The lineage of the priests and Levites is listed for us here in chapter 6. This genealogy is extremely important as the standing of these men of God and their service were directly related to their ancestral record. It was by birthright that the office of the priest was filled.

In tracking these generations we can see the high, as well as the low points of the Israelite’s spiritual walk. Some of these men of God succeeded in honoring the Lord through their ministries, while others failed miserably. What is important to consider is even though these men had a specific calling on their lives, they were still just men. Made of the same corrupt flesh as you and I.

The success or failure of these men was dependent upon their individual surrender to the will of the Father. We must be careful to not place people on pedestals, expecting them to set our examples of Godly behavior. In doing so we take our eyes off of Christ as our model and shift them to man. This is dangerous because as humans, they are imperfect and will ultimately fail us.

The solution is to look at Christ as our example. Not only will He always be the best model, but He will never fail us. Don’t get me wrong, we should all have Godly people in our lives to admire and learn from, but our faith must not rest upon them. As the old hymn says “Our faith is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness…”

We can certainly admire and get advice from people who set great Godly examples in their lives. In fact this is part of God’s plan. It only becomes detrimental when we attach our faith in God to our faith in man. The Lord will never fail us, but people at some level always will.

Let’s keep our eyes on JESUS as our example!

1 Chronicles 6

This opening chapter gives us a genealogy starting with Adam and following many of his descendants through time. We see Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and many more as the foundation of God’s faithfulness is established. These precise genealogies are intended to not only track specific lineages, but also display the intricacy and massive time frame that the Lord works within.

Believed to have been written by Ezra, God is setting the stage for the history lesson to follow. We will see in upcoming chapters lessons learned, mistakes made and great victories which will be setting the stage for a study primarily focused on the reign of David.

Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.

In the Bible, God is constantly pointing to the past in order to teach us today. People are still people and the basic struggles they faced thousands of years ago are the same ones we battle today. Pride is still pride, sin is still sin and wrestling with the flesh is still the preeminent pastime of humanity.

In studying the Biblical accounts of these victories and losses, we can gain valuable insight into our own path. The Lord has given us all the tools and instructions we need to be a success in this life. It’s just a matter of taking the time to read the instructions (The Bible) before we act.

Having put many complicated things together wrong over the years, I figured out that instructions are very important. I don’t know about you, but I would like to skip as many mistakes as possible in this life. The way to do that is to use the Bible as our guide in every situation. His instructions are always best, all we have to do is follow them.

1 Chronicles 1

Three years after Ahab’s “repentance” he reaches out to king Jehoshaphat of Judah asking him to join forces against Syria. Jehoshaphat is a God fearing man who agrees, but asks for confirmation from God before taking action. So Ahab gathers his prophets who tell him what he wants to hear and they confirm that he will be victorious.

Not willing to accept these obvious “yes men” Jehoshaphat asks for a true prophet. Ahab reluctantly brings Micaiah who was jailed for telling Ahab what he did not want to hear (the truth) out of prison. To the great frustration of Ahab and his profits, Micaiah explains that Ahab will die in the battle. Remember Elijah prophesied this in chapter 21, but Ahab dismiss both warnings.

Ahab disguises himself as a regular chariot soldier and enters the battle. In the thick of the fighting a Syrian archer fires an arrow that finds it’s way to Ahab, striking him in just the right spot. As he is led out of the battle he dies in his chariot and is carried back to Samaria. Ahab is buried and as the chariot is washed out, dogs lick up the blood. (This is a symbol of great disgrace.)

Ahab’s son Ahaziah became king of Israel and he followed in his father’s footsteps of sin. The judgements that God told Elijah would come against Ahab’s offspring are coming. While at the same time, Jehoshaphat honored God until his death.

As Christians there are several very important things for us to take from Ahab’s story. Make sure that you get good Godly counsel from someone with a close relationship with Christ. There will always be those willing to give advice who are desperately unqualified. Be willing to receive even what you don’t want to hear. It is always best to forego what we want in order to follow God’s will. It’s when we force our agenda (which the Lord will allow us to do) that we find ourselves in trouble. And lastly, when we ignore God’s warnings it doesn’t matter how many precautions we may take. The end results will not go our way.

