The NHL and the NBA have crowned their
champions, the baseball season is in full swing and World Cup soccer is filling
up the summer schedule, but the most exciting contest was in our readings this
week. Many people in the world live and die through sports. In most of the world, soccer is like a
religion. National holidays are called
to watch a match played half way across the globe. Employers close shop because
everyone is fixated on the match. Many become so obsessed that their very
existence hinges on the outcome of a game. In 1 Kings we have another contest
that captured the attention of a nation. When Elijah challenged the prophets of
Baal the nation was transfixed on the outcome. God used this opportunity to
remind the people of who God was and that he had complete power. God used this
match to bring the focus of the people back to God. We all have times where our
focus is not on God. I am reminded of these words from the book of Hebrews,
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV) I hope your Bible
reading helps to focus your eyes on Jesus Christ. On to the study....
Seth’s Thoughts
The Old Testament
The time of the kings was not a glorious time for the people of God. After only
three kings (Saul, David, Solomon) the nation divides and there is almost
constant war. “There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.” (1
Kings 14:30 NIV) There was also lots of murder and other vile behavior from
both sides. Don’t forget to keep the kingdoms straight in your head as you
read. When you read Israel, think northern kingdom ruled from Samaria, and when
you read Judah, think southern kingdom ruled from Jerusalem. In this section of
scripture every time Israel is mentioned it is always in reference to the
northern kingdom and not to all the people. Almost every king we meet is bad
and we will read over and over again, “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and
followed in the ways of.........” There are a few exceptions to this. Make sure
you spot the good ones and remember what they did. 1 and 2 Kings make mention
of a few source materials. The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel,
and The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah, have never been found
but they are mentioned here. Most kings had a scribe who wrote down everything
that happened during their reign. It was a common practice and just because we
do not have these books today does not discount the validity of the scriptures.
We saw the beginning of the history of bad blood between Jerusalem and Samaria
this week. Remember in Jesus time, the Jews hated the Samaritans. The history
of this rivalry goes back to the divided kingdom. The Samaritans of Jesus day
were a bit different because of the exile and other factors, but this is the
beginning. God’s prophet Elijah has a big role in the kingdom of Israel. He
spends a lot of time trying to convince the Israelites that they have turned
away from YAHWEH. His challenge of the prophets of Baal and the sending of fire
to consume the king’s messengers are two big ones. A quick note on the
challenge on Mt. Carmel; one thing that makes the scene even more dramatic (if
it wasn’t already) is the fact that Baal was the god of the weather and he rode
on the clouds. If you remember that right after the challenge on the mountain,
Elijah says that it is going to rain and it does, in buckets. That was a big
“In Your Face!” to the prophets of Baal. I also like the fact that Elijah was
given “super strength” as he ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot. I don’t have time
here to talk all about Ahab, but suffice it to say that he was a scumbag. He
was terrible and I think his wife was even worse. Most of the kings of Israel
will be compared to him and eventually he and his wife will become synonymous
with evil. “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in
the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going
after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.” (1 Kings
21:25-26 NIV)
The New Testament
Many people believe that in the early church Peter did ministry only to the
Jews and Paul did ministry only to the Gentiles. But when you start looking at
it, it becomes obvious that this was not the case. In Acts 10 Peter clearly is
called and sent by God to the house of a Gentile. Not only does God give him a
vision that this is OK, Peter also baptizes Cornelius and his family! This is
Peter doing ministry to the Gentiles. Peter got into some trouble with this,
but he was convinced saying, “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how
true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation
who fear him and do what is right.’” (Acts 10:34-35 NIV) Acts 12:24 marks a
transition from Peter’s ministry to Paul’s. Even though Paul is known as an
apostle to the Gentiles (he even said it himself) Paul’s first destination when
he goes into any town or city is the synagogue. If he is to bring the message
to the Gentiles, why start in the synagogue? The quick answer is that Paul had
a desire that all come to know Jesus and that all would be saved. He himself
was a Jew (and a Pharisee to boot) and his desire was also for his own
spiritual family. The standard process for Paul and his companions was this:
They would start in the synagogue and would preach with success until they
encountered hostility. They would then go out to the streets and find some
success until they were persecuted and then they fled the city. (My seminary
professor had us memorize this as S.S.Hos.S.S.P.F. which stands for synagogue,
success, hostility, streets, success, persecution,
fled) So both Peter and Paul brought the message to all people
everywhere. One thing that is very interesting to note is the list of early
church leaders at the beginning of chapter 13. This was a very multicultural
group. From the beginning the church has been multi-lingual and multi-cultural
(remember Pentecost?). I think we can learn from this model. If we look to Acts
as our guide we need to find ways to break the church away from a mono-cultural
Western mindset. (Now I am rambling so I will move on.) One neat thing that we
find in Acts is the many Old Testament references. The early church used the
Scriptures to help teach the truth of Jesus Christ to those waiting for the
Messiah. We will see even more of this
later.
Bits and Pieces
The Old Testament
We will start the book of 2 Kings so here are the vital stats:
PURPOSE: To demonstrate the fate that awaits all who refuse to make God their
true leader
AUTHOR: Unknown. Possibly Jeremiah or a group of Prophets
SETTING: The once-united nation of Israel has been divided into two kingdoms,
Israel and Judah, for over a century.
KEY VERSES: “The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and
seers: ‘Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in
accordance wit the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I
delivered to you through my servants the prophets.’ But they would not listen
and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their
God.” 2 Kings 17:13-14
KEY PEOPLE: Elijah, Elisha, Shunammite woman, Naaman, Jezebel, Jehu, Joash,
Hexikiah, Sennacherib, Isaiah, Manasseh, Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah,
Nebuchadnezzar
SPECIAL FEATURES: The 17 prophetic books at the end of the Old Testament give
great insights into the time period of 2 Kings.
Have a great week!!!
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