Category: sermon-archive

THE BATTLE IS HIS

2 Chronicles 20:14-22 NET.

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly, the LORD’s Spirit came upon Jachaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph. ¹⁵ He said: “Pay attention, all you people of Judah, residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of this huge army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them as they come up the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine in front of the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the LORD deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! Tomorrow march out toward them; the LORD is with you!'” ¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground, and all the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD and worshiped him. ¹⁹ Then some Levites, from the Kohathites and Korahites, got up and loudly praised the LORD God of Israel. ²⁰ Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the LORD your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.” ²¹ He met with the people and appointed musicians to play before the LORD and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his loyal love endures.” ²² When they began to shout and praise, the LORD suddenly attacked the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

When we study the word of God in the Bible, it is meant to transform us. It’s like exercise. If we stay committed, it can make us stronger. But for that to happen, we need to keep increasing the challenge—adding weights to the bar or extending our running distance. Strength doesn’t come from doing the same exercise day after day, week after week, and year after year. That’s why we are spending some time this year on some lesser-known Old Testament passages.

Let me remind you again of those verses in the New Testament that describe the purpose of Scripture. “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching,  reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That quote begins with the word “every.” In order to serve as messengers of God’s word, we need to know more than just the familiar passages from our favorite books. We need to add more weights to the bar. We need to go further than we did last year.

Amy Grant sang a song about a person who refused to do that. The song goes like this:

“I know a man, maybe you know him, too
You never can tell; he might even be you
He knelt at the altar, and that was the end
He’s saved, and that’s all that matters to him
His spiritual tummy, it can’t take too much
One day a week, he gets a spiritual lunch
On Sunday, he puts on his spiritual best
And gives his language a spiritual rest
He’s just a faaa…
He’s just a fat little baby!
Wa, wa, waaaaa…
He wants his bottle, and he don’t mean maybe
He sampled solid foods once or twice
But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice
Ba, ba, ba, ba…ba, ba…ba, ba!
He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood
But his daily devotions are stuck in the mud
He knows the books of the Bible and John 3:16
He’s got the biggest King James you’ve ever seen!
I’ve always wondered if he’ll grow up someday
He’s momma’s boy, and he likes it that way
If you happen to see him, tell him I said,
“He’ll never grow, if he never gets fed”
He’s just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fa-at, fat…
Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fa-at, Fat…
Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fatttt…
Baby…”[1]

It’s funny when we think about it, but it’s scary when we realize that all of us can be guilty of that kind of attitude toward the Bible. We like certain parts, but there are whole sections of the Word of God that we don’t go to that often. We need to be reminded of the significance of that word “every.” God wants us to master every word, every book in both Testaments. All Scripture is inspired. All Scripture is profitable.

In today’s text, we are back in the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Last week, Solomon, and the week before that, David. All three kings were praying, but for different reasons. David prayed to halt a plague, and Solomon prayed to dedicate the temple. Today’s chapter begins with a prayer by King Jehoshaphat. He was one of the good kings of Judah. But at this time, his nation was facing an invasion. Three armies had gathered on the East side of the Dead Sea.

I want to talk a little about the King’s work today. We don’t often think about that aspect of what a king does, but we see it in these three kings of Judah. David prayed, his son Solomon prayed, and his great-great-grandson Jehoshaphat prayed. When the nation had a challenge, it was their leader’s first responsibility not to rule them, but to intercede for them. He declared a fast.

Then he stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the LORD’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. He prayed: “O LORD God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. Our God, you drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession to the descendants of your friend Abraham. They settled down in it and built a temple to honor you, saying, ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in it. We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will hear and deliver us.’ Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! When Israel came from Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. They bypassed them and did not destroy them. Look how they are repaying us! They come to drive us out of the land you assigned to us! Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this vast army attacking us! We don’t know what to do; we look to you for help.

Notice also the People’s work in today’s story. While the king was praying, the whole nation had gathered and was fasting—all the men, with their wives and children, even the infants.  The Holy Spirit spoke to one of those men. He was a Levite of the clan of Asaph. His name was Jachaziel. The Lord spoke through him and told the soldiers to march down to meet the enemy the next day. He told them exactly where they would meet the enemy. He also told them not to be afraid. He said they would meet the enemy, but they would not have to defeat them. He said the battle was not theirs, it was the LORD’s. He said they will not fight in this battle. He said, “Take your positions, stand, and watch the LORD deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! Tomorrow, march out toward them; the LORD is with you!'”

