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Facing An Impossible Situation: Jehoshaphat and the Battle of Beracah

March 9, 2008 by William Higgins

Last week we looked at a low point in King Jehoshaphat’s life, his wrongful partnership with the evil king Ahab and how God rebuked him for this. Today we look the high point of Jehoshaphat’s rule – the battle of Beracah in 2 Chronicles 20.

An Impossible Situation

2 Chronicles 20:2 says,  “Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar’ (that is, Engedi).” The neighboring peoples of Moab, Ammon and a group of people called the Meunites who lived on the outskirts of Edom gathered at Engedi, inside the territory of Judah. They were a “great horde.” That is, they were a bigger army than what Jehoshaphat had,  by a good margin. And here they were, only 25 miles from Jerusalem! Jehoshaphat had been caught by surprise.

20:3 says, “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid.” This is an understandable and natural response. He knew their intention was to wipe them out from the Land God gave them, as he says in verse 11. So this was a serious threat and he was afraid.

But, what makes this story great is that he wasn’t overwhelmed by his fear. He wasn’t controlled by his fear. He took a different path. Which is why we are looking at this story.

Because, we also face impossible situations in our life circumstances. God calls us to do something and there is an insurmountable obstacle in our way. Or we are walking through life and we are overwhelmed by a problem that we can’t solve. So we want to look at this story of Jehoshaphat and take note of seven things we learn from this story, that can help us.

1. Seek God in prayer

Jehoshaphat “set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” – (vs. 3-4). Jehoshaphat led in offering up prayer. By the way, this prayer (vs. 6-12) is one of the best prayers in all the Bible! Read it through sometime. We will look at parts of it below.

But the point is that he brought this problem to the Lord. He didn’t try to carry it himself.

And we need to bring our burdens to the Lord in prayer as well. When we feel overwhelmed and when it is too much for us to take – we need to go to the Lord.

2. Acknowledge your need

Jehoshaphat does this in his prayer – “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us . . . We do not know what to do . . .” – (v. 12).  This is not a time to be puffed up! Jehoshaphat doesn’t come out and say – “Don’t worry, I can handle this.” He recognized that it was a time to be humble before the Lord. “Hey, we’re  weak and clueless, Lord. We’re in bad shape here.”

And we need to be humble too in our difficult situations. We need to acknowledge that we too are weak and that we too don’t know what to do – before the Lord and others.

3. Rely on God’s resources

Jehoshaphat, in his weakness, looked to God for strength and wisdom. In his prayer he said:

  • “In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you” – (20:6). We are weak by you are strong.
  • “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” – (20:12). We look to you because you do know what to do.

God has all the resources that we need, and we need to tap into these: When we are too weak to act – God can give us strength. When we don’t know what to do – God can give us wisdom. We need to rely on God’s resources.

4. Trust in God’s promises

Jehoshaphat recalls two specific promises from God in his prayer:

  1. God’s promise to give the land to Abraham’s descendents – Genesis 12:7. He says,  “Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?” – (v. 7). He refers to the promise in Genesis here.
  2. God’s promise to hear temple prayers – 2 Chronicles 6:28-30. Jehoshaphat practically quotes from Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple – “If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.” – (v. 9). Solomon asked that God would hear his people’s prayers, offered at the temple, and God affirmed that he would, when he sent fire down and filled the temple with his glory – (2 Chronicles 7:1).

And we need to trust in God’s promises too. We find these promises in his word. For instance:

  • Jesus promises – “I am with you always, to the end of the age” – Matthew 28:20.
  • We are promised that God will hear our prayers – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7.
  • We are promised that he will give us strength when we are weak – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

5. Receive God’s direction

Verse 14 says, “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel . . . ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.’” The Lord spoke through him to give them some specific instructions – vs. 16-17:

  • Tomorrow go out
  • They will be by the ascent of Ziz . . . east of Jeruel
  • Wait for God who will fight for you

In the same way, we need to listen for God’s wisdom and direction. We do this by listening in prayer, by reading God’s word, and by receiving godly counsel from sisters and brothers in the Lord. In all of this we seek to be led by the Spirit.

6. Act in faith

When they got up to go out to battle the next day, Jehoshaphat said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed” – (v. 20).

Can you imagine this! Going against a vastly bigger foe. Going out, not even expecting to fight – and their lives were on the line. Jehoshaphat is saying – believe in God and what he has said, and act on this belief – even at great risk. If you do this God will bring about victory.

Sure enough. When they acted in faith, God gave them the victory. God turned the enemy on each other and they were wiped out. Judah did not even have to fight or lift a finger.

Well, we too need to act on our faith. We need to believe what God tells us and move forward based on his word, not what we see according to the flesh. As Paul says, “we walk by faith, not by sight” – 2 Corinthians 5:7. When we do this, God will give us victory in our impossible situations.

7. Give praise to God

They really give praise to God throughout this story – when God gave them direction through the prophet, and after they had won. And it is important to praise God when he answers our prayers. They even named the place of the battle “Beracah” – for their they blessed the Lord, as it says in v. 26.

But what is even more amazing is the role that praise played in bringing about the answer during the battle. Jehoshaphat “appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, [and] they went before the army, and [said], ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.’” – (v. 21). He sets the worship team in front of the army!

Then verse 22 says, “And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.” This is what brought the victory. It was when they began to praise God that the Lord acted on their behalf.

And we need to give praise to God even in the midst of our struggle. We need to praise God for his faithfulness to us and his promises to us; for his power and wisdom. And as we express in a bold way our faith in God and his steadfast love for us through praise – God is pleased to act on our behalf and give us the victory.

So these are seven things to do in an impossible situation. May we learn from this story and receive God’s victory in our lives. William Higgins

Posted in 2 Chronicles 20 | Tagged , , , , |

Dangerous Partnerships: The story of Jehoshaphat & Ahab

March 1, 2008 by William Higgins

Today we begin looking at the story of Jehoshaphat. We will see what we can learn from this. Lets begin by getting oriented. Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah, the son of Asa, of the line of David. He ruled for 25 years. His story is told in 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 17-20. We will focus on 2 Chronicles 18.

The Story Begins

 . . . and it begins well in chapter 17. We will look at this briefly to set the stage. First we see a picture of . . .
 

1) Jehoshaphat the faithful. He walked in God’s ways – “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. . . . (He) sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments. . . His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord” – 2 Chronicles 17:3-6.

Not only was he faithful – he was a reformer. He led the people to be faithful as well (like his father Asa).

  • v. 6 – he took away the high places and Asherim
  • vs. 7-9 – he began a program that taught the people the Law of God

Next we see portrayed . . .

2) Jehoshaphat the blessed.

  • 17:5 – He had great wealth
  • 17:10-11 – The nations feared him – so there was no war, but rather they gave him tribute
  • 17:12-19 – He had a large army

These are all tokens of God’s blessing in this context. This brings us to our focus today:

Jehoshaphat’s Unrighteous Alliance

King Ahab, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel was a very wicked man, who opposed Yahweh. He certainly did not walk in God’s ways. You will remember him from the stories of Elijah. His wife was Jezebel, the infamous queen. There was nothing righteous about Ahab.

Yet in chapter 18, we find that Jehoshaphat enters into a partnership with him.

  1. “He made a marriage alliance with Ahab” – 18:1. That is, he gave his son in marriage to Ahab’s daughter.
  2. “After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria” – 18:2. He left Jerusalem, his proper responsibilities as God’s regent and went to be with Ahab. They had a great party with lots of food.
  3. Ahab “induced” or enticed him to form a league with him to retake a disputed city in northern Israel – Ramoth-gilead. This is the same word that I Chronicles 21:1 says about Satan enticing David to sin by means of the census.

The result of all this is that Jehoshaphat proclaims – “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war” – 2 Chronicles 18:3.

But first, Jehoshaphat wanted to inquire of the Lord – 18:4. Perhaps some hesitation on his part? And then we have one of the most interesting stories in the Bible, which we can’t get into in detail, but with regard to our focus – 

  • 400 prophets predict that they should go out to war for they will be successful. But Jehoshaphat want to know if there is another prophet. So Ahab brings out . . .
  • Micaiah who always prophesies bad things about Ahab. And, sure enough, he predicts that Ahab will be killed and that this is God’s purpose.

Despite his misgivings(?) Jehoshaphat goes forward with the plan. After all it was 400 to 1!

Ahab proceeds to imprison Micaiah. But just in case, he disguises himself and also encourages Jehoshaphat to wear his royal attire, thus making him the target of the enemy.

And sure enough, the enemy all came after Jehoshaphat thinking he was Ahab and he barely escaped death. God intervened to help him. Though disguised, Ahab is killed and Israel is defeated. And finally, Jehoshaphat slinks back to Jerusalem, humiliated by his bad decision.

