used to cover his face (II Cor. 3:13) allowed the radiance to fade away so they could look upon him once again.

Paul turns that illustration to a current application when he says that Jewish people have a veil that covers their hearts. When the old covenant (= O.T.) is read by itself, “their minds are made dull” (II Cor. 3:14). But Messiah takes that veil away when the new covenant (= N.T.) is comprehended. In case anyone doesn’t get it, Paul repeats this again in vs. 15-16, where he says: “Even to this day when Moses [= O.T.] is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord [= N.T.] the veil is taken away.”

Is this something unique to the Jewish people? Only in that they have such a long-standing link to Moses. But the same thing happens to all unbelievers when Satan blinds them to the truth. Look ahead to II Cor. 4:4 - “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” The Devil will do it by hook or by crook. He will use anything to darken the glory of God and keep us from seeing Him.

So Paul concludes chapter 3 with the reminder which also serves as an admonition: We who have met the Lord must, with unveiled faces, reflect the glory of the Lord to others. This results in our being continually transformed (present tense) into His likeness, with ever-increasing glory.

Doesn’t that make you want to shout, “Glory!?”