II Kings & I Chronicles

It's Sunday!  I sure love Sundays!  I'm excited about being with God's people this morning.  I hope you are too.  I'm reading in II Kings and I Chronicles this morning, and here are some highlights: 1) WHEN WE FORSAKE GOD- II Kings is an excellent picture of what happens when people forsake God.  Here are a few things that happened to Israel and Judah as they forsook the LORD.  2 Kings 17:31-32  "burnt their children in fire to ... the gods of Sepharvaim."  32  "made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places."  2 Kings 21:6 " And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."  2 Kings 23:7  "And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD"  In America, we have not burned our children (although we have aborted them), but everything else we have seen done as a people.  Lord help us! 2) I FOUND THE BOOK!  In 2 Kings 22:8, it reads:  "And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it."  Josiah was the King of Judah.  When the book of the law was found, he had it read in his presence, then later in the presence of the people.  It had an effect as it still does today.  The effect was:  Repentance, the Humility, then Commitment, and then Cleansing.  Josiah cleansed the land of all the filth I previously mentioned.  Revival swept across the land.  Oh that it would happen in America!  2 Kings 23:25  "And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." 3) GENEALOGIES- The book of I Chronicles starts with the genealogies of the twelve tribes of Israel.  It says in:  1 Chronicles 9:1  "So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression."   So, the first eight chapters are simply that... genealogies.  There are interesting things in the chapters... comments made about certain individuals that are very noteworthy, like Jabez and his prayer in I Chron. 4:9,10.  4) THEY GREW WITH HIM- Leadership is about growth.  Effective leadership sees the leader growing and the followers growing as well.  In I Chron. 11:9, we see that "David waxed greater and greater".  He was the leader, and he was growing because God was blessing.  And, in verse 10 we read:  Therese also ware the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom,..."   Chapter 12 will name these mighty men and some of their feats, but here in chapter 11 we see that as David grew in leadership, the mighty men were also being "strengthened themselves with him".  David was a strong man, who made those around him stronger... effective leadership! Hope you have a blessed Sunday!  May God bless you!  Pastor Mutchler