aAnd from among my sonsa"for the LORD has given me many childrena"he chose Solomon to succeed me on the throne of his kingdom of Israel. He said to me, aYour son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father.a a 1 Chronicles 28:5-6
Some fathers do not hesitate to tell their children what to do with their livesa"and theyare often wrong. One father who has worked hard to build his business a.s.sumes his son will be eager to take over, only to discover that the son has neither the heart nor the head for such a task. Another father, frustrated in his own athletic career, pushes his son to excel so that he may vicariously enjoy what he has personally been denied, only to discover that his son prefers footlights to football and plays by Shakespeare to plays from scrimmage.
David, too, had designs for his son Solomon. But there was a difference. G.o.d had told David what he wanted his son to doa"even giving David detailed instructions! (28:19). David then drew up the blueprints and began collecting the raw materials for his sonas work (22:1-5), and he spoke to his son with certainty and authority concerning the work that he would do (22:6-19; 28:20-21). David was not just laying his own plans on Solomon, as many fathers do. He was laying G.o.das plans on his son, in accord with G.o.das will. And it was exactly the right thing.
Fathers today can still discover G.o.das plans for their children, they can begin collecting the amaterialsa that will help their children fulfill those plans, and they can instruct their children in those plans. By prayerfully and carefully studying G.o.das word, fathers can find general principles of guidance for their children; and by carefully and prayerfully observing their childrenas apt.i.tudes, abilities, opportunities, and interests, they can help their children discover more specific details of G.o.das plans. Todayas fathers should remind their children that, whatever their occupation, their calling is to be the Lordas servants; and whatever their success, their abilities are G.o.d-given. They should remind their children that everything they have received comes from G.o.d, and that their lives on earth will prepare them for the experience of eternity. Fathers should tell their children that, whatever their field of endeavor, if they pursue the Lordas will with enthusiasm, they can count on the Lordas presence and enabling.
Shame on fathers who impose their own will and ignore G.o.das will in their childrenas lives. But blessed is the man who watches his children carefully and pursues G.o.das path for them wholeheartedly. Those men understand the difference between imposing their will and influencing their children, the difference between intimidation and inspiration.
October 31
TO READ: 2 Chronicles 1:1-13
If Any Man Lacks Wisdom . . .
aNow, LORD G.o.d, please keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! Give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern this great nation of yours?a 2 Chronicles 1:9-10
If you inherited a million dollars, what would you do with it? If you could have anything you asked for, what would it be? Questions like these are rarely asked seriously and therefore seldom answered sensibly. But Solomon received a serious invitation from the Lord to respond to just such a question.
When the Lord invited the new king to ask for whatever his heart desired, the response was memorable. Solomon did not ask for personal enrichment, safety, or longevity but for the tools he would need to be what G.o.d had called him to be. aNow, Lord G.o.d, please keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! Give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern this great nation of yours?a (1:9-10). So unusual was Solomonas request that the Lord not only commended him and gave him what he asked for, but also showered him with unsolicited bonuses.
Solomonas request for wisdom and knowledge was indicative of his maturity. Knowledge is the acc.u.mulation of information, whereas wisdom is knowing how to apply the information and make good decisions. Solomon needed no one to tell him that the task he had been given was more than he could handle on his own. He was in touch with his own inadequacy. So he specifically asked for knowledge to understand the problems, and wisdom to know what to do about them. Many men have been too smart for their own good, too impressed with their own abilities to be aware of their deficiencies. Solomon was n.o.bodyas fool. He was already wise enough to know he needed help, and smart enough to know where to find it.
Every man must recognize the peculiar and special challenges of his calling. And each man must be aware that in his own strength he does not have what it takes to be all that G.o.d calls him to be. Smart men know their limitations and know where their help comes from. They catalogue their deficiencies and turn to the Lord, the source of wisdom and knowledge, finding in him resources for the work at hand. And they find that aif you need wisdoma"if you want to know what G.o.d wants you to doa"ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your askinga (James 1:5). Smart men know how smart they arenat. Wise men know how desperately short of wisdom they fall, and they are wise enough to ask for more.
