Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 13:1-22.  Let’s go!

2 Chronicles 13:18 (NIV) 
18  The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

On verses 1-22:  King Abijah takes over from his father Rehoboam as king of Judah and goes to war against King Jeroboam of Israel.  Despite being grossly outnumbered (compare Abijah’s 400,000 soldiers to Jeroboam’s 800,000 troops) and despite Jeroboam’s attempt to ambush Abijah’s army, Abijah’s army gains a decisive victory over Jeroboam’s army.  The reason the Chronicler gives for Abijah’s victory is because he and his troops “relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers” (v18).

Here the Chronicler focuses on how Abijah relied on the Lord.  He even includes a speech from Abijah about how faithful he and his people of Judah are compared to Jeroboam and Israel.  In contrast, when 1 Kings 15 gives its account of Abijah’s reign as king of Judah, its treatment of Abijah is negative. The writer of 1 Kings says that Abijah “committed all the sins his father had done before him”, that “his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God”, and that it was for the sake of his father David that God allowed Abijah to have any strength at all (1 Kings 15:4).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 12:1-16.  Let’s go!

 2 Chronicles 12:1-4 (NIV) 
1  After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. 
2  Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 
3  With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 
4  he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

On verses 1-4:  As soon as things got comfortable for Rehoboam, that’s when Rehoboam’s focus shifts away from the Lord.  Like a gazelle sitting comfortably by a brook only to be attacked by a lion, distracted and comfortable Rehoboam, along with all of Judah, falls prey to an attack by Shishak king of Egypt along with Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites.   Shishak captures the very cities whose defenses Rehoboam had built up years before. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 10:1-19.  Let’s go!

2 Chronicles 10:1-5 (NIV) 
1  Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 
2  When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 
3  So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 
4  “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” 
5  Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

On verses 1-5:  Solomon’s son Rehoboam succeeds Solomon as king of Israel.  Jeroboam son of Nebat leads a nation-wide campaign to ask Rehoboma for less stringent labor requirements on Israelite workers.   Rehoboam’s initial response is to ask for time to consider what to do: “Come back to me in three days”.  This was a wise first move by Rehoboam.  What can we learn from this?  As leaders, when people pressure you to make a leadership decision and you have no clear sense as to what to do, don’t succumb to the pressure and give a quick, rushed decision that you haven’t thought through.  Give yourself time to think before you decide.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 9:1-12.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-12:  These verses describe Solomon’s interactions with the Queen of Sheba when she came to visit Solomon in Jerusalem.  While the Queen of Sheba had heard great things about Solomon’s wisdom, when she visits Solomon she is blown away (verse 4 says “overwhelmed”) by his wisdom, the palace he built, the kind of food served at Solomon’s table, the way is officials, servants and cupbearers served, and the sacrifices given at the temple.  In fact a running theme in this chapter is that in Solomon’s kingdom people experienced things they had never seen before.  For example:

The Queen of Sheba is blown away by Solomon’s wisdom and the administration of his kingdom
The Queen of Sheba brings an overwhelmingly large number of gifts, including spices that the people of Jerusalem had never seen before (v9)
The use of algumwood from King Hiram to make steps for the temple and the royal palace and to make musical instruments for the temple, such that “nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah” (v11).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 7:11-22. Let’s go!

On verses 12-16:  After Solomon has finished dedicating the temple, God appears to Solomon. God confirms to Solomon that He has heard Solomon’s prayer, that He will be attentive to the prayers offered in the temple, and that He has chosen and consecrated this temple so that His name would be there forever.  As part of this, God speaks some of the most powerful words regarding prayer and repentance in the Bible:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) 
14  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

When God speaks this promise in verse 14, He is speaking about situations where the land is affected by droughts, plagues or locusts.  God promises to heal the Israelites’ land if they will humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways.