The Bible Recap - Day 176 (1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 13-16) - Year 4

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap. King Ray, the first king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, has died, and he's replaced by his son Abijim, also known as Abijah. Abijah does not follow God, just like his dad. Meanwhile, King Jerry is still King in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and these two obviously don't get along. King Jerry's people come out to attack King of Baja's people, and a baija tells Jerry, look, we know you're acting wickedly, we know all about your golden calves and your fake

Starting point is 00:00:38 temple and your non-leave-ite priests, and if you attack us, it's bound to fail because it's an attack against God. Even though Abijah is wicked himself, he's not wrong about this. In the battle, Abijah is outnumbered 2-1, but he and his army kill more than half of Jerry's army and take some of his land as well. After Abijah dies, the next king of Judah is his son, Asa. And finally, we have a God-fearing man on the throne in the south. Hooray! Asa gets a serious pep talk from a man named Aziraya, who acts as the mouthpiece of God,

Starting point is 00:01:12 the spirit. And after Aziraya reminds him of his purpose as king and encourages him to be bold in making reforms, Asa does just that. He is not afraid to make things right in Judah, even if that means kicking family members out of their roles in the kingdom. He is not afraid to make things right in Judah, even if that means kicking family members out of their roles in the kingdom. He fires all the male cult prostitutes and tears down the idols. He makes rebellion against God punishable by death. He does leave some of the spots that are designated for idol worship intact, so he's not completely thorough in keeping others from worshipping idols, but as for his heart, he only worships Yahweh. One thing you may begin to notice is that the kings in Judah, the southern kingdom,

Starting point is 00:01:50 are always compared to whether or not they're like David. He set the standard for what a good king is. Meanwhile, the northern kingdom gets a new king when Jerry dies. His name is Nadab. He's an evil king, but he only has a two-year reign. He and his whole family are murdered by a man named Beisha, who takes over the throne in the Northern Kingdom, and he's an evil king too. However, God uses him to fulfill the words of the prophet Ahidja in 1 Kings 14, when he foretold that all of Jerry's family would be killed. After that massacre against his fellow-northerners, Be devise as a plan against Asa and the Southern Kingdom, which involves setting up a blockade on one of their major highways. Even though God has given Asa incredible military victories as the underdog,

Starting point is 00:02:34 Asa decides to rely on his own plan for how to handle this situation. His decision seems logical and diplomatic and maybe even wise, especially since his army is likely outnumbered, but he doesn't seek God's counsel on it. He takes a bunch of valuable stuff that he's got in storage and offers it to a neighboring king in exchange for his country attacking Beisha and Israel instead. When Beisha realizes what's happening,

Starting point is 00:03:00 he stops building the blockade. Then King Asa takes all the supplies Beisha was using to build his blockade, throws them on the back of an 18-wheeler, and uses them to build his own blockade against Beisha elsewhere. A prophet named Hanani comes to Asa and lets him know that he may have gotten what he wanted,

Starting point is 00:03:17 but God is not pleased. And the consequence of not trusting God for victory over his enemies is that he'll now have lots of enemies, and they'll make war against him. Asa does not receive correction well. He's furious. He imprisons the prophet Hanani and starts being cruel to other people too. He's probably living in deep regret over his actions, but he can't seem to see that he's only making things worse by letting his anger and regret rule him instead of repenting. things worse by letting his anger and regret rule him instead of repenting. Aisa continues walking in autonomy, not seeking God. Even when he comes down with the terrible disease that leads to his death, he seeks help from everyone but God.

Starting point is 00:03:56 Aisa ruled Judah a long time, long enough for five kings to come and go in the northern kingdom. He started out wise, but he died arrogant and angry. Then his son, Jehoshaphat, takes over the throne in the Southern Kingdom. What was your God shot today? Mine was when God the Spirit was speaking through Azaraya the Prophet in 2 Chronicles 15, and he said, if you seek him, he will be found by you. This made me think of you guys. Out there reading and recapping with us every day, you're seeking him. You're at least 176 days into seeking him. Have you been finding him? What do you know about him that you didn't know 177 days ago? I hope your days are stacked

Starting point is 00:04:39 with evidence of him. I hope you're finding him in places you never even thought possible. Places like Leviticus and Numbers and Genealogies. Keep seeking him. Because I bet you know him more today than you did yesterday, but not as much as you'll know him tomorrow. And I hope you're seeing every day that he's where the joy is. Where do you recap? Where do you get your daily dose of joy? Show us a picture of yourself listening or just show us the spot where you spend time with God. We would love to see it. Does your dog join you, your baby, your coffee, your front porch?

Starting point is 00:05:14 Or do you recap in your cube at work or at the gym or while wearing your sheet mask at night? Snap a picture, post it to your socials, and tag us. We're the Bible Recab Everywhere. The Bible Recab is brought to you by D-group, discipleship and Bible study groups that meet in homes and churches around the world each week.

The Bible Recap - Day 176 (1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 13-16) - Year 4

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