The people had a responsibility to take their positions, even though the LORD himself would be the one engaging in battle. Even when our Lord Jesus was doing his great miracles of healing and deliverance, he always required the recipient to do something. He wanted them to show their dependence on him and their faith in him. That is what God was doing for the nation of Judah under Jehoshaphat. He is saying that he intends to fight for us, but he requires that we take our positions. Many are refusing even to do that. He wants to bless us all, and all we have to do is show up. But we don’t show up. We hide in our houses with our private religion, and we don’t dare declare our faith in God, yet we still hope that he might bless us.

God has ordained the gathering as one way for us to declare our allegiance to him and our dependence on him. When we gather, the Holy Spirit can come upon some like he did for Jachaziel. That was when God’s people got their marching orders. The king had ordered a fast and an assembly, but the people had to show up. The marching orders were given, but the soldiers had to take their positions. The people had a responsibility to take their positions, even though the LORD himself would be the one engaging in battle.

The people’s natural response upon hearing what Jachaziel said was to bow down and worship the LORD. Then, their natural reaction was to get up and loudly praise the Lord. They worshipped before the battle took place, before the victory came. Their worship was another declaration of their faith in God. That is what worship is for us today as well. It is not us getting together only when we have some testimony of something exciting the Lord has done for us. We come together to declare our faith in what the Lord is going to do for us. Even when we are down, discouraged, and heartbroken, we get together because we have a God who fights for us. We worship before the victory comes because our God is faithful and the battle is his!

Even during the battle, Jehoshaphat commanded that musicians play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. He appointed them to march ahead of the soldiers. They were chanting. They chanted the same chant we did last week when we responsively read Psalm 136: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his loyal love endures.”

Notice also what today’s text says about the LORD’s work. While the musicians were chanting praise to God and the soldiers were marching forward, the LORD suddenly attacked the opposing armies. He caused the Ammonite armies and the Moabite armies to attack the armies of the men from Mount Seir. The armies annihilated each other!

When the men of Judah reached the lookout overlooking the desert and saw the vast army, they noticed dead bodies on the ground—there were no survivors! Jehoshaphat and his men went to gather the spoil. They found a massive amount of supplies, clothing, and valuables. They took everything they could carry. The spoil was so great that it took them three days to haul it all away.

That is what happens when God’s people declare their faith in him and trust him to fight their battles. It could have happened very differently if the king hadn’t prayed, if the people hadn’t come together and fasted, or if Jachaziel hadn’t been open to the Holy Spirit.

God wants to do mighty work in this community as well, and he wants all the Christian congregations to witness that work. All he asks of us is that we gather, pray, fast, and take our positions. He wants us to praise and worship him like the victory has already happened.

The situation for King Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah was critical. They faced three enemy armies that might have destroyed them and taken their land. But God wanted them to know that they had nothing to fear. They had access to a power far greater than the power of these armies. They worshipped in faith, knowing that God would intervene, but not knowing the details. None of them could have imagined that they would be spending three days just picking up the loot left behind by those armies!

God was not caught off guard by this battle. It was not a surprise to him. In fact, he didn’t just allow it, he ordained it. It was his way of blessing his people with a blessing that they did not see coming. They should have brought croker sacks to this battle because they were going to need them. It was going to take a few days for them to haul off all the blessings that God intended. The ordeal that they had feared was actually a blessing in disguise.

The lesson for you and me today is that our God does not just want to prevent the battles we might face. He wants to fight those battles for us. He is prepared to go above and beyond what we can even imagine asking him to do. The battle is his. But are there people who dare to trust him and praise him before the battle starts? Where are our musicians confidently chanting, going ahead of the soldiers? Where are the soldiers, going where the battle will take place, following the orders of the Holy Spirit? Where are the congregations, praying and fasting and trusting in the Lord to intervene?