Jehu’s Rebuke

Once back, the Lord rebukes him through his prophet Jehu, whose father, by the way, had rebuked Jehoshaphat’s father – King Asa. Jehu says, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?” – 19:2. In other words, he should not have made a partnership with an evil king, who was God’s enemy. It forced him to comprise his faithfulness to God – being away from his job of leading Judah, helping the wicked; participating in the persecution of a true prophet – Micaiah.

He received mercy: Jehu says, “Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asherahs out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God” – 19:3. He was rescued on the battlefield and was allowed to continue as king.

But he also received a word of judgment: Jehu says, “Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord” – 19:2. Sin never pays! The woman he married his son to – King Ahab’s daughter – later, after Jehoshaphat died, killed off the line of David. Only by divine intervention was one saved – 2 Chronicles 22:10-12. All of Jehoshaphat’s male children and grandchildren were killed – save one.

This reminds us, sadly, that we reap what we sow. But, not only that, so many times our sin ends up wounding those we love more than us.

After Jehu’s rebuke, Jehoshaphat got back on track. The rest of chapter 19 he went back to reforming Judah. This is what he should have been doing all along, instead of going to be with Ahab.

Lessons For Us

Jehoshaphat was an ancient king, but he is not so different than us, for we do similar things in our lives. And so we can learn from him.

1. We should not love the world. Like Jehu told Jehoshaphat about his seeking an alliance with Ahab, he should not “love those who hate the Lord.” He was not satisfied with what God had given him, but was longing for something else among the nations around him.

Similarly, John tells us – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” – 1 John 2:15. We also should not go about longing for what the world has. We should stay true to God.

2. We should not make partnerships with the world. I mean here, serious, committed relationships with unbelievers – dating, marriage, business – whatever. Just as Jehoshaphat allied himself with a wicked king.

Paul says about this, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. Believers and unbelievers have different values and commitments. We have different frameworks and directions to our lives.

These partnerships pressure us to sacrifice our faithfulness to God. When choices come along, you may want to keep your commitment to God, but you have to act in a way that works for the unbeliever as well. 

As James says, “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” – James 4:4.

3. The world will not be a true partner to you. We need to learn this. The world will draw you in:

  • It will party with you (like Ahab with Jehoshaphat)
  • It will give you honor and acceptance (like Ahab gave to Jehoshaphat)
  • It will entice you to make compromises (like Ahab did with Jehoshaphat)

And, when you waver, it will pressure you to conform (like Ahab bringing out 400 prophets to 1). It will use peer pressure to make you stay in line.

But the world will betray you (just as Ahab set up Jehoshaphat by disguising himself and making Jehoshaphat the target of the enemy, not caring if he died).

You compromise your faithfulness to God, but you will get nothing from it.

______________

 May we learn from Jehoshaphat, so that we will not make the same mistakes. William Higgins

Posted in 2 Chronicles 17, 2 Chronicles 18, 2 Chronicles 19 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

The Importance of Good Deacons

February 3, 2008 by William Higgins

(edited) We want to look at why the Deacon ministry is so important, but first, lets back up a moment. There are actually two necessary offices in the church connected to two kinds of ministry –

  • Deacons who perform “table service”
  • Elders/Overseers who perform “the service of the word”

There can be other positions created as there is need – e.g.  trustees when you have property, buildings, or a church council for administration of programs, finances. But the two that you must have scripturally, and I think to be healthy as a congregation – are the offices of Deacon and Overseer.

Why are they necessary?

I think we understand the necessity and importance of the Elder office. Elders oversee the congregation to make sure we are faithful to God in what we believe and in what we practice.

But what about the office of Deacon? Is it necessary? Is it important? Lets look at this –

1. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is at the very heart of God

Psalm 145:14 says, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 107:41 says, “he raises up the needy out of affliction.” This is simply who God is.

We are all to be involved in helping those in need, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that as a community we act in accord with our heavenly Father.

2. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is a pleasing act of worship to God

Isaiah 58 talks about untrue worship – specifically fasting. This is where you go without food, but still treat others mercilessly.

Then we are told what true fasting or worship is – “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? . . . Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am’” – Isaiah 58:7-9.

The point is that those who offer this kind of worship – providing bread, clothing and housing – reach the throne of God and are blessed. God hears their voice.

We are all to be doing these kinds of things, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that our worship is pleasing to God

3. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need was at the top of Jesus’ priority list.

