Hezekiah's Folly - June 7 Readings: 2 Kings 19-20, John 11:45–57, Psalm 71:7–14, Proverbs 14:25-26

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Up to the point when Isaiah appeared before him and announced that he would be dying, Hezekiah was on track to rival David as Judah's greatest king. He had rid Jerusalem of the remnants of his father's idolatry and had seen God bring great victories for the people.

Now Isaiah brought him the sad news that it was time to put his affairs in order because his illness was going to result in death. (2 Kings 20:1) Hezekiah poured his heart out to the Lord and God gave Isaiah a message. Hezekiah would receive 15 more years of life. He even received a miraculous sign confirming this.

It was a moment of joy for the king, when God heard his prayer and spared his life. It was also a turning point for him as he grew arrogant and self-glorying. He began to think he was something exceptional for whom God had done this mighty act, forgetting the grace and mercy of God.

It all came to a head when emissaries from Babylon came to see him and he let his pride get the best of him. He gave them the palace tour and displayed his own wealth for all to see.

Now, the God who preserved him was angry at him. Nothing offends God more than our human pride, when we take credit for that which God has done for us. We are products of the grace of God and should glory in the Cross of Christ. But that excludes boasting in ourselves or believing that we have merited the blessings of God.

Hezekiah ruined his chances to be among the greatest of kings when he let pride and arrogance choke out the glory of God in his life.

May we never let that happen to us.

Father, I am what you have made me. You have blessed me and changed me in so many ways. But whatever I am is your gift. Help me to remember that all I am is through Christ. 

Angry Jesus - June 6 Readings: 2 Kings 17-18, John 11:28–44, Psalm 71:1–6, Proverbs 14:23-24

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It was something I've never seen before, the description of Jesus' mood in John 11:38, as he strode over to Lazarus' tomb and looked at the ultimate fruit of human sinfulness.

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.

Most translations give this translation, that Jesus was "deeply moved" - feeling emotional about the death of his friend. After all, he has just wept at the grave. But the word seems to have a meaning stronger than simple emotion. Jesus was angry, agitated, enraged, indignant. It was more than just sorrow that was in Jesus' heart that day. He knew that he would see Lazarus again in a few moments and all would be well.

Jesus was angry deep within. 

Jesus was angry, upset, indignant at the horror that sin had wrought upon his glorious creation. God created this world glorious and idyllic, without sin, sorrow and certainly without death. Then the Serpent showed up in the Garden and started whispering in Adam's and Eve's ears. God is just holding you down, trying to keep you from reaching your full potential. If you would just throw off the yoke of his oppressive rules, rebel, and what you want you will find joy, contentment and peace beyond your wildest dreams. They bought into his lies, sin broke the beauty of God's perfect world and death came through sin.

Death was not part of God's plan, not part of the creation he called "very good." And standing there staring at the enemy of life, the last enemy to be destroy, the wages of all sin, Jesus was indignant. This was not what he wanted for us and it provoked him to see what our sin had done to his plan.

But he was also excited, a concept carried within the meaning of that word as well. In a few minutes he would give a brief glimpse into the purpose of his life. People thought he came to establish a political kingdom and defeat Rome. Jesus came to do much more than that. He came to defeat death eternally and redeem a people who, through him, would never face death. In a moment he would give one man a brief reprieve from death. Lazarus would be restored to life and to his family for a time - how long we do not know; nothing is known of Lazarus from this moment on.

But bringing Lazarus to life was just a hint, a foretaste of the glory that awaited in the future. Not long from that day, Jesus would be led to death at the cross and brutally murdered. He would be placed in the tomb and then, the death of death would come. Jesus would burst forth from the tomb never to taste death again. And, he was the firstfruits of those who would believe on him.

Because of Jesus Christ, death has been ultimately, completely, radically, and eternally defeated.

That's what Jesus came to do, and as he stood at Lazarus' tomb he was both angry at the effects of sin that brought him to that point and excited about the work he was about to do by his resurrection.

Father, I thank you that Jesus defeated death for me. I have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection through his work on the Cross. Death is defeated, Jesus is victorious, I am bound for life and nothing in this world can stop that work. Praise your holy name. 

In 200 Years - June 5 Readings: 2 Kings 15-16, John 11:1–27, Psalm 70, Proverbs 14:21-22

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A while back, I walked with my oldest son and my wife through the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. As I walked around reading tombstones, many 200 or more years old, I was struck with the brevity of life. For most of these people, the only memory that remains is their name engraved on a tombstone. Of course, that cemetery also has "Author's Ridge" where famous writers like Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne are buried with their families. People come to see those graves (and leave pens and pencils at the graves as a tribute) and still read their books. But they, like the unknown masses, are still gone and still buried.