The New Testament tells us that our enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion on the prowl, looking for someone to devour. It tells us to resist him. Yes, it says we are to resist the devil, but we don’t have the power to resist him. Nevertheless, that is what we are told to do. To God belongs the power forever. The battle is his forever.

[1] Fat Baby (Songwriters: Rodney S. Robison / Steve Millikan).

NONE LIKE HIM

2 Chronicles 6:13-19 NET.

¹³ Solomon had made a bronze platform and had placed it in the middle of the enclosure. It was seven and one-half feet long, seven and one-half feet wide, and four and one-half feet high. He stood on it and then got down on his knees in front of the entire assembly of Israel. He spread out his hands toward the sky, ¹⁴ and prayed: “O LORD God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ¹⁵ You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. ¹⁶ Now, O LORD God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and obey my law as you have done.’ ¹⁷ Now, O LORD God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant David be realized. ¹⁸ “God does not really live with humankind on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! ¹⁹ But respond favorably to your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O LORD my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you.

Last week, we saw King David praying a prayer of repentance and intercession at the threshing floor of Ornan. This week, we move a few years into the future, and we find David’s son Solomon is now king. We are still in the same location, but now the temple has been built there. Solomon is doing the same thing his father did—praying. However, the purpose of his prayer is different. David had prayed because the destroying angel was attacking Jerusalem. He knew he was to blame, so David prayed for forgiveness and asked God’s mercy to stop the destruction. The LORD answered David’s prayer and halted his judgment. Now, David is gone, and his son Solomon has taken his place as king over the united Israel. The location remains the same, but it is now the site of the temple. Solomon is praying to dedicate the temple.

Let’s look at the context of Solomon’s prayer.

Solomon built a platform into the temple structure for prayer on behalf of his people. The platform was large enough to stand out among the beautiful temple buildings. It was a square measuring 5 cubits by 5 cubits and was 3 cubits high. It was not located inside the holy place or the holy of holies because Solomon, as king, did not serve as a priest. He could, however, go to the temple courts. Solomon created this platform as an official spot where the king could dedicate the entire temple area. Therefore, at the entrance of the temple, in front of the burnt offering altar, Solomon took his place to pray.

Look closely at what the text shows us about Solomon’s posture. He stepped onto the platform, then knelt down on his knees. He raised his hands and stretched them toward the sky. This posture reveals a lot about the purpose of Solomon’s prayer. As king, he was praying for his people, the nation of Israel. As the one responsible for building the temple, he was praying for that place. He was dedicating it for the worship of God according to the laws of Moses. He knelt to show he was not the ultimate ruler of the nation. He submitted to God and recognized God’s authority above his own. He knelt as a subject of God and a citizen of His kingdom.

He also raised his hands to the sky and spread them apart, symbolizing the focus of his prayer. He was praying for the temple they were dedicating to the LORD and for his ministry. He also signaled that his prayers were for the entire nation.

We have just celebrated our nation’s Independence Day. It is fitting for us, as citizens of this country, to express gratitude for the blessings we have received and the legacy we have inherited. However, as Christians, we must also recognize that our independence is always qualified. Like Solomon, we should come to God on our knees and submit to His sovereignty. The colonies were justified in rebelling against King George and declaring their independence from him and his realm. But we must not believe that a true Christian is ever completely independent.

Our dependence upon God means two things. First, it means he is the supreme authority over our lives. What he wants is always our highest aim. What he does not want is never an option for us. To seek something outside of God’s will is to rebel against his authority. It is treason for us. We don’t resent his intrusion into our lives because we understand that his will is also a blessing for us, not a curse.

Secondly, our dependence means that we have someone to turn to in order to improve our lives, correct our failures, or heal our diseases and injuries. When we have exhausted our abilities and used up all our resources, we can go to him for blessing and restoration. This was another reason Solomon stood on the prayer platform that day and prayed. He was seeking divine blessing. He was asking God to bless the place he had chosen to visibly manifest his presence: the temple. From that location, Solomon was also praying for God’s blessing on his entire house and kingdom.

I should also mention that there was a part of this new temple called the court of the nations or the court of the Gentiles. This was a place where even those outside the nation of Israel could come and access God and His blessings. You might remember that when Jesus overturned the moneychangers’ tables, it happened in the court of nations. The reason Jesus got so angry is that the moneychangers were doing their own business in the area that God had declared should be a house of prayer for all nations.

