We begin today’s reading with a brief historical account from the book of 2 Chronicles covering the reign of Uzziah’s son, King Jotham of Judah, before jumping back into Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9 begins a prophecy about the birth of the Prince of Peace, a passage that many of us read in our church services during Advent or Christmas. In stark contrast, Isaiah moves on to consider the coming of Assyria, the instrument of God’s wrath against his people. Remember that earlier in our reading plan, Go...
Aug 16, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 155
Recall from our last episode that Amos is a blue collar guy who was sent from Judah to prophesy against Israel. During a time of wealth, the rich had grown greedy, proud, and complacent, assuming that no harm could befall them. In their pride, they failed to consider the Lord, righteous conduct, or just dealings, opting instead to oppress those of lower status and lounge in luxury. Through Amos, the Lord calls Israel to live a life of justice and righteousness, but because they are hard of heart...
Aug 15, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 154
Amos was a prophet from Judah who travelled away from his homeland to prophesy against Israel. As his introduction states, Amos was a shepherd by trade, but he received instruction from the Lord to go north to Samaria around 760 BC. It was a time of great prosperity for Israel, but many farmers had been reduced to poverty. The wealthy gave them loans that they could not repay, forcing these debtors into slavery whereby the aristocrats seized their lands. They felt that their city walls and citad...
Aug 14, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 153
The signs, visions, and prophecies included into today’s reading span from the death of King Uzziah into the beginning of Ahaz’s reign, who continues the lineage of Davidic kings. In chapter 6 we get an awe-inspiring sneak peek into the throne room of God. Isaiah senses that he is unfit to be in God’s presence, but an angel approaches to cleanse him in a unique way. After this, the Lord God commissions Isaiah to be his messenger. In chapter 7, Isaiah prophesies to King Ahaz of a virgin who conce...
Aug 13, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 152
Judah has made the mistake of trusting in the armies of men, rather than trusting in God. As such is the case, the Lord God of armies will be removing every kind of security from Judah, which includes some securities which would be considered blessings from God, and some securities which would have been sinful and earthly. The righteous will eat the fruit of their labor, but the wick will only harvest judgment. Even in this bleak forecast, the Lord proclaims that those who survive will see the b...
Aug 12, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 151
So far in our chronological reading we’ve read two of the minor prophets, those being Obadiah and Jonah, and in today’s episode we’ll begin to read from our first major prophet, the prophet Isaiah. If you’re familiar with the overall arch of Israel, Judah, and the prophets, you know that there were prophets before, during, and after the exile to Babylon. Starting with this episode, the majority of our reading for the rest of the year will be from the major and minor prophets with sections from h...
Aug 09, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 150
You might have missed it, but in our last episode, the writer of 2 Kings mentioned the fulfillment of prophecy through the prophet Jonah back in chapter 14. We have every reason to conclude that this prophet is the same Jonah sent to Ninevah in the minor prophet book by the same name. Instead of obeying the Lord, Jonah turns to go in the completely opposite direction. As you hear this account, keep in mind that in the end it is most likely that Jonah is the one recording what happened, revealing...
Aug 08, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 149
In our last episode, we considered the life of King Joash, the baby heir to the throne who was rescued from a maniacal monarch, raised in the temple, and brought to kingship by Jehoiada the priest. Joash began by rebuilding the Lord’s temple, then he abandons both the Lord’s temple and the Lord. The Lord therefore abandons him and he is later assassinated. Amaziah begins well, but surprisingly turns to worship the idols of those he has defeated, and soon thereafter becomes overconfident, challen...
Aug 07, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 148
Interestingly, we saw a few foreshadows of Jesus in our last episode, as a child who was meant to be king was swept away from a murderous monarch only to emerge victorious later. Today we’ll examine the rule and reign of Joash, that child who became king of Judah. It seems that early in his reign he sought to repair the temple, and no wonder! He grew up in the temple from infancy into early childhood. When the work stalls, the make a plan, but later, the wealth of Judah will be handed over to Ki...
Aug 06, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 147
In our last episode, the military commander, Jehu, was anointed as king. He and his men set out immediately to put an end to the house of Ahab, and in the process, he also killed the king of Judah, the evil king Ahaziah. Today, Jehu continues his conquest with a number of cunning strategies, killing Ahab’s wife Jezebel, overthrowing the house of Ahab, destroying the prophets of a Baal, and avenging the blood of Naboth the Gileadite on behalf of the Lord. Remember that the Lord predicted Ahab’s f...