Life is short. Death awaits each of us at the end of life and there is nothing we can do about that. "It has been given to man to die once and after that to face judgment." There is nothing you can do about.

But Jesus changed everything.

In two hundred years, if this world continues, I will be laying in a grave somewhere, unknown except for what is chiseled on the marker. Perhaps someone will pass and wonder about my life as we wondered about those folks whose graves we walked past today.

But I will not be in that grave that day. Oh, my body still will be (perhaps). But I will be in the presence of the Lord, in glory, awaiting the resurrection of the dead. And it is all because of Jesus.

Jesus was called to the graveside of a loved one, a friend named Lazarus. Mary and Martha were grieving, and Martha even spoke some accusatory words to the Savior. "If only you'd been here..." Is it reading too much in to hear the words, "Where were you when we needed you?" But Jesus assured here that something wonderful was about to happen (it did) and then he said this (verses 25-26):

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The Bible does not tell us simply that Jesus will raise us from the dead. No. It tells us that he IS the resurrection from the dead. He does not simply GIVE us life. Jesus IS life. Everything we want and need comes to us through him. 

In 200 years I will be forgotten on earth, a memory only to someone who might perhaps be tracing his genealogy or who is examining old graveyards. But I will not be forgotten by the God of heaven. I will be experiencing life I could never imagine here on earth because Jesus took me as his own, because I have been included in Christ and because I am his. 

That changes everything. 

Father, I thank you for your son, my Savior, who is my life eternal and abundant. Because of him I have life and hope not only for this world, but for all of time and all of eternity. 

The Jesus They Hated - June 4 Readings: 2 Kings 13-14, John 10:22–42, Psalm 69:28–36, Proverbs 14:19-20

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John 10:22-39 is a continuation of the conflict between Jesus Christ and the Jewish leaders. From John 6:66, his popularity is waning and some who followed him are turning aside. But verses 40-42 show what Jesus was all about.

His focus was never on his popularity. How often did he warn people not to tell others about the miracles he had done? Had he been politically motivated, he could have turned his fame into fortune and status. But that never motivated Jesus Christ. The leaders of Israel hated Jesus, passionately. Fervently. When, in John 10:30, Jesus claimed unity with the Father and in verse 31, they picked up stones to stone him. It was not his time, though, so he simply left them and went to the Jordan.

Jesus was not trying to worm his way into the halls of power to hob-knob with the rich and powerful and to curry their favor. He was not impressed by wealth and earthly success. These things meant nothing to him.

In his conversations with the religious leaders he pulled no punches and was often confrontational and direct with them, to which they did not respond well. But Jesus was about the Father's work and the truth and was not trying to make influential friends.

He did not define himself by the opinions of others. He cared only about the Father's view of him and was not enslaved to what others said or thought about him.

But John 10:40-42 reveals what he was all about.

"And many believed in him there."

Jesus was about proclaiming the truth that would bring people to a right relationship with the Father by believing in him. Jesus was about the work of the gospel, about bringing people to believe in him as the Messiah, the anointed of God.

That must be our work as well. We must not live by what people say about us, whether people like us or how popular we are in this world. We must be about the Father's work - proclaiming Christ and calling people to faith in him.

Father, may my life be about what your Son's life was about! May others see Jesus through me. 

Our Good Shepherd - June 3 Readings: 2 Kings 11-12, John 10:1–21, Psalm 69:21–27, Proverbs 14:17-18

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John 10 describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd who takes care of his sheep, even laying down his life for them. He calls us by name and we follow him. He leads us to pastures where we can find the food we need and protects us from the thieves and predators who seek our destruction. He gives life to his sheep - eternal and abundant.

And it is a good thing, because we are sheep. When we are described as sheep in the Bible it ought never to be taken as a compliment. Sheep cannot survive without a shepherd and we cannot live without our Savior, Jesus Christ. Think about the conditions of sheep and why we need a shepherd.

Sheep are prey. Just about every predatory, carnivorous animal in the world loves the taste of mutton. If sheep were not watched over, they would quickly become lunch. This world is full of spiritual predators who would seek to deceive us, distract us, divert us and destroy us. False apostles and false teachers abound who seek to use the sheep for their own purposes. We need a shepherd. We need a Good Shepherd.

Sheep are wayward and not that bright. Sheep are not like other creatures. They do not have a great sense of danger or direction. They wander off into trouble when left to themselves. It is interesting that we are so prone to seek independence when, as sheep, that is the last thing we need. We require a shepherd to guide us and keep us from harm - a Good Shepherd.

Sheep are defenseless. Most animals have some sort of defense mechanism to protect themselves. Some can run fast to escape danger. Some have sharp claws to fight. Some have hard shells or quills or, like the skunk, the ability to make predators pay through the nose. Sheep have no such defenses. They are not fast, they cannot jump and bound away. They don't have hard shells or bad smells to protect them. They are helpless. We are helpless in this world without the help of our Savior and Lord, without defense against all those spiritual predators.