It is certainly appropriate for us to ask God to bless America. However, it is wrong to assume that America is the only nation God desires to bless. It is also incorrect to celebrate any nation’s independence from God. Many people in our country need to be blessed with the gift of repentance. So, when I say, “God bless America,” that is what I mean.

Now, let’s examine the content of Solomon’s prayer. I didn’t include the entire prayer in today’s message. I selected this section because Solomon starts his prayer with a lesson on theology. He describes the God of the Bible in contrast to all the other gods of different nations.

According to Solomon, God is unique. He says that there is no God like Him in heaven or on earth. It is important I clarify something from what we read here. Solomon is not suggesting that heaven contains multiple gods and that Israel’s God is just one among them. The words “heaven” and “earth” are poor translations. What Solomon actually means in his prayer is that God is unique among all the gods in the sky and on the land. Other nations and tribes made their own gods, often using something visible to represent them. Some chose features on the land, like a river, a fish, a bull, or a frog. Others selected features in the sky, like storms, the sun, the moon, or the stars. When Solomon prayed, he acknowledged that these are not truly gods. They are creations of the true God. Some appear powerful, but that power belongs to God. Some seem wise, but that wisdom comes from God. All these things in the sky and on the land are blessings from God, but they are not God Himself.

Solomon also says that God is reliable. He states that God remains loyal to his servants who sincerely obey him. The God of the Bible cannot be manipulated. He does not bow to the will of a shaman or priest. However, he can be trusted to fulfill the promises he has made in his word. God does not respond to rituals and threats, but he does respond to our faithfulness. When we are faithful like he is, he blesses us. If we show ourselves dependent on him, he will prove to be dependable toward us.

Solomon states that God keeps His promises. He reflects on the life of David, his father, and concludes that God has fulfilled His word to him. Then he looks ahead in faith and asks God to do what He has already promised: to continue blessing the nation with rulers from David’s dynasty. There is a hint in this prayer of another ruler, another anointed king in David’s line, who will one day come and establish God’s eternal kingdom.

Solomon also makes a concession in his prayer. He prays for God to bless the temple and take up residence there, but he acknowledges that God does not truly dwell with humankind on earth. The temple will be a physical symbol of God’s presence, but it will never contain the fullness of God’s presence.

God cannot be contained. He is the creator of the land, but He lives beyond it. He created the sky, but He dwells above it. Even the highest heaven, His divine residence, does not contain Him. He is everywhere, always. Even our word “good” fails to measure His goodness. Even our word “great” falls short of describing His greatness.

But despite his differences, today’s message highlights a moment when one of God’s creatures connected with Him. That’s a lesson for all of us. No matter how insignificant we think we are, we can still reach God through our prayers. No matter how sinful we become, we are only a prayer away from His forgiveness. No matter how long we have hardened our hearts and resisted Him, He still waits for us. He desires connection.

What happened after Solomon prayed that day? When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the LORD’s splendor filled the temple. The priests were unable to enter the LORD’s temple because the LORD’s splendor filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the LORD’s splendor over the temple, they bowed down on their knees with their faces toward the ground. They worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). That is the connection. From that time on, it was not just Solomon’s temple; it was the LORD’s temple. It was not just Solomon’s kingdom or David’s kingdom. It was the LORD’s kingdom.

Communion meditation:

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 NLT.

“There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”

The apostle’s declaration here reflects the same truth that Solomon expressed in his prayer at the dedication of the temple. The world around both men was a polytheistic one—they believed in many gods. But the truth of Paul’s declaration and Solomon’s prayer pierces through all the false theology and independence. The reality is monotheism, yes, but it goes deeper than that. Paul emphasizes the one Lord, Jesus Christ. He tells us that we were all created through Jesus Christ and that we live through Him. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. As we remember what Jesus did for us on Calvary today, let us keep in mind that His sacrifice served a purpose. We all live through Him. He purchased eternal life for us. Let’s set aside all the false gods and rulers of the world — they are nothing but idols. Jesus is our true connection to the Father. He is the source of our resurrection life. Let us declare our independence from everything else and our loyalty to the One Lord.