Aug 05, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 146
When we last left our reading covering the kingdom of Israel, the Arameans had laid siege against Samaria, Israel’s capital city. This means that they were blocking people from going in or out so that the people might starve. The king of Israel, most likely Joram, son of Ahab, sends a messenger to Elisha, threatening him with violence. Today, Elisha predicts that they will soon be so flooded with food and grain that it will be hard to sell at even a fraction of its cost. Later, Jehu (a military ...
Aug 02, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 145
Today’s episode contains some particularly gruesome imagery for children; parental discretion is advised. The kings and kingdoms of the land are growing increasingly chaotic and tumultuous, but in the midst of the chaos, the Lord continues to work and speak through his prophet, Elisha. An Aramean army commander comes to Elisha to be healed, but when Elisha doesn’t give him the respect he thinks he deserves, he almost rejects the offer out of hand. Later, the Arameans try to capture Elisha but he...
Aug 01, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 144
We’ve been going back and forth between the books of 1 & 2 Kings and the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles, because each of these books contains a history of kings in Judah and Israel. However, as some of you already know the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are focused on the kings of Judah, while 1 & 2 Kings cover a broader history including those kings from Judah as well as those from Israel, with large portions devoted to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. We’re still playing a bit of catch-up...
Jul 31, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 143
When we read from 2 Chronicles in our last episode, we covered Edom’s rebellion against Judah during Jehoram’s reign, wherein they separated from Judah and established their own king. Obadiah rebukes this nation for their rebellion in our first reading. A return to the book of Kings, now in the second part, means a little backtracking: in short, Jehoshaphat is king and Jehoram has not yet taken the throne. Ahab’s son Ahaziah is now on the throne in Samaria of Israel, but he won’t outlive the Lor...
Jul 30, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 142
In our last episode we covered the life of King Jehoshaphat who was faithful to the Lord, but in today’s episode we witness the beginning of the end for the kings of Judah. Jehoshaphat’s son, King Jehoram is straight-up Je-horrible and when he dies from a horrific intestinal disease, Scripture records that he “died to no one’s regret.” Ouch. His son, Jehoahaz, whom we should note is mainly called Ahaziah, takes the throne after him for only one year before he is killed. After his death, his moth...
Jul 29, 2024•15 min•Season 4Ep. 141
When we last read from the book of 2 Chronicles we were introduced to Asa’s son, King Jehoshaphat, and as we’ve read from 1 Kings, we’ve heard an account of his partnership with King Ahab of Israel. We’ll hear some parallels from the 1 Kings account today, but we’ll hear more about King Jehoshaphat then Ahab. Remember that Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father, failed to call upon the name of the Lord when there was threat of war, but by contrast, Jehoshaphat regularly calls upon the Lord throughout this na...
Jul 26, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 140
In our last episode, Ahab struck a deal with Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram instead of destroying him, but because the Lord had set him apart for destruction, an unnamed prophet pronounced judgment on Ahab. Some time passes, and Ahab sets his sights on a field that belongs to another man. After he refuses to sell it, Ahab pouts in his room until Jezebel hatches a scheme to murder him and take his land. Elijah appears to prophecy his demise, and remarkably, Ahab responds with humility. Later, the pr...
Jul 25, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 139
After experiencing the power and authority of the God of Israel on top of Mount Carmel, where fire fell from heaven to consume Elijah’s sacrifice, the prophet runs to Jezreel ahead of King Ahab. Upon hearing Jezebel’s threats to execute him, Elijah then flees in despair to a distant mountaintop. Later, King Ahab of Israel goes to battle with Ben-Hadad of Aram. The Lord sends an unnamed prophet to alert Ahab that the Lord will win the battle for Israel so that Ahab will know that He alone is God ...
Jul 24, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 138
The line of kings in Israel began with Jeroboam who built golden calves for a more convenient worship experience. After him came Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri, all of whom were evil in the Lord’s sight. This brings us to King Ahab, who should be worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, but instead he marries a Baal worshiper, turns to serve Baal himself, then builds a temple to Baal in Samaria. Elijah boldly confronts the king in the name ...
Jul 23, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 137
In our last reading, we left off with two kings, King Baasha, who has just become king over Israel, and king Asa, who has ruled over Judah for three years at the time of Baasha’s ascension to the throne. Baasha became king by force, killing Jeroboam’s son Nadab as well as the rest of Jeroboam’s family. Take note of the rotating door of kings who rule over Israel, leading up to King Ahab, who is incredibly wicked. Not only that, you’ll also notice how long Asa rules in faithfulness to the Lord wh...
