JUNE 23 READINGS...2 Kings 15:32-38 & Chronicles 27:1-9 & Micah 1:1-16 & 2 Kings 16:1-9 & 2 Chronicles 28:1-15 & Isaiah 7:1-25
As we begin our readings today Jotham is king in Judah…he is a good king like his father Uzzah…though he did not remove the places of pagan worship, nor did he compel the people to come back to the Lord. Micah is raised up as the prophet of God and prophesies the destruction of both Samaria and Jerusalem. He calls for the people of Judah to shave their heads in repentance and morn, for their children will be snatched away and taken into foreign lands. Ahaz takes the throne of Judah after his father Jotham, he reigns as king for sixteen years. He was evil, even offering his own son as a human sacrifice in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, this is the valley Jesus liken to hell...he called it Gehenna. Both the kings of Israel and Syria attacked and tried to destroy Ahaz and Judah, but Ahaz made a pact with the king of Assyria. When Israel tried to make the children of Judah their captured slaves…God raised up a prophet named Obed to speak against such things.
The Lord then moves through the prophet Isaiah. The Lord tells Isaiah to go to Ahaz and tell him that he does not need to worry about the two “burned out embers”…the kings of Israel and Syria. Through Isaiah God told Ahaz that the invasion of these two would never happen. Ahaz receives a message to ask for a sign, and he could make it as difficult as possible. Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, which makes Isaiah angry at the way Ahaz is exhausting God’s patience. So, Isaiah said that God Himself would send a sign…”The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel, meaning God with us.” This would have been fulfilled in Ahaz’s time…but we know the ultimate fulfillment was in the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23). But then Isaiah also warns of the impending judgment of God, which will leave the land desolate. God is going to raise up the king of Assyria to bring judgment on Israel primarily…but unfortunately Judah will not learn and they too will go off into captivity. With all the warnings…still the people of God will not listen to the warnings from the prophets and turn from their wicked ways. We too have been warned…the Bible is filled with warnings for our day…will we listen…will we turn…will we come back to God, before it’s too late?
Please share your thoughts from today’s readings. These are treacherous times…we need to hear from the Lord’s Word, and we need to obey.
TOMORROW’S READINGS…Isaiah 8:1-11:16
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