DAVID’S CHOICE

1 Chronicles 21:9-13 NET.

⁹ The LORD told Gad, David’s prophet, ₁₀     “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.” ¹¹ Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Pick one of these: ¹² three years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, or three days being struck down by the LORD, during which a plague will invade the land and the LORD’s messenger will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’ Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” ¹³ David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the LORD, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!”

Our Bible reading this week has brought us to a pivotal moment in King David’s life. He makes a catastrophic mistake, and the LORD uses that mistake to teach him about making wise choices. Everyone needs to make wise choices, but the higher up the chain of leadership you are, the more dangerous your choices can be.

The recent news about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Iran, has reminded us of an important fact. Leaders on all sides, including our own American President, have made decisions that have led to serious consequences. These decisions were more than just personal; lives have been either lost or saved because of the choices made by the leaders involved.

First, let’s review David’s sin—the poor choice he made that caused him to end up in this mess.

Israel faced an enemy. David was used to facing enemies. He had faced enemies as a young shepherd. Whenever a lion or a bear would come into his sheepfold to carry off a sheep from the flock, he would hunt that enemy and strike it down with his trusty sling. If the animal got too close for his artillery, he would grab it by its jaw, strike it with a club, and kill it. For every attack, David had an appropriate weapon.

David thought about this new enemy. It wasn’t just a personal rival; it was another nation opposing the one David ruled as king. Naturally, David wanted to know if his kingdom had enough resources to fight and defeat this other nation. He told his commanding general, Joab, and the other leaders of his army to gather their troops and take a count. He wanted a complete total of warriors from the southern outpost in Beersheba all the way to the northern outpost in Dan.

David is making a poor decision here. His first mistake is that he has bypassed those he should have consulted before making such a decision. Today’s chapter highlights Joab, the commanding general, as one of the people he should have consulted. Joab would have known the approximate strength of his troops. Joab was also aware of the prohibition against taking a census. He tried to intervene by pleading with the King not to proceed with this action. He knew that taking a census at this time would bring judgment upon the nation. But David refused to consult his general. For some reason, David would not listen to his military leaders.

The Bible teaches us that it is wise to seek advice from others when making important decisions. It says, “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with abundant advisers they are established” (Proverbs 15:22). David had many military advisers, but he chose to ignore this support system. As king, he believed no one could stop him from doing what he wanted. This is pride, arrogance, and a stubborn refusal to listen to anyone but your own heart. The human heart is more deceptive than anything else and is incurably wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Whenever we start thinking “I can handle this,” we are risking disaster. That is what David was doing.

David also had other advisers he could have consulted. Today’s text mentions Gad, the king’s prophet. The prophets served as God’s voice to his people. When God had a word of encouragement, He spoke that word through His prophets. When God had a word of condemnation and judgment, He spoke that word through His prophets. Why didn’t David go to Gad and find out what the LORD wanted him to do? Again, it was David’s pride and arrogance that kept him from reaching out to God’s representatives. David said, “This is my problem and I’m going to handle it my way.” That might have worked for Frank Sinatra in the song, but it is not wisdom.

David could have directly sought the LORD for guidance on how to handle his adversary. The Bible says that a person is blessed if they find joy in the LORD’s commands and meditate on them day and night (Psalm 1:2). David was more focused on his own commands than on discovering what God actually commanded.

David’s decision that day was simple, but it had disastrous consequences. This chapter states that God was offended by it, so God attacked Israel. Then, all of a sudden, David realized he needed to pray. He came to the LORD and told Him that he had greatly sinned by ordering this census. He begged the LORD to remove his guilt and admitted that he had acted very foolishly. But instead of immediately forgiving David for his terribly bad decision, the LORD tested him by giving him a multiple-choice quiz.

David had three options. The LORD sent this message to David through the prophet Gad: ‘This is what the LORD says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them. The nation can have three years of famine, three months of being chased by your enemies and being struck down by their swords, or three days of being struck down by the LORD himself through a plague.”