He spoke about it constantly. Here is one example – Luke 12:33 – “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” Take of your abundance; your excess and give to those who don’t have their basic needs met.

We are all as individuals to be involved in this kind of ministry, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, so that our community does what is right.

4. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is what Jesus did

Jesus says in Luke 22:27 – “For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

Jesus is the one who serves, or  “deacons.” Its the same word. And we know all that he did ministering to the sick, the poor, and the hungry.

We are all to be involved in this kind of ministry, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that we do what our Lord did.

5. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is a true test of our faithfulness to God

1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

We are all to do this, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, so that as a community we pass the test of caring for those in need among us.

In all of this it is plain that Deacons do what is most pleasing to God and they lead us as a community to do the same. No wonder that Paul says – “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 3:13).

How could they not be greatly blessed in such a service? And what a blessing to have good Deacons who will lead us in this ministry, so that we as a community will also be blessed.

William Higgins

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged |

Deacon Ministry

January 23, 2008 by William Higgins

This is the Bible Study from Sunday night, slighlty edited . . .. Also here as a pdf –  Deacon Minisry

What Is A Deacon?

A good place to begin is this, a Deacon is someone who holds the office of Deacon in the church. There are two basic offices in the church:

1. Overseers (also called – Elders)
2. Deacons

In Philippians 1:1 and I Timothy 3 these are both spoken of together, so we know they are not the same office.

These two offices grow out of  two basic kinds of service to God. This can be seen in Acts 6:1-6:

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables (table service). Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry (service) of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

There is the service of the word and table service:

  • The service of the word has to do with teaching and preaching
  • “Table service” has to do with taking care of the practical needs of the community

All Christians are supposed to be active 1) in sharing the word and teaching one another and also 2) in serving each other’s practical needs. But for the sake of the well being of the community as a whole certain people are chosen and set aside to specifically focus on either the “service of the word” or “table service.” They give leadership in these areas.

In Acts 6 we see the apostles functioning as prototypes of Elders who oversee and teach and “the seven” acting as Deacons – caring for the widows of the community by providing food allotments.

So we have some further definition: A Deacon is someone who is officially in charge of providing care within the congregation. The lesson of Acts 6 is that Overseers should not also try to do both kinds of service, lest the service of the word is neglected, or the needs of the people are neglected (which is what happened in this case). Thus Deacons were appointed to make sure that the needs of the people in the community are being met.

What Does A Deacon Do?

We come to understand more specifically what Deacons do by looking at the words connected to this office and by looking at examples of Deacon work.

1. Deacons take care of the practical needs of the church community: The word for Deacon is simply “servant.” This word originally meant a “waiter” – someone who serves the food. The verbal form of the word “service” referred to this kind of task – “waiting on someone” in a meal context.

Later this word group was expanded to refer to caring for any kind of household needs, and finally more broadly it came to refer to any kind of service rendered to another.

So to serve is to take care of practical needs (whatever they might be). An example of this can be found where the verb is used in Matthew 25:44. Here the examples of practical care include: feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; taking in the stranger; clothing the naked; and visiting the sick and those in prison.

This concurs with what Deacons actually do in Scripture:

  • In Acts 6 “the seven” take care of the widows in the congregation at Jerusalem
  • In Romans 16:1-2 Phoebe, a woman Deacon, is a “helper of many”
  • In Luke 22:25 Jesus compares Deacons to “benefactors” or patrons who in a Gentile context help people with (financial/material) needs

2. Deacons handle the alms money: In Acts 6 the Deacons provide “table service.” This can literally mean serving food at table, or keeping accounts. It is best to keep the double meaning. Deacons handle the alms money and provide food from this for the widows.

So there is an administrative component – handling money – that is a part of this office. As we will see in the qualifications, it is important that a Deacon can be trusted with the congregation’s money.

Summary: Deacons make sure that the poor, the weak, and the needy of the congregation are cared for. They make sure that the community as a whole is in accord with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles about giving to and caring for these (Luke 12:33; James 1:27; I John 3:16-18). They make sure that the ideal of the church of Acts 4:34 is a reality among us – “There was not a needy person among them.”

Nine Qualifications for the Deacon Role

As an office in the church there must be consideration as to who is qualifed to have such a leadership role. The first four come from I Timothy 3:8 and 11. Verse 8 gives four qualifications for male Deacons, and then verse 11 repeats the same qualifications for female Deacons. (This doesn’t seem to be talking about the wives of Deacons, since no such qualifications are mentioned for the wives of Elders, the more prominent role).