Jul 22, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 136
Our readings today examine the lives of two descendants of David who each reigned as king over Israel. First, there’s Abijah (or Abijam), who reigned for only 3 years, but who makes an impassioned speech against Israel’s king Jeroboam, warning him that he should not wage war against the Lord and those who serve Him. Abijah’s son Asa takes the throne after him, and Asa devotes himself to the Lord for most of his life. The Lord rewards Asa’s faithfulness by blessing the nation of Judah with a long...
Jul 19, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 135
Our episode begins with a retelling of the insulting manner in which Rehoboam addresses Jeroboam, only this time the account is from 2 Chronicles rather than 1 Kings. Recall that it was the prophet Ahijah who tore a new robe into 12 pieces and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the number of tribes he would rule over. After Jeroboam leads a revolt, he became king over those 10 tribes. Despite the Lord’s kindness to Jeroboam, he also turned away from God and immediately set up two sanctuarie...
Jul 18, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 134
In marrying wives from surrounding nations, he has disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and fallen into idolatry. As such is the case, the Lord vowed to take the kingdom away from Solomon’s family after he is gone. Sadly, the wisdom that Solomon had passed on to his sons doesn’t take root, and the foolishness of his son Rehoboam causes a revolt and a division in the nation of Israel. Today, we’ll be introduced to Jeroboam, a man who Ahijah prophesies will rule over ten tribes of Israel. If J...
Jul 17, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 133
Solomon is not only a king, he is a king among kings, whose wisdom and splendor became well known. As such, the queen of Sheba pays him a visit to see his kingdom. Not only that, but the text tells us that “all the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.” The 2 Chronicles passage concludes with Solomon’s death, but 1 Kings gives us other details about the end of Solomon’s life before concluding. In his old age, Solomon was not wholehearted ...
Jul 16, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 132
We’re concluding the book of Ecclesiastes today which was written by King Solomon. Keep in mind that we are reading the Old Testament chronologically, and when we’ve finished this book, we’ll be back in 2 Chronicles and 1 Kings, covering the rest of Solomon’s life. As you may have already heard, two major themes of the book of Ecclesiastes are the ideas of futility and humility. Though Solomon had almost every resource at his fingertips, he could not do all the things he wanted and though he cou...
Jul 15, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 131
As we continue our chronological reading of the Old Testament, we’re spending some time in the book of Ecclesiastes which was written by King Solomon. With all of his wealth, fame and wisdom, Solomon discerned that these things could not ultimately extend one’s life or even necessarily make it better. No matter what a person may accomplish, one day he will die. In today’s reading Solomon considers the rhythms of life, the nature of death and eternity, justice and injustice, authentic religion, a...
Jul 12, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 130
Today, we’re going to be in four different books of the Old Testament, which makes this episode the record-holder in number of places. Don’t worry, though: it’s not any longer than the average episode. In 2 Chronicles and 1 Kings we’ll cover Solomon’s imposition of forced labor over non-Israelites and the initial institution of worship in the Lord’s temple. From there, we’ll transition to the book of Ecclesiastes, a wisdom book written by King Solomon. In it, the king tests the bounds of all tha...
Jul 11, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 129
Solomon has finished the work of building the temple and the ark of the covenant is now in the newly constructed room known as the most holy place. The priests have consecrated themselves and will worship the Lord through music. Solomon prays to the Lord before the nation of Israel, asking God to hear their prayers, reminding the people through his prayer that God resides in heaven, and is not confined to the walls of the temple. At the conclusion of his prayer, the temple fills with a cloud and...
Jul 10, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 128
Today’s reading contains the second-longest chapter in all of Scripture, which is 1 Kings chapter 8, and it’s long for a great reason: King Solomon gets excited and is full of prayer and praise as he conducts the first worship gathering at the Lord’s temple. Though the tabernacle existed before the temple, this is the first permanent structure built for the worship of God in a particular geographic location. As you can imagine, it’s a pretty big deal. The party lasts for two full weeks, after wh...
Jul 09, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 127
Today we’ll conclude our readings about the construction of the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace built under Solomon’s rule, stopping short of the dedication of the temple which we’ll begin in our next episode. Remember, before the construction of this temple, Israel had worshipped the Lord under the tabernacle, a mobile worship center comprised of varying poles, beams, curtains, cloths, and furniture that could be packed up and moved from site to site as they traversed the wilderness. This g...
Jul 08, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 126