There was no simple answer to this quiz. Either of David’s choices would result in innocent people dying because of his sin. There are always consequences for sinful actions. Nobody evades sin’s repercussions. If our sins don’t cause immediate pain or embarrassment, we might be fooled into a false sense of security. But this situation showed David that, as king, his decisions could either bless his people or bring judgment upon them.

If David had chosen the first option, his kingdom would have endured three years of famine. The nation would have lost people to starvation and been forced to seek aid from neighboring nations for subsistence. This is similar to what happened to Israel during its early days. The Patriarch Jacob had to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain from the Pharaoh, with Joseph overseeing the process. When the people ran out of money to buy Egyptian grain, Joseph made them slaves to Pharaoh. David would have known this history. He was not going to allow his nation, rescued by God from slavery, to be forced back into it.

If David had chosen the second option, his kingdom would have become an easy target. For three whole months, the surrounding nations would attack repeatedly and gain more territory. City after city would fall, and no matter how many soldiers David’s generals managed to gather, they would be defeated on the battlefield. Israel had experienced this before. They had been told about their ancestors’ conquest of this same land. Their grandparents passed down stories of the fall of Jericho and other battles of the conquest. David got himself into this mess because he feared a neighboring nation. There was no way he was going to let that happen to his people.

That left the third option. It didn’t seem much better. It would mean three days of plague. Again, the Israelites were familiar with the concept. Their ancestors had lived in Egypt when the LORD had struck that nation with the ten plagues. When a plague becomes global, we call it a pandemic. We know the fear that COVID brought us a few years ago. Nobody would choose to experience that. But David faced not a worldwide pandemic, but a local epidemic. He figured they could handle that judgment best because it would stay within his nation and wouldn’t involve aggression or domination by an outside nation.

His choice also shows David’s faith. He said, “I prefer to be attacked by the LORD, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” This is the David we know — the man of faith who trusted God to help him do the impossible.

The LORD sent the epidemic, and it struck the nation of Israel, killing 70,000 Israelite men. Perhaps those men would have been part of the warriors counted by Joab and his generals. The entire nation would have mourned the loss of its sons. But God was not finished yet. He then turned his attention to Jerusalem, the capital city. He sent a destroying angel. Once again, the Israelites would have remembered the stories they had been told about that destroying angel who struck down the firstborn of Egypt. This time, there was no remedy. No blood on the doorposts and lintels could stop this destroying angel. It would bring death and destruction wherever it went. It was going to ravage Jerusalem.

David was no longer cocky. He and his leaders wore sackcloth and threw themselves down, faces to the ground, humbled and repentant. David looked up and saw the destroying angel approaching. This mighty angel stood between the land and the sky with his sword drawn. The whole city could have been destroyed, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But God—this same God that David said is merciful and compassionate—watched and relented from his judgment. He told the destroying angel to stop. He said, “That’s enough.” David once again takes responsibility for his bad choice and offers to sacrifice to God right there at the threshing floor of Ornan. David purchases the threshing floor and offers the sacrifice. That would become the place where the temple of God would be built by David’s son, Solomon.

What can we learn from today’s lesson? What does it reveal about the decisions we make? What does it teach us about choosing wisely? Consider these principles. When you’re facing a problem, don’t assume that you already know the answer. Seek help from others before responding to the issue. Look for godly advisers. Second, set aside some time for prayer. You want to understand God’s will. God is not stingy with his will, but he probably won’t tell you what he wants unless you take the time to ask for it.

But what happens if you fail to follow these principles? What if you’ve already made a bad decision and are facing the consequences? Don’t hide it. Don’t try to distance yourself from the problem. Humble yourself before the LORD and submit to His mercy. Do what you can to make amends for the harm you’ve caused. Trust the LORD to turn your failure into a blessing for yourself and others. We all sin, but after sinning, we have a choice. We can choose to hide it or we can choose to confess it. We can choose to take pride in our sins or to repent of them. David decided to repent. He admitted that he was the one who sinned and committed this terrible deed. He demonstrated faith and wisdom when he said, “Have Thine own way, LORD!”

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 NET.

¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jered, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

We began reading 1 Chronicles this week and started with an always-exciting genealogical list. Since we have committed to reading through the Bible in eighteen months, I should have warned you about genealogical lists. We find several of them in the Bible. Consider this sermon your warning. You can also view it as special instructions for when you encounter such lists. They are not like the fine print in the instructions for a product you buy. You know, the fine print that the manufacturer has to include, but nobody reads?