We each need to seek out a Godly counselor who will be honest with us and advise us from God’s word.

1 Kings 22

There was a good man of Samaria named Naboth who had a vineyard next to king Ahab’s palace. The king coveted this land and tried to negotiate for it, Naboth would not budge. This was family land with great sentimental value.

Upon concluding that there was no hope in getting this land, Ahab went home pouting and whining like a child. His morally depraved wife Jezebel listened to the story and then decided to handle it herself. She concocted a plan with A…hab’s support to have people lie about Naboth. They claimed that he blasphemed God and the king, which would result in him being stoned to death.

The kingdom of Israel is spiraling out of control as Baasha now reigns. He is a horrible man who not only killed Nadab Jeroboam’s son, but the entire family. He rules with fear and leads the nation further into sin.

God sends a prophet named Ahu to warn Baasha of the coming judgement of God. After Baasha’s death, his son Elah takes the helm and continues to steer Israel away from God. Just two years later one of Elah’s men slaughters him and all his friends and family. This man’s name is Zimri.

Zimri fans the flames of sin amongst the people and seven days later, the kingdom splits further. War breaks out and the reign passes to Omri who was captain of the army.

Omri rules for twelve years continuing to dishonor God and his son Ahab then becomes king of Israel. Along with his wife Jezebel they rule for twenty two years and are the worst of the five dynasties we have seen.

The evils we have seen were prophesied by God and allowed as punishment for the sin the nation had fallen into. It started with Solomon’s slip and has now brought the nation to a pit of debauchery and despair.

God is forgiving, but He is also just. He is not one to be taken for granted or mocked. We must keep this in mind in our own lives and use it as motivation to reach the lost. Praise the Lord through the power of the cross, He can forgive and forget our sin.

Let’s warn the world of His judgement, but also assure them of His love which has overcome the world!

1 Kings 16

Here in chapter fifteen we get a glimpse of how tumultuous the kingdom is. Jeroboam rules most of Israel and Judah is being led by David’s great-grandson Abijam who is not really following God. Though victorious in battle over Jeroboam his reign is short, a mere three years and then his son takes the helm.

Abijam’s son Asa is a man like his great-great-grandfather David. He loves the Lord and expends serious effort eradicating the idolatry and sexual sin that has overwhelmed Judah. In fact, he even goes against his own pagan grandmother in destroying her idol and removing her from power.

Asa certainly had a heart to do right, but struggled like the rest of us. In 2 Chronicles 14-16 we get a much more detailed account of his reign. The main area where he stumbled was against Jeroboam’s successor Baasha. (Baasha killed Jeroboam’s son Nadab who was king for two years and wiped out the entire family.)

As Baasha came against Judah, Asa reacted out of fear. Instead of trusting God for the victory, He took the treasures from God’s house (which he had worked to restore) and gave them to the Syrian king (Baasha’s ally) so that he would betray him. This may have spared Judah, but this would be the start of his fall away from God.

In Asa’s later years, as life got harder (disease, unbelief and anger) his dependence on God decreased instead of increased. Thus we have a man that started well, had a good heart, but did not finish well.

As life’s challenges come against us, we can either become more dependent on God or less. It’s through our dependence that He shines brightest. You see times of struggle are magnifying moments that reveal our true relationship with the Lord. 1 Peter 1:7 refers to the refining of gold by fire. It is only through the hottest fires that the impurities can be burned away. Our trials are part of the process of refining us to be the children of God He intends us to be.

Asa started well, but because of challenges did not finish well. Let’s not let this be said of us. I for one want to finish better than I started and leave a legacy of trusting God. He is worthy of our trust, no matter the circumstance.

1 Kings 15

As Israel slips further into idolatry being led by Jeroboam, his son gets deathly ill. In response Jeroboam thinks back to a man of God named Ahijah that prophesied of his becoming king. How interesting that this man who had no time for Jehovah God seeks Him when tragedy strikes. Rather sounds like most people today, only calling on God when they are desperate.

When Jeroboam’s wife takes their son to Ahijah, he tells her that he will die as a result of his father’s behavior. Then just as promised Jeroboam’s son Abijah dies upon returning home. The idolatrous nation of Israel mourns the death of their king’s son. He ruled for twenty two years and then his son Nadab took the throne.