1. Dignified/dignified (I Timothy 3:8/11). Deacons, whether male or female are to be honorable, respected people. As Acts 6:3 says, they should be “of good repute.”

2. Not double-tongued/not slanderers (I Timothy 3:8/11). These two both refer to sins of the tongue. Deacons will be involved in people’s lives and problems. They will see people in their times of weakness. They cannot, then, have a loose tongue spreading unkind words, or repeating unnecessary personal information to others.

3. Not addicted to much wine/sober-minded (I Timothy 3:8/11). The first is the negative and the second the positive articulation of this qualification. Rather than being addicted to wine, Deacons are to be sober-minded; able to act responsibly and think clearly.

4. Not greedy for dishonest gain/faithful in all things (I Timothy 3:8/11). Again, the negative form comes first and then the positive. This qualification relates to the fact that Deacons handle the benevolence money. They must not be greedy, but prove themselves faithful in all things.

5. Deacons are also “to hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (I Timothy 3:9). They are to have an understanding of the faith and a good walk in it as well.

6. They are to be faithful in their marriage commitments (I Timothy 3:12). Paul says, “let Deacons each be the husband of one wife . . ..” The phrase is literally – “a one woman (or wife) man.” (Apparently most Deacons were men, hence the use of the male form here.) Paul’s focus with this qualification is faithfulness in one’s marriage commitment. Leaders in the church need to be faithful to their marital commitments.

7. They are to be proven leaders in their home contexts (I Timothy 3:12). Paul goes on to say,  “ . . . managing their children and their households well.” (Again, apparently most Deacons were married and had children.) This has to do with an ability to exercise leadership well in a home context. As Paul says of Elders, if they cannot manage their own home, how will they be able to manage the household of faith, the church? – I Timothy 3:5. How they do in a home context (or other leadership contexts) can show if they are qualified to lead in the church.

8. Deacons are to be full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3). Deacons need the empowerment and guidance of the Spirit to do their job.

9. Deacons are to be full of wisdom (Acts 6:3). This no doubt relates to having wisdom to deal with people in need, and to handle the money rightly. Just as the apostles found out, any sense of unfairness can lead to conflict in the community. It takes wisdom to distribute alms. William Higgins

Appendix: The Literary Structure of the Qualifications List in I Timothy 3:8-13

It is helpful to see the literary structure to see how the material is organized.

A. Qualifications for Male Deacons:
1. Dignified
2. Not double tongued
3. Not addicted to much wine
4. Not greedy for dishonest gain

B. Two Statements:
1. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a  clear conscience.
2. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as Deacons if they prove  themselves blameless.

`A. Qualifications for Female Deacons:
1. Dignified
2. Not Slanderers
3. Sober-minded
4. Faithful in all things

`B. Two Statements:
1. Let Deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their  own households well.
2. Those who serve well as Deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also  great confidence in the faith that is in Jesus Christ.

Posted in 1 Timothy 3, Acts 6 | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

God is looking for those whose hearts are true: The story of King Asa

January 6, 2008 by William Higgins

Asa the righteous

Lets begin by getting oriented. Asa was the great, great grandson of David, the third king of Judah, which he ruled for 41 years. His story is told in 1 Kings 15:9-24 and 2 Chronicles 14-16:14. We will be looking at this latter account.

2 Chronicles 14:2-4 says, “And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment.”

Here we learn here that Asa was righteous. Specifically, he opposed idolatry and he commanded keeping the Law of God. Even though this is fairly early in the history of Judah, they had already strayed from God for a long time. As we hear from a prophet later in our story – “For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law” – 2 Chronicles 15:3.

So Asa was a reformer, leading the people back to God. Because of his obedience, v. 6 tells us, God gave him peace. Verses 7-8 go on to say that Judah prospered, and Asa had a good and sizeable army. So things were going well for him. But, then came

A Time of Testing

Zera, the Ethiopian came up from the south against Judah with a million man army and 300 chariots. This was much larger than Asa’s army and more technologically advanced.

As Asa prepared for this, he prayed – “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you” – 2 Chronicles 14:11. This is a beautiful prayer of trust in God.

And God answered Asa’s prayer. God completely defeated the Ethiopian army, and they carried off much plunder.

