[Hey all. Pastor John has once again asked me to republish a post I wrote back when I was blogging through the 90 day challenge. This post looks closely at the story of Manasseh in 2 Chronicles in contrast to the same story told in Samuel-Kings. I conclude by offering some things on some distinctive features of 2 Chronicles which stood out for me. ~ Derek]

Today’s reading concludes the book of 2 Chronicles.

In my previous post I already zeroed in on a few of the distinctives found throughout Chronicles regarding a certain unabashed bias in favor of Judah and a highly optimistic portrait of its kings. Of all the examples I provided in yesterday’s post, none compare to the contrasting stories of King Manasseh when compared to 2 Kings 17 (cf. 2 Chronicles 33).

Both accounts depict Manasseh as the worse king in Judah’s history. Manasseh went beyond worshipping other local gods and began to worship the gods of the East – “all the starry hosts”. He went into the Temple of the Lord and set up altars and statues of these “gods” in there to be worshipped. He practiced sorcery and consulted spiritists and as if none of this were bad enough, “He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom” (2 Chronicles 33:5; Jesus later had this valley in mind when he spoke of Hell). Manasseh was a bad dude.

In the beginning of our reading today, the LORD appears to Solomon right after he finished building the Jerusalem Temple. I find it very interesting what the LORD says to Solomon. The LORD makes reference to the covenant He had made with Solomon’s father David in 2Samuel 7:11-16. Both in 2Samuel 7 and here in […]

In Ezra 1:1 – 4, we read of King Cyrus’ edict to the Jews in his realm, giving them permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. The 2 Books of Chronicles are written to these returning Jews who are encouraged to carry out Cyrus’ decree. Under the Mosaic Covenant, it was Aaron’s descendants […]

The Books of 1 & 2 Chronicles were written for the Jewish remnant that returned to the Promised Land from Babylonian Exile (1Chronicles 9:1,2). It exclusively focuses on the Davidic kings of the southern kingdom of Judea. No mention is made of the apostate kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. These Books also pay […]

It has been said that the Book of Leviticus has been the graveyard of many adventurers who had begun the journey to read through the Bible. The Levitical rituals have slain many Bible pilgrims on the way to the Promised Land. Today’s reading covers another section which can bog down the serious adventurer through the […]

In our reading today, the northern kingdom of Israel is sent into exile by the LORD for their unfaithfulness to the Mosaic Covenant. The instrument used by God is the Assyrians (2Kings 17:5,6). The LORD spells out the reasons for His people’s banishment from His presence in very clear terms. In 2Kings 17:7, we read […]

In these last two days, the readings have been very interesting. It covers the entire time period in which the prophets Elijah and Elisha ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel. In Old Testament times, the only other servants of the LORD who were comparable in miraculous powers were Moses and Aaron. In both these […]

[Hello folks. By now I suppose you’re tired of me. This is my third post here! Pastor John asked me, once again, if I’d repost from when I did my 90 Day Challenge back in 2011. Admittedly my own blog tended to be less pastoral in content since I focused on “exploring” the scriptures. So my apology in advance. This post I wrote in February 2011  looks at the story of when Elijah was caught up from Elisha in a chariot of fire. I suggest you go and read the story because I jump right into talking about it. This post is not very pastoral, but I hope you enjoy it none-the-less. ~ Derek]

I was taught in Sunday School class that when Elijah was taken up into heaven from Elisha, that Elijah actually went into Heaven at that time. That is, I was taught that Elijah was “Raptured” and went to Heaven where people float around playing harps and singing hallelujahs for eternity.

I no longer hold that view for three reasons.

[Pastor John asked me if I’d repost my article for day 25 from back when I was doing the 90 Day Challenge. So here you go. Enjoy! ~ Derek]

Let’s begin with some observations from our text. First, as a matter of observation, after Solomon builds the Temple and dedicates it to God the Lord himself consecrates it: “I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there” (1 Kings 9:3). Sounds pretty absolute: God will forever be in the temple that Solomon built. But as you continue to read you will quickly discover the same Covenantal stipulations outlined in Deuteronomy 27-30: Blessings (which equals=remaining in the land) for obedience and Curses (which equals=exile) for disobedience. This means that God will abandon the temple if his people consistently move away in rebellion, in spite of his hopes of remaining there forever:

Today’s reading covers the last days of David’s 40-year reign over Israel and the transition to the kingship of his son Solomon. In 2Samuel 22, we read of David’s song of praise to the LORD for His faithfulness in delivering and protecting the king from all his enemies, including Saul. The word “covenant” does not […]