Reading 1 & 2 Kings

  By: Lauren Thomas 

I’ll admit that in the past, I got confused and bored reading through 1 and 2 Kings in the Bible. Whenever I came to the parts about prophets, however, my interest renewed. The prophetic activity recorded in these books is compelling, and it makes for a nice break in the historical narrative. But 1 and 2 Kings is so much more than history, and the prophetic accounts are more than captivating stories. 

 

If you have struggled through these books, keep reading for some inspiration!

While 1 and 2 Kings are historical, they are also theological. They tell us about who God is. They tell us about his ways – punishing sin, but showing mercy to the those who walk faithfully to Him. Historically, these books show the line of descent from David to exile. But theologically they show partial fulfillment of God’s promise to David, that a descendant would always sit on the throne of Israel. This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For this reason, 1 and 2 Kings are important to salvation history. 

 

The presence of prophetic accounts within these books shows that even as judgment was imminent on idolatrous Israel, God was always sending men to call his people back to him. And in doing so, he revealed his steadfast love, mercy, and other characteristics, such as his sovereignty. 

 

Let’s look at 1 Kings 17 for an example. In the ESV, this chapter is broken into 3 sections. In the first, Elijah prophesies a drought. In the second, he goes to live with a widow and the Lord miraculously provides. In the third, God raises a dead boy through Elijah’s prayer. Each of these is interesting, but they aren’t just interesting. They each tell us something about God! 

 

1. God sends a drought. This was a direct challenge to Baal, a god worshipped by King Ahab and idolatrous Israel. Baal was supposed to control fertility and agriculture. Healthy crops were believed to be from Baal. They also believed that Baal temporarily succumbed to Mot, the death God. This resulted in a yearly dry season. God sending a drought showed, not only that he is in control of weather and agriculture, but that he is alive and does not submit to death or any other god. 
2. The Lord provides for a widow. When God sent Elijah to live with a widow during the drought, he sent Elijah to a town belonging to the Sidonians who worship Baal. Yet even here, God provided for Elijah and for the widow. In Old Testament times, people believed that gods were regional and only controlled limited areas. In this account, God demonstrated that he can cross national/regional borders and can minister to people other than his chosen people in Israel. 
3. God raises a dead boy through Elijah’s prayer. When the widow’s son died, she brought him to Elijah who prayed that the boy might live again. God answered his prayers and resurrected the boy. This demonstrated God’s power over death!

Not only is 1 Kings 17 an interesting read, it shows us that God is all-powerful, all-sovereign, and has power over death. 

 

Now, do you think you might want to read 1 and 2 Kings? If you, like me, have struggled to get through these books, here are some tips:

• Take notes. Specifically, make two columns – one for the southern kingdom and one for the northern kingdom – and list all the kings as you read about them. Maybe color code the evil and good kings. Record any info that might help you keep track of them.
• Read the commentary in a study Bible. Sometimes this is all it takes to help these passages make more sense or to uncover something you didn’t notice before.
• Read while listening. Follow along in a physical Bible as you listen to the audio version on your Bible app. 

 

Reflection:

When was the last time you read through 1 and 2 Kings? How does the truth of who God is, according to 1 Kings 17, impact your life? 

Cord of Three Strands | Part 2

By: Jenifer Metzger

Last week we talked about keeping the third strand, God, in the braid of your marriage. We talked about how God as the third strand is vital to the marriage, even life saving. But how can we add Him?

How can you add God in your braid?

Pray. Pray every single day for your marriage. Pray that God would help you to be the wife He has called you to be. Pray that God would help your husband to be the husband He has called him to be. Pray that you and your husband would place God at the center and seek Him in all ways. Pray on your own. Pray together. Ask your husband to pray for you. Ask your husband how you can pray for him. Pray, pray and pray some more.

Get into the Word. You should be reading God's Word every day. The Word is God's instruction manual for not only life, but for our marriages. Read the Word, study the Word, pray the Word. Talk to your husband about reading the Bible together [this is in addition to your own personal reading]. If he agrees, read together at least a couple of times a week. If he is hesitant, instead of reading together, discuss what you each read on your own time. This can bring some incredible discussions and will add a new depth to your intimacy.