Azariah’s Words

Just after this, the prophet Azariah spoke to all Judah and said, “The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” – 2 Chronicles 15:2.  Asa aligned himself with the Lord, not with idols, and so in his trouble, when he relied upon the Lord, the Lord was with him.

Azariah goes on to encourage Asa in righteousness. “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded” – 2 Chronicles 15:7. And Asa responds by becoming even more faithful to God. As we see in Chapter 15:

  • He removed more idols
  • He repaired the altar in front of the temple
  • He held a nationwide covenant renewal where all dedicated themselves to seek the Lord
  • He deposed his own grand/mother for idolatry. She was no longer queen mother.
  • He brought wealth into the temple
  • As 2 Chronicles 15:15 says, they “sought the Lord with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.”

So this is a really good story of someone relying on God and responding to God to do what is right, as well as leading others in this. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end here.

Another Test

Sometime after this another test came to King Asa. 2 Chronicles 16:1-3 describes this:

  • Baasha, King of Israel invaded Judah and was building a fort just north of Jerusalem to cut Asa off.
  • Asa bribed Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. He took wealth from the temple (and his own) to send to this pagan king.
  • Ben-Hadad then invaded northern Israel.
  • Baasha had to move his armies north to counter Ben-Hadad.
  • Asa dismantled Baasha’s fort in Judah.

Was this a stroke of genius?? Not really. In the first test Asa relied upon God. In the second test Asa turned to a pagan king for help. Before, we find Asa putting treasures into the Temple. Now, we find him taking these and giving them to Ben-Hadad.

The Words of Hanani

Another prophet, Hanani, confronts Asa: “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. . . . You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars” – 2 Chronicles 16:7-9.

This was a massive failure for King Asa. It may look good from the perspective of world politics, but it was a failure as a leader of God’s people. It was also a failure practically. He was seeking to be free of war through this, but ended up getting a promise of war for the rest of his reign.

Hanani confronts him with this and Asa is furious. Instead of repentance he puts Hanani in stocks in jail and is cruel to others.

The End

Finally, the story ends on a sour note.  “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians” (perhaps more like magicians or witch doctors) – 2 Chronicles 16:12.

So his lack of reliance on the Lord continued till his death. Such a good beginning, such a bad end for King Asa.

Three Lessons

1. A warning: God wants to help us, but if we forsake him, he will forsake us. This comes from the words of Azariah. “The Lord is with you while you are with him . . . but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” – 2 Chronicles 15:2. Asa began right. He relied on the Lord and was delivered. But then he forsook the Lord. He relied on his own plans and wisdom, and the results were devastating.

If you forsake the Lord and rely on yourself, your wealth, your wisdom, your plans – anything other than the Lord . . . don’t expect God to step in and help you in your time of trouble. The warning is clear – if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

2. A promise: God eagerly seeks to help those whose heart is true. Hanani told Asa,– “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose hearts are fully committed to him” – 2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV/NIV.

This is  beautiful promise to us. God is looking all throughout the whole earth. For who? God is looking for those who are fully committed to him, who rely on him, who seek him, who are with him. Why is God doing this? To give them strong support in their difficult times just as God helped Asa in his first test.  This is a powerful promise and word of encouragement.

3. An invitation: Become fully committed to God. Perhaps you are struggling in your commitment to God. Receive this invitation – seek God; give yourself fully to God; rely on God.

As you hear this story of Asa, learn from it! Don’t be like Asa when his heart was not fully committed to God and he relied on himself and received the consequences. Be like Asa when he removed the idols. Remove your idols – whatever you rely on instead of God. Give yourself fully to God. Then when you seek him, you will find him. Then God will find you too, one whose heart is true. And God will strengthen you, establish you and give you peace.

William Higgins

 

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21 Traits of Love: A Test

December 30, 2007 by William Higgins

The Scriptures call us to love all people. But what does it mean to love someone? Pick someone to see if you love them. Go through the following traits of love and test yourself. Do you love them?

1. Love is shown through deeds – True love is not about words or good intentions. As 1 John 3:18 says, “let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” True love is expressed in deeds. When you see _______ in need, and you can help, do you act?

2. Love acts for the well-being of a person – Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.” God loved us by giving his Son for our salvation – John 3:16; Romans 5:8. If you love someone, you will not try to hurt them. Rather, you will try to do what is good for them. Through your words and actions do you harm, injure or hurt _______? Or do you seek what is good for him/her?

