Old Testament reading: 1 Kings 15-16
1 Kings 15-16 continues the parade of wicked rulers in Israel, with today’s reading introducing to us the infamous Ahab. God was willing to establish Jeroboam’s house over Israel if he had been willing to follow God. Instead, he perverted the worship of God, and only one of his descendants reigned as king. Nadab reigned two years before he was murdered by Baasha, who killed everyone of the house of Jeroboam and assumed the throne, only to have his son Elah murdered after two years as king with all his family also destroyed. It was God’s doing to punish Jeroboam and establish Baasha and his house on the throne (16:1-3). His descendants could have reigned indefinitely, but his failure to obey the Lord brought calamity and a short end to their royal status. This was followed by a succession of conspiracies, murders and civil war within Israel. The chickens are coming home to roost. We cannot leave today’s text without drawing attention to 1 Kings 16:34, wherein we see that God’s word is not diminished over time. More than 500 years had passed since Joshua’s curse upon Jericho (Joshua 6:26), yet God’s word remained living and active in the case of Jericho, being brought to fruition in the life of Hiel of Bethel.
New Testament reading Acts 1-2
“What part of ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ do you not understand?” Yes, I recognize that the apostles were not present when Jesus made that statement in John 18, but certainly such was not outside the scope of Jesus’ teaching during His three year earthly ministry. The apostles still had little concept of the kingdom that Jesus had come to establish, even after spending three years with the Lord. Jesus did not come to restore a kingdom to Israel as they imagined and hoped, nor as our premillennial friends believe and teach today. Instead, he came to establish an entirely new kingdom, one of a spiritual nature that would stand until the day of Judgment (Matt 16:18; Heb 12:28). One lesson to learn from this account is the need for patience. There doesn’t seem to be any tone of disappointment or rebuke in Jesus’ words in Acts 1:7-8. This wasn’t the time for such. Rather, Jesus reassured them that they would soon know the truth after His departure. Let us also teach others with the patience of our Lord.
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