I haven't been putting up teaching posts, because I have been really busy and tired out with work. Also, I wanted to do posts only if I could spend as much time and effort on them as I did in my earlier posts. That was unrealistic, to say the least. So, just to break the drought of posts, here is a simple one to get things going again. Hopefully...
2 Chronicles 17:3-5 (ESV) - The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand.
Jehoshaphat had just ascended the throne. He decided in his heart to not follow the example of his father Asa, who rejected the LORD in the later part of his reign, but instead to seek the LORD fully. The LORD established the kingdom in his hand. Simply put, his devotion to the LORD gave him a good head start, a position of strength over his kingdom.
2 Chronicles 17:7-10 (ESV) - In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat used that time to teach the people the Word of God. He made the deliberate effort to raise national Scripture literacy levels. To him, it was not enough that his heart was in the right place, he wanted his people to be educated in the ways of the LORD and how to please him.
Notice the result - because he sought to teach the Law of the LORD, the usual foreign enemies made no war against Jehoshapat. Of course, this was only a temporary reprieve; we know from the Scriptures that war eventually came against Judah later. But the point is this: the teaching of the Law bought him time even more time of peace, and allowed him to accumulate resources and prepare for war.
2 Chronicles 17:12-13 (ESV) - And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
Lessons for us
1) Start Well - set your heart upon the LORD. This is the essential foundation for everything else. It will bring us a basic level of success and prosperity.
2) Feed on the Word of God - many people get complacent. "Ever since I believed in Jesus, my sickness went away and I got a promotion at work". That's absolutely wonderful, but don't stop there. This is the time to renew your mind and feed your spirit man on the Scriptures, so that you become stronger still.
Hard truth - what helped you clear the easier trials and tests of faith is NOT going to be enough to clear you through what will come later. You need to continually grow in the LORD, to establish yourself more firmly in the faith. And a huge, huge part of that depends on the time you spend feeding yourself the Word of God. Use the time of peace to prepare yourself for the trials that will come, for they will come.
3) Plan for Trouble - Part of preparing for trouble is of course spending time in the Scriptures. By now I am convicted that every believer needs to regularly read though the entire Bible every few years at least, to ensure that they have some hope of remembering the next Bible verse they need. I have been reading through the Bible once a year every year since 2016, and given the trials I face that is just a bare minimum.
Another part of planning for trouble is being practical - save up money, don't splurge it unnecessarily Invest your money in what strengthens you (Jehoshaphat building fortresses and investing in troops) and build up supplies (Jehoshaphat building store cities). Build up your health, reduce your intake of unhealthy food, eat healthier food and get some proper exercise regularly.
You don't want to face the trials of life broke and sick!
Conclusion
I hate seeing believers get caught offguard when they are hit by the trials of life. What I often see is that they had a time of peace before that, but they failed to use that time well to prepare for trials. Don't let that happen to you, OK?
2 Chronicles 17:3-5 (ESV) - The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand.
Jehoshaphat had just ascended the throne. He decided in his heart to not follow the example of his father Asa, who rejected the LORD in the later part of his reign, but instead to seek the LORD fully. The LORD established the kingdom in his hand. Simply put, his devotion to the LORD gave him a good head start, a position of strength over his kingdom.
2 Chronicles 17:7-10 (ESV) - In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat used that time to teach the people the Word of God. He made the deliberate effort to raise national Scripture literacy levels. To him, it was not enough that his heart was in the right place, he wanted his people to be educated in the ways of the LORD and how to please him.
Notice the result - because he sought to teach the Law of the LORD, the usual foreign enemies made no war against Jehoshapat. Of course, this was only a temporary reprieve; we know from the Scriptures that war eventually came against Judah later. But the point is this: the teaching of the Law bought him time even more time of peace, and allowed him to accumulate resources and prepare for war.
2 Chronicles 17:12-13 (ESV) - And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
Lessons for us
1) Start Well - set your heart upon the LORD. This is the essential foundation for everything else. It will bring us a basic level of success and prosperity.
2) Feed on the Word of God - many people get complacent. "Ever since I believed in Jesus, my sickness went away and I got a promotion at work". That's absolutely wonderful, but don't stop there. This is the time to renew your mind and feed your spirit man on the Scriptures, so that you become stronger still.
Hard truth - what helped you clear the easier trials and tests of faith is NOT going to be enough to clear you through what will come later. You need to continually grow in the LORD, to establish yourself more firmly in the faith. And a huge, huge part of that depends on the time you spend feeding yourself the Word of God. Use the time of peace to prepare yourself for the trials that will come, for they will come.
3) Plan for Trouble - Part of preparing for trouble is of course spending time in the Scriptures. By now I am convicted that every believer needs to regularly read though the entire Bible every few years at least, to ensure that they have some hope of remembering the next Bible verse they need. I have been reading through the Bible once a year every year since 2016, and given the trials I face that is just a bare minimum.
Another part of planning for trouble is being practical - save up money, don't splurge it unnecessarily Invest your money in what strengthens you (Jehoshaphat building fortresses and investing in troops) and build up supplies (Jehoshaphat building store cities). Build up your health, reduce your intake of unhealthy food, eat healthier food and get some proper exercise regularly.
You don't want to face the trials of life broke and sick!
Conclusion
I hate seeing believers get caught offguard when they are hit by the trials of life. What I often see is that they had a time of peace before that, but they failed to use that time well to prepare for trials. Don't let that happen to you, OK?
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