3. Love builds others up – 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” It is easy to put down others when you think you know more than they do or that you are smarter than them. But love doesn’t act this way. Love seeks to lift others up through encouragement and help. Do you encourage and strengthen _______? Or, do you discourage and tear him/her down?

4. Love is not self-centered – Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love does not insist on its own way.”  Love listens to others and is considerate of their point of view. Love is not pushy only wanting to get its own way. Are you considerate of _______ and what they think? Or do you simply try to get what you want?

5. Love is glad for the success of others – This shows up in two phrases in 1 Corinthians 13 – “Love does not envy” – (v. 4) and “Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing” or as some translations put it – “does not gloat over the failure of others” – (v. 6). Since life is not all about you, you can be happy when others do well in life. Are you glad when _______ does well?

6. Love is respectful of others – 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love is not rude.” It does not dishonor others. Love shows dignity and honor to others. Do you show proper respect to _______?

7. Love is kind to others – 1 Corinthians 13:4 says “Love is kind.” This is a broad word that means tenderhearted, considerate, compassionate, gentle and merciful. Are you kind and gentle to _______?

8. Love is humble before others – Two phrases from 1 Corinthians 13:4 make this point – “Love does not boast” and “Love is not arrogant.” Love does not cause us to lift ourselves over others, but to lower ourselves before them. Do you show humility to ______?

9. Love serves others – Paul says, “through love serve one another” – Galatians 5:13. We lower ourselves in order to help others with their needs. Are you willing to serve _______?

10. Love sacrifices for others – This is a central part of what love is about. Jesus says in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” John says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Are you willing to sacrifice to help ______ with what he/she truly needs?

11. Love is giving – 1 John 3:17 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”  If _______ has a real material need, and you can help, do you?

12. Love is honest – Ephesians 4:15 talks about “speaking the truth in love.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 says, “Love . . . rejoices with the truth.” Sometimes we don’t speak the truth because we don’t want to hurt someone, or cause trouble. So we keep quiet when there is a problem. But love means you have integrity with others. You are honest, not to hurt them, but so you can have a real relationship with them, not an artificial one. Are you honest with _______ when there is a problem? Or are you two-faced?

13. Love is slow to anger – 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love is not irritable” or “Is not easily angered.” Love is not quick tempered, but is willing to overlook minor offenses. Are you quick to find fault or express your anger towards _______?

14. Love is longsuffering – 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “love is patient.” The word means longsuffering, which means you are able to suffer for a long time. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says “love bears all things.” That is, it puts up with annoyance or difficulty. Similarly 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “love endures all things.” Do you bear with _______ weaknesses and endure his/her failings? Or are you impatient and intolerant?

15. Love seeks peace with others – Colossians 2:2 speaks of hearts “being knit together in love.” Love draws people together. Colossians 3:14 says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Verse 15 then goes on to talk about unity in the church. When there is conflict or misunderstanding, love compels you to do the hard work necessary to find peace with the other person. Are you willing to seek peace with _______?

16. Love forgives – Paul says, “Love does not keep a record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Peter says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). To cover sins is another way of talking about forgiveness.  Are you willing to forgive _______? Or do you hold resentments and bitterness?

17. Love is trusting – 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love believes all things.” This doesn’t mean that you are naïve. It means that, unless there is good evidence to the contrary, you are willing to extend trust. Are you willing to believe _______? Or are you overly suspicious and distrustful?

18. Love is hopeful – 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love hopes all things.” Love is optimistic, even when things aren’t going well. You leave the door open to healing with the other person. Are you open to healing with _______?

19. Love is a commitment – It is not based on feelings, which can come and go. God commands us “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” – Mark 12:31. You can’t command a feeling, but you can command a choice and a commitment. Are you committed to love _________ whether you feel like it or not?

20. Love is impartial – You don’t take into account how someone might be different than you, or how favoring them might help you. Speaking of favoring the rich over the poor, James 2:8-9 says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” This would also apply to other social distinctions as well. If _______ is different than you in race, economic status or social status, does this affect your love?

21. Love is not based on how the person treats you – Jesus says, “Love your enemies . . . For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?” (Matthew 5:44, 46). Paul says, “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Even if someone harms you, you will not return harm for harm, but return love and good. Do you love _______ even when he/she doesn’t love you or treat you well? Or do you try to get even?

How did you do? If you find yourself struggling, don’t be surprised. It is very difficult to love someone in this way. This kind of love does not come naturally from the human heart. Rather this kind of love comes from God, because God is this kind of love (I John 4:7). This love is supernatural. It is a fruit of the Spirit of God working in our lives (Galatians 5:22).

