2 Chronicles 33 - Ezra 8: Tragedy, then a new beginning

Bad news, good news:  Manasseh was one of the most evil kings Israel ever had. He even set up an Asherah idol in the temple itself. But 2 Chronicles adds some detail that was not included in 2 Kings--Manasseh repented! After he was captured, removed from the throne and carted off to Babylon in chains, he repented. "Total repentance," according to 2 Chronicles 33. God responded by restoring him to his throne in Jerusalem. He recognized that God had done it, and he followed God the rest of his life, removed the pagan paraphernalia from the temple and the city, and undid some of the damage he'd done earlier in his life. I like this story--there's hope even for someone as evil as Manasseh.
- Solomon's work undone:  God judged Israel via Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed and burned the temple. He knocked down the Jerusalem wall, then took the Jews off to Babylon to live in exile.There's not much detail here, but it's heartbreaking just the same.
- A new beginning:  The book of Ezra tells the story of a wise biblical scholar named Ezra, a descendant of the wonderful Phinehas and his grandfather, Aaron. Ezra was put in charge of leading the Israelites back to repopulate Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. Through God's miraculous workings, the King of Persia commanded the temple to be rebuilt and helped to pay for it. Ezra was a remarkable man--he committed himself to:

• studying God's Word
• living it, and
• teaching Israel to live its truth and ways (Ezra 7:8-10).

Elena's verse of the day:  "Many wept bitterly because they remembered seeing the first temple years before. Others were so happy they celebrated with joyful shouts" (Ezra 3:12).

2 Kings 16 - 1 Chronicles 1: Good king, bad king

- Finally, a good king:  King Hezekiah held fast to God, and God held fast to him. He prayed an amazing prayer in 2 Kings 19:14-34, along with a prophecy by Isaiah. God promised to shield the royal city of Jerusalem from the arrogant and bloodthirsty Assyrian king. That night, an angel of God came and killed 185,000 Assyrians. The Assyrian king (Sennacherib) went home to Nineveh and was later murdered by his own sons in their temple.
- God listens:  Hezekiah prayed and asked God for physical healing. 2 Kings 20:4 says that God listened to his prayer and heard his tears and....God changed his mind. Wow. I should be praying more.
- Then more bad kings:  Manasseh set up pagan idols in the temple and sacrificed his own son to pagan gods. These passages report that this evil king set new records in evil and this type of sin led to the destruction of Jerusalem. The accounts of these evil kings and the consequences for Israel were heartbreaking and very, very difficult for me to read (2 Kings 21).
- Back to the book: Finally, along came another godly king named Josiah. He rediscovered the Word of God and read it to the people. They had forgotten what the Scriptures had to say, but Josiah's leadership led them to repentance. "The world would never again see a king like Josiah" (2 Kings 23:5).


Elena's verse of the day:  "This festival had not been celebrated in this way since the time that tribal leaders ruled Israel. But in Josiah's 18th year as king, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate

 year as king, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover" (2 Kings 23:22-23).

Genesis 1-18: Evil, rainbows & circumcision

I'll share a few notes from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!

- Did you notice that God made the light (Day 1) before he made the sun (Day 4). Where did the light come from? Perhaps from God himself?

- Another murder: Five generations after Cain, another murder was committed by one of his descendants, named Lamech. Revenge was the motive. But interesting how sin seemed to run in that side of the family.

- Evil: "Human evil was out of control" is how the Message Bible puts it. But Noah was different. (Gen 6) I'm glad I didn't live in those times.

- The earth is on God's timetable. The seasons, days, and climates will not stop "for as long as the earth lasts." That gives me a lot of hope in times when the environment seems beyond our control. (Gen 8:22)

- "Live Bountifully!" is God's blessing to Noah after the flood. This earth is not our home, but we can still live bountifully and enjoy life here (Gen 9:7).

- Convenants: Already, in just this first day of reading, God has made two covenants with men. 1) With Noah & his descendants, that never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth. Symbol: Rainbow. 2) With Abram, that the Promised Land belongs to him and his descendants forever. Symbol: Circumcision.

Now, I'm about to dig back into Genesis for today's reading. Can't wait!