May the mumbling commence!
Before I start, one week at camp turned into two. I have been blessed at camp with fifth and sixth graders two weeks ago and seventh and eighth graders this past week. Now, it is time to catch up my mumbling blog...
What does it mean to have the Lord on your side? What does it mean to wholly devote yourself to seeking the Lord? Let’s look briefly at what the Chronicler says about these questions in 2 Chronicles 13-15. We will learn that these two questions are intimately related.
Note the juxtaposition of the kingdom of Israel and Judah from 2 Chronicles 13:4-12.
Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don't you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.
And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn't you drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.
As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
Israel had their golden calf idols. In these idols, they rejected the Lord. They also rejected the Lord’s anointed priests – the sons of Aaron and the Levites. Judah, on the other hand, welcomed the sons of Aaron and the Levites. These men of God knew how to seek the Lord, and they led all Judah in the prescribed ways. If Israel fought these ways, they fought the Lord. And Judah had a covenant of salt through the promise given by the Lord to David. A covenant of salt? What is the significance of salt? I will use this week at camp to help uncover the significance of salt.
Let’s turn our attention to another passage – 2 Chronicles 15:1-7. Read it below:
The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
“The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Is the Lord on our side? That is NOT the question. Better: Are we on the Lord’s side? To be on the Lord’s side will take endurance. It will take transformative change. When these things become apparent to others, the Lord will draw others to you. Read from 2 Chronicles 15:8-9 below –
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord's temple. Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
Remove the idols from your life. Repair the altar of the Lord. These two steps are related. Leave the ways of the world behind, and pick up the way of the Lord. Do these things, and you will be lasted for salvation.
Enough mumbling for today…
Peace Out
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