Since this is so, we should pray that God will change our heart and empower us to love others in this supernatural way.

William Higgins

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What we learn about God from Christmas

December 16, 2007 by William Higgins

The Christmas story is very familiar to us. So I want us to look at it today from a bit of a different angle. I want us to see what we learn about God from the story of Jesus’ birth.

1. God’s forethought on our behalf

God has had a plan for us from the beginning of time and has worked meticulously to see it through to completion. It wasn’t just thought up as he went along.

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The Lord’s Prayer & Daily Prayers

December 9, 2007 by William Higgins

Let me begin by asking – “How often should we pray the Lord’s prayer?” Ever thought about this? One way to answer this is to ask:

  • How often do you need forgiveness?
  • Or, how often do you want to ask to be spared difficult times of testing?
  • Or even more specifically – how often do you need daily bread? (Hint – “daily”).

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Prayer Book 07

December 6, 2007 by William Higgins

This is my latest Prayer Book. If this is helpful in any way please use it! William

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Looking Forward to the Great Celebration

November 11, 2007 by William Higgins

When we share together in the Lord’s supper there are a lot things going on:

  • We are remembering Jesus
  • We are proclaiming his death and the salvation that comes through this
  • We are offering up a sacrifice of praise and thanks for our salvation
  • We are recovenanting with God – or to say it a bit differently, remembering our baptismal commitment to walk in Jesus’ way
  • And we are sharing fellowship with Jesus and each other

And then one other, which is our focus, we are looking forward to the great celebration. This great celebration is called . ..

The Messianic banquet

. . . or the banquet of the Messiah. This is when we will celebrate with Jesus his victory and our salvation in the age to come, after his second coming. It was seen as a kind of Passover meal. A celebration of deliverance on a cosmic scale. Jesus agrees with this as we will see below.

Perhaps the best known reference  to this is in Revelation 19:9, which talks about this meal as “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

The most detailed text, however, is Isaiah 25:6-8. The banquet itself is described in v.6 – “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” This will be an amazing feast with fine, luxurious foods and wine.

Why will we celebrate? God will take away death. This will be the time of resurrection. Vs. 7-8a – “And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.”

Also, we will rejoice, for God will give us peace and joy. V. 8b – “and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

Jesus talks about this party a lot

1) It will be “a great banquet” – Luke 14:16 (from the parable of the banquet). There will be wine – Mark 14:25, and excellent food. In a parable that speaks of this it talks about “oxen and fattened calves” – Matthew 22:4. It is also compared to a wedding feast in Matthew 25:10.

2) Jesus will serve at table – Luke 12:37 (from another parable about this event). This speaks of the second coming when Jesus will return. Speaking of himself, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” Its pretty cool to have Jesus serve you dinner.

3) The Old Testament saints will be there – Luke 13:28. He says, “Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets” will be there.

4) The apostles will be there – Luke 22:28-30. He said to them, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

5) Lots of other people will be there too – Luke 13:29. “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” There will be people from different periods of time, different races, continents, cultures and nations. All those who respond to Jesus’ invitation to come will partake – Luke 14:21 (parable of the banquet). And the table will be full – Matthew 22:10 (parable of the wedding banquet).

It will be an awesome celebration! What I want to say, then, is that

The Lord’s supper is an anticipation of this celebration

Jesus himself makes the connection between the Lord’s supper and the Messianic banquet in two places:

First in Luke 22:15-16, just before they share the Lord’s supper together. He says, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” He connects the Lords’ supper with the Passover meal and then connects both of these to the coming Messianic banquet

The other place is Matthew 26:29 just after the he has shared the Lord’s supper with them. He says, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” He connects the Lord’s supper with sharing a meal with them in the future – the Messianic banquet.

So the Lord’s supper points ahead to something greater than it. And every time we partake we are reminded of and anticipate what is to come when we will celebrate with Jesus in the Kingdom. So we are waiting for this – but also, and this is amazing, so is Jesus!

Even now Jesus is waiting for the great celebration

We already looked at Matthew 26:29, so lets look at Mark’s version. Mark 14:25 says, “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Jesus promises not to celebrate until that day – when we are all united and celebrate together – the salvation he has given to us.

Jesus is not off celebrating without us. Jesus is waiting and anticipating when we can all share together as well.

Lets remember this and think of this as we partake of the Lord’s supper together today. William Higgins

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