The Bible Recap - Day 152 (2 Chronicles 1, Psalm 72) - Year 3

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Today we start the book of Second Chronicles, and just like we talked about with First Chronicles, this account will usually have less detail and sometimes different detail than the stories we're reading in the accounts of First and Second Kings. Those books are the DocuSeries, and Chronicles is kind of like the news report. Chronicles almost certainly started out as one book that had to be divided in half because of its length, it wouldn't fit easily onto one scroll. Today, the news report is recounting Solomon making sacrifices before God. Then God asks him what he wants and he makes a request

Starting point is 00:00:43 for wisdom. We saw this in the Docuu series yesterday, except with a few additional details. Today, I notice that God praised Solomon for not asking for the lives of his enemies. This felt like a bit of a callback to his father David, who asked for his enemies' lives on his deathbed. And at the end of Second Chronicles 1, we see it emphasized again that despite his newly granted wisdom, he starts hoarding wealth and horses against God's commands in Deuteronomy 17. Then we moved over to Psalm 72. First of all, is this Psalm by Solomon like it says at the start or by David like it says at the end? That's super confusing, right? So here's the case for each option. If it's by Solomon, then the

Starting point is 00:01:23 first line that says of Solomon is telling us the author's name. And the last line that says, the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended is prophesying David's death. But if it's written by David, then the first line that says of Solomon is telling us it's about Solomon, not by him. And the last line that says, the prayers of David, the son of Jesse are ended, is giving us David's final sign offoff before he dies. No one really knows, and absolutely zero about my faith hinges on it, so I'm not sweating it too much. Here's what we do know about this psalm. It's about the blessing on the king, and probably Solomon, specifically, regardless who wrote it. God has big plans for this king. This is a prayer for a righteous king, but it's not praise for the king. It's asking

Starting point is 00:02:06 God to grant all these good things to the king, a heart for righteousness, a hand for justice, an eye to see the poor in needy. Scripture attributes all these things to God and ask God to give them to the king. These positions of the heart and mind are granted by God. The psalmist, who was likely a king himself at some point, also knows how much the king needs prayer. In verse 15, The psalmist, who was likely a king himself at some point, also knows how much the king needs prayer. In verse 15, the psalmist is asking for round the clock prayers for the king. Do you see how humbled this viewpoint is? If he had exalted the king to God's eyes status, this king wouldn't need prayer. You'd be elevated above the position of human neediness. But because the psalmist realizes all good things are given from Yahweh's hand, he knows

Starting point is 00:02:47 the King needs God's help and asks the people to intercede on his behalf. He ends with a blessing on God himself and says that God alone does wondrous things. There are so many things we need, and there's no one we can take those needs to accept for God. So many people are afraid to ask God for things, afraid they're bothering him. But God says to pray without ceasing, He wants us to keep talking to Him,

Starting point is 00:03:11 to keep asking for things. In part, because it helps us recognize that He is the source of all things, and it also helps us to realize how desperately needy we are. And that ties right into my God's shop for today. Even when people aren't asking him for anything, do you see how much God wants to display his heart of generosity? Solomon wasn't even asking him for anything,

Starting point is 00:03:32 and God shows up and says, Psst, hey Solomon, you want anything? Then on top of that, God decides to triple the blessing, not just giving Solomon what he asked for, but giving him things he didn't ask for too. God is marked by this kind of abundant generosity. He owns everything and he loves to bless his kids. He seeks out opportunities to bless them even when they don't ask for it. His heart is so kind, I can't get over it. He's where the Joy is. Tomorrow we read the Song of Solomon or Song of Songs.

Starting point is 00:04:06 As usual, we've included a link in the show notes for a short video overview. If you've got seven minutes to spare, it's worth your time to check it out. As we move through scripture, you'll see several names of God referenced. And as we keep looking for him and for our God shot as we read his word each day, we thought it might be helpful to give you a more comprehensive guide to the names and attributes of God. So we've built out a PDF for you that not only lists the names and attributes of God, but also the scripture references where you'll find them. We'd love to share that resource with you. If you want to get this free PDF, all you have to do is go to thebibelrecap.com forward slash names and submit your email address. That's thebibelrecap.com forward slash names.

Starting point is 00:04:48 The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-group, discipleship and Bible study groups that meet in homes and churches around the world each week. you

The Bible Recap - Day 152 (2 Chronicles 1, Psalm 72) - Year 3

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