Get into church. Make attending church as a couple/family important. Don't skip church just because. As a matter of fact, the only legitimate reason to skip church is for illness, but that's another blog post! Go to church together, worship together, learn together, fellowship together, serve together. Be intentional.

When our marriage starts to feel hard, when we are at each other's throats, when we feel a disconnect, we need to pause and ask ourself if God has been pulled out. If the answer is yes, or even maybe, we need to rebraid our cord and add God back in by prayer, the Bible, and church.

Discussion:
1. Do you and your husband pray together regularly? Praying together, praying for each other, is so important to a Christian marriage. It shows the enemy you are united in God and it builds a spiritual intimacy. Be intentional about praying together.
2. Praying, reading the Bible, and church are just three ways to put God in our marriage. What are other ways you can think of?

Names of God Series: Connected to the True Vine

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Anna Jakutajc-Wojtalik

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples."

John 15:1-8

As we come now to another week in our names of God series, we are today looking at Jesus' name, The "True Vine", a name which points to Jesus as being our source of spiritual life and pointing to the reality that we only thrive when we remain in Him and abide in Christ.

My husband recently put together in our back yard a metal, arched garden bench for me that I absolutely love. At the same time, he planted several morning glories in the hopes that they would grow to vine up and over the arch to cover it with beautiful blooms over the summer. 

As I sat out on that bench this morning and looked at the vines already beginning to climb up one side of the arch, it got me thinking - the arch isn't clinging to the vine. The vine is clinging to the arch. 

Yes, our passage of Scripture today does speak to our abiding in Christ and remaining in Him, but it also speaks about Him abiding in us and remaining in us. So often we seem to zero in on  just the portion that talks about our responsibility, all the while sadly forgetting Jesus'. 

I had never thought about this before until just the other day when I first got to thinking about the concept of vines and clinging. On our property, we are working to clear trees to make more room for pasture on our homestead. As we do, we are regularly coming across trees that have vines wrapped around them intently. 

And that is when I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong portion of this passage all along. Or, perhaps to put it another way, I had just been focusing on one portion to the negligence of the rest. I had to remember that each section is important and that, when it comes to vines, the tree or the arch don't cling to them. The vines cling to the tree or the arch.

Why is this important? 

It's important because, while we do have the responsibility to consciously and intentionally abide in Christ on a daily basis, to remain in Him, and to walk by His Spirit, we are not alone in our efforts here. Just as we seek to abide in Him, Christ is already clinging to us. He is already intentionally holding fast to us, to nurture and nourish us, to strengthen and fill us, and to produce fruit in and through our lives.

It doesn't all depend upon us, friend. We walk by His Spirit, and He does the work. Isn't that a great relief to your soul to remember? I know it is for mine!

Reflection Questions:

1) Is there a certain aspect to abiding that you have been more likely to focus on? Either your abiding in Christ or His abiding in you?

2) How can it be a comfort to think of Christ as faithfully clinging to us as a vine does to a tree or arch?

3) How does the metaphor of a vine shape your view of your relationship with Christ and His work in you?

Grapevine Productivity

 By: Joanne Viola

 

“My people will again live under my shade. 
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. 
They will be fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.” 
(Hosea 14:7, NLT)

When we first married, my in-laws had grapevines which were massive – thick and growing on trellises which gave shade to their entire patio. My father-in-law was most proud of them, always sharing his abundance of grapes to anyone willing to make juice or jam.

While we enjoyed the relief from the heat which the vines provided, it was the fruit we admired and patiently waited to ripen. The memories are sweet ones and I have not thought about those vines until reading these thoughts from Watchman Nee the other day:

“Who ever gave much thought to vine-blossoms? It is in fact one of the shortest-lived of flowers, scarcely noticed before it is gone and has already turned to fruit.

