For some reason, on the way back from London I started reading the book of 2 Chronicles.
It was fascinating. I must have been in the mood for taking in all of the different names and information therein, as I continued reading it yesterday and this morning finished it, read all of 1 and 2 Kings and drew lots of pretty charts listing who was king of Judah and Israel at each moment and which prophets (major and minor) go where...
And when you start looking into it, a lot of things click into place. It's clear that God was quite obvious when he gave out laws and rules and yet the Israelites seem to fail on the first one before even looking at the rest of the commandments. The Kings went from a good one who set up the temple, sought God's face and followed his laws through a variety of less good kings who allowed, encouraged or tolerated idolatry and then along comes another good king who sets things right, and then he's followed by an even more evil one who destroys all of that and sets up idols again. Is it any wonder that God might get a bit tired of all of this, after he sets up a clear covenant and mandate and then people just do their own thing?!?
And then suddenly all the doom and gloom, and yet also the hope, in the minor prophets makes more sense. There are some great stories in these books, I suppose with hindsight we can see how stupid some individuals were and also how clever God is in dealing with them. And yet throughout it, God maintains His promise to have an heir to David on the throne and so he allows crazy and evil kings to continue so that they produce an heir until eventually we get the exile, which I guess had to happen sooner or later given the circumstances.
Fascinating stuff, why has no-one made a movie, or epic tv series of all of this?
Anyway, I wonder if we're not so much different today. God sets out clearly what we are supposed to do. Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength; loving our neighbours as ourselves. Fixing our eyes on Jesus and living for him. Being transformed by the renewing of our minds; Healing the sick, raising the dead etc etc. And yet so often we get distracted or we rebel, like those early Old Testament Kings, into following 'other gods', and then we wonder why we end up in a pickle.
Thank goodness for grace. That God is patient and tries to correct us when we fall down or run away. But the challenge remains in our lives to 'destroy the high places' and commit ourselves to follow wholeheartedly the way of the Lord. To have a heart like Josiah (who gets very little press really, despite being quite cool!)
2 Chron 34v2-3
'He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. In the eighth year of his reign, WHILE HE WAS STILL YOUNG, he began to seek the God of his father David... '
And all of that was fulfilling a prophecy spoken about him about 300 years previously, when the Israelites were rebelling and breaking away from Judah. 1 Kings 13v2
God's always got a plan. There's no fooling Him. And that's the best bit about being in the Kingdom of God. (well maybe not THE best bit, but it's pretty good all the same.)