November 1
TO READ: 2 Chronicles 7:11-22
The Wailing Wall
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
The wailing wall in Jerusalem is one of the saddest places on earth. Day after day faithful Jews stand before its imposing ruin, pouring out their souls to the Lord, asking him to send the promised Messiah. Quite apart from the sadness of their failure to recognize that Jesus is Messiah, the wall itself, the sole remnant of Israelas majestic temple, speaks a solemn sadness of its own. It speaks silently of former glories long gone, of broken covenants and shattered dreams, of sin and judgment, and of false hopes.
When Solomon had finally completed the temple and his own palace, the Lord appeared to him one night. He told Solomon that if the people of Israel ever turned away from the Lord, he would send a series of increasingly alarming calamities (7:19-22). If the people refused to respond to the Lord and abandoned him, in the end they would be uprooted from the land and the temple would be destroyed. Then people would pa.s.s by for generations to come and wonder at the devastation of such a magnificent edifice. The people of Israel did turn away from the Lord, G.o.das promise of judgment was fulfilled, and the temple is no morea"the Wailing Wall alone remains. Every day it stands in mute testimony to the consequences of Israelas refusal to honor the Lord.
But the Lord did not only promise judgment on sin. He also offered a way to forgiveness and cleansing. The purpose of the promised calamities was not just to punish G.o.das people for their disobedience. G.o.d designed the disasters to precipitate repentance. If at any time the people would turn back to G.o.d in humility and true repentance, G.o.d would restore his blessings to them (7:14). This kind of repentance would not just consist of tearful promises, but of genuine sorrow, heartfelt grief, thorough forsaking of sin, and earnest calling on the Lord. This kind of repentance would release the promised blessings, not only for the repentant individuals but also for the communities of which they were a part.
Similar principles apply today. Willful sin is an affront to G.o.d, and it bears grave consequences. These consequences const.i.tute divine judgment, which should lead to repentance and restoration. Many people recognize the need for a reversal of moral trends in their communities but fail to recognize the part G.o.das people must play. For there to be reversal in the community, there must be revival in the church. For revival in the church to happen, there must be renewal in the Christian. Reversal, revival, and renewal all stand waiting in linea"for repentance!
November 2
TO READ: 2 Chronicles 34:1-13
Youthful Vigor
During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the G.o.d of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year, he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem, destroying all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles, and the carved idols and cast images.
2 Chronicles 34:3
Most sixteen-year-old boys are not known for their piety. Immaturity, irresponsibility, or mischief, perhapsa"and voracious appet.i.te, energy, activity, even industrya"but not usually piety, even if they are reigning monarchs.
Young King Josiah was different. We are not told what led Josiah to earnestly desire an experience of the Lord. It certainly was not the example of his father, King Amon, or his grandfather, King Mana.s.seh, both of whom were wicked kings. Something was born in Josiahas heart that led him to take seriously both his own spiritual well-being and his royal obligation for the well-being of his people. In a few short years, he used his royal power and prestige to rid his territory of the infamous idolatry that plagued his people and to commission the refurbishing of the neglected temple (34:8). All this by the time he was twenty-six years of age!
Josiahas devotion to the Lord and spiritual leadership were developed without the benefit of the Scriptures, which makes his accomplishments even more remarkable. Then, when Hilkiah the priest discovered the lost Scriptures (34:14), Josiah was horrified to discover how far he and his people had strayed from the Lordas commands. He immediately ordered further study and inquired of the prophet Huldah. When he understood the significance of the word of the Lord, he put it into practice and called the people to follow his lead.
Prior to the rediscovery of the Scriptures, Josiah had known enough about the Lord to know that he needed to know more, and he had seen enough of idol worship to know that it was clearly wrong. Acting on the limited information available to him, he achieved great things. But when he received the word of the Lord, his vision was expanded and his experience enlarged.
Every man is called not only to respond to what he knows but also to ensure that he knows what he should. To know the word and not to obey it is wrong. To have the word and not to read and know it is no better. To paraphrase Mark Twain, aHe who does not read and obey has no advantage over he who cannot read or respond.a Josiah could not know what was hidden in the lost book. Modern man has no such problema"the Book is available. So we must do what we know, and read the Book. Those who read it will be called to make some changes, some of which will be uncomfortable. But every step we take toward G.o.d will lead to blessing.
November 3
TO READ: Ezra 3:1-13
Enthusiasm and Experience
Many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders remembered the first Temple, and they wept aloud when they saw the new Templeas foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy.
Ezra 3:12
Young people look forward; old folks look back. Youth embraces the future, where most of its life lies; old age reveres the past, where most of its life has gone. Youth has little in the past to which to refer; old age has not much in the future for which to plan. So when youth and old age stand together in the same place, they look in opposite directions and see different scenarios. Old folks see the good old days; the young see only bright horizons. Little wonder they often disagree and not infrequently clash!
On the day when the new foundations of the ruined temple were laid in Jerusalem after seventy years in exile, the reactions of the generations were markedly different. The young people were so excited about what was new and fresh that they sang and shouted and danced for joy. Their faces were wreathed in smiles. But the shouts were mingled with sobs because, while the young were delighted, the old were dismayed. Their cheeks wore no smiles, but were bathed in tears (3:12). They remembered and mourned the old temple, the old days, the way things were. And they looked with dismay at what was destined to take its place. In their minds the new was far inferior to the old.
The mingled sounds of delight and dismay were apparently indistinguishable from a distance (3:13). That was good, because it would have been unfortunate if only the shouts of youth had been heard, and it would have been unforgivable if the moans of the old had prevailed. Both had a point. The old had experience, which gave insight to what had been; the young had enthusiasm, which promised momentum for what was to come.
Enthusiasm without the cautions of experience can lead to projects crashing in flames. Experience without the fire of enthusiasm can lead to projects never leaving the ground. Old people harping on the way things were can kill the hope of the future, while young people worshiping the way things will be can be wounded if the lessons of history go unheeded.
G.o.d made youth and old age for a reasona"they need each other! So letas thank him for youth and praise him for old age, and let us pray that enthusiasm and experience will kiss each other, and that they will live happily together.
November 4
TO READ: Ezra 4:1-5; 5:1-5; 6:1-18
The Faces of Evil
So the Jewish leaders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the G.o.d of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia.
Ezra 6:14
Evil has many faces. On some occasions it smiles seductively and lures the unwary. On other occasions it scowls fiercely and intimidates the insecure. Sometimes evil talks sweetly with offers of helpfulness and cooperation, while at other times it shouts its demands and dire threats of doom. Because evil appears in differing forms, it must be countered in different ways. But first it must be recognized for what it is.
Evil has many faces, but only one goala"to thwart the purposes of G.o.d. Evil and opposition sometimes wear a friendly face. The rebuilders of the temple were offered the cooperation of their enemies. These enemies claimed to worship the Lord, but they failed to mention that they also worshiped many other G.o.ds (see 2 Kings 17:24-34). Letting them help would have given them equal access to the temple and would have compromised the purity of the peopleas worship of the Lord. The leaders of Judah and Benjamin rightly recognized that these enemies had anothing in commona with them (Ezra 4:3), and gave them ano stake or claim in Jerusalema (Neh. 2:20).
Thus rebuffed, the enemies of Judah and Benjamin became even more overt in their opposition (Ezra 4:4-5). Sterner threats required stronger responses. Later, when the building work was stopped by order of King Artaxerxes in response to spurious statements concerning the builders, it took the challenging preaching of the prophets to counter the evil and get the work moving.
When Tattenai the governor arrived on the site to question the rebuilders about their activities (5:3-5), he was civil and courteous, but committed to stopping the building nevertheless. He took down the names of the buildersa"an officious act with threatening overtonesa"and dispatched letters to King Artaxerxes to check out the returned exilesa story. When the reply came that the Jews were indeed authorized to rebuild the temple, Tattenai had no alternative but to allow them to continue. Although he wanted to terminate the restoration of the temple, he was prepared to work within the framework of the law. So the danger pa.s.sed. G.o.das people have sometimes benefitted from the fact that some of G.o.das enemies do respect law and order.
Wise men recognize evil in a smile or a sneer, and they tear off its mask and meet it face-to-face. But such is the subtlety of evil that wise men are well advised to take counsel with others of like mind, lest they mistakenly call evil good and good evil.