I titled today’s sermon “Finding Your Roots” after the PBS series of the same name. I genuinely enjoy watching that show. I appreciate how Louis Gates Jr. reveals interesting facts about a celebrity’s family tree. Some of the Black guests discover they have slave ancestors, while some of the White guests find they had slave-owner ancestors. Others realize they have a king, a general, or a preacher in their lineage. Conversely, some uncover murderers, horse thieves, and deserters among their relatives. Some hear a mix of good and bad news. The show is fascinating because it teaches so much about history connected to real people and real families.

We should not be surprised that God provided us with so many genealogies in the Bible. He had the most important message ever to share through the pages of His word. However, He did not simply give us a bullet list of facts and philosophical ideas. Instead, He wrapped His message in the stories and everyday events from biblical times. He ensured that those who would listen to and read His word had a context that helped them see its significance. They could understand His story because it was part of their own story. The opposite was also true. Everyone could see how important they were to God because He revealed how their story was part of His story. In both the Old and New Testaments, the truth of God’s word is conveyed within the context of the history of His people.

Today’s short text reminds us that all roots are connected. If you go back far enough, everyone is related. Everyone’s family tree begins with Adam. He and Eve were my first parents and yours too. 1 Chronicles is all about David, the greatest king of the United Kingdom, not Britain, but Israel. So we would expect it to begin at David’s coronation. But that is not recorded until chapter eleven. The first ten chapters trace the history of God’s people from Adam to David, doing so primarily through genealogical lists.

God wanted the people of the United Kingdom under David to know that they were important to him, so he wrote their names down in his holy book. The book also included their stories—good and evil, famous and infamous. As we read these stories, we need to recognize that they are our stories, too. We may not trace our ancestry back to King David, but we could trace our lineage back to Father Adam. To make that point, the Holy Spirit began this book not in Jerusalem, but in Eden. Everyone’s story begins there. The spiritual message of 1 Chronicles is not about one ethnic group. It’s about God’s purpose for every nation and every language. The sons of Noah produced children from three major language groups all across the planet: the Semitic, the Hamitic, and the Indo-European. We’re all in there.

As we read through the genealogical lists, we often come across names that are hard for us to pronounce, even though they were not hard to pronounce by the people who named them. Names are root clues, clues to the culture of the owner. For example, the Hebrew word for God is El, short for Elohim. Lots of Hebrew names in these genealogies contain that name. It shows up in Eldad, Eleazar, Eli, Eliakim, Elihu, Eliphaz, Elisha, Ariel, Bethel, Daniel, Gabriel, Immanuel, Ishmael, Israel, Nathaniel – and these are just a small percentage. You will also find the name Yah – short for Yahveh in many Hebrew names. Yahveh is the proper name of the God of the Bible. Yah is in Jason, Jehu, Jesus, Joanna, John, Jonathan, and Joshua.

The deity names point to the people’s connection with God. Other names emphasize the connections they had within their families. Many Hebrew names contain the syllable ‘ab. Names like Abigail, Abihu, Abner, Absalom, Ahab, Joab, Moab, and Aholiab point to the father of the person named. The syllable ben is also in many names. It means son. It is found in Benjamin and Reuben. Lots of other names became place names, and people began naming themselves after that place.

The names appearing in genealogical lists serve as clues to the culture from which those people emerged. One way archaeologists authenticate a document or inscription they find is by comparing the included names. If the document contains personal or place names that don’t correspond with the period it is supposed to have been written in, that indicates the document may be a forgery. Many books written around the same time as biblical texts were excluded from the biblical canon because they were found to be inauthentic, and the names they included offered significant clues.

When we start doing our genealogical research, we are sometimes embarrassed by what we find. Every family seems to have some bad apples. But the biblical genealogies highlight a helpful truth. Roots are not prophecies. You don’t have to match your roots. You don’t have to follow in the footsteps of your father. As we examine the kings of Israel and Judah, we find that some kings established dynasties that turned away from the covenant with God and sought other gods. Yet, even in those dynasties, occasionally a king would emerge who did not walk after the pattern established by his ancestors. There were some good kings, like Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah. They did not follow the bad examples set for them.