 How tempted we are to display what is impressive to men, a blossom to be admired! But the Father has set us as branches in the Vine. There, what He seeks above all is fruit-bearing.”

 (from Tables in the Wilderness by Watchman Nee, June 7)

There are three different types of plants. There are those which have flowers but no fruit. Then there are those who have both flower blossoms and fruit – think of peach or cherry trees. Lastly, there are those, like my father-in-law’s vines, flowers which are hardly noticed at all but … produce an abundance of fruit.

I think Jesus longs for us to be like the grapevines.

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, 
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit 
so they will produce even more.” 
(John 15:1-2, NLT)

As we stay in close relationship with Jesus, an intimacy develops which produces fruitfulness – productivity – in our lives. But for the productivity to flourish, we must stay continually connected to the Vine.

God, as the gardener, will trim the branches, removing those things which both distract, and detract, from the health of our lives. As painful as this may be at times, He does so in love, knowing once our lives are pruned, our lives will produce more fruit.

The world will tell us our productivity is to bring success, popularity, even a platform. Yet Jesus tells us our fruit-bearing – productivity – will cause those around us to take note of the Vine (Jesus) and bring glory to the Father.

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. 
This brings great glory to my Father.”
 (verse 8)

It really is pretty simple.
As branches our responsibility is to stay connected to the Vine.
Fruit bearing is for God’s glory alone.

 

Reflection:
Look back at the three different types of plants. In this season of life, how would you describe yourself? What can you do to remain better connected to the Vine, and thereby, be more productive?

 

Photo by Thomas Verbruggen on Unsplash

 

 

Things I'm Loving Lately

 By: Lauren Thomas

Have you seen influencers post their “10 Things I’m Loving Lately”? While many influencers create these posts with the aim to sell something, others use it to show who they are or to document what they have been enjoying. One such post I saw recently wasn’t an “ad post” with “affiliate links.” Instead, it was a simple list that sounded a lot like gratitude. 

 

I was immediately inspired to start tracking and documenting 10 things from my week that I enjoyed!

 

And I struggled to think of one.

 

Yikes.

 

I’ve been busy lately. Overwhelmed. Facing lots of changes and challenges. And I’ve let negativity permeate my thoughts and speech. My inability to list a gratitude shone a spotlight on something I had felt a gentle conviction over.

 

Ironically – actually, when it’s the Lord, do we call it that? – my pastor used 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that Sunday.

 

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray constantly, 18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

 

Okay, I hear you, Lord.

 

So, this week, I’m trying to pay attention. I’m trying to rejoice in that “thing I’m loving.” I’m trying to thank God for it, even if it’s small or something brief. And I’m also trying to document it. I take a picture with my phone, or I write it down in my journal. Here’s what I’ve got for this week:

 

1. My morning walk in nature! Sun, green, solitude, exercise.
2. Sunbathing! Though it’s been a rainy week, whenever we have some sunshine, I try to sit outside in the sun for a few minutes. Being outside and soaking up the vitamin D feels so right. 
3. My progress with weight lifting. I am thankful for a healthy body that I can push to grow new muscle. I am thankful for strength.
4. Sudoku! My newest obsession. I recently learned to play, and it has been a fun way to unwind.
5. Grabbing coffee and doing a nature hike with my best friend and our kids. We were made in a garden, so it makes sense we feel closest to our Creator in nature.
6. My garden! I planted a small perennial garden this year, and just this week, some of the flowers have started to bloom. 
7. Discipling my children. We are memorizing 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 together along with learning some Bible trivia this summer.
8. Napping in my hammock [a rare treat indeed!].
9. Reading fiction [especially in my hammock].
10. Birdwatching. Robins in the birdbath. Hummingbirds at the feeder. A goldfinch on my thistle feeder. The blue flash of a bluebird on my morning walk.

And just like that, I feel more optimistic. And I feel at peace knowing I’m in God’s will for my life when I’m living in gratitude.

 

Reflection:

Make your own list of “Things I’m Loving Lately.” Is it hard or easy to write that list? How do you feel after completing it?