Sheep need a shepherd. We need a Good Shepherd. That's the bad news. The good news is that we have one - Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Father, thank you for my Good Shepherd who leads me to green pastures and calms me beside still waters. He protects me from the predators who would destroy me loves me enough to lay down his life for me. I need him, oh, I need him. Every hour I need him. 

True Blindness - June 2 Readings: 2 Kings 9-10, John 9:19–41, Psalm 69:14–20, Proverbs 14:15-16

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In John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, and just to annoy the Pharisees and their ilk, he had done it on the Sabbath day. Jesus loved the Father and would never think of doing a thing that would violate any of the Father's laws, but he took special glee in poking holes in the system of self-righteousness created by the Temple leaders. Most of the great miracles he did recorded in the New Testament were performed on the Sabbath for good measure.

It's an amusing story. In their fury at Jesus' work in healing the man, they harassed the man's parents, who passed the buck to the man himself. They bullied the man who had been healed, calling him names and insulting him. The man had been healed and all they could do was try to tear him down! But there was nothing funny about their sinful, selfish, evil hearts.

The Pharisees revealed their true blindness in response to this miracle. They did not rejoice that a man was healed. They were angered that their control was threatened, that their petty rules were broken. They were not concerned with the glory of God or the good of the people of God, but with their own control over those people and their status and standing in the nation.

That is true blindness. It is blindness to think that life is about me, about my standing in the world. When God opens our eyes we see that it is about him, about his work in this world and about the wonderful things that he is doing in us and through us. We are here to serve him. God does not serve our agendas, we are here to advance his kingdom.

There is no greater blindness than self-glory and self-centeredness. I am not the creator of the world. I do not rule the world. I cannot govern the world or bring justice to it. I am not capable of consummating the world's history in glory. Only God can do that. For me to forget that, to put myself in the place of God, to take the focus off of God's work and put it on me - that is real blindness.

Father, open my eyes to your greatness, your sovereign glory, and to the work that you are doing. May I never be blinded by self-centeredness and the desire for control and power. 

Absorbed by the World - June 1 Readings: 2 Kings 7-8, John 9:1–18, Psalm 69:7–13, Proverbs 14:13-14

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Jehoshaphat was a good king, a man who followed the ways of God and honored him, but he made a huge mistake in his life. He also befriended and partnered with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel.

A few days ago we read the story of Ahab's death, how Jehoshaphat went with him into battle against the enemy. Ahab surrounded himself with false prophets who told him exactly what he wanted to hear. Go up to victory, Ahab. Nothing can stop a great man like you. Jehoshaphat knew it was a setup and he asked to hear from a prophet of God. Micaiah was the prophet who spoke the truth Ahab didn't want to hear and refused to heed. He died for that mistake.

Jehoshaphat was a good king but he made a very bad friend. He stepped across a line that we face on a daily basis. We cannot isolate ourselves in this world. We have to engage a sinful society - we live in it, shop in it, drive in it, study in it, and work in it. In fact, the sinful people we engage on a daily basis are the purpose of our existence. We are here to bring them to the Cross for salvation.

But there is a line we must not cross. We are commanded not to be conformed to the ways of this world, but instead to be transformed, to be like Christ. While we engage this world in the name of Christ, we can never adopt its values, love its pleasures and the things it provides. We must walk circumspectly (how old-fashioned that sounds) and focus our lives on the glory of God. That is the line we must not cross.

Somewhere along the line, Jehoshaphat crossed that line and he paid a dear price for it. In 2 Kings 8:16 we are introduced to Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son who succeeded him to the throne. He did not follow in his father's ways but adopted the ways of his father-in-law, Ahab. Verse 18 says it all.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 

He married Ahab's daughter, molded himself to the ways of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Jehoshaphat's compromise and his partnership with Ahab produced a bitter fruit in his son's life.

It only got worse with his grandson, Ahaziah. 2 Kings 8:27 gives the divine judgment on his life.

He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

He continued the spiritual absorption of the kings of Judah into the sinful ways of the kings of Israel and received the judgment of God for it.

The lesson here today is a difficult one. We must not be legalists, living by specific rules we have made up. Nor ought we isolate ourselves from sinners who need Jesus. But our values, our spiritual life, needs to flow from Christ, the Cross, the Word and Spirit of God, not from the sinful world.

When we allow ourselves to be absorbed into the world's ways, the price will be high, not only in our own lives, but in those of our children and grandchildren.

Father, may I engage this world, but live for you. May I love sinful people enough to love you first and to live for your glory and nothing else.