The lesson for all of us is that we are free to be nonconformists as well. If it is evil, and everybody is doing it, then we do not have to be like everybody. If we have alcoholics in our family, we do not have to drink alcohol. If we have horse thieves in our family tree, we do not have to become thieves.

As we read the Bible, we also discover that roots matter in both Testaments. Both have genealogies. In fact, the New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew did his research and found that God had been at work in the family of Christ for millennia. Jesus descended from Abraham, the man to whom God promised that he would be a blessing to many nations and would father many nations. Jesus was going to be the ultimate fulfillment of those promises. Jesus descended from Jacob, a deceiver whom God blessed despite his character. God inspired him to become more than he was. Jesus descended from Ruth, a foreign woman who found grace in the eyes of Boaz, and in God’s eyes. She was rescued by love. Jesus descended from David, a man after God’s own heart, a king whom God established, and to whom God promised a descendant who would rule eternally. Jesus is that descendant.

The Bible does not contain your family tree or mine. What is essential is not that we can be traced physically to Jesus’ family. Jesus himself said that his mother and his brothers are those who hear and do the word of God. When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ, we become part of his spiritual family.

Roots connect us. They show us our context. One of the fallacies that Jesus encountered during his earthly ministry was the belief among the physical descendants of Abraham that they were automatically saved due to their lineage. However, Jesus told them that God could raise children for Abraham from the rocks. What truly matters is our connection to Christ, which is established not by a blood test but by our faith in Him.

However, some Christians fall for another fallacy: that since we are saved by faith in Christ, all the Jewish elements in the Old Testament are irrelevant. They view the Old Testament as a shell from which they can extract the gospel, ignoring the shell itself. Those who embrace this fallacy essentially treat 77% of the Bible as unimportant. But God’s word is not merely directed at a group of ancient Jews; it is meant for us—every part of it, one hundred percent. The ancient roots preserved in the family trees recorded in the Old Testament are our roots. We are connected to them through Christ, making them significant for us because of Him.

That is why, even when we consider the 23% of our Bibles known as the New Testament, we find over 300 direct quotations and hundreds more allusions and indirect quotations. These references indicate that Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies. They demonstrate that the New Testament apostles utilized the Old Testament as Scripture to teach theology to the New Testament church. They reference the Old Testament to explain the person and work of God, since God remains constant in both testaments. Even when the New Testament authors discuss the old covenant, they do so to help their listeners understand the new covenant by comparing the two.

We decided to embark on a project to read the entire Bible this year and part of next year. We chose not to skip ahead to the more familiar passages of the New Testament because we wanted to become skilled in using the whole sword, not just the handle. It’s a shame to be a Christian and not know the entire Bible.

In the television show, guests talk with Dr. Gates because they want to find their roots. They aim to learn more about themselves by researching their family tree. Most of the time, they are astonished by what they discover. They uncover where their families originated, what they experienced, and who they interacted with. Sometimes, they find ancestors who made choices similar to their own. Other times, they encounter ancestors who faced different challenges and made distinct decisions. However, nobody finishes the show and says, “What a waste of time.” They seek to find their roots because pieces of the puzzle of their present lives are missing.

The Bible can guide you and me. It serves as the voice of God addressing our current circumstances. We might be Cain, tempted to respond violently when things don’t go our way. We might be Enoch, choosing to walk with God when the surrounding culture has turned away from Him. We could be Noah, listening to God and taking on the impossible simply because we know God desires it. Naturally, there are also many negative examples in the Bible. Those poor choices and the ensuing consequences can serve as warnings if we encounter similar temptations.

We have chosen to read through the Bible. We have had those Bibles on our shelves or in our phones, tablets, and computers. We have had the lights, but we might not have turned them on when we needed them. Once we turn to the biblical records and find our spiritual roots, we will be more likely to make the right choices and avoid the wrong ones. We will gain what King Solomon called wisdom. The more we dig into God’s word and make it a light for our path, the more we will understand why Solomon called wisdom a treasure worth more than gold and precious gems.