Thursday, August 1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013

2 Chronicles 30:1–31:21

Romans 15:1–22

Psalm 25:1–15

Proverbs 20:13–15

 

 

“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.  In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.  And so he prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:20,21)

 

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

                in you, I trust, O my God.

Do not let me put to shame,

                nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one whose hope is in you

                will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

                who are treacherous without excuse.” (Psalm 25:1–3)

 

Hezekiah lived out the wisdom that King David shared in today’s psalm.  We read about Hezekiah’s dedication to God’s temple and His law.  Please pay close attention to the order of his priorities and the wording in the 2 Chronicles passage.  As a footnote, we understand:  “And so he prospered.”  He did not let the pursuit of riches, prestige, or fame to come before his commitment to the Living God, but instead God allowed Hezekiah to prosper (according to God’s own standard).

 

2 Chronicles’s description for Hezekiah includes the following:  “Good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.”  These words echo the concept in 2 Samuel 16:7, spoken about David himself:  “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Hezekiah’s heart turned to God’s glory, to its rightful orientation.

 

In a similar manner, when offered a choice for blessing, Solomon had sought wisdom rather than riches or fame.  God responded: “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.  Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.  And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:11–15)

 

Jesus explains this life-plan in Matthew 6:33:  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  With the proper priorities, God will so direct His energies to provide for every need.  We will experience true joy in loving and honoring the Lord.

 

Another confirmation for the immense value of priority-setting comes from the wisdom in Psalm 90:12:  “Teach us to number our days,/ that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  By considering the brevity of life, our hearts may become aware of living for something greater, beyond ourselves.

 

According to the promise of Psalm 25:3, we will never “be put to shame.”  We may have eternal security – for this world and the next – in the value of God’s createdness in us and everything we pour out for His Kingdom and His people.  The dictionary defines shame as “a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.”  Life experience suggests that the Evil One wishes for God’s people to feel shame, starting with Adam and Eve naked in the Garden.  This sentiment of shame works to destroy confidence in our wholeness, integrity, character, and worth as God’s creation.

 

May we, like Hezekiah, “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1–4) and experience the awesome blessing of shame-free and purposeful living.

 

 

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written:  ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’  For everything that was written in the past to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

 

“May the God who gives endurance and encourage give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that, with one heart and mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:1–6)

 

From several New Testament passages, we gather God’s desire for His people to live in unity, working to preserve cohesion and enjoying the complementarity of the Body of Christ.  The Bible does not shy away from recognizing the challenge of this endeavor and the likelihood of our selfish behavior to tear us apart.

 

Paul’s words suggest a personal responsibility to look after others’ best interests ahead of our own, echoing his teaching from Philippians 2:1–11.  There, Paul cites the living example of the Lord Jesus as the pinnacle of self-sacrifice for others’ benefit.  Jesus forfeited the glory and riches of heaven to take on a broken human body and bear the physical and spiritual penalty for mankind’s sin.  In light of this gargantuan task, our refusal to cede to others does appear quite petty.

 

This concept of building unity in the Body does appear radically countercultural, both in ancient Rome and in the modern day.  Trusting in the value of unity and living for this purpose involves faith, maturity, and an eternal focus.  (As an aside, we become decidedly less flexible under stress, hunger, or fatigue.) 

 

Whom could you “build up” in your family today?  Your neighborhood?  Grace Church?  Your hometown?  Where may we join God in binding up the